Score:1

O2 HomeBox 6742 network connection timeouts

de flag

Connecting to the internet via a specific router (O2 HomeBox 6742 connected to DSL), my Ubuntu laptop can hardly reach anything except for Google and its services, including YouTube, Spotify, and Breitbandmessung.

Connections mostly time out before receiving any data, both in all web browsers and when using ping or traceroute. Sometimes I can reach websites like GitHub, StackOverflow, or o2online.de (my ISP's customer portal) when retrying and reloading frequently, but most of the time I can't reach them at all.

Connecting via ethernet cable, it's only a little bit better. The same laptop has no connection problems using any other router, including a hotspot from my android mobile and numerous coworking cafés.

The same router did not show any severe connection problems with any other client so far, including an Android 13 phone and a Lenovo ThinkPad both with Linux Mint and Windows 10, although you can see timeouts in the ThinkPad traceroute protocol below as well.

According to my provider (O2)'s support, the router is working without any problems and providing the services as contracted. Measuring network speed using the official broadband analysis app Breitbandmessung by German Bundesnetzagentur, sometimes the analysis does not start at all due to "no stable internet", but most of the time it reports a working connection faster than my plan requires.

  • Router: O2 HomeBox 6742, RTV7905VW-D112, by ASKEY Computer Corporation, Taiwan
  • Router Firmware Version: 4.0.0.90v
  • Plan: O2 my Home M (DSL, download up to 50 Mbit/s, upload up to 10 Mbit/s).

As the connection issues only occur with the following client / router combination, irrespective of the connection type (wifi or ethernet), this looks like a software / connection problem, so tried various configuration settings, like disabling IPv6 on the client side, and changing the wifi access point settings in the router config, but to no avail.

My Ubuntu network setup does not use an explicit network manager setup, as far as I can see.

  • Client: Tuxedo Infinitybook S15 gen 6
  • Ethernet interface: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
  • CPU: Intel i5-1135G7 (x64)
  • Wireless interface: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
  • OS: Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS
$ uname -a
Linux ingofinitybook 5.15.0-10048-tuxedo #54~20.04.1tux1 SMP Tue Sep 13 13:25:19 UTC 2022 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
ingo@ingofinitybook:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS
Release:    20.04
Codename:   focal
$ sudo lshw -c network
  *-network                 
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:34:00.0
       logical name: enp52s0
       version: 15
       serial: 80:fa:5b:90:d6:9b
       size: 1Gbit/s
       capacity: 1Gbit/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=5.15.0-10048-tuxedo duplex=full firmware=rtl8168h-2_0.0.2 02/26/15 ip=192.168.1.189 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1Gbit/s
       resources: irq:18 ioport:3000(size=256) memory:5aa04000-5aa04fff memory:5aa00000-5aa03fff
  *-network
       description: Wireless interface
       product: Wi-Fi 6 AX200
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:35:00.0
       logical name: wlp53s0
       version: 1a
       serial: 18:26:49:cb:93:19
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=iwlwifi driverversion=5.15.0-10048-tuxedo firmware=66.f1c864e0.0 cc-a0-66.ucode latency=0 link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
       resources: irq:19 memory:5a900000-5a903fff
  *-network:0
       description: Ethernet interface
       physical id: 3
       logical name: vethfa1812f
       serial: a2:a9:3c:cb:8f:66
       size: 10Gbit/s
       capabilities: ethernet physical
       configuration: autonegotiation=off broadcast=yes driver=veth driverversion=1.0 duplex=full link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=10Gbit/s
  *-network:1
       description: Ethernet interface
       physical id: 4
       logical name: veth0617a79
       serial: d6:33:23:74:68:37
       size: 10Gbit/s
       capabilities: ethernet physical
       configuration: autonegotiation=off broadcast=yes driver=veth driverversion=1.0 duplex=full link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=10Gbit/s
$ ifconfig
br-430b980183b5: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.1.1  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.1.255
        inet6 fe80::42:5dff:fe92:6a98  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 02:42:5d:92:6a:98  txqueuelen 0  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 138  bytes 18125 (18.1 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

docker0: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.0.1  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.0.255
        ether 02:42:c1:6f:18:d2  txqueuelen 0  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

enp52s0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.1.189  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.1.255
        inet6 2a01:c23:61ff:b300:e53:9b85:6dbc:2971  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x0<global>
        inet6 fe80::d019:39bb:40c6:8951  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        inet6 2a01:c23:61ff:b300:bd31:187a:630c:9a5f  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x0<global>
        ether 80:fa:5b:90:d6:9b  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 4687  bytes 4523213 (4.5 MB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 3616  bytes 457095 (457.0 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 1000  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 37342  bytes 3291783 (3.2 MB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 37342  bytes 3291783 (3.2 MB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

