markharro Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 I used Plusnet as well with their Hub2 router over a copper service previously. I recently got FTTP installed and have been trying to get broadband set up with a Dream Router I bought second hand connected directly to the ONT box. I have been using the Unifi App on my iphone to do this. At first I was getting nowhere then I found a Youtube video that said I had to select PPPoE during the setup and also add my Plusnet username and password. I managed to do that and it seemed to be progressing then it showed the DR was trying to connect to my iphone by Wifi but it failed doing this. So now I am in this crazy position where for some reason I cant access the same setup procedure I went through to try and change any settings and I cant find any way to delete the DR from the account and try again and I cant find any number to call Unifi for advice. Its a complete joke I thought this equipment was meant to be easy to use. Can anyone offer any pointers on what I am meant to do because I am close to grabbing a lump hammer and smashing this plastic piece of c$£p to smithereens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 For router setup, you are far better connecting a RJ45 cable from one of the ethernet ports to a proper computer, and then logging in to the web page of the router. Everything should then become obvious and less frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 Dave thanks - there was a good reason to use the phone app - my new laptop does not have a socket for an ethernet cable. I have now dug out my old laptop from storage and tried hard wiring it into the DR and going to 192.168.1.1 which I read should allow you to access a router but nothing comes up when you do this. Btw I think the DR must have connected to broadband at some point in the process because I think it downloaded new firmware I am pretty sure. It was when it started trying to connect via wifi and a big wifi symbol showed up on my phone and it failed to connect that the issues started and Ive been unable to advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 (edited) Is your laptop set to DHCP? The DMR would be setup as a DHCP server by default, have you changed that? If in doubt factory reset the DMR and start again. You have to connect to Port 1 to config the DMR via Network cable. Edited January 21 by IanR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 Thanks @IanR but this is beyond my understanding. Yes the DR was preconfigured to DHCP from memory and I had to override that to select PPPoE. Is DHCP an alternative setting to PPPoE? If so does that mean that if I selected PPPoE during the setup of the DR I would need to set the laptop to PPPoE as well for it to "see" the router? If so how do I do that? I have already tried factory resetting the DMR numerous times by holding down the tiny button in its base but when I have done this it does not seem to be changing the LED light at all. It flashes white at all times and I think it is meant to go solid white? during a reset and that doesn't happen. On the ports is port 1 at the top or is it at the bottom just above the WAN port? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 (edited) PPPoE is for the Broadband/WAN connection and DHCP is for the LAN connection (The DMR is the gateway between the two) So, setting WAN to PPoE will not effect the the LAN side. If your phone has connected previously and you haven't disabled the DHCP Server on the DMR we can assume DHCP is still enabled. Since you are not familiar with DHCP, it's likely that your laptop is also on its default Network settings (ie. , but it's worth checking. Is teh Laptop set up to automatically configure it's Network settings. If so, then this is use DHCP to retrieve it's settings from the DMR. On a Windows machine, the TCP/IPv4 Properties for the Ethernet connection should be set as below Switch the Laptop Wi-Fi off and connect a network cable between laptop and Port 1, then reboot the laptop. Ref. https://www.4gon.co.uk/documents/User-Manual-4075916.pdf You should then be able to open a browser and type http://192.168.1.1 and land on the login page for the router. Edited January 21 by IanR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 Thanks @IanR for this explanation. I have checked and the laptop has the settings you show in the window. I have tried again plugging in to port 1 but still nothing. I rebooted the laptop but actually I dont think I turned off the wifi on it - would that make a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 Oh and one more thing - that link to the manual is for the dream machine - I have the dream router. They both look pretty much identical but are different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 1 hour ago, markharro said: dont think I turned off the wifi on it - would that make a difference? It will if you have another Wi-Fi router running that your laptop knows the credentials for, as it will attach to that one and get its network setting from there, including default gateway. When you then plug the ethernet cable in it's going to see a second DHCP and router on 192.168.1.1 and grind to a halt. Probably best to switch off any other router and/or access point (if you have them) while you are trying to configure the UDR. 1 hour ago, markharro said: Oh and one more thing - that link to the manual is for the dream machine - I have the dream router. They both look pretty much identical but are different. They're very similar and I believe set up in the same way, with the same defaults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 Thanks again @IanR I tried again switching the wifi off and the other router off but the laptop still doesn't pull anything up when you type in 192.168.1.1. Also I managed to remove the DR from the Ubiquiti app and I thought that would allow me to start again trying to instal again on the app. But now when I open the App it doesnt find the DR at all! I am just totally baffled! I am wondering if I have messed up the DR in some way by pressing the factory reset button and thats why its no longer discoverable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Do you have ANY old spare router, e.g an old BT home hub? Not to expect to use it, but just to connect it to your computer and see if you can access it's web interface via LAN. when you say you get nothing at 192.168.1.1 what EXACTLY do you see on your screen? e.g an error or time out message? