I Cannot log onto web interface when using a direct ethernet connection. The controller is directly wired to the an ethernet port, the WiFi is disabled on the controller. The IP address is plainly displayed, but when entering the IP address into a web browser, it will not load. The same goes if I try to use onefinity.local, and I’m aware of the https problem, so I’m using http.
Did you set your laptops network device settings to an ip on the same subnet?
You know, I think you are onto something there. The Comcast router is using DHCP and setting the Onefinity controller to an IP of 168.254.193.91 but my normal range of IP addresses is 10.0.0.1 to 10.0.0.254. I could not see any way to change the address of the Onefinity controller, and when I tried to reserve the 168.254.193.91 as a static IP on the Comcast router, I got an error message saying the 168.254.193.91 was out of the accepted range of IP addresses. It seems like a catch 22 situation to me.
Hey Gerald,
http://168.254.193.91/ does not work in a remote browser?
If your remote web browser is on another subnet as per the router (is it on the 10.0.0.0/8 subnet?), and the Onefinity controller is at 168.254.193.91, that belongs to the 168.254.0.0/16 subnet, which is another address range, I wouldn’t say it is “directly” connected to the Onefinity Controller. In this case the routing rules in your router must allow forwarding packets from one subnet to the other.
There are three address ranges reserved for private IPv4 address:
| RFC 1918 name | IP address range | Number of addresses | Largest CIDR block (subnet mask) | Host ID size | Mask bits | Classful description[Note 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24-bit block | 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255 | 16777216 | 10.0.0.0/8 (255.0.0.0) | 24 bits | 8 bits | single class A network |
| 20-bit block | 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255 | 1048576 | 172.16.0.0/12 (255.240.0.0) | 20 bits | 12 bits | 16 contiguous class B networks |
| 16-bit block | 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255 | 65536 | 192.168.0.0/16 (255.255.0.0) | 16 bits | 16 bits | 256 contiguous class C networks |
Is your router one that allows access to the internet? If so, can you access the internet from the Onefinity Controller? E.g. by opening a new tab with Ctrl-T and entering some useful site like https://startpage.com/ into the URL bar?
My setup is that the Comcast router is in the main office of the house.
Connected to that via a TPLink Powerline adapter ( which uses the house electrical wiring rather than WiFi to create a hard wired connection) is a WiFi range extender. That was my setup for a long time until we moved to a new house with a garage in a separate building. Now the Onefinity has intermittent difficulty connecting via WiFi to the range extender, so I decided to try to hard wire it by adding another TPLink powerline adapter in the garage and plugging it directly into that via the ethernet port on the Onefinity controller.
I thought that by hard wiring it to the network that I could circumvent the weak and intermittent WiFi.
To answer your questions, yes the Comcast router and the Amped Athena range extender both allow internet access to all devices in the house.
I think the problem is that for some reason I cannot understand the router is assigning the controller an IP address in what you called the 168.254.0.0/16 subnet. ( I don’t understand this well, mind you, I’m parroting your words without a clear understanding )
I am at a loss as to why it would do that, because historically any device that was connected to the network via DHCP was always assigned an IP address in the 10.0.0.0/8 subnet.
As far as opening a new tab from the Onefinity controller, I will have to try that tomorrow as we have settled in for the evening, but I will do that and present my results here tomorrow.
Hey Gerald,
there are three address ranges reserved for private IPv4 addresses. So a network device or a DHCP server may choose any of them. Their difference is the number of addresses available on the subnet.
I assume the Onefinity Controller offers to a DHCP server to assign an address in that range. But I have never had a look at the dhcp settings as I use it with the automatically available Zero-configuration networking (provided by the avahi package installed in the Onefinity controller) so I get a link-local address (169.254.0.0/16) automatically assigned. But packages from such a ‘link-local’ address always stay local, which means, according to the standard, no router forwards them to another subnet.
EDIT: Just saw that you probably have a ‘link-local’ address too but made a typo (168 instead of 169). Such an address cannot send or receive packages to another network. Either you connect it directly (remote computer on the same subnet as Onefinity controller), or you force using ‘DHCP’ instead of ‘link-local’, or you make a static network configuration inside the Onefinity controller.
Where is your DHCP range (10.0.0.0/24) being defined? On the Comcast router? Or do you have a secondary router or managed switch behind the router where you manage the specifics of your internal network? If it’s the latter, then the controller need to plug into that device instead of the Comcast router.