veth0617a79: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet6 fe80::d433:23ff:fe74:6837  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether d6:33:23:74:68:37  txqueuelen 0  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 180  bytes 23333 (23.3 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

vethfa1812f: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet6 fe80::a0a9:3cff:fecb:8f66  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether a2:a9:3c:cb:8f:66  txqueuelen 0  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 179  bytes 23261 (23.2 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

wlp53s0: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        ether 18:26:49:cb:93:19  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 355  bytes 148116 (148.1 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 234  bytes 36531 (36.5 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Traceroutes

Comparing traceroutes of the probelmatic setup (Infinitybook Ubuntu + O2 HomeBox via wifi or via ethernet) to unproblematic traces (Infinitybook Ubuntu + mobile hotspot; ThinkPad Mint + O2 HomeBox; ThinkPad Windows + O2 HomeBox):

Infinitybook Ubuntu + O2 HomeBox 6742 via wifi

$ traceroute google.com
traceroute to google.com (142.250.186.110), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
 1  * * *
 2  * * *
 3  * * *
 4  * * *
 5  * * *
 6  * * *
 7  * * *
 8  * * *
 9  * * *
10  * * *
11  * * 74.125.244.100 (74.125.244.100)  51.553 ms
12  216.239.62.243 (216.239.62.243)  19.947 ms 172.253.71.134 (172.253.71.134)  19.935 ms *
13  108.170.228.254 (108.170.228.254)  26.808 ms  23.426 ms  22.833 ms
14  209.85.252.76 (209.85.252.76)  22.822 ms 108.170.228.254 (108.170.228.254)  29.663 ms  29.651 ms
15  108.170.252.1 (108.170.252.1)  23.958 ms 142.250.214.191 (142.250.214.191)  19.846 ms 108.170.252.1 (108.170.252.1)  24.502 ms
16  fra24s06-in-f14.1e100.net (142.250.186.110)  23.928 ms 142.250.214.191 (142.250.214.191)  26.335 ms fra24s06-in-f14.1e100.net (142.250.186.110)  23.327 ms

Infinitybook Ubuntu Linux + O2 HomeBox 6742 via ethernet

$ traceroute google.com
traceroute to google.com (142.250.186.174), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
 1  * * *
 2  loopback1.0003.acln.01.ber.de.net.telefonica.de (62.52.201.186)  5.823 ms  5.807 ms  5.795 ms
 3  bundle-ether17.0004.dbrx.01.ber.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.2.114)  5.784 ms  5.772 ms bundle-ether17.0003.dbrx.01.ber.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.2.110)  6.020 ms
 4  bundle-ether10.0003.corx.01.ber.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.6.178)  17.041 ms ae10-0.0002.corx.02.ber.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.25.243)  16.260 ms bundle-ether11.0003.corx.01.ber.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.6.230)  20.189 ms
 5  ae4-0.0002.corx.02.fra.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.0.73)  16.454 ms ae1-0.0001.corx.04.muc.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.5.86)  20.403 ms ae4-0.0002.corx.02.fra.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.0.73)  16.214 ms
 6  bundle-ether2.0002.dbrx.04.muc.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.3.231)  16.202 ms  14.521 ms bundle-ether1.0003.dbrx.02.fra.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.14.163)  15.439 ms
 7  bundle-ether1.0001.prrx.04.muc.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.7.157)  21.679 ms bundle-ether2.0001.prrx.04.muc.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.8.231)  18.400 ms bundle-ether1.0004.prrx.02.fra.de.net.telefonica.de (62.53.8.187)  15.808 ms
 8  72.14.198.209 (72.14.198.209)  21.625 ms  21.043 ms  21.542 ms
 9  * * *
10  142.250.234.18 (142.250.234.18)  19.872 ms 108.170.247.113 (108.170.247.113)  15.172 ms 216.239.63.96 (216.239.63.96)  14.681 ms
11  142.250.214.203 (142.250.214.203)  21.636 ms 108.170.247.103 (108.170.247.103)  14.788 ms 142.250.214.201 (142.250.214.201)  22.073 ms
12  fra24s08-in-f14.1e100.net (142.250.186.174)  21.886 ms * 172.253.70.79 (172.253.70.79)  21.659 ms

Infinitybook Ubuntu Linux + mobile hotspot (D2)

