IP config help

[JB1970]

So what do I need to put in the dvr settings please?

You need an IP address thats not in use, the subnet mask, gateway and DNS address. First ensure that your earlier Tenda kit is no longer fitted, just the Virgin Media pods.

With the DVR connected to the VM pod, in the DVR network settings, first try as @Phil said earlier and tick the box marked DHCP and apply. If the pod is connected to the hub, after a few seconds you should see the IP address, gateway, Subnet mask and DNS address populate themselves on the page. They will be greyed out as those are addresses assigned by the router and so can't be changed manually (without disabling the DHCP function)

If all is well, it should show an IP address starting 192.168.0.xxx. If so it's connected to the VM hub, has been assigned a valid address and you can use teh address displayed to connect to it (though it's preferable to set a static one). If however the IP address shows as 169.254.xxx.xxx that means the recorder has assigned its own IP address automatically, as it was unable to find a DHCP server (the Virgin Hub) and you need to first sort out the connectivity between the pod and the hub before going any further.

 

[kilvo]

Yes I did tick DHCP.

So I opened the laptop this morning and checked SADP. The DVR popped up with an IP address of 192.168.0.234. I typed this into the address bar and connected straight away. I then checked my app (which wasn't working last night) and the live views are all there !

Thankyou for your help. I'm still not sure what I've done here, but would definitely love to understand more.

 

[JB1970]

Yes I did tick DHCP.

So I opened the laptop this morning and checked SADP. The DVR popped up with an IP address of 192.168.0.234. I typed this into the address bar and connected straight away. I then checked my app (which wasn't working last night) and the live views are all there !

Thankyou for your help. I'm still not sure what I've done here, but would definitely love to understand more.

Previously: Your setup with the Tenda mesh might have been setup incorrectly (even though it appeared to be working normally). If a mesh system has its own routing functions, best practice is to enable modem mode on the VM hub. That disables the wireless network and all routing functions of the VM device so that the mesh router handles everything. If you don't do that and just plug the mesh system into the back of the VM hub you can have issues as you have two routers, both broadcasting separate WiFi networks and two DHCP servers. You would know whether it was previously setup correctly by two things. One - the LED on the old VM Hub 3. If it was usually White it was in Router Mode (incorrect) whereas in Modem Mode it would have been coloured Magenta. Two - WiFi networks visible. In the list of available networks, if you previously could have seen the VM hub and the Tenda WiFi it was in Router Mode. You might have got away with it as all of your devices were connected to the Tenda mesh but the setup can be temperamental as two separate routers are handling incoming connections - Double NAT (Network Address Translation)

Now: The new VM Hub with it's own WiFi pods all work together as one network - the pods just being additional access points. Selecting DHCP on the DVR just broadcast a request for an IP address and the hub responded and assigned one from its pool of available addresses, which has you connected again.

Going forward it's best not to leave it on DHCP as it is not without its issues. It's possible that the IP address of the DVR could change again if you reboot/power down either the NVR or router. It's not the end of the world as if you open the network settings on the DVR monitor, you will be able to read the new IP address and use that (the changed address will also appear in SADP). However it's best to use a fixed IP address on the DVR and make a note of that. To do that you would access the menu on the local monitor, go to network settings:

1. Uncheck the DHCP box
2. Set an IP address 192.168.0.xxx
3. Subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0
4. Gateway should be 192.168.0.1
5. DNS Server - set to 8.8.8.8
6. DNS Server 2 - set to 8.8.4.4
7. Apply

The address you choose in step 2 must not clash with anything else on the network. I usually just plump for 192.168.0.250 as its unlikely to be in use unless something else has manually been assigned an address. I think earlier you said that .250 didn't work for you but I'm not sure whether you were still attempting to connect to the DVR at 192.168.5.33? You could just set it to 192.168.0.240 and use that going forward. You can always go back to DHCP but it's not recommended.