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[Buadhai]

Firmware 1.08 (2014-02-11)

LAN: DHCP with a reserved IP address assigned by the router.

Wireless Security: WPA2

My DCS-932L will not establish a wireless connection after a power outage.

I have tried with two different routers: an Airport Extreme and now a TP-Link TD-W8980.

The only way to get a wireless connection is to:

• Connect via an Ethernet cable
• The camera gets the IP address from the router
• Remove the Ethernet cable

After removing the Ethernet cable the camera and router establish a wireless connection.

No other wireless devices on the network have this problem. Other wireless devices include two Apple TVs, multiple iOS devices, two Airport Expresses, two MacBook airs.

It's only the DCS-932L that won't re-establish the wireless connection after a power outage without first making a wired connection.

What have I done wrong here?

[ReverendTed]

Is the address reserved in the router for the DCS-932L's wireless or wired MAC address?

Do you have the DCS-932L set to obtain its IP via DHCP, or do you have the reserved IP address set in the DCS-932L settings as well?

[Buadhai]

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't get a notice that your reply had been posted.

I know this is weird, but the wired and wireless MAC addresses are the same.

Wireless:

Camera Reports:

MAC Address   28 10 7B 03 37 FC
Connection Mode   Infrastructure
Link   Yes
SSID   mgn (MAC : E8 94 F6 5C 87 94)
Channel   1
Encryption   WPA2-PSK:AES

Router Reports:

DCS-932L           28:10:7B:03:37:FC   192.168.0.60   Permanent

-----

Now for wired:

Camera Reports:

MAC Address   28 10 7B 03 37 FC
Connection Mode   Infrastructure
Link   No
SSID   mgn (MAC : 00 00 00 00 00 00)
Channel   1
Encryption   WPA2-PSK:AES

Router no longer reports the camera as a wireless client but does report it as a DHCP client:

DCS-932L   28:10:7B:03:37:FC   192.168.0.60   Permanent

The camera is set to obtain the IP via DHCP. I have not reserved the IP address in the camera settings.

[Buadhai]

So, no one has a clue.

Two questions:

• Is the device supposed to have separate MAC addresses for each network interface?
• Should I assume that the device is defective and replace it with something on which the wireless actually works?

[ReverendTed]

Two questions:

• Is the device supposed to have separate MAC addresses for each network interface?
• Should I assume that the device is defective and replace it with something on which the wireless actually works?

It was actually an assumption on my part that the wired and wireless adapters would have different MAC addresses.  As an integrated unit (as opposed to say, a laptop), that might not be the case.
How long have you given it to reconnect after a power outage?  (I assume "a good long while", but I figure it's worth asking.)

[Buadhai]

Most recent power outage was at about 8:00 PM on a Saturday evening. I didn't discover that the camera had not connected wirelessly until I received email a couple of days later informing me that my web cam was down.

So, yeah, 48 hours or so. A good long time.

I have lots of wireless devices on my LAN, all of which have reserved IP addresses and none of which have difficult connecting wirelessly. This includes two iPads, three iPhones, two MacBook Airs, two Apple TVs and two Airport Expresses. The router is a TP-Link TD-W8980, but I had the same problem with the DCS-932L when I was using an Airport Extreme.

It's very awkward to have to run an Ethernet cable to the DCS-932L.

I can't help but thinking that I've configured something wrong with the camera, but I just can't figure out what it might be.

[acellier]

These cameras DO exhibit the SAME ip address in both wired and wifi modes!

[Buadhai]

These cameras DO exhibit the SAME ip address in both wired and wifi modes!

Thanks for that.

I had an additional thought. Is it possible that in wireless mode the camera boots up before the router, asks for an IP address (DHCPDiscover), doesn't get one (no DHCPOffer) and then gives up?

But, in wired mode it keeps on asking until it gets a DHCP lease? This would be the normal behavior.

[ReverendTed]

I had an additional thought. Is it possible that in wireless mode the camera boots up before the router, asks for an IP address (DHCPDiscover), doesn't get one (no DHCPOffer) and then gives up?

That's never been a problem with mine.  Best way to check would be to leave the router running and unplug the power to the camera, then plug it back in and see if it connects.

[Buadhai]

That's never been a problem with mine.  Best way to check would be to leave the router running and unplug the power to the camera, then plug it back in and see if it connects.

It will not. If you reboot the camera it will only get an IP address if it is wired.

Once it gets an IP address via a wired connection, you can unplug the Ethernet cable and then it will get an IP address via wireless.

[Buadhai]

This is why the power outage is such a vexing problem. After a power outage the only way to get the camera to connect is to plug in an Ethernet cable. You can then immediately unplug the Ethernet cable and you will be good to go until the next power outage.

Trouble is, if I'm not home (I travel often) and there is a power outage I do not have my webcam until I return home and plug in the Ethernet cable. This is less than ideal because it means I always have to leave the Ethernet cable plugged in.

What's the use of a wireless webcam if you have to wire it first to get it to connect?

[Buadhai]

I'm sure everyone is as tired of this as I am. Here's log entries from my router:

Code: [Select]

1 2014-04-19 17:27:40 DHCPD Notice Send ACK to 192.168.0.60
2 2014-04-19 17:27:39 DHCPD Notice Recv REQUEST from 28:10:7B:03:37:FC
3 2014-04-19 17:27:39 DHCPD Notice Send OFFER with ip 192.168.0.60
4 2014-04-19 17:27:39 DHCPD Notice Recv DISCOVER from 28:10:7B:03:37:FC
5 2014-04-19 17:27:17 DHCPD Notice Send ACK to 192.168.0.60
6 2014-04-19 17:27:16 DHCPD Notice Recv REQUEST from 28:10:7B:03:37:FC
7 2014-04-19 17:27:16 DHCPD Notice Send OFFER with ip 192.168.0.60
8 2014-04-19 17:27:16 DHCPD Notice Recv DISCOVER from 28:10:7B:03:37:FC
9 2014-04-19 17:25:55 DHCPD Notice Send ACK to 192.168.0.60
10 2014-04-19 17:25:54 DHCPD Notice Recv REQUEST from 28:10:7B:03:37:FC
11 2014-04-19 17:25:54 DHCPD Notice Send OFFER with ip 192.168.0.60
12 2014-04-19 17:25:54 DHCPD Notice Recv DISCOVER from 28:10:7B:03:37:FC
Entry #12 was after rebooting the camera with the Ethernet connected.

I unplugged the Ethernet cable at about 17:27. Entry #8 is a wireless DHCP Discover.

For reasons that I don't understand, the wireless connection takes several DISCOVER/OFFER cycles while the wired connection only takes one.

[Buadhai]

Apparently I have a problem without a solution. I can accept that.

Time for a new camera. Any recommendations?

Sad, really, because I like this one. Nice image. Decent nighttime performance. Works well with my web cam software.

But, having to leave the Ethernet cable connected all the time is simply not on.

[JavaLawyer]

You can try performing a factory reset on the camera, but first save the DCS-932L user settings by creating a Configuration Settings File. Please see the two threads below:

• DCS-9XX - Configuration Settings File
  
• DCS Network Cameras - Factory Reset Procedure
  

[Buadhai]

I've tried doing a factory reset several times. After a reset I've also tried both reconfiguring from scratch and reloading a settings file. Most recently I installed the latest firmware, did a factory reset and configured from scratch.

No joy.