Moca adapters causing router to hang up

[cicatriz63]

Hi everyone, I recently picked up a pair of ASUS MA-25 moca 2.5 adapters to extend my network to my upstairs office, and I'm having some issues that is driving me crazy. None of the coax in the house is in use and I have about a 50ft run of ethernet from the router and then a direct connection between the 2 adapters with about 75ft of RG-6. When I plug the adapters in they connect almost immediately and seem to work as expected. I have an Asus GT-AX6000 which has 2 2.5gb ports on it and shows active at the correct speed and I get great speeds on the other end. Now the problem I'm having is that seeming randomly the router will just lock up for few seconds and all internet will hang and even the router web interface will become inaccessible and the adapter on the router side will appear to reboot itself. In the router log the only indication of an issue is this:
Mar 4 10:57:59 kernel: eth5 (Int switch port: 6) (Logical Port: 6) (phyId: 13) Link DOWN.
Mar 4 10:57:59 kernel: ^[[0;34m[NTC xport] xport_reset: rc = 0; intf = 3 port = 2 spd = 2.5G dup = 1
Mar 4 10:57:59 kernel: ^[[0m

Sometimes more than once in a row which I'm guessing is whats causing it to hang. If I unplug the ethernet cable that's going to the adapter while the router is hung up it will immediately become responsive again. I've also tried connecting to one of the regular 1gb ports and the same issue happens. I've tested all of the cables with a fluke ciq-100 and everything tests ok. I've had the router for a few weeks now and have had absolutely no issues with it until I introduced these adapters. Anyone have any idea what might be causing this? These adapters are relatively new and there's not much information on them, and as far as I can tell there is no web interface or firmware updates. At this point I'm ready to send the adapters back and try another pair.

 

[krkaufman]

How is your Internet being delivered … cable, DSL, fiber, Starlink, other?

If applicable, what’s the brand & model # of your modem?

You’re certain that the two adapters are connected via a direct, isolated coax line?

Do you have a wireless extender connected via the new MoCA link, one that hasn’t yet been reconfigured to strictly an access point? What *is* connected to the remote adapter when the symptoms are seen?

 

[cicatriz63]

Sorry meant to mention that. Recently switched from Comcast to fiber, using the ISPs ont connected to the asus router. I'm 99% sure there is no other splitters since I disconnected the run from the main splitter to go directly into the moca adapter, but I'm 100% sure there is no other device connected to the coax. the client on the other side of the is just a PC with a USB 2.5gb adapter that connects correctly at 2.5gb when it is working and speeds seem normal. I have also tried connected to the onboard 1gb port with the same results. No wireless extenders...was hoping the moca adapters would eliminate the need for them...

 

[drinkingbird]

Sorry meant to mention that. Recently switched from Comcast to fiber, using the ISPs ont connected to the asus router. I'm 99% sure there is no other splitters since I disconnected the run from the main splitter to go directly into the moca adapter, but I'm 100% sure there is no other device connected to the coax. the client on the other side of the is just a PC with a USB 2.5gb adapter that connects correctly at 2.5gb when it is working and speeds seem normal. I have also tried connected to the onboard 1gb port with the same results. No wireless extenders...was hoping the moca adapters would eliminate the need for them...

Sounds like maybe that adapter is faulty, it could be causing a brief bridge loop or broadcast storm when it reboots itself spiking the router CPU to 100% and/or saturating the switch. Hard to say if the reboot is causing the problem or if the problem is causing the reboot. You could try rebooting the MOCA adapter manually and see if it happens then, mostly out of curiosity.

I recall some Lenovo NICs (I think) would take the router down when the PC went to sleep. Not sure anyone ever figured out what the cause was, but it was similar.

Sounds like trying a different pair is probably your best bet. Maybe look at the Actiontec ones as those are pretty well established at this point.

 

[krkaufman]

Have you tried just a simple direct-connect of the two adapters via a short coax cable — coax-only to start?

