[Known Issue] [V8.1.1] Balance 20/30 (HW6 and below) USB WAN (3G/LTE modem) Issue

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#1

Background:
The Balance 20/30 (hardware revision 6 and below) has been discovered the USB WAN connection will cause system instability issue after upgrading to firmware 8.1.1GA (8.1.1 build 4986).

Solution:
We have prepared the fix with special firmware (8.1.1s017 build 4987) to address the issue. You can load this firmware into your affected unit(s) that need to use the USB WAN.

Note:
Balance 20 HW7 is NOT affected, hence, is optional if you want to upgrade with this special firmware.

[Update: 27 January 2021]
We received several cases reported that some USB dongles may not work well with 8.1.1s017, hence, we have prepared 8.1.1s048 build 4990, with added enhancement to the 8.1.1s017.

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Where can I find the list of fixes for a firmware version?
#3
Introducing Firmware 8.1.1!
#5

None of the images above fixes the issues. I can now enable USB WAN and get the USB device connected but the Balance 20 still becomes unresponsive and crashes from time to time, CPU utilization stays at 100%, and USB connection keeps dropping.

#6

@OmarVR

We do has customer feedback that the firmware do fix the issue. Sad that we not getting reply from you for last few days regarding the issue. Potentially it can be related to the modem type used , we will follow-up with you via support ticket.

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#7

I am having the same exact issue with a couple of units. I am going to try the firmware 8.1.1s048 build 4990 6 as soon as it comes back up - it is driving me nuts as it disconnects several times a day.

UPDATE: I upgraded the firmware to 8.1.1s048 build 4990 6 last night and the router has been stable for 12 hours - no issues at all, and CPU utilization is low. I will update this post in a few days.

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#8

How’s it been since your last post? My Balance 20 still crashes when using USB WAN with 8.1.1 build 4990. v8.0.x works perfectly fine.

#9

@OmarVR ,

Very sorry we did not get reply from you via ticket. Look like you still having issue when USB WAN enabled. We will contact you again via support to isolate further for the issue.

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#10

I have two devices running on 8.1.1s048 build 4990 6, and both have been stable using the USB WAN when needed - I use the USB WAN as a backup. Last week we had several internet outages in Texas (USA), and the mobile USB WAN worked just fine on those units.

This version of firmware definitely fixed the issues related to high CPU utilization and the unresponsiveness of the devices, which would require having them restarted before I could gain access to them.

Tomorrow I am going to upgrade another 6 devices and see what happens.

Cheers!

2 Likes
#11

UPDATE: I upgraded 8 devices to 8.1.1s048 build 4990 6 and they all have been working without any issues. BTW, for the mobile WAN, I only use Nighthawk LTE Mobile Hotspot routers.

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#12

We appreciate the update!

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#13

I have 8.1.1s048 build 4990 installed and had been stable. I added an IPSec VPN connection and the issues have come back. I just opened a new ticket. Up until adding the VPN this build had fixed the issues. If I unplug the USB modem and reboot the router everything is fine.

#14

Thanks for the update.

#15

I’m seeing the exact same thing. I tested with two Balance 20 appliances running 8.1.1s048 build 4990, one with SpeedFusion Cloud (and PepVPN) enabled and one with it disabled. The one with no VPN tunnels has been stable. The one with SFC enabled keeps crashing, becoming unresponsive, DHCP stops working, etc, etc.