DHCP is not healthy

Aristech

I've seen the "DHCP is not healthy" advice in the Fing desktop app for 1 month and I don't know what else can I do, because I've already power cycled the router and nothing happens, the app continue showing me that alert

Robin_from_Fing

Hi @Aristech
Have you tried to refresh the scan and then check if the warning is still there? Also, if you open the warning explanation with (?) icon then it will provide you with an option to mute the warning.

JediThug

https://app.fing.com/internet/helpme/view/8A0B0E2B2807C01C
"No DHCP active, devices will have troubles entering the network"
I am absolutely not a networking expert, so I have no idea how to fix this. Any advice would be really helpful.
Thanks everybody.

momcat1

I've been getting this for 3 days, 'Your network could be experiencing issues with allowing new devices in. Typical workaround is power cycling the router.Health check code: W415', yet everything is connected just fine.

James734

Would suggest taking a look at your routers dhcp scope. Depending on configuration it could be limited to a small number of IP’s. Which would lead to devices unable to obtain and IP. As our once smaller networks grow in device counts these smaller pools can get exhausted.

momcat1

I checked that first. I have a total of 55 possible devices recognized with an average of 32 online at any time. I have 200 ip's allocated. No collisions.Seems like enough to me. I am wondering if maybe they see my router and its secondary access point are being seen as multiple DHCP, which is not the case. It's a mesh system.

James734

Yeah, If you have pool of 200 and have a total of 55 possible devices you're fine. Not sure what system you have, but I wouldn't think the secondary acess point would even have DHCP or should be seen as a second DHCP. I've had a Netgear Orbi system and recently switched to a Linksys Velop and I haven't seen this in either system.

momcat1

I have a Dlink COVR system, and until a couple of days ago, I never saw this warning. After I wrote this post I got the error again. By rule, I reboot my router weekly, to keep crud out like this. I agree. The secondary access point doesn't have DHCP. It relies on the master. The only other thing on my network they might be keying off is my SamKnows box, but it also doesn't have DHCP. I really wish they wouldn't just arbitrarily make assumptions. Some of us do more than just activities the average user does. Thanks for confirming. I didn't think my allowed IP's was a problem.

James734

Hmm. I wonder if the reboot isn't actually creating the issue for you possibly. When you reboot the box it could be creating a flood of DHCP requests and/or IP address conflicts. I'm not sure exactly what FING is doing to determine there is problem with DHCP. If it's seeing a flood of DHCP request or even DHCP failures on the network I could see it detecting this as a failure. I'd try not rebooting it or at least change your pattern some and see if it still happens. I don't follow the idea of rebooting for the sake of rebooting. I can typically go months with out a reboot.

momcat1

I started scheduling reboots two years ago, when I had problems with devices getting kicked off the network and with collisions. I rarely have either of these any more. The timing of the errors have nothing in common with when I rebooted. For instance, my reboot is on Monday morning. Why am I seeing the errors every day this week, multiple times a day?

AlexMowbray

I have the same problem - dhcp allegedly not healthy, but plenty of ip addresses available and no problem for devices getting an IP address. 

Robin_from_Fing

AlexMowbray said:

I have the same problem - dhcp allegedly not healthy, but plenty of ip addresses available and no problem for devices getting an IP address. 

You can disable the particular warning by clicking on the (?) icon and it will allow you to mute the particular warning.

momcat1

I am aware that I can mute the warning, but I'd really rather find out what is triggering the warning. I also see collision warnings most day, but have been unable to find any devices having this sort of issue, either. My network allows for 100 IP's and I only ever use about 35. Plenty of space to avoid collisions. I have even forced removed devices to allow them to reconnect and watched for collisions. The only software that reports collisions is Fing. This makes no sense. And while I'm at it, Fing constantly reports my laptop as connected ethernet, when it has been connected wifi for over a year.

Robin_from_Fing

Can you let me know if you are using Fing desktop on MAC O.S or Windows so I can isolate the issue?

