Ecobee Continuous DHCP Negotiation Process

[MXM]

I have a RT-AC3200 running 380.59 Beta 2. I have an Ecobee3 thermostat connected to the router via the 2.4 wireless band. After about 12 hours (rough estimate) of uptime on that band, the router syslog shows a continuous DHCP negotiation process between the Ecobee3 and the router:

May 4 18:20:47 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPOFFER(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx
May 4 18:20:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx
May 4 18:20:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx Ecobee
May 4 18:20:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx
May 4 18:20:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx Ecobee

If I disable the 2.4 band and then restart it, the problem goes away but them comes back again approximately 12 hours later.

I only have 3 devices on the 2.4 band. But only the Ecobee3 runs mostly in Powersave Mode according to the Flags on the Wireless Log (and discussions with Ecobee).

This issue was present in the Beta 1 and also 380.58. I've been working with Ecobee to resolve this issue but no luck yet. I'm starting to believe this is something caused by the router/wireless drivers.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or things to try in order to determine what is causing this problem?

Thanks,
MM

 

[sfx2000]

Don't worry too much about it - it's ok... it's just renewing the lease, and DNSMasq is being what it is...

 

[MXM]

Don't worry too much about it - it's ok... it's just renewing the lease, and DNSMasq is being what it is...

But why does it need to renew the lease if the original lease is for 48 hours? And this DHCP issue repeats itself every 2-5 minutes, seems rather excessive.

Could it be that this Powersave Mode causes the Ecobee device to disconnect from the router, and then when it wakes up again from Powersave Mode, it goes thru the DHCP process again?

And also, why does it seem to work fine at the beginning, and then after approximately 12 hours, this starts happening?

 

[TonyH]

I have a RT-AC3200 running 380.59 Beta 2. I have an Ecobee3 thermostat connected to the router via the 2.4 wireless band. After about 12 hours (rough estimate) of uptime on that band, the router syslog shows a continuous DHCP negotiation process between the Ecobee3 and the router:

May 4 18:20:47 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPOFFER(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx
May 4 18:20:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx
May 4 18:20:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx Ecobee
May 4 18:20:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx
May 4 18:20:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[479]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.64.4 44:61:32:xx:xx:xx Ecobee

If I disable the 2.4 band and then restart it, the problem goes away but them comes back again approximately 12 hours later.

I only have 3 devices on the 2.4 band. But only the Ecobee3 runs mostly in Powersave Mode according to the Flags on the Wireless Log (and discussions with Ecobee).

This issue was present in the Beta 1 and also 380.58. I've been working with Ecobee to resolve this issue but no luck yet. I'm starting to believe this is something caused by the router/wireless drivers.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or things to try in order to determine what is causing this problem?

Thanks,
MM

Did you the 'stat a fixed ip address?

 

[MFM000]

I've had this problem intermittently over the past two years with all of my "embedded" devices: Ecobee thermostats, Rachio irrigation controller, Various WiFi security cameras ... It seems inherent in the router's DHCP server. It doesn't play nice with "tiny" DHCP clients.

All of devices are on the 2.4GHz network. Set my thermostats and irrigation controller to the guest network (isolated). All have reserved IPs. Turned off DHCP logging

Working well enough for months now that I haven't looked into the root cause.

 

[MXM]

Did you the 'stat a fixed ip address?

Yes, the Ecobee is setup with a DHCP Reservation tied to a fixed IP address.

 

[MXM]

I've had this problem intermittently over the past two years with all of my "embedded" devices: Ecobee thermostats, Rachio irrigation controller, Various WiFi security cameras ... It seems inherent in the router's DHCP server. It doesn't play nice with "tiny" DHCP clients.

All of devices are on the 2.4GHz network. Set my thermostats and irrigation controller to the guest network (isolated). All have reserved IPs. Turned off DHCP logging

Working well enough for months now that I haven't looked into the root cause.

I also have a Rachio and have absolutely no problems with it. It will stay connected for however long the router is up. But I did notice the Rachio does not use the Powersave Mode.
I also have very little 2.4 interference form other networks.

I'm trying to figure out if this has anything to do with the router setup/firmware, or if it is something to do with the way Ecobee implements wifi on their device.

 

[TonyH]

Yes, the Ecobee is setup with a DHCP Reservation tied to a fixed IP address.

I installed Ecobee at my daughter's cabin which sits empty quite often. Haven't had problem. Maybe you should try different channel on the 2.4GHz radio or check signal strength at 'stat end? At home I have Honeywell Redline gateway which also works without any problems.

 

[RMerlin]

Set the 2.4 GHz band to 20 MHz, and use a fixed channel, either 1, 6 or 11. Use a tool such as Inssider or Wifi Analyzer to determine which of the three is less likely to have interference.

Also disable beamforming on the 2.4 GHz band if it was enabled.

 

[MXM]

I installed Ecobee at my daughter's cabin which sits empty quite often. Haven't had problem. Maybe you should try different channel on the 2.4GHz radio or check signal strength at 'stat end? At home I have Honeywell Redline gateway which also works without any problems.

Currently, 2.4 band is using Ch 4 but that was auto selected by the router. The thermostat is showing a signal strength of 90-100%.

 

[MXM]

Set the 2.4 GHz band to 20 MHz, and use a fixed channel, either 1, 6 or 11. Use a tool such as Inssider or Wifi Analyzer to determine which of the three is less likely to have interference.

Also disable beamforming on the 2.4 GHz band if it was enabled.

OK, I set the 2.4 band to 20 MHz... On Ch 1... I have InSSIDer and used it... My Ecobee sees the signal strength as 90-100 %. InSSIDer running on a laptop near the Ecobee sees a RSSI of -40db... The closest interference comes in at -80db....

On the beamforming, I see two options on the router Wireless-Professional page.... Universal Beamforming and Explicit Beamforming. Should I disable both?

 

[bodean]

On the beamforming, I see two options on the router Wireless-Professional page.... Universal Beamforming and Explicit Beamforming. Should I disable both?

yes

 

[TonyH]

Currently, 2.4 band is using Ch 4 but that was auto selected by the router. The thermostat is showing a signal strength of 90-100%.

Also I notice with our furnace Carrier 96% high efficiency model gives out marginal random noise level interfering with wireless signals. when heat or cooling is called for. I can notice it on the live streaming but wife who watches it most does not seem to notice. WiFi connection is never lost. So I leave it at that. Furnace is located in the basement.

 

[sfx2000]

Again - it's a lot of log noise, but as long as the clients are working, it's all good - DHCP packages aren't that much in the larger scheme of things - and DNSMasq has known issues like this...

Worst case - take the offending client and disable DHCP on it if possible, and the problem goes away...

 

[MXM]

OK, I set the 2.4 band to 20 MHz... On Ch 1... I have InSSIDer and used it... My Ecobee sees the signal strength as 90-100 %. InSSIDer running on a laptop near the Ecobee sees a RSSI of -40db... The closest interference comes in at -80db....

On the beamforming, I see two options on the router Wireless-Professional page.... Universal Beamforming and Explicit Beamforming. Should I disable both?

Tried all this for the past couple of hours.... No effect on the problem.... Everything persisted as before...

Neither heat or AC used for the past couple of days, so, no "equipment noise" to speak of...

I don't believe it is a WiFi signal issue because none of my other 3 clients on the 2.4 band are experiencing the same problem. The router shos the Ecobee signal at -39 dBm, steady with no changes. But the Ecobee connection Flags are always at PS AU.

It has to be something in the way Ecobee implements their WiFi, or some issue with the router firmware. But not sure what else I can do to track this down...