MoCA Adapters Broke my Fios One Mini Connections

[stevetrigs]

After installing a MoCA adapter to my home network (to bolster the backhaul from my Unifi mesh access points), the two Mini STB's that were connected via WiFi totally lost their connection and have been bricked. Whether I connect them via coax or keep them on WiFi, they stop booting at "Preparing Network Connection." Coincidence, or did my MoCa adapters somehow break my STB's? I have the G3100 Fios router.

[Capricorn1 · Accepted solution]

I'm stumped. I'm wondering if you are facing issues with the number of MoCA adapters on your network.  The theoretical max is 16 devices, but I've seen recommendations not to exceed five. The 3100 and each STB has a built-in adapter, so if all seven other STBs connect via coax, you are at eight. Adding the two goCoax adapters puts that a 10.

Do you have the Ethernet from the ONT going to the Gateway Max or G3100?   

I'm assuming one Unifi Mesh is connected to the Gateway Max, and the other(s) was (were) using a wireless backhaul. Are the Fios Mini STBs connected to the Unifi Mesh for their wireless? (Rather than the G3100.) I have read that those (for some reason) need to get to the G3100 when they start up, but I don't know that for a fact. If that's the case, they must not be able to reach it. I'm still hazy about what the MoCA adapter could have to do with it.

I'll attach a drawing of what I think you have. Let me know if I'm close. (It may take a bit for the drawing to show up.)

[Capricorn1]

In general, adding MoCA adapters shouldn't affect the wireless network. Which MoCA adapter are you using? If you had to use a coax splitter to add the adapter, which one did you use? Is there a Verizon router in the mix? Where was the MoCA adapter added? A drawing of the chain of connections would be helpful.

Do the mini STBs work again if you return everything to your original hardware configuration? As a guess, I suspect that the MoCA adapter didn't mess up the wireless network, but it may have broken the mini-STB's ability to configure themselves from the Verizon router (assuming you have one).

[stevetrigs]

Using goCoax MoCA 2.5 adapters.  Yes - Cable Matters coax splitter, splitting the signal coming in to the house to the Verizon G3100 router and the MoCa adapter.  The MoCa adapter's ethernet run goes directly into a Unifi Gateway Max. 

Also, for what it's worth, I'm not using the Verizon's wifi network for my home network. The SSID is still broadcasted and it's there as a fallback if I ever need it, but the G3100 is connected to the Gateway Max, and I administer my own wifi network through Ubiquiti. 

I haven't tried returning everything to its original hardware config, but I guess I should as a troubleshooting measure. Verizon is sending me one replacement Mini STB today so I'll also see if hooking that up is successful. It's just odd that out of 9 STB's in my house, the two that stopped working were the two on wifi connections.

[Capricorn1 · Accepted solution]

I'm stumped. I'm wondering if you are facing issues with the number of MoCA adapters on your network.  The theoretical max is 16 devices, but I've seen recommendations not to exceed five. The 3100 and each STB has a built-in adapter, so if all seven other STBs connect via coax, you are at eight. Adding the two goCoax adapters puts that a 10.

Do you have the Ethernet from the ONT going to the Gateway Max or G3100?   

I'm assuming one Unifi Mesh is connected to the Gateway Max, and the other(s) was (were) using a wireless backhaul. Are the Fios Mini STBs connected to the Unifi Mesh for their wireless? (Rather than the G3100.) I have read that those (for some reason) need to get to the G3100 when they start up, but I don't know that for a fact. If that's the case, they must not be able to reach it. I'm still hazy about what the MoCA adapter could have to do with it.

I'll attach a drawing of what I think you have. Let me know if I'm close. (It may take a bit for the drawing to show up.)

[stevetrigs · Accepted solution]

UPDATE:  After spending 2 hours on the phone with an incredibly-helpful Technician (Jimmy), we determined that the MoCA adapters were indeed conflicting with the Fios network. Since the G3100 also has MoCA 2.5GhZ built-in, it appears that my MoCA adapters were conflicting with the Fios MoCA, and the STB's were connecting to the Ubiquiti gateway rather than the G3100.

The resolution was to pull out my MoCA adapters, he remotely pushed firmware updates down to the VMS and the affected two STB's, and voila! We were back up and running.

Now that all being said, he said I could hook up my Fios Network Extender (G3200, which I had still in the original box in my attic for the past 6 years), and essentially use that as a MoCA adapter for my Ubiquiti AP's.  But that doesn't work, and my Ubiquiti Gateway can't see the AP when it's plugged into the G3200. That's a problem for another day, but at least my STB's are back up and running.

[Capricorn1]

Is that extender a G3200 or E3200? I haven't heard of the former, but the latter model is common.

I don't know precisely how your coax is all wired or what else you have where the Ubiquiti APs are, so maybe this is a non-starter, but here's a question for you. Where the coax all comes together (presumably a large splitter or maybe two), would it be possible to disconnect the coax going to the Ubiquiti APs and hook those together on a separate splitter? That is, is it possible to isolate the coax between the APs and/or the Gateway Max and the farther AP(s) from the one the Verizon STBs use?  If that's possible, you could use the goCoax MoCA adapters on that separate coax that never touches the Verizon coax network (and vice versa). You would still get your backhaul to the APs, and the STBs would be off doing their own thing on a different MoCA LAN.

[stevetrigs]

E3200 - good catch. My apologies.

It's an interesting thought... But basically I have one main coax connection coming into the house which now goes directly into the Fios G3100 router. I had a splitter installed prior to the router, with one coax connection going to the router and the other connection to the MoCA adapter. But, as I mentioned, the tech had me pull the MoCA adapter out so now there is no more splitter.

I have an ethernet run from the Fios router directly to the Gateway Max. And then the Gateway Max has wired (ethernet) and wifi connections to the various Ubiquiti AP's around the house.

So while there's no way to separate the coax, per se, perhaps it could be done elsewhere in the coax runs in the house. I might have to explore that.

[Capricorn1]

Too bad. I figured that since you had a router and five other STBs on coax (right?), the coax runs from those five STBs and the G3100 have to have a junction somewhere. (Mine's in the attic, but nowadays, I only use one coax connection from my office to the living room [with ActionTech MoCA adapters on either end], so I removed the splitter and used a barrel connector instead. There are about four cables just lying unused up there.)

[stevetrigs]

You know what, I stand corrected. I do have a junction box outside of my house that looks like a spider's web of coax and splitters. To your point, I could isolate the one coax run that's going to the room with the AP's.

Another thought - I read on a UI post that if I just installed one MoCa adapter at the point where the AP is located, that could very likely resolve all the conflicts with the STB's. Having a MoCa adapter at the point of the G3100/UI location might be causing DHCP conflicts, as the G3100 has its own MoCA adapter/MoCA coordinator. So I'm going to give that a shot, as well.

[stevetrigs]

And thank you @Capricorn1 for all of your help and for the sketch. That was incredibly helpful, as well, and you basically got it 95% right.