$ traceroute google.com
traceroute to google.com (172.217.16.78), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
 1  _gateway (192.168.71.2)  8.380 ms  8.326 ms  8.311 ms
 2  * * *
 3  * * *
 4  * * *
 5  * * *
 6  * * *
 7  * * *
 8  * * *
 9  145.254.2.217 (145.254.2.217)  89.478 ms  87.470 ms  87.531 ms
10  145.254.2.217 (145.254.2.217)  87.519 ms  87.428 ms  89.294 ms
11  72.14.216.250 (72.14.216.250)  87.371 ms  87.357 ms  74.249 ms
12  * * *
13  108.170.253.49 (108.170.253.49)  46.302 ms 142.251.244.104 (142.251.244.104)  46.481 ms par03s13-in-f78.1e100.net (172.217.16.78)  52.838 ms

Lenovo ThinkPad X230 Linux Mint + O2 HomeBox 6742 via wifi

$ tracepath google.com
 1?: [LOCALHOST]                        0.014ms pmtu 1492
 1:  o2.box                                             3.524ms
 1:  o2.box                                             2.874ms
 2:  2a02:3001::240                                     8.881ms
 3:  2a02:3001::161                                     9.362ms
 4:  no reply
 5:  no reply
 6:  2a02:3001::6b                                      25.068ms asymm  4
 7:  2a02:3040:0:10::c                                  18.002ms asymm  3
 8:  no reply
 9:  no reply

$ tracepath o2online.de
 1?: [LOCALHOST]                    pmtu 1500
 1:  o2.box                                             1.757ms
 1:  o2.box                                             2.446ms
 2:  o2.box                                             1.752ms pmtu 1492
 2:  loopback1.0003.acln.01.ber.de.net.telefonica.de    7.934ms
 3:  bundle-ether17.0004.dbrx.01.ber.de.net.telefonica.de   7.803ms
 4:  ae11-0.0002.corx.02.ber.de.net.telefonica.de       20.501ms asymm  6
 5:  ae4-0.0002.corx.02.fra.de.net.telefonica.de        19.694ms asymm  6
 6:  ae4-0.0002.dirx.04.fra.de.net.telefonica.de        18.061ms
 7:  62.53.236.49                                       20.430ms asymm  6
 8:  no reply
 9:  no reply

Lenovo ThinkPad X230 Windows 10 + O2 HomeBox 6742 via wifi

>tracert google.com
Tracing route to google.com [2a00:1450:4001:82b::200e] over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 2 ms 6 ms 7 ms o2.box [2a01:c23:61ff:b300:8ade:7cff:fe36:bc69]
2 8 ms 8 ms 7 ms 2a02:3001::240
3 * * 13 ms 2a02:3001::161
4 21 ms 20 ms * bundle-ether7.0003.corx.01.ber.de.net.telefonica.de [::ffff:62.53.13.42]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 17 ms 17 ms 20 ms 2a02:3001::3f
7 24 ms 20 ms 20 ms 2a02:3040:0:10::c
8 18 ms * * 2001:4860:0:110c::8
9 21 ms 28 ms 20 ms 2001:4860::c:4001:5638
10 * 27 ms 40 ms 2001:4860::c:4000:f873
11 * * * Request timed out.
12 23 ms 23 ms 22 ms 2001:4860:0:1::5013
13 23 ms 23 ms 23 ms fra24s08-in-x0e.1e100.net [2a00:1450:4001:82b::200e]
Trace complete.
David avatar
cn flag
Ask the ISP to send you a new router.
Ingo Steinke avatar
de flag
@David the ISP, as expected, states that their router is working fine. Had a similar problem with Vodafone (their VodafoneStation had conflicts with ThinkPad Laptops and Huawei phones). Seems that German ISPs tend to default to cheap (and buggy) Chinese routers and charge an extra monthly fee if users want a FritzBox router instead.
David avatar
cn flag
Might be that is the way you need to go.
Ingo Steinke avatar
de flag
Another FritzBox recommendation and a hint that the HomeBox routers might be buggy https://hilfe.o2online.de/english-o2-community-broadband-landline-70/o2-homebox-6742-network-connection-timeouts-601723?postid=2696779#post2696779
Ingo Steinke avatar
de flag
I am still interested to learn about the actual error or misconfiguration. I would have thought after decades the transport layer of the internet should be a stable groundwork, but it seems to be the contrary.
Ingo Steinke avatar
de flag
I can now confirm that the same Ubuntu laptop is now working flawlessly on the same DSL endpoint after replacing the O2 HomeBox with a FritzBox 7520 (a DSL model branded by another ISP, 1&1 that can also be used as an O2 DSL client). Still a little bit curious about the actual problem, but no more urgency about it. Anyone with the same problems, get a decent router!
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