Network testing: Blink Network: Connection Failed

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Volusiano

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 24, 2011
Messages
1,461
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I had my Blink installed 3 weeks ago and the network tested out fine. It also pushed the L2R.1.5.A upon start up, and the wireless network connection tested out fine afterward as well. Then I turned it off for 3 weeks and plugged it in again last night to begin using since I finally took delivery of my Leaf last night. But now the network test passed everything except for the last test, "Blink Network -> Connection Failed" happens consistently. Called Blink CS this morning and they had us try a number of things with no luck. They now want me to remove my router's security password to see if it works. I'll do that when I get home tonight. Blink CS said if it doesn't work, they'll escalate my ticket up to a higher tier.

In the mean time, I wonder if anybody experienced the same thing, and what was your solution? Thanks.
 
Since it worked for you before, there's a good chance it'll work for you again; the router restart sounds like a good idea.

Me, it never worked; I could get an address from DHCP, but the last status (local network connection, I think?) would stay red.

My solution, which the Blink support guys thought might be necessary, was to get a powerline interface adapter (two actually, one plugged into the router), plugged into the LAN port on the Blink, and use that instead of the wireless link.

So if the restart doesn't do it, you might want to consider that.
 
lonndoggie said:
Since it worked for you before, there's a good chance it'll work for you again; the router restart sounds like a good idea.

Me, it never worked; I could get an address from DHCP, but the last status (local network connection, I think?) would stay red.

My solution, which the Blink support guys thought might be necessary, was to get a powerline interface adapter (two actually, one plugged into the router), plugged into the LAN port on the Blink, and use that instead of the wireless link.

So if the restart doesn't do it, you might want to consider that.
If the wireless connection has not worked at installation time, the tech would have already given me the hardware for the powerline interface adapter. He had it right there with him and even showed it to me. But because it worked just fine upon installation, he didn't give me that. I kinda wished he had.
 
There's something stinky about the Blink's DHCP client. I didn't quite put a finger on it, but it never worked right. It would connect sometimes, not others, or lose the (hardwired) connection after a few hours. I hardcoded the IP address (netmask, etc) in the Blink, and now it's connected 100%.
 
GroundLoop said:
There's something stinky about the Blink's DHCP client. I didn't quite put a finger on it, but it never worked right. It would connect sometimes, not others, or lose the (hardwired) connection after a few hours. I hardcoded the IP address (netmask, etc) in the Blink, and now it's connected 100%.
That's what I finally did. I was lucky that I already had a CAT5 drop in the garage, but even with that, DHCP would fail regularly. I switched to a static IP and it's been better.
 
davewill said:
GroundLoop said:
There's something stinky about the Blink's DHCP client. I didn't quite put a finger on it, but it never worked right. It would connect sometimes, not others, or lose the (hardwired) connection after a few hours. I hardcoded the IP address (netmask, etc) in the Blink, and now it's connected 100%.
That's what I finally did. I was lucky that I already had a CAT5 drop in the garage, but even with that, DHCP would fail regularly. I switched to a static IP and it's been better.

Even with static IP the Network Test will fail sometimes. For me, it usually takes 5-10 attempts to get a pass on everything. But, even if the test failed I am still able to access the blink from my computer. I would not trust the test.

I just turned the blink back on after a month and a half. It did the firmware upgrade and I can connect to it just fine. Did the network test and it took 4 "retry test" to get passed on everything. I love the new brightness and power save feature.

Note: Select a static IP outside of the set DHCP server range of your router. You will avoid IP conflicts.
 
Interesting that you guys had such a hard time with DHCP. That wasn't (and isn't) an issue for me; it would fail the test no matter if I used a static IP or DHCP, and both would either fail 100%, or pass everything but the last test (connection to local network, I think it was called--even though it was connected, and I could see it in the router's client list).

I took a peek inside, mainly to check that the antenna was well-connected. I think it was, but it was hard to tell, given that the antenna is just a small snippet of fine wire plugged in to a small connector on one board and taped to the back of another. It's amazing it works at all.

With it hardwired, I'm using DHCP, and the only hiccups I've had are that new 502 error others have reported that started after the latest firmware push. Before the update, it was rock solid.