Aristech

I am using Windows 10

Robin_from_Fing

Aristech said:

I am using Windows 10

Can you share the screenshot of the error? Also, if it is a false alert then you can disable the particular warning by clicking on the (?) icon and it will allow you to mute the particular warning

momcat1

Sorry for they delay in responding. I am using WIndows 10.

momcat1

Here is the screen snip for the not healthy warning. I had to unmute it to show you.

Robin_from_Fing

Thanks @momcat1

To help isolate the issue, please perform the following steps: 

1. What is 'Home' health check saying? if you can share a screenshot or even better a shared report, it would be very helpful. 

2. Share the output of commands: 'ipconfig' and 'route print' from command line 

momcat1

Aristech

For me is the same issue that @momcat1 is having

jpkeates

Fing is also alerting me that DHCP is "not healthy" and then that everything is working properly a few minutes later. The two messages alternate continually (and continuously).

As far as I can tell DHCP is working fine - new devices connect without issue. The only evidence that something is wrong is the warning. It's possible that there is an unusually large number of devices on the single DHCP server, but it's within the maximum.

Robin_from_Fing

jpkeates said:

Fing is also alerting me that DHCP is "not healthy" and then that everything is working properly a few minutes later. The two messages alternate continually (and continuously).

As far as I can tell DHCP is working fine - new devices connect without issue. The only evidence that something is wrong is the warning. It's possible that there is an unusually large number of devices on the single DHCP server, but it's within the maximum.

Thanks for reporting. How many devices do you have?
The warning is also checking how many devices you have in order to advise if oversized/undersized.

jpkeates

@Robin I have 62 active out of 204 ever detected by Fing. About 20 are probably in existence but switched off. Most of the others are family devices or stuff that's never going to reappear.

I have a particular problem with one system (which is a Sky TV mesh system) that has particular problems when the IP addresses change, so the TTL on my DHCP server is set (deliberately way too long at 21 days).

It doesn't cause me any issues, it's just odd to look at a series of notifications that alternate between You have Warnings and All Good each a few minutes apart. 

momcat1

As I continue to see these warnings day after day, I do wonder how Fing is recognizing my equipment. I too, am on a mesh system, which has 1 router and 1 access point which could be incorrectly read as a router, but isn't. It is deployed and configured merely to extend wifi to the back half of the house. I see jpkeates also references a mesh system. ON the device reports, the router is recognized as a router, and the access point is referenced as a a router/gateway.

jpkeates

@momcat1 that's interesting. I have three access points on the network (TP Link TL-WA801ND units).
But the Fing App doesn't show them as routers.

momcat1

@jpjpkeates - when I used TPLink networking equipment my access points didnt show as routers,either. They weren't real good at extending the signal, either, one of the reasons I got rid of them. The other reason was because I kept catching g the router phoning 'home' to China. There was also a lot of incoming pinging going on.

So I have Dlink equipment now, which I do like, for the most part.

jpkeates

@momcat1 This TP Link kit is working really well, and Fing thinks they're access points rather than routers, which is what they are.
I've not noticed them phone home more than most of my other kit does (usually once a day)

BostonAutomations

I can here from the Fing weekly digest email.

I’ve been having this same issue for weeks and cannot narrow down the fix. Not sure I would click the “?” to hide the alert if I don’t know if it is a false alert or not.

Also, what could be the cause of the error where the app shows an alert that says something like, “A device is trying to join your network but is not getting an IP address”?

When this happened it was for a device that had a MAC reservation on my router, so there shouldn’t have been any sort of conflict.

Robin_from_Fing

BostonAutomations said:

Also, what could be the cause of the error where the app shows an alert that says something like, “A device is trying to join your network but is not getting an IP address”?

When this happened it was for a device that had a MAC reservation on my router, so there shouldn’t have been any sort of conflict.

Are you getting this message on Fing desktop or Fing app: “A device is trying to join your network but is not getting an IP address”?

momcat1

Robin, it doesn't seem like anything is being done to resolve this problem, since the thread was created in June and now it's the end of July. We know we can mute the report, but that doesn't solve anything. If there is a real problem being picked up by Fing, then we need the report to narrow it down. For instance, I am seeing the problem, and the only suggestion Fing has is to reboot my router. I lost count of how many times I saw that recommendation 5 minutes after I had just rebooted my router. What precisely is the error referring to?