I recently replaced six routers with the new Peplink B One 5G. Out of the six devices, five have been rebooting at random times. Some reboot a few times a day.
I am not doing anything fancy. The routers have the latest firmware.
The previous routers (B One Core) ran for a couple of years without any issues.
Are you guys seeing similar issues?
I have lots of these in the field and no similar issues.
What firmware are you on? What configurations have you applied? What do the logs say?
They are all on 8.5.1 build 5714.
Looking at the logs, I noticed that some of the SIM cards are failing SmartCheck, then the WAN priorities change (Outbound policies), and then I see the device restarting:
Dec 29 16:40:34 - System: Started up (8.5.1 build 5714)
I am on the road this week, but I must do more detailed troubleshooting before I assume anything. The two new variables, besides the routers, are the new 5G SIM cards and the outbound policies that have changed. I am using a 5G connection to add more bandwidth to my guest users, and before, the cell connection was used as a backup to my two WAN circuits.
Next week I will update the post with my findings.
Cheers!
Happy New Year!
This is weird. The device shouldn’t restart, the only thing that would restart in this situation (as described) would be the cellular module. If I were you, I’d grab a diagnostic report, enable remote support, and submit a ticket to Peplink.
Hello @fvideira ,
The devices can reboot if the “Watchdog Support” feature is enabled within the “/support.cgi” pages; a reboot could be caused by losing all WANs.
This image shows the “Watchdog Support” feature disabled (as it normally is by default when supplied new).
If you are using InControl2, are you using the Bulk Configurator? If so, your source file may have the “Watchdog Support” feature turned on when grabbing the reference configuration router details. To change that, you must get a fresh configuration file from a router with the “Watch Support” feature disabled.
Happy to Help,
Marcus 
Agreed with the suggestion, pulling a diagnostic report for us to do a preliminary check should give us a better understanding of the device’s condition.
Do you have an QoS settings enabled?
I have just opened a ticket and submitted the diagnostics report.
Let’s see what support finds out.
Thanks!
I didn’t use the Bulk Configurator, and the Watchdog Support is disabled.
Thanks for the info, Marcus.
Yes. I do have a few settings in QoS - the same for all routers:
User Bandwidth Limit - guests are limited to 5 Mbps / 2 Mbps
Application - 3CX - high priority
Nothing fancy.
Update:
After submitting the diagnostics and access to the devices that have been rebooting, tech support sent me this message:
“The engineering team has built a special firmware to tackle this issue, currently still undergoing test before release to you. I will keep you posted once the special firmware is ready.”
This is great news. I will update and test the routers with the new firmware and let you know if the rebooting issue is resolved.
Cheers!
Push for an RCA, I’d like to know why this happens and what configuration/environment causes it so I can avoid
You bet! I want to understand what caused the issue.
Hi, @fvideira
This random reboots… remember the old balance one. datasheet
I have four…
The only way to stop the random reboots, was disabling WiFi. (2.4GHz / 5GHz)
Disable QoS, it makes the B One 5G reboot.
Don’t ask…
You are right about QoS. That’s the feature that engineering asked me to disable.
However, the issues with my B Ones 5G are beyond the QoS.
WAN2 stops working every few days, and the only way to recover is with a router reboot.
Engineering is working on the issues, but we are 3 weeks in, and I don’t have a solution.
My client is not happy with the disruptions, I spent many non-billable hours dealing with the issues, and after 6 years recommending Peplink routers, I may have to look for a different solution, as QoS is critical to my clients.
Frustrating.
Just an update:
Almost two months since I opened a ticket with Peplink, we still do not have a solution for the WAN 2 disconnection issues that require a complete router reboot to get it to work again. This is unacceptable for my healthcare clients.
My client is furious, and all the work we put into selling Peplink based on its reliability and support went downhill.
Be aware of the issues with B One 5G.
This is beyond frustrating.
Can you describe the issues with WAN2 in more detail?
I can only agree. The B One 5G has been causing us misery and unacceptable crash on many aspects.
We had a lot of expectations for this device and we almost lost 2 customers because of it, had to move to the BR1 Pro 5G and that wasn’t a painless/costless move.
We avoid WAN2 and use the VWAN as LAN on LAN1. Yes it is ugly but it works.
WAN 2 stops working at random times. You can’t ping anything beyond the interface.
When it fails, restarting the device is the only way to recover. Disabling and enabling the interface doesn’t work.
Initially, I thought it could be an issue with the ISP devices, but it was easy to discard that possibility when we physically disconnected the ISP device, and the WAN interface did not recognize the cable was disconnected.
Peplink has confirmed it to be a bug in the firmware, and currently, they are working on a new firmware to be tested. They have already provided me with two new versions of the firmware, which did not solve the problem.
Besides the WAN issues, the engineering team is working on the QoS issues that crashed the devices without any explanation. The QoS issues happen to B One, B One 5G, and 20 X.
