We are finally connected to hi speed internet, thanks to Fibrus and all seems well, but we have hit a wall when it comes to connecting our unsmart tv.
We have got as far as connecting our Goodmans Freeview box to the eero router using a WLAN cable. The freeview box shows up in the Eero app as a device called Digital TelemediaCo Ltd and it shows it as connected to the Internet.
We have then gone to the Freeview box settings using the remote control and gone to Internet Connection. It shows DHCP as enabled but when we press “test” it shows “no internet connection “.
Anyone know what to do next?
TIA…
1. Restart it
2. Try another cable
Thanks! Tried both those with the same result.
Anyone else?
New telly time?
@stumpyjon that’s a possibility we are considering.
Since the Freeview box has a WLAN socket and a thing in settings for internet connection we thought it should be possible to use it l. We think it has to do with putting in the internet password but we have no idea how to do this.
Try connecting another device to the router with the same cable.
if it works then you know the cable and router are fine and your Goodmans box is the problem.
Can you connect the box via WiFi?
I said it a bit tongue in cheek but previous experience for me usually results in new after battling with old obsolete tech.
using a WLAN cable.
Using a what now? Are you sure about that?
What's connected to what using what connections? What else is available? Be specific, don't guess. Photos would be ideal.
... did it work previously? What's changed other than the Internet provision?
Firestick's are £25 in the Black Friday sale on Amazon.
Job jobbed.
Buy a roku dongle
Using a what now? Are you sure about that?
it’s an ethernet cable. It plugs into the Freeview box at one end and the other plugs into the eero device which goes to the wifi box.
The Freeview connects to the telly via a HDMI cable and works normally.
@cougar we previously just used it as a standard tv with Freeview box connected to the aerial on the roof .
The tv is a Panasonic and we like it.
Yes, a firesticky type device will be the next step.
Thanks all!
What are you aiming to achieve by connecting the Goodmans Freeview box to the internet?
Does it have ‘smart’ functions with Apps for Netflix, Apple, Prime, Jellyfin, and so on? This is not said but does seem to be implied by you connecting it.
Is the Fibrus box just an ONT with the eero set up providing DHCP and NAT? Asking as 2 routers in sequence can create some interesting situations.
unless your non-smart TV is excellent then I’d go along with what others have said and after reading the STW OLED thread pop out to John Lewis, Richer Sounds, or CostCo and grab a new monster LG OLED in the ongoing sales.
If your TV is awesome then getting, forgive me, a fast Firestick might be a good move.
What are you aiming to achieve by connecting the Goodmans Freeview box to the internet?
That's a really good question. I'd (probably mistakenly) assumed that it was for streaming TV, but a freeview box is just a decoder for a terrestrial aerial. It shouldn't be necessary unless either it also does something else or the TV is ancient. And really, anything which doesn't have an inbuilt DTV tuner is surely ready for the scrapheap, my last CRT could do that.
Is the Fibrus box just an ONT with the eero set up providing DHCP and NAT? Asking as 2 routers in sequence can create some interesting situations.
We really need a proper description of exactly what the setup is and what the end goal is supposed to be. "A box with a wire that doesn't work" is impossible to diagnose remotely.
Not familiar with your router but as you are referring to your Ethernet/LAN cable incorrectly as WLAN cable, just check it's in a LAN port, not a WAN port.
Having been through similar with a recalcitrant early generation Smart TV.
The answer was Fire Stick (or similar) and that will give you various streaming apps (paid and free) through it's onboard software.
If the TV still works and you're happy with it then binning the telly is probably a secondary option as you could buy some nice new winter riding kit with the cash you don't spend on the TV. 😉
Of course a new TV will be much nicer but more to life than telly!
Probably the answer is a firestick. But...it could be the Goodmans box is missing some firmware updates, if you've had it a while. This will involve trawling the web for the latest firmware and uploading it using a USB stick, if you can be bothered.
