Roon core becomes undiscoverable regularly after a few hours of being idle

Roon Core Machine

NUC7i5BNH
Specs here: Intel NUC Kit NUC7i5BNH Product Specifications
ROCK 1.0 build 254
16 GB RAM
256 GB M.2 SSD for ROCK
1 TB SATA SSD for local storage

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Router: ASUS AC1900 WiFi Gaming Router (RT-AC68U)

Using Roon via WiFi only. I tried via ethernet, and WiFi sounded noticeably better. NUC PC is plugged into a PS Audio PowerPlant P3 and via USB to a DDC, which feeds the rest of the chain.

Connected Audio Devices

Currently, USB out from NUC to Singxer SU-6 DDC, but have used a variety of other streamers and bridges, both via USB and as WiFi bridges. The issue below has always happened, regardless of downstream devices.

Number of Tracks in Library

Qobuz, Tidal, 865 tracks in local library

Description of Issue

For as long as I can remember, my ROCK server becomes undiscoverable after not being used for a few hours (i.e. Roon app on phone or PC is not able to connect). A simple restart (manual power off, wait a few seconds, power on) always solves the issue. It’s only moderately annoying if I am home, but now that Roon Arc is out, it’s super frustrating that I can’t really use this functionality, as I can’t remotely restart my Roon core. If I have recently restarted my core, Arc runs just fine.

I use a static IP over a strong WiFi connection, and experience no issues in playback while successfully connected.

I believe this is a separate issue, but I’ll also mention that my Roon app on my PC crashes regularly after bringing it back up from being minimized. I have a high-power gaming PC, so computer specs shouldn’t be the issue. Also, music keeps playing if the app crashes, which is why I believe this is separate.

In any case, the issue I’d like to solve in this thread is the oft-disconnecting server.

Hey @Andris_Zvargulis,

Following up on this thread, can you please first check the firmware version on your router, and share that info here?

With that, I would also check the DHCP lease time on the router as well.

I’ll be on standby for your reply :+1:

Hey @benjamin,

Thanks for getting back to me!

The firmware on my router is 9.0.0.4.386_41994

The DHCP lease time is set to 86400 seconds (24 hours). Do you think this could be the culprit? If so, is it safe to extend it to, say, a week?

– Andris

Also, if it helps, I currently have the Roon Core set to use a static IP address over wifi.

Hey @Andris_Zvargulis,

No, that lease time is normal.

As you’ve probably read all over community, we highly suggest connecting your core directly to your router via ethernet. Let me know if you continue to run into issues after testing this :+1:

Hi @benjamin,

So, I pulled out my long ethernet cable and have had it pulled through my apartment from the router to the Core for over 24 hours, and everything has been super stable. This is a time period during which the wi-fi-only connection would have had to be reset at least once. On top of that, the controller app on my PC desktop has been more stable - it hasn’t crashed after being brought forward from being minimized or simply not in the foreground, as it tends to do with the wi-fi setup.

However, while this is hopefully helpful for isolating the issue, I don’t consider it a solution for two very important reasons:

  1. My office is far from my router, and having a hard-wired ethernet connection running through my apartment is simply not going to fly for more than a day or two for testing.

  2. The sound quality over wired ethernet is noticeably worse than over wi-fi. This is something I experienced before, but have re-confirmed during this test. The background is meaningfully blacker over wifi than via ethernet, and the wifi has no discernable downside in terms of transients, stage, or any other sonic quality I listen for. Presumably, this is because of the introduction of noise from the router, or over the long ethernet run. I didn’t expect this result, but it’s pretty darn clear.

Given the above, I really hope we can find a solution to stabilizing the wi-fi connection. My home is full of ethernet-connected devices, from dinky tp-link smart plugs, to a TV, to a gaming computer, to a nearly identical NUC that runs Windows instead of ROCK - some of which are in the very same office as the Roon core - and none (except the core) have ever experienced stability issues over WiFi. Even on the core, I never have issues such as dropouts or reduction in quality while music is playing over WiFi, so I’m fairly convinced this is a software issue that just causes the occasional disconnect, necessitating a restart, after which everything is totally fine for a few hours.

I’ve spent countless hours and more money than should be considered sane experimenting with and optimizing my audio rack, with special attention paid to noise floor, so I’d be super super super appreciative if we could work our way to stable WiFi.

Best,

– Andris

Hey @Andris_Zvargulis,

Thank you for testing out the above and sharing the results. I’d be happy to help deep dive potential solutions for a more stable wifi setup. The first thing I’d be curious to see and test is your Channel bandwidth options. What are you currently running, and have you tested any other options in the past?

Here is more info on how to find this (if needed) :
https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1030641/#:~:text=  Go%20to%20Wireless%20>%20General%20>Band%20(select%202.4GHz%20or%205GHz)%20>%20Channel%20Bandwidth

Thanks so much!

Here are my current settings for both 2.4GHz and 5 GHz:

The router is dual band, and I generally connect “important” machines to 5 GHz, and then things like smart home bulbs and switches to 2.4 GHz. My Roon core connects to 5 GHz. I haven’t played with these options at all, nor have I tried connecting the core to 2.4 GHz. If you’d recommend I adjust any of these, or try connecting to 2.4GHz, I’m more than happy to make adjustments. :slight_smile:

Hey @Andris_Zvargulis,

It sounds like you’ve set things up properly regarding splitting up bandwidths. I’d be curious to see how things run if you leave 5GHz just for Roon alone (not a long time solution, but would be nice to see how things function without sharing connection.)

And on the other hand, how does Roon run on 2.4GHz? Not to say it would be any better, but a good thing to test either way. :+1:

Will see if it’s better on 2.4 GHz. Interestingly, wifi has been really stable over the past few days without any changes I can think of. I haven’t had to restart it for days at a time, which is not typical. I’ve budged the NUC PC around my rack a bit, but I’d be super surprised if that is it - but who knows.

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