3102 stopped connecting - Searching for NCP

[SteveRogers]

We have a NBX V3000 with twelve 3102B phones on it.  System has been fine for about 1.5 years.  Today at 4:30pm three of the phones stopped connecting.  When you look at NetSet for Telephone Configuration -> Telephones, it shows the status as Unknown.  Each of the phones keeps cycling through messages Searching for NCP... L2 (NCP Mac) and Waiting for DHCP Server... Attempting Layer 3 Discovery.  We are using IP-on-the-Fly.  What should I do to get the phones to connect again?  Thank you very much.  - Steve

[bosoxfan_1]

hi.. The phones send to the NBX a "slave status" every 30 seconds.. if the NBX does not hear from the phones in 4 minutes, it marks them as "unknown".. something happened to the network connection going to the NBX.

What has changed on your network? anyone put in any filters/firewalls? are these remote phones or on the same LAN as the NBX?

Also, only 1 NBX is allowed on one subnet (just want to make sure that you have only one because the phones will not boot if more than 1 NBX on a subnet)

[SteveRogers]

Bosoxfan,

Hi.  Thanks very much for the reply.  Nothing has changed on the network.  These phones & NBX are on their own lan with a dedicated 3-com switch.  I even tried plugging the phones directly into the switch bypassing the wall cabling and it did not make any difference.  The other 9 phones are still working.  We do have just the one NBX. 

Steve

[bosoxfan_1]

that is strange.

if these are 3102B phones, you can hit the program button, then 6 for advanced settings, then 3 that

resets the eeprom to factory defaults.  I would try that.

also, check the settings on the phone and look and see if anything looks strange.. like does it have

the wrong NCP mac address (should have 00e0bb000000 or the MAC address of the NCP)

[SteveRogers]

Bosoxfan,

I used the program button, option 6, then 3, then #, then mute button, then program button to reset the eeprom.  When it came back up it searched L2 then L3, then L2 and could not find the NCP.  I looked at the NCP MAC Address and it was set to ffffffffffff.  I looked at a telephone that is currently working and that too has its NCP MAC Address set to all f's.  None-the-less, I changed the NCP MAC Address to 00:e0:bb:b3:28:89 which is what NetSet shows as the System Mac Address.  The phone rebooted and still could not find the NCP.  It just continues to go through its cycle of 3-Com splash screen, L2 search, L3 search, L2 search, System Resetting.  I have also tried deleting the user and telephone from NetSet and setting it up again.  That did not make any difference either.  What do you think my next step should be?

Thank you again for your help.  - Steve

[merlin_1]

Do you have a spare tel ? I would try using a different tel , maybe the tel just went bad .

All f's are ok  . When the tel boots up , it sends arp requests out at layer 2 for the NCP . If no answer then it tries dhcp then static L3 settings . If you put in the mac , you are telling the phone to look for that particular Mac address ( NCP ) .

[SteveRogers]

Hi Merlin,

Thanks for the info on the phone not being required to have the Mac address entered.  We do not have a spare phone and since three of the 12 went out at the same time we are in a bit of a pickle.  Do you think it was some sort of electrical surge through the POE that damaged the phones?  Is there a way to prevent this in the future?  We have the 3Com POE switch on an APC UPS with auto voltage regulation to protect it.  We are probably going to need to order at least one new one for now.  Have you had any experience getting the phones repaired by 3-Com or some other service provider?  They are no longer under warranty.  - Steve

[bosoxfan_1]

yes, all f's will work.. but putting in the NCP means that it will look directly for the NCP.. this is quite strange.

can you take a non-working phone and place it in the same switch port as a working phone and see if it comes up?

only other thing is a trace will show what is going on...(trace from the NBX to see if the phones mac address

is getting there)

[direwolfnj]

Phones are shot. I have sent them out for repair to an outside repair guy and they say there is nothing they can do. It mostly happens when they unplug and plug the phone back in. Surge or something. 3Com charges more than the cost of a new phone to repair.

[SteveRogers]

Bosoxfan,

You da man.  When I plugged the non-working phone into a switch port for a working phone it worked.  I had tried plugging the non-working phone into several other switch ports and it did not work so had ruled out the switch as the problem... but, it turned out to be the switch.  We have a 3Com Baseline Switch 2426-PWR Plus 3C16491.  Somehow a bunch of the ports got mucked up and would not acknowledge the phones.  I rebooted the switch and it looks like all ports are working again.

Thanks to everyone for your help!   -Steve