Turn it off and on again innit 👍
Es
Top picture: back of Freeview box. Connects to Eero box via the white cable which I was calling WLAN cable coz that’s what google showed me when I typed that in. Ethernet cable? I dunno, I am old.
TV connects to Freeview box via HDMI cable which gives us HD telly through our tv aerial.
Bottom pic: Back of Eero box. 2 identical sockets. One cable goes to Freeview box, the other to the Fibrus broadband router.
we just wanna get the Iplayer up on our tv. The Freeview menu shows it as an option and in the settings you have an internet setup menu too.
What model of Goodmans box?
@garage-dweller thanks for your advice, it looks like a firestick is the easiest fix. Nowt wrong with the telly!
@oceanskipper Freeview +HD serial no. GV101YRH32. It has a 320GB drive.
On the Goodmans do those very small LEDs just above the network port light up at all - yellow one and a green one…???
Excellent, thanks for that.
Take the cable to the router out of the Eero and plug it directly into the Goodmans (temporarily as a troubleshooting step, not permanently). Does it then work or not?
Can you see what the network settings actually are - maybe in the system info? Or change that DHCP option to something else (static probably) and hit save and then change it back to DHCP and then restart the Goodmans. Your cabling setup is correct by the way.
If you have a laptop handy and can open a cmd prompt on it it might be possible to give you settings to put in instead of using the DHCP option…
@cougar done: same results as in pics above (plus loss of connection to stw 😁)
@oceanskipper the DHCP doesn’t appear to be changeable, only enable/disable.
The network settings show up in the eero app, I will add the screenshots.
@cougar same result as in the pics above (plus got disconnected from stw!)
@oceanskipper unfortunately the dhcp option seems to be fixed, just enabled/disabled
The network settings show up in the eero app and I will attach screenshots…
Test post…
@cougar same results with the cable plugged directly into the Fibrus box 👍
Rather irritatingly this thread appears to be broken - I can see you have replied @neilthewheel but the posts are not showing up here. I can see what you've written by looking at your profile though. Try changing the DHCP to disabled and restart. Go back into the internet connection setup after that and have a look/try the connection.
Cool, we seem to be able to post again. @oceanskipper @cougar I am going to eat my tea and continue after. Speak later and thank you for your patience.
So looking at your screen shots, it appears the IP address of your Freeview box is 192.168.4.28
Although not necessarily wrong, it's not what I would expect to see - the majority are 192.168.1.something
I suspect the "Default Gateway" isn't correct on the Freeview box - hence it doesn't know how connect to the outside world.
As suggested already, try to refresh the IP by disabling / enabling dhcp / restarting / etc
Unless you can force a refresh via the eero app?
Fibre to the home connections often have a /22 subnet and a DHCP range of 192.168.4.1 to 192.168.5.254. The gateway is likely to be .1 rather than the usual .254 Possibly the Goodmans just assumes .254 is the gateway. Hard to tell if it won’t cough up the settings is has.
Back again, disable/restart hadn’t worked. I can change the IP settings in the eero app but don’t know what to choose!
I wouldn’t change any IP settings in the Eero. However , what is that TV profile? Are you sure it’s not “paused” . I would delete the TV profile. No need for any profiles on the Eero unless you want to turn the Internet off for a bunch of devices all at once…
@oceanskipper ah. I see. I have turned it off. It wasn’t paused.
Hmm. Short of testing it on another network or factory resetting it I’m out of suggestions I’m afraid.
@martinhutch I think you have the right answer. Just looked in the software and it's version 1.1.
I have downloaded the updated software and plugged the usb stick into the box and it's saying "upgr" so I hope it's working....
@oceanskipper you've been a big help!
Right.
We've ruled out dual NAT (as someone else was hinted at) and indeed Eero-related issues generally.
The IP address is fine. It could suggest that the Eero is acting as a router rather than a bridge but 192.168.[anything] is a normal local address and whilst .0.x and .1.x are common it's at the whims of the device manufacturer. In any case, it doesn't really matter.