Also cool that an installer even had a powerline adapter. Mine pretty much gave up and told me to call Blink.
 
My Blink unit works well for charging the Leaf, but it always fails the Network Test, and I can't connect to it locally - only via the Blink website dashboard. Also I've set electricity rates via the web Dashboard, but the Blink unit doesn't appear to get the data.

(working image link added June 20)
DSCN1897.jpg


I tried rebooting my wireless router (Apple AirPort), but no change in status. Yet despite the LAN, DNS, and Blink network failures that the unit reports (see picture), Blink is getting regular updates, and I can access the data from my Blink Dashboard on the web. I have not been able to connect directly to it with the IP address it gives me.

Today, Blink Tech Support told me I might need a new SD card in the unit, but they also noted that my unit is sending its GPS location very frequently. He said usually the Blink units just report GPS location once (since it's fixed in one spot at installation) - but apparently mine seems to be sending location every 10-15 minutes or so (he wasn't specific). Someone may come out with a new SD card if they can't figure out another fix.

Should my electrical rates be visible from the Blink unit after I set them on the web Dashboard? also does anyone have any suggestions for why these 3 errors show up on the Network Test, and why I can't access via LAN (presumably related)?
 
A couple times my Blink seemed to lose its wifi connection, and the quick fix was to push the "WPS" (Wifi protected setup) button on my router, then run the network tests again. For whatever reason the Blink decides to play nice again. Worth a try if you have that option.
 
camasleaf said:
I just turned the blink back on after a month and a half. It did the firmware upgrade and I can connect to it just fine. Did the network test and it took 4 "retry test" to get passed on everything. I love the new brightness and power save feature.

+1! I just wish someone from ECOtality had told me about the 'Sleep mode and Brightness' options firmware upgrade. I love the 10%. I sure didn't need it lighting up the whole garage and drawing every bug in the neighborhood!
 
Hey guys, I worked with the Blink customer support some more tonight (I'm amazed to hear they say that they're open 24/7 365 days a year), and they said that they finally figured out the problem (or so they think). They said it was because some kind of id numbers don't match for me in their database, so that's why it could never connect. I'm not sure if this is really the cause or not, because it used to work just fine on installation day. But I'll wait until tomorrow when they will have updated the record to see if it really solves the problem once and for all or not.
 
It seems that last update fixed my connection problem. It used to take many tries to find our network, but this time, after the updates, it did it the first time. I'm so glad I don't have to leave the light burning anymore. I set it to one minute and it's great! Has anyone tested the power consumption with 10% brightness and in 'sleep' mode?
 
Volusiano said:
In the mean time, I wonder if anybody experienced the same thing, and what was your solution?
Hard-wire an ethernet connection and use a static IP address. Blink called me this week because they want to come out to install a "Cisco Valet." I know that a Cisco Valet is another wireless router, but I already explained to them that I'm running two (different model) Netgear routers less than 5 feet away from the Blink and that it's just deaf.

I decided to pick up a Netgear WNCE2001 wifi-to-ethernet adapter from Best Buy, opened up my Blink and unplugged the CDMA modem from the USB plug, and plugged in the adapter into the USB plug for the power and unplugged the ethernet cable from the external port and plug it into the adapter as well. It's had a rock-solid 802.11n connection ever since!
 
LEAFfan said:
It seems that last update fixed my connection problem. It used to take many tries to find our network, but this time, after the updates, it did it the first time. I'm so glad I don't have to leave the light burning anymore. I set it to one minute and it's great! Has anyone tested the power consumption with 10% brightness and in 'sleep' mode?

Before the update with 100% brightness compared to sleep mode is a difference of about 6 watts. Not insignificant over a 24/7/365 scenario. It's a 37.5% drop. :mrgreen:

This data comes from my TED, which has proven to be pretty darn accurate.
 
