PPPOE not working after a recent firmware update

[shlomithemoney]

Hello,

I know this is a grey zone and is not officially supported but like a lot of Bell users i use my own routing equipment and like other users i have found that since my modem rebooted on the latest firmware, pppoe from the router is not working anymore.

There is already a reddit thread discussing the details here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bell/comments/1u2k2rb/did_bell_start_blocking_pppoe_connections_entirely/ 

Basically the bug seems to be that "Any packet over certain size would trigger incorrect PPP frame length meaning that the length reported in the header was different from the actual payload size."

Is it possible to know if this is related to some firmware issue and a fix is coming or if it was deliberate change from Bell?

Any info about this would be appreciated since its currently starting to impact more users and we are all on our own so far wasting our time debugging this.

Thanks!

[Vanadiel]

Packets should not change size, but it is possible there is a bug or they changed something to the MTU size.

I run 1492 MTU and PPPOE works without a problem. I do not use a home hub so I cannot comment on it working with a home hub.

[shlomithemoney]

yeah MTU looked fine during the test i and some other ppl did at least.

It seems to be gigahub related so far, i am on gigahub 1 with firmware version 3.11.6.2

[Vanadiel]

A packet capture with Wireshark might shed some light on the problem.

It could be a bug or intended configuration. Could also be a misconfiguration on the router used to establish the PPPOE connection.

[shlomithemoney]

one person on that reddit thread who used wireshark to take a look at the packets is the one who said this

"Any packet over certain size would trigger incorrect PPP frame length meaning that the length reported in the header was different from the actual payload size. I was getting full of "truncated tcp packets" in Suricata log, matching my wireshark observations."

I could try to find some time to do it again if it helps but to be honest at this point the remaining effort i put into this issue will most likely be toward changing internet provider

[BoringPlodder]

I'm also hit with this bug.  Ubiquiti UDMP was fine with PPPoE on my Giga Hub until a firmware update early yesterday to 3.11.6.2, spent an hour trying to diagnose and eventually got it (kinda) working with advanced DMZ.  I say "kinda" because while I do have internet, I lose connection 3-4 times an hour.  

Bell, can you please either fix PPPoE or fix ADMZ because neither of them is working on the Giga Hub

[shlomithemoney]

I am also on 3.11.6.2 and everything was stable until the modem rebooted. I also tested the pppoe directly from a pc without the router to rule it out and i had the exact same issue.

[Sylvester411]

PPPoE is working from me, but as of today, the throughput is much lower, at around 400-500Mbps on a 1.5 Gbps service.  Seeing that for some of you PPPoE completely stopped working I do not want to complain too much.

Firmware 3.11.6.2

Bell, please fix this or give us a good way to bypass your modem.

[saue0]

Have the same problem , a tech from bell call and sed the are aware of the bug , since may. No way to rollback the firmware. 

[BoringPlodder]

 @BellPatricia @BellAlexander is it possible to get an official response to this issue? It's clear from this thread and others here and on /r/Bell that there are problems with gigahub firmware 3.11.6.2

Thanks

[dealhunter]

Possible Advanced DMZ Fix for Bell Giga Hub Firmware 3,11,6.2 + UniFi UDM Pro / SE running network version 10.4.57.

If the recent Bell Giga Hub firmware update (v3.11.6.2) broke your PPPoE or Advanced DMZ (ADMZ) connection and left you dealing with double NAT or severe download speed throttling, here is a working workaround thats worked for me for a few hours now anyway.

This setup achieves full 3G/3G throughput with zero PPPoE overhead and no reported NAT.

My Setup Environment:

• Router: UDM SE (Should also apply to UDM Pro)

• UniFi Network Version: 10.4.57

• Physical Link: Giga Hub 10G Ethernet Port -> Ubiquiti SFP+ RJ45 Adapter (a 10Gtek module tested and worked identically) connected to UDM WAN port 10 or 11

Step 1: Configure the Bell Giga Hub

1. Log into your Giga Hub.

2. Go to DMZ, turn it ON, and check the Advanced DMZ checkbox.

3. Select the device that matches your UDM's WAN MAC address.

Step 2: Add two Manual Static Routes in UniFi, A and B

If not already setup, create a DHCP, WAN1 interface and assign to SFP port 10.