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 Hi yes I can access the control panel of my Plusnet router not on 192.168.1.1 but 192.168.1.254 but my understanding is that the DR should be on 192.168.1.1 and nothing shows up when I try that. It is some sort of error - I would need to try again to be able to answer your question precisely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 just check the wired adaptor isn't disabled in Windows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 When I set up my Ubiquiti Dream Router, the first thing I did, before even plugging in the thing was to access the settings of my ISP’s router, and change it to run in broadband modem only mode. Did you do that before plugging in the UDR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Hi @Adsibob no Ive not done that but I thought you only had to do that if you wanted to continue to use your ISP's router and connect the DR to it? I intend to connect the DR directly to the ONT which I understand is a modem. Since I last posted I have made progress by managing to "restore" the DR. I think I may almost be there now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 On 22/01/2024 at 18:08, markharro said: Thanks again @IanR I tried again switching the wifi off and the other router off but the laptop still doesn't pull anything up when you type in 192.168.1.1. That's eliminated just about anything that could have been causing an issue. I'd just double-check the factory reset, as it sounds like this didn't work properly. You should need to press hard, but you should feel a micro-switch depress as you press down, and just hold in until the LEDs react. If nothing has happened after 30 seconds, then maybe it's bricked. If the factory reset fails, the it's try with the Bluetooth connection to your phone. Were your initial attempts via Bluetooth, or had you connected via Wi-Fi between your phone an the UDR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) 34 minutes ago, IanR said: You should need to press hard, Typo noticed after the 30 mins. "You should not need to press hard," Doh! Edited January 24 by IanR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 29 minutes ago, IanR said: ... You should need to press hard, but you should feel a micro-switch depress as you press down, and just hold in until the LEDs react. If nothing has happened after 30 seconds, then maybe it's bricked. ... The number of times I've fallen at this hurdle.... The damn button often both invisible and inaccessible , so you're on the floor on your back, chewing and spitting back the cleaning ladies' leftovers (OK OK I know but no longer care) , house tomcat licking your ear with inappropriate affection - job done in haste - Only then to watch a smiling SWMBO gently press the <Reset> button and everything clicks into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Thanks again for everyones' assistance. Finally got it working now with a bit of help from my techy neighbour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 1 hour ago, markharro said: Thanks again for everyones' assistance. Finally got it working now with a bit of help from my techy neighbour Please tell us as much as you are able, what he had to do to get it to work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markharro Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Hi @ProDave the key was finally getting a reply from Ubiquiti (after I had managed to rouse them via Twitter) and they gave instructions to "restore" the router (looks like I had frozen it somehow). Anyway I followed these, connected my laptop, punched in the IP address they had given and hey presto I got into the restore panel. I then managed to restore it and update the firmware. At this point I got a solid blue light which was encouraging. It felt I was almost over the line but not quite. So my neighbour popped over and in very short order he got it all working - I think the final steps involved dis-associating the Plusnet router with it. Well, the story isnt completely over actually - I then tried to instal a Ubiquti security camera using the Unifi App on my phone. It then prompted me to download the Unifi "Protect" App which I did. Then I have got frozen at a stage on the Protect App where it says "set up a new console" - you press that and it takes you back to the main Unifi App and you see the camera added there but no camera footage. It has a link to "view in protect" - press that and you go back to the Protect App and it says "set up a new console" - round and round in circles.....more bonkers stuff. So I still need to puzzle this out at some point. The odd thing is that I can see the camera footage using the Web interface. I had read that Ubiquti software was easy to use but I have to say I have found it pretty c%$p to date but then I am just a punter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 35 minutes ago, markharro said: Anyway I followed these, connected my laptop, punched in the IP address they had given and hey presto I got into the restore panel. I then managed to restore it and update the firmware. That sounds like they gave you a different IP address to find this restore page, different to the IP address for the normal setup page? If so it would be handy to post that restore IP address here, it might help someone else in a similar position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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