Volusiano said:
Hey guys, I worked with the Blink customer support some more tonight (I'm amazed to hear they say that they're open 24/7 365 days a year), and they said that they finally figured out the problem (or so they think). They said it was because some kind of id numbers don't match for me in their database, so that's why it could never connect. I'm not sure if this is really the cause or not, because it used to work just fine on installation day. But I'll wait until tomorrow when they will have updated the record to see if it really solves the problem once and for all or not.
Well, I called back and talked to another Blink CS tech today and he said that id mismatch wasn't the cause of the problem (contradicting the other guy from yesterday). He said it looks like I may need that power line interface adapter after all, so he's going to have their contractor come out and install one for me.
 
Jimmydreams said:
LEAFfan said:
It seems that last update fixed my connection problem. It used to take many tries to find our network, but this time, after the updates, it did it the first time. I'm so glad I don't have to leave the light burning anymore. I set it to one minute and it's great! Has anyone tested the power consumption with 10% brightness and in 'sleep' mode?

Before the update with 100% brightness compared to sleep mode is a difference of about 6 watts. Not insignificant over a 24/7/365 scenario. It's a 37.5% drop. :mrgreen:
This data comes from my TED, which has proven to be pretty darn accurate.

Thanks Jimmy. So now with 10% brightness and one minute sleep mode, it will use about 9W? Was it around 15W before?
 
LEAFfan said:
Jimmydreams said:
LEAFfan said:
It seems that last update fixed my connection problem. It used to take many tries to find our network, but this time, after the updates, it did it the first time. I'm so glad I don't have to leave the light burning anymore. I set it to one minute and it's great! Has anyone tested the power consumption with 10% brightness and in 'sleep' mode?

Before the update with 100% brightness compared to sleep mode is a difference of about 6 watts. Not insignificant over a 24/7/365 scenario. It's a 37.5% drop. :mrgreen:
This data comes from my TED, which has proven to be pretty darn accurate.

Thanks Jimmy. So now with 10% brightness and one minute sleep mode, it will use about 9W? Was it around 15W before?

I was getting 16 watts before, 10 watts now in sleep mode.
 
Volusiano said:
Volusiano said:
Hey guys, I worked with the Blink customer support some more tonight (I'm amazed to hear they say that they're open 24/7 365 days a year), and they said that they finally figured out the problem (or so they think). They said it was because some kind of id numbers don't match for me in their database, so that's why it could never connect. I'm not sure if this is really the cause or not, because it used to work just fine on installation day. But I'll wait until tomorrow when they will have updated the record to see if it really solves the problem once and for all or not.
Well, I called back and talked to another Blink CS tech today and he said that id mismatch wasn't the cause of the problem (contradicting the other guy from yesterday). He said it looks like I may need that power line interface adapter after all, so he's going to have their contractor come out and install one for me.

here's something to keep in mind - if the electrical outlet near your router and the electrical outlet in your garage happen to be on different phases, the powerline boxes might not be able to communicate with one another. nowadays a couple of companies make powerline phase bridges that plug into any available 220V socket and make a high-impedance connection between the two phases which allows the powerline signal to propagate. hopefully the tech will have some of those, or you might call again and discuss the possible need for a bridge to make sure they have one when they show up.

i was just about to deploy something like this, because at the shipped firmware revision (maybe 1.5 or before, i can't remember), the blink apparently could associate with my WPA2 network, but then could not see the rest of the network, or the internet. this may or may not be because of the password i am using (per Blink CS, but i really doubt this) or it could be due to the fact that i have two wireless access points with the same name and security settings (this is how you extend a wireless network if you have a wired network spanning physically disparate parts of your house). i had to drag an extension cord from a socket inside the house out to the garage to get the powerline network going. over the wired connection, the blink immediately upgraded it's firmware to 1.6 and after that it was able to hook up over wifi. so they must have fixed some bugs in 1.6.

incidentally it took almost 20 minutes to upgrade the firmware (stuck on the "upgrading firmware screen") i really thought it had wedged up for a while there.

i feel bad for the installers because probably most people won't have the network resources to bootstrap the blink to the new firmware which is apparently a little more robust wifi-wise.

now that i think about it more, the problem could well have been the 2 channels advertising the same name - i got 2 networks with the same name showing up on 1.5, but just one network on 1.6.
 
Back
Top