If/when the adapters link, connect one via Ethernet to a router LAN port … and wait … tio see if the router reacts negatively.

if all’s well, then connect the other adapter to a GigE-capable computer via Ethernet (ideally a computer lacking any wireless capability or with Wi-Fi diasabled), and wait to see if the router reacts negatively. At some point, run some Internet speed tests to assess throughput.

If the OP issue is MoCA-related, the above simple test should produce the same instability.

 

[eunhahaha]

A friend of mine recently encountered a similar issue while using MA-25 at his house.

And after we changed the IP of the router, it has been working fine, maybe you could also try to change the IP.

 

[cicatriz63]

Have you tried just a simple direct-connect of the two adapters via a short coax cable — coax-only to start?

If/when the adapters link, connect one via Ethernet to a router LAN port … and wait … tio see if the router reacts negatively.

if all’s well, then connect the other adapter to a GigE-capable computer via Ethernet (ideally a computer lacking any wireless capability or with Wi-Fi diasabled), and wait to see if the router reacts negatively. At some point, run some Internet speed tests to assess throughput.

If the OP issue is MoCA-related, the above simple test should produce the same instability.

So I did do some testing and I think I ruled out Moca being the issue. Even with just adapters connected to ethernet and no coax, the issue still occurs. What's weird is it happens with both adapters, so it looks to me to be an issue between the router and these particular adapters.

A friend of mine recently encountered a similar issue while using MA-25 at his house.

And after we changed the IP of the router, it has been working fine, maybe you could also try to change the IP.

Interesting. I didn't think to try that. I already sent them back and I'm going to order a set of the screenbeams. I'll post an update if that resolves the issue or make another post in the asus forum if the issue continues.

 

[krkaufman]

A friend of mine recently encountered a similar issue while using MA-25 at his house.

And after we changed the IP of the router, it has been working fine, maybe you could also try to change the IP.

Interesting. I wonder what the default IP address is for the MA-25 adapters.

edit: per redditor hcw45: “the default IP address is 192.168.50.1, login setting : admin / 12345”

 

[cicatriz63]

Interesting. I wonder what the default IP address is for the MA-25 adapters.

edit: per redditor hcw45: “the default IP address is 192.168.50.1, login setting : admin / 12345”

Interesting! That very well could be the issue! I could not find any documentation about the web interface for the adapters and the setup instructions from Asus basically say "plug em in". Now I wish I still had them to test. I wonder why asus thought it was a good idea to make that the default IP when that is the default lan settings for pretty much all Asus routers.

 

[krkaufman]

when that is the default lan settings for pretty much all Asus routers.

That was my next question … What was your router’s IP address? Is it actually 192.168.50.1?

And, yeah, if this is the root cause, somebody at ASUS clearly didn’t understand the role of these adapters … and they obviously didn’t do much/any testing, at least with their own routers. Difficult to fathom, if so.

edit: Evidence supporting the above as the default router IP:

​

ASUS > Support > FAQ :: [Wireless Router] How to enter the router setting page(Web GUI) (ASUSWRT) ?​

…​

2. Enter the LAN IP address of the router in browser. Ex: Http://192.168.50.1​

 

[drinkingbird]

Interesting. I wonder what the default IP address is for the MA-25 adapters.

edit: per redditor hcw45: “the default IP address is 192.168.50.1, login setting : admin / 12345”

Yep, that'll definitely do it. Duplicate IP address (assuming OP's router is newer and using the 192.168.50.1 and not 192.168.1.1).

 

[cicatriz63]

That was my next question … What was your router’s IP address? Is it actually 192.168.50.1?

And, yeah, if this is the root cause, somebody at ASUS clearly didn’t understand the role of these adapters … and they obviously didn’t do much/any testing, at least with their own routers. Difficult to fathom, if so.

edit: Evidence supporting the above as the default router IP:

​

ASUS > Support > FAQ :: [Wireless Router] How to enter the router setting page(Web GUI) (ASUSWRT) ?​

…​

2. Enter the LAN IP address of the router in browser. Ex: Http://192.168.50.1​

Yep, can confirm that is the routers ip, and has been the default IP for every Asus router I've ever used. I'm also surprised there isn't more in the logs on the router about a conflict. Even more annoying is that Asus advertises these devices as specifically not needing to access a web GUI to set up, when if they would have just included that info this entire problem could have been avoided.

