Troubleshooting the AyrMesh Hub2

Preface

This is applicable to all the AyrMesh Hub2 units - the Hub2n, Hub2T, and Hub2x2 models.

The AyrMesh Gateway Hub is the one Hub in your network that is connected to a router that's connected to the Internet - there should be only ONE Gateway Hub per Network (Ayrmesh.com account). All the other Hubs (not connected to an Internet-connected router) are Remote Hubs.

Very briefly, the most common problems are cables (the cables between the power supply and the Hub, usually), power (to the power supply, or the power supply itself), and IP address conflicts, usually from trying to use a second router on your network. Make sure the cables are all good and clicked into the Hub and power supply, that the power supply light is on (and the power light on the Hub, if you can see it), and disconnect any secondary routers you may have before checking anything else.

First, check the lights on the Hub. The bottom light (power light - green or blue) should be on constantly.

Gateway Hub

The top signal light (green) should also be on constantly, indicating the Hub is in Gateway Mode.

• If no lights are showing, make sure the light on the power supply is on. If it's not, the power supply is probably dead. Check the light on the power supply - it should shine brightly and constantly, not be dim or pulsing.
• If the signal lights just keep "running" from bottom to top, it means the Hub cannot "talk" to the router. This is usually an indication of a bad cable, but it can also indicate that the router is not working correctly. It may be that the router has a functional problem (like a bad port), or it may indicate that the router has cut off the port to the Hub due to a network loop, an IP address conflict, or a bad router.
• If the signal lights "go back and forth" (bottom two, then the top two, and then back to the bottom two), then the Hub is failing to check in to AyrMesh.com. This can mean that the cable or router is bad, or that the router is not able to pass data on to the Internet. There are several reasons why the router may not be able to move data to and from the Internet, including a bad router configuration (bad blocking/filtering rules) or your Internet connection failing.
• If the red light or any of the other signal lights come on and stay on, the Hub is not getting an IP address from the router and is configuring itself as a Remote Hub. Check the connections to the router and make sure the router itself is working, but this can also be an indication of a network loop or IP address conflict.

Remote Hub

The next light up (Ethernet traffic - green) will be off if nothing is attached to the LAN port, or blinking if something is attached. The next four lights (red, yellow, green, green from bottom to top) indicate the signal strength, and at least the red light should be on.

• If no lights are showing, make sure the light on the power supply is on. If it's not, the power supply is probably dead. Check the light on the power supply - it should shine brightly and constantly, not be dim or pulsing.
• If the power light is on but the red signal light is not, or if the signal lights are flashing "back and forth" (top two lights, then bottom two lights, then back), the Hub is not connecting to the network. Either the Hub has not been properly initialized (by attaching it to an Internet-connected router until the top light comes on and stays on) or the Hub is completely out of range of the nearest Hub (improve the line-of-sight to the next Hub)

If you cannot see the lights

You may have to take down the Hub and connect it to your router with short, known-good Ethernet cables to see what's going on, but you can access the web server on the Hub by using any browser on any device connected to your home network. You can find the Hub's private IP address on your AyrMesh.com dashboard:

You can see that my Hub is at 10.0.0.133, so I type that into the URL bar of a browser on my computer. If the Hub is working on the network, the Hub prompts for a username and password; this is your AyrMesh.com username and password. Then you'll see a webpage like this:

(we have obscured the MAC addresses for security)

First, the fact that you can see the webpage means that your Hub is connected and working properly. If the Hub DOESN'T respond, then your Hub may not be working or may no longer be attached to your network. Check its power supply and, if it's a Gateway Hub, its connection to your router. You can look at your router's DHCP table (sometimes called a "client table" to see if your Hub is receiving a private IP address from your router.

Bad cables are the most common cause of problems with the AyrMesh Hub. Ethernet cables comprise four twisted pairs of wires, eight wires total - four for power and four for data. If one of the power wires has broken, then the light may not light up. If one of the data wires has broken, then the Hub may light up but not communicate over its Ethernet cable - this will cause a Gateway Hub to fail, but the only effect on a Remote Hub will be to any device that's connected to the Hub's LAN port. If you suspect a cable might be bad, take down the Hub and connect it to your router with short, known-good cables. Make sure to disconnect any Hub that's currently connected, and ensure both the cable from the router to the power supply AND the cable from the power supply to the Hub are good.

If you have Remote Hubs, you will see the signal strength to the nearest Hub displayed; if that number is lower than -80 or so (note that, since the numbers are negative, higher numbers are smaller; -81 is a lower signal than -80) then the signal may be too low. Second, you can see the "Site Survey." This allows you to see if there are local WiFi access points interfering with your Hub. As you can see, I have a device called "AyrMesh Router" that has an EXTREMELY loud signal (-8 dB, unsurprising since they are literally sitting next to each other in my test lab), but it is transmitting on channel 1 and my Hub is transmitting on channel 7, so they are not interfering with each other.

Router ports sometimes go bad. If the cables seem OK but the Hub still won't check in to AyrMesh.com and does not show up on your router, try plugging it into one of the other "LAN" ports on the router.

Second, check to see if the Hub is transmitting WiFi.

• It takes about a minute for the Hub to boot, so it won't start transmitting right away after getting power. If the lights are on but the WiFi is not transmitting, the problem is almost certainly that the Ethernet cable between the power supply and the Hub is not providing enough voltage to the Hub. Usually, this means that the cable is not made of 100% copper wires and needs to be replaced. Re-test the Hub on one of the 10' cables included with the Hub.
• Make sure to check the Power Supply - if the light on the power supply is off or is pulsating or blinking, the Power Supply is bad and needs to be replaced (unfortunately, not all our power supplies have lights any more). Contact Ayrstone Support to see if you are eligible for a replacement;  you can also buy the power supplies off-the-shelf. Check the voltage of the power supply and make sure you buy one with the right voltage.

Third, if the Hub is transmitting WiFi, try to connect to it.

• If you cannot connect to the Hub, either your computer/phone/tablet is misconfigured (must be set up to get an automatic IP address via DHCP) or the Hub is not getting an IP address from the router to which it is connected.
• If you can connect to the Hub but you cannot access the Internet, then either the router is not connected to the Internet or the router is blocking the Hub from the Internet.
• If the signal from the Hub seems low, make sure the Hub is mounted with the antenna pointed straight up and that there are no obstacles between the Hub and your device. Note that a "normal" wood-stud wall or a tree will approximately halve the range of the Hub. Note also that some devices are "calibrated" relative to a normal 100 mW WiFi access point, and that they sometimes go slightly nuts if they're close to the Hub, which is 30-40x as powerful. If you are getting "2 bars" of signal when you're next to the Hub, don't worry - it may be trying to tell you that it's seeing "7 out of a possible 5" bars.

Still not working?

If your Hub is still not working correctly, email support@ayrstone.com or open a case here and include the following information:

• Your ayrmesh.com username (not password)
• The MAC address of the Hub
• Exactly what the Hub is doing: what lights are on, whether the WiFi is on, whether you can access the Internet when you are connected to the WiFi, and whether the Hub is checking in to ayrmesh.com