VMB3000 basestation can NOT connect to the internet

[JackJi]

My basestation VMB3000 can NOT connect to the internet.

The power led is green, but the internet led is amber.

I have tried to reset the settings, but it still does NOT work.

Thanks a lot.

[StephenB]

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@JackJi wrote:

My basestation VMB3000 can NOT connect to the internet.

The power led is green, but the internet led is amber.

I have tried to reset the settings, but it still does NOT work.

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Try checking the ethernet cable connections.  

If they are secure, then try shifting the router ethernet to a different port on the router. You might also need a new cable.

Did you change to a new router?  Or did this suddenly fail, even though you didn't change anything on your home network?

[jguerdat]

An amber Internet LED means you have a connection to the router (you should be able to use the router interface to see that the base has an IP address) but not to the servers, implying that the router or ISP has blocked access somehow, for some reason. Is this your router or the ISP's? If yours, check that security settings aren't being used to block access. If the ISP's, you'll need to contact them to make changes to the router and/or their Internet access settings. You need access to arlo.com on ports 80, 123 and 443.

[DannyBearAgain]

Or you could try rebooting your router modem setup, wait 10mins to cycle and reconnect to the isp then reboot your base station.

[JackJi]

Thank you so much for your help.

You mean I need to access arlo.com on port 80 123 and 443.

All these ports need to open the inbound permission or outbound permission?

Thanks a lot.

[StephenB]

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@JackJi wrote:

Thank you so much for your help.

You mean I need to access arlo.com on port 80 123 and 443.

All these ports need to open the inbound permission or outbound permission?

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The base connects outbound, so port forwarding/triggering isn't needed.  80/443 are used for http and https, so are almost certainly open for outbound connections already.  Though if you have parental controls enabled on the router, it might be connecting through a proxy, which could interfere.

123 is used for NTP time sync - again, a service that isn't blocked by ISPs or home routers.

Blocked ports is far more likely to be an issue on corporate networks with full firewalls.  I suggest exploring the other troubleshooting options first - checking the cabling, trying another router LAN port, rebooting the router.

Also, it would be useful to know if this failure happened after changing routers, changing router settings, moving to a new home, etc.  

[jguerdat]

I agree that these ports normally don't need to be opened, especially on a home router. However, there have been numerous instances over the years of the ISP having something configured that apparently does block access. It may not be the ports themselves but could be domains/IP address ranges. Unfortunately, after contacting the ISP and having them twiddle dials so things work, the solution is never known so we end up guessing. Was it a setting in their router or on the network itself??

[StephenB]

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@jguerdat wrote:

I agree that these ports normally don't need to be opened, especially on a home router.

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Almost never actually, the last ISP issue involving ports I recall was in Hong Kong quite a while ago.  A recent post suggests that vlan tagging in some gateway/modems might be causing an issue, though it wasn't clear what was really going on there.  In any event, I don't recommend forwarding 80/123/443 to the base station.  It is making outbound connections, so inbound forwarding shouldn't be needed  - and it does increase the attack surface of your home network.

If you can use your browser, then you can make connections with 80/443 - the only question there is whether you are using a proxy w/o realizing it.  Parental controls are the main thing on a home router that would engage a proxy.  Other access controls could also get in the way, though normally they engaged for wifi, and not ethernet. There was also a recent post about issues when 3 or more DNS servers were configured in the router.  So that would be one other thing to check.  

But Ethernet issues are far more likely, especially if the router was upgraded. So it makes sense to explore that before contacting your ISP.  One simple check is to see if the base station shows up in the router's attached device list.

We have seen several posts recently from users with old bases who found they needed ethernet crossover cables with Starlink - indicating that the normal ethernet autonegotiation isn't working properly with some new equipment. Putting an ordinary ethernet switch between the base and the router port is another way to work around the problem.

Also, the old "fast" ethernet used by the smarthubs is starting to get dropped in some switches and routers (generally on multigig ethernet ports).