The freeview box shows up in the Eero app as a device called Digital TelemediaCo Ltd and it shows it as connected to the Internet.
Yeah.
As far as the Eero device is concerned, the box is receiving an IP address. Which means it should work. I wonder, can you ping it? Open a command prompt on a computer and type `ping 192.168.4.28`
We have then gone to the Freeview box settings using the remote control and gone to Internet Connection. It shows DHCP as enabled but when we press “test” it shows “no internet connection “.
There is a firmware update for it. That might be worth trying, it feels like the sort of issue that updates might fix. https://goodmans.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/212615225-GV101YRH32-50-10-Software-Update (you can buy a 2GB pendrive for like two quid).
I have to ask, have you actually tried an app? It's possible that everything is working aside from the test routine.
@cougar hi again cougar, yes we tried iplayer which is selectable on the goodmans menu but it just goes to blank.
I have installed the firmware update, same results.
I will plug the laptop in tomorrow and try pinging the address.
I'm increasingly of the mind that it's buggered.
It's wholly plausible that the software was woefully out of date, apps especially tend to want the latest version of the client. I have a Samsung smart TV which obsolesced itself in months because it needed an update to... Netflix I think? The app just stopped working because the newer client never became available. I was hoping that for you an update would've fixed any such shenanigans but seemingly not.
Replying to pings is optional. A lack of a reply proves nothing, but if it does reply then it's definitely on the network at least.
I had thought you were on to a winner with a firmware update. It’s v odd that the only DHCP option is enabled or disabled. Without allowing access to any other network settings, disabling DHCP is pointless. I mean if you wanted the device to not be on the network you would simply unplug it. It would be interesting to see if you could run a continuous ping on it and then disable DHCP and restart it to see if it retained its IP address and started responding again (assuming it responds to a ping in the first place - some devices don’t). Also, out of interest, what IP settings can you change in the Eero app for that specific device?
It’s possible that CGNAT is causing a problem or it’s using a non-standard port for streaming. You’d need to test it on another network first (non FTTH ideally to rule out CGNAT) to make sure it does actually work.
I’m inclined to agree with @Cougar that it’s buggered at this point though.
are you 100% sure that setting DHCP to disabled and then restarting the device does not give access to other settings via the System menu option? The manual seems to imply that it should allow you to… Make sure you hit “confirm “ after changing it..
At the risk of tempting fate in being proven Monday Morning Pre-Coffee Wrong,
Not once in my life have I seen "set a static IP address on the client" be the correct solution to a networking issue. As a troubleshooting step, sure, but if it's not getting settings via DHCP then we need to understand why.
That white box that it's plugged into - The Eero I think - Is that a physical termination of a fibre connection?
If so, I don't think devices should be connected to it directly, I suspect you're now plugged into a diagnostic port.
Can you plug the TV into your router instead?
At the risk of tempting fate in being proven Monday Morning Pre-Coffee Wrong,
Not once in my life have I seen "set a static IP address on the client" be the correct solution to a networking issue. As a troubleshooting step, sure, but if it's not getting settings via DHCP then we need to understand why.
Yeah - I'm hoping it would reveal what it's currently set to or at least allow a gateway to be configured for testing. But I agree bypassing DHCP is rarely a solution to a networking issue. It's odd as the device appears to have an address from DHCP as displayed on the Eero.
That white box that it's plugged into - The Eero I think - Is that a physical termination of a fibre connection?
If so, I don't think devices should be connected to it directly, I suspect you're now plugged into a diagnostic port.
Can you plug the TV into your router instead?
The Eero is the wireless router. There is a fibre modem upstream of that and we have tried plugging directly into it.
Well folks, my wife went down to Argos an bought a Roku stick so I don’t think we’re ever gonna get to the bottom of why the Goodmans box wouldn’t cooperate. I did think about ringing their tech support but meh.
Thanks again for giving it some thought. Stand by for my next discussion: “Help! How do you set up a Roku stick!”….