ARP binding not working -> WOL from internet not working on Archer C6
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I'm trying to set up WOL on my PC which is directly connected to Archer C6.
Now, quick disclaimer: WOL works "for a while" after shutdown, when the router still remembers the ARP for my PC. Unfortunately after some time or a router restart the ARP table gets cleared and WOL no longer works.
AFAIK to make it work I need two things:
- static LAN IP
- ARP binding entry
- DDNS / static WAN IP
Alas, it seems there might be a bug in this FW version. After setting up a static LAN IP in the DHCP I cannot add an ARP binding in the security section because I'm getting a "The to-be-added address already exists" error. Strangely enough, I CAN click on the little "link" icon in the ARP device list and this DOES create an ARP entry (the entry also changes to "bound"), but since I cannot wake my PC after a router restart, I don't think this actually works.
I've also tried the "other way" - first add an ARP entry, then try and add a DHCP static entry - same "address already exists" error.
So, how should I set up the router so that WOL works without issues? The FAQ (https://www.tp-link.com/en/support/faq/923/) suggests that BOTH DHCP and ARP bindings need to be created, but the FW is clearly preventing this...
EDIT:
On a side note: I'm using a WOL app on my phone which is configured to send the packet to the WAN IP, and that gets forwarded using a virtual server to the appropriate LAN IP -> MAC. If my phone is disconnected from the LAN WiFi, the the WOL packet will work (assuming the binding on the router is working - again, it'll stop working after a router restart!). However the same packet will not work if the phone is already inside the LAN. Shouldn't the router still forward the packet when it's coming from the LAN (NAT loopback)?
EDIT 2:
It seems the ARP bindings don't really work at all. I've disabled DHCP and added an ARP binding and manually set up my PCs IPs. The PC will show up as "bound" in the device list on the ARP page. After a router reboot the list will no longer contain the entry (if my PC is off at the time). When I booted my PC up, it was STILL UNBOUND (despite having an ARP entry in the bottom list)!
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So, a new firmware update came out about a week ago, after nearly one year, and the problem remains. ARP binding list is, apparently, not read after a reboot. The settings remain there, but are not effective until I turn them off and on again.
Come on, Tp-Link! It doesn't seem like a very complicated problem to solve. It's like there's a line missing in the boot instructions!
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@Geeohgo The worst bit is that either this is a case isolated to specific units for some odd reason, or... and this is scary, TP still doesn't understand the issue or cannot reproduce it (I've made a support request and got... nothing but the usual, with the end result being that TP-Link can't see the issue on their end).
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Great news, everyone!
As you can see from the message above, I was contacted by a very nice and helpful engineer from TP-Link and, after exchanging a few messages and sending them a backup file from my Archer C6v2, they were finally able to pinpoint the problem.
There seems to be an issue with the IPv6 protocol and the ARP binding. As soon as I disable IPv6, the ARP binding entries stick and work as they should, even after a router reboot or power down.
As I don't need IPv6 now (and probably won't for a while), this completely solves the problem for me, although there's obviously the need for a firmware update addressing this issue, especially for people who need IPv6 and ARP binding.
Anyway, I'd like to thank Mr. Hank Zhang from TP-Link support for his attention and effort to solve the problem.
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I'd just like to chime in that I was in contact with the same person, and have come to the same conclusion. This also is a nice explenation for why this wasn't always a reproducable issue, since it seems IPv6 still has some growing to do and isn't always available.
Personally for the time being I'll still be using my old router for, well, routing since it supports both IPv6 and a static ARP bind. I'm also really against TP-Link's design philosophy where it's not possible to use the same MAC address for both a static DHCP entry and an ARP binding at the same time; my old router permits this and this causes no issues, and I'd say if someone creates a static DHCP entry then an ARP binding to go along with it would be a very sensible thing to do.
Granted, my old router doesn't have a built-in interface for static ARP binds but it's possible to script them in anyway.
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Thank for sharing your opinion about the issue, as mentioned by Hank that this will also report to the R&D team, they will see how to resolve this maybe in the future firmware updates, we hope you could wait.
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