 

[krkaufman]

Yep, can confirm that is the routers ip, and has been the default IP for every Asus router I've ever used. I'm also surprised there isn't more in the logs on the router about a conflict. Even more annoying is that Asus advertises these devices as specifically not needing to access a web GUI to set up, when if they would have just included that info this entire problem could have been avoided.

Heh, I suppose if I’d used any ASUS router after the RT-N66U I might have recognized the issue sooner, back when I first saw that post. I do recall thinking the 192.168.* address range was a different choice from what I’d seen for other vendors, but was still under the impression that routers typically just used 192.168.1 or .0, or 10.*.

Good thread. Sorry for your troubles.

 

[drinkingbird]

Yep, can confirm that is the routers ip, and has been the default IP for every Asus router I've ever used. I'm also surprised there isn't more in the logs on the router about a conflict. Even more annoying is that Asus advertises these devices as specifically not needing to access a web GUI to set up, when if they would have just included that info this entire problem could have been avoided.

I think they changed to 50.1 from 1.1 with a more recent code base on certain routers. Pretty sure my RT-AC1900 was 192.168.1.1 but I haven't used the default IP since the day I got it. I don't like using 192 on anything since so many vendors use it and most use 192.168.0 or 192.168.1. I prefer something in the 10.x space since it is far more rare to see that (and it has a lot more subnets to choose from). 172.x is also a bit safer than 192 but I've seen it used too.

You would think the log would notify you of the duplicate IP, but maybe have to bump up the log level, or maybe that's just an oversight on their part. Most OS's will warn you right away when it is detected (but only if it overlaps with their own IP, not if there are two devices elsewhere on the LAN with the same IP).

In reality they should treat a MOCA adapter the same way a smart plug or other IOT device works, it should grab DHCP and only if it can't do that, then default back to some other pre-defined IP. Shame on them in this case ESPECIALLY since they know damn well the IP is already used by their own products. Probably two different teams and one coincidentally picked 50 thinking routers always use 1 or something.

 

[To the ocean]

I think ASUS always has the default IP that's right
192.168.50.1

 

[drinkingbird]

I think ASUS always has the default IP that's right
192.168.50.1

Some of the older routers use 192.168.1.1. And something like a MOCA adapter that they know will be plugging into their own router should not have a statically defined IP that is the same, unless it is only for failback (when it can't get DHCP). Even then, they should pick an IP that isn't commonly in use on their own hardware.

 

[cicatriz63]

Some of the older routers use 192.168.1.1. And something like a MOCA adapter that they know will be plugging into their own router should not have a statically defined IP that is the same, unless it is only for failback (when it can't get DHCP). Even then, they should pick an IP that isn't commonly in use on their own hardware.

I did look also look through the connected devices list to see if it could see it grabbing a dhcp address and couldn't find it. I also googled what the default IP might be but came up empty and just assumed there wasn't an interface. Sucks too because when they did work they worked well, I considered ordering another pair to try but decided against it in case that's not actually the problem. I have a pair of screenbeams on they way and I'll update if any more issues.

 

[krkaufman]

I considered ordering another pair to try but decided against it in case that's not actually the problem.

Meh, order ‘‘em and return ‘em again after testing; ASUS can write it off as basic testing they should have done before release. (I was pondering doing so just so I could write a legit review on their Amazon page.)

 

[To the ocean]

Some of the older routers use 192.168.1.1. And something like a MOCA adapter that they know will be plugging into their own router should not have a statically defined IP that is the same, unless it is only for failback (when it can't get DHCP). Even then, they should pick an IP that isn't commonly in use on their own hardware.

oh yes, thanks for the information, some older routers are 192.168.1.1