Network

When your device shows Offline in the Helium App / Helium Website, firstly you need to use a computer to connect to the same LAN cable / WiFi to make sure it can access the Internet. This is the fastest way to make sure your network is good.

But there are many reasons can cause “Offline”. See Why Offline / Syncing.

You may see Relay in Helium App or HeliumWeb. The Relay status is determined by lib_p2p. Hotspot’s connection is being relayed through another Hotspot on the network which may affect mining. If the port 44158 is closed, you’d better to open it to solve the Relay.

Use Port Forwarding to solve your Relay

1. Test Port 44158

https://www.whatsmyip.org/port-scanner

If Port 44158 is Open, not Relayed. You can skip steps below.

Your bobcatminer IP address every time your router restarted if not reserved.

It can be found in LAN Network / DHCP settings.

2. Reserve bobcatminer IP address in your router

3. Port Forwarding 44158 in your router

Port Forwarding

It can be found in Game / Security.

Now change your “NAT filtering” to “open”.

4. Change your NAT settings to OPEN

5. IP4 SPI Firewall

Sometimes you need to try disable your IP4 SPI Firewall in the router if you can see it.

Some routers don’t need restart but you’d better restart it if you don’t know

6. Restart your router & your bobcatminer

Enable UPnP to solve your Relay

1. Test Port 44158

https://www.whatsmyip.org/port-scanner

If Port 44158 is Open, not Relayed. You can skip steps below.

Your bobcatminer IP address every time your router restarted if not reserved.

It can be found in LAN Network / DHCP settings.

2. Reserve bobcatminer IP address in your router

3. Enable UPnP and delete Port Forwardings

Enable UPnP

If UPnP works, after UPnP enabled, wait for more than 30minutes (depends on the advertisement period), you will see ports were added to Portmap table. If it does not work, try Port Forwarding.

Helium Miner should be able to add 44158 to Portmap table for you when UPnP enabled. See https://github.com/helium/erlang-libp2p/blob/master/src/nat/libp2p_nat_server.erl

Now change your “NAT filtering” to “open”.

4. Change your NAT settings to OPEN

Suggestions

If you are using a wireless network hotspot and you can enable UPnP, it will be convinient because the Miner will map port 44158 for you directly. But UPnP is not a universally standardized feature, and therefore does not always work as intended. Some routers don’t have UPnP and some will not work even if you enable UPnP. Enable user configurable UPnP may give all p2p softwares the ability to map ports in your router. A worm or malware program can use UPnP to compromise the security of your LAN. I recommend that you manually set up port forwarding if you can instead of enabling UPnP. However, in some cases, dynamic port forwarding is required.

Relay status inside Miner

By opening port 44158, you’ve resolved the Relay. It’s part of the firewall settings. But keep in mind a Non-Relayed Miner may not work as expected if you have a strict firewall. Some Packet Rules may filter your witness / beacon packets. If you saw Invalid Packets in your diagnose log, go to your firewall settings, add pass rules &/ disable deny rules for your bobcatminer / the second Router.

Diagrams from Helium Website, Thanks to @oktyvm for these awesome graphics!

If your router has a diagnose log, enable and use it. After Port Forwarding enabled, you can see both ongoing and incoming traffic in the log right away (no reboot in most of the routers).

You’ve setup the WiFi but then you switched to the Cable. Here’s the steps to forget the WiFi using Helium Hotspot Utility App. Connect your Miner via Bluetooth, scan it and connect to the hotspot. Then follow steps below:

On your phone, google “Internet speed test”. If you are using WiFi, test at exactly the same location as your Miner. Make sure your network speed is fast (100M will be perfect).