Once set up, Go to Settings gear icon> select the new Routing table under Policy Engine > Create New Route - select : Static Route and add two specific split-subnet rules to force traffic out of the physical interface:

• Route A: Destination: 0,0,0,0/1 | Interface | Wan | Metric: 1

• Route B: Destination: 128,0,0,0/1 | Interface | Wan | Metric: 1 (Note: The UDM will automatically generate two other uneditable DHCP gateway rules alongside these).

Step 3: The Order of Operations Reboot

1. Unplug the power cord from the Giga Hub.

2. Unplug the SFP+ adapter/Ethernet cable from the UDM WAN port.

3. Power on the Giga Hub and let it fully boot.

4. Plug the SFP+/Ethernet cable back into the UDM and give it a few minutes to settle.

Step 4: Fix Asymmetric Speed Caps (Flow Control)
Check your UDM dashboard. Your ISP should report as Bell or Virgin Plus with the public IPv4 address passed from the ADMZ page. If you run a speed test and your download speed is heavily throttled compared to your upload, go to UniFi Settings gear icon > Internet > down under the ports and Wan mode is check box for Flow Control: turn Flow Control ON.

This successfully restored a full ~3 Gbps Up / 3 Gbps Down on my UDM dashboard speed test, and standard ~940 Mbps (1 Gbps line-rate limit) on my local LAN-connected desktops.

(use at own risk, i'm not a networker, I used lots of Ai assistance with this including editing)

[TechBoyJL]

Hello,

I got hit with a firmware upgrade to my modem overnight last night.  Now my PPPOE connection does not work any longer.

Is there a way to get our modem to be downgraded please?

@BellPatricia Please assist if this can be done or any other possible solutions.

Thanks!

[Cylac]

I'm seeing what appears to be the same issue.

My third party router previously worked with PPPoE passthrough behind the Bell Giga Hub. The router is running OpenWrt. After the recent Giga Hub firmware change or reboot, PPPoE passthrough stopped working.

As a temporary workaround, I moved the third party router to Advanced DMZ. That workaround is also not stable.

The router receives the public IPv4 address from the Giga Hub, but the DHCP lease is only 600 seconds. The router sends DHCPREQUEST renewals to 192.168.2.1, but the Giga Hub does not appear to ACK the renewals. The WAN lease then expires every 10 minutes, the router drops WAN, and the Giga Hub immediately reissues the exact same public IP again with another 600 second lease.

This WAN flap is very disruptive. It causes repeated internet interruptions, remote access interruptions, failed speed tests, and packet loss when tests land during the failure window.

Example from my OpenWrt logs:

09:14:06 udhcpc sending renew to server 192.168.2.1
09:16:37 udhcpc sending renew to server 192.168.2.1
09:17:53 udhcpc sending renew to server 192.168.2.1
09:18:31 udhcpc sending renew to server 192.168.2.1
09:18:50 udhcpc sending renew to server 192.168.2.1
09:18:53 udhcpc broadcasting renew
09:18:56 udhcpc broadcasting renew
09:19:00 udhcpc broadcasting renew
09:19:04 udhcpc lease lost, entering init state
09:19:04 Interface wan has lost the connection
09:19:05 lease of the same public IP obtained from 192.168.2.1, lease time 600
09:19:05 Interface wan is now up

I also ran tcpdump on the router WAN interface. It shows the router sending DHCPREQUEST renewals from the public IP to 192.168.2.1. I don't see the Giga Hub ACK those renewals before the lease collapses.

So there appear to be two linked issues after the firmware update.

1. PPPoE passthrough no longer works.
2. Advanced DMZ is not a usable fallback because DHCP renewal fails every 600 seconds.

@BellPatricia @BellAlexander, could this please be escalated to the Giga Hub firmware or network engineering team?

I realize third party router setups may not be officially supported, but this appears to be a Giga Hub firmware or DHCP passthrough issue. It also appears to affect more than one type of third party router, based on other reports in the forum.

A factory reset or modem swap is not useful unless Bell can confirm it restores PPPoE passthrough or fixes Advanced DMZ DHCP lease renewal.

Thank you!

[AdamUpNorth]

Bless you @Cylac for verbalizing this issue.  I have the same problem (3rd party router is an Asus RT-BE88U in this case).  Just adding a comment to hopefully draw attention to the issue.  Thank you!

[dks]

Please remember that Bell does not support third party equipment connected to its equipment. While there are workarounds, again they may or may not work. That is about all that can be said.