Unifi Security Gateway with SuperHub 5

[wiredworm]

I've recently upgraded my connection from 350mbit to 1gbit, and as part of this they've shipped me a SuperHub 5 to replace my old Hub 3.

It arrived today and I did a straight switch of the routers and then connected an ethernet cable and laptop so I could switch it over into modem mode.  However, on doing so I found that the USG didn't receive an IP for the WAN port.

I was expecting it to be pretty much plug in play but clearly something funny is going on.  There seems to be some confusion over which port I should use, but so far i've tried both ports 1 and 4, and neither appears to work.  I also read somewhere that only one device can be attached when in modem mode; does this suggest that once i've switched it into modem mode I should immediately detach my laptop so the only wired device connected whilst the modem reboots is the USG?

I did wonder at first if it was an issue with the ports on the USG because the Unifi interface only offers 100mbit speeds when you look at the negotation config, but i've already been pushing 300Mbit+ over the WAN connection and the documentation states that all three interfaces on the USG support 1gbit, so it can't be that.

Grateful for any help people can offer.  Thanks.

[carl_pearce]

In modem mode only one wired device will be provided an IP address. This works by the first device the HUB 'sees' being assigned an IP and the MAC address is 'locked' onto. This means that even if you swap devices the HUB will only provide internet access to the original device, even if unplugged and you plug something else in!

You need to reboot the HUB to overcome this, so it provides an IP to the only device currently connected, which should be the USG's WAN port.

All other wired devices must be plugged into the USG.

[wiredworm]

Never mind.  I figured it out for myself.

For anyone else who needs to know I did the following:

1. USG connected to Port 4 on the Hub 5 (the one labelled 2.5gb).
2. Laptop on Port 1.
3. Switched to modem mode on the laptop and as soon as the spinning dialog appeared I pulled the NIC cable in Port 1.
4. Waited - less than 5 minutes later the USG shows a valid WAN IP.

So I think my issue was just leaving the laptop connected whilst the router was rebooting.

[carl_pearce]

Yes, as I explained above.

[wiredworm]

Sorry Carl.  I totally missed your response when I was looking into the issue.

I thought it might have made sense for the router to only work on a single nominated port, but as you quite rightly point out it seems to try to identify which one has a device connected and then only enables that; if you have multiple devices connected then it's a bit of a lottery as to which one gets enabled.

[carl_pearce]

No worries!