Aw, ethernet over power lines. How I hate that. That means, you do not own this:
- CAT-5 SF/UTP Ethernet installation cable with TIA-568 pair coloring
- 8P8C wall socket with both T568A and T568B color indication, for LSA-PLUS quick connection
- LSA-PLUS Tool with belt holster
- Knipex Ergostrip Universal Stripping Tool
- Pozidriv Screwdriver, Phillips Screwdriver
- Heller Masonry / Concrete Hammer Drill bit
- ISO cable clamps with 20 mm steel pins for 5-7 mm cable diameter
- Three-and-a-half ounce (100 g) Warrington hammer (also called “telephonist’s hammer”) (Footprint, Sheffield)
I very well could have made a typo as I was typing the IP address from memory. With regard to:
Such an address cannot send or receive packages to another network. Either you connect it directly (remote computer on the same subnet as Onefinity controller), or you force using ‘DHCP’ instead of ‘link-local’, or you make a static network configuration inside the Onefinity controller.
That, I think, is my problem. I did have enough understanding to think I needed to make a static IP address on the Onefinity controller, but I just could not figure out how to do it. The IP address field in the web interface is not editable.
Yes, the Comcast router is making all the DHCP definitions. I do have a wireless range extender, but it’s not controlling anything.
Hey Gerald,
on the Onefinity controller, I created a file ‘eth0’ in the directory /etc/network/interfaces.d/ with this content:
/etc/network/interfaces.d/eth0
auto eth0
allow-hotplug eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.250.45
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.250.0
#broadcast 192.168.250.255
Where my already existing subnet is 192.168.0.0/16. You could do the same with your 10.0.0.0/8 subnet. You are free to choose the last octet for your Onefinity controller in the range 1-254.
To activate the new connection, do:
ifdown eth0 ; ifup eth0
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I do, I do, but I just moved into this house in March, I’m 68 years old, and I have not had a moment’s rest since we moved in, trying to stay on top of mowing 5 acres of hilly, swaley pasture land, in the middle of the Oregon wet season, dealing with Leaf-A-Geddon, batching out 40 drawers because the cabinets in our 29 year old manufactured home are just stupid, trying to get the shop lit and wired and insulated and drywalled, trying to figure out how to install an OTR microwave where none was ever intended to go, and OH, we went out and bought a Christmas tree yesterday and my wife is in full tilt boogie Christmas decorating mode, so yeah, I did want to take the easy way out with the wiring…
I’m just trying to find a happy place where I can play a little in the midst of all the chaos I’ve been enduring. I’m normally a pretty stand up guy with the hard work, but frankly, I’m exhausted and just want a quick and easy solution. 
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OHH okay, I will try that tomorrow. I’m gonna go into the living room and watch something mindless now. Thank you so much for all your help. I’ll be back in touch tomorrow.
–Jerry
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Hey Gerald,
[OT] I envy you because I am still sitting in a apartment.
is mowing really needed? Isn’t it better for biodiversity to let the grass grow (and rot by itself)?
I’m glad I don’t have to deal with all the Christmas stuff. I give myself presents all year round!
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For what it’s worth, you should not have to. My controller is on a VLAN under the 10.0.2.0/24 range and has no issues with DHCP. Granted, I do have a Mac binding configured on my router to assign the Onefinity to a specific IP address.
Out of curiosity, are the circuits for both powerline devices on the same phase in your electrical panel? If not, I don’t think you would be able to establish a connection as there would be no physical link.
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I feel you, my wife and I are stewards of the land, but we’re right next to a highway, and it has to be mowed, the fire danger is significant.
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I don’t exactly know what to say to this as I’m not familiar with a VLAN or how to create one.
Yes the powerline connector is connecting.
This is beyond me for several reasons, one, I wouldn’t know where to start to do this, secondly, for some reason, the pop up keyboard on the touch screen refuses to work.
The VLAN is not important, it was just information about my own setup. I was simply confirming that the controller should have no issue obtaining an IP address within the 10.0.0.0/8 subnet using DHCP, so a static IP is not a requirement.
Have you tested this and found it to be working with any other device?
Why Do I Have the 169.254 IP Address?.
If your computer is stuck with a 169.254 IP address, something is wrong with your network interface. Essentially, it means your device couldn’t obtain a real IP address from your router’s DHCP server. Any address that begins with 169.254 indicates your computer never got a response.