A better network is faster, safer, and more enjoyable to use. Firewalla provides tools to monitor your network, identify issues, and achieve greater network performance.
Firewalla Network Events provide a record of significant changes in the quality and availability of your network.
On your Firewalla's main screen, tap Network Health on the Event Journal. It'll take you to the Network Health page. Alternatively, you can view Health Events by tapping the Health tab at the bottom of the full Events list.
Here are some troubleshooting tips for some of the most common Network Health Events. For a full list of events, click here.
If you'd like some quick insights about your events, you can ask our Firewalla AI Assistant to analyze recent events and suggest some troubleshooting steps to try. Tap AI in the summary section, or tap Recent Events > Ask AI about the events.
Check out our other articles for more help with:
Firewalla defaults ICMP ping tests to your ISP's DNS servers and DNS requests to check DNS connectivity.
It is always best to start by checking your ISP's status page to ensure there are no outages or maintenance.
A physical status change triggers a WAN disconnect event. You should see an Ethernet Disconnected event before or after the WAN Disconnected event. If so, follow the steps to debug an unstable physical connection.
Ping and DNS tests are used for WAN Connectivity Tests. If any test fails, your WAN is considered disconnected. Tap on each event for more details, including the possible cause of the event. From the connectivity test history, you'll see which tests have failed and triggered the WAN Disconnected event.
If your network was up and Firewalla said it was down, you may need to tune the test targets.
If the Ping test fails frequently:
Sometimes, the ISP or something upstream may block ICMP or filter traffic to specific destinations, which could trigger this problem. Try more different test targets, such as the WAN network gateway or the WAN network DNS server.
Tap Edit Test Targets from the Ping test failed or DNS test failed event you found in the last step. Or, go to the Network > WAN Network detail page > scroll down > tap Test Target > tap Edit to change Ping Test Targets.
Notes:
If the DNS test fails frequently:
Check if the WAN's DNS server is running any DNS filtering. Try an unfiltered, reliable DNS server. If you are using OpenDNS, add the test domain to the \"Never Block\" list. How to check OpenDNS Web Content Filtering.
Go to Network > WAN Network detail page, tap Edit, scroll down and edit Primary DNS Server and/or Secondary DNS Server, and tap Save to submit the change. DNS Servers can be changed for both IPv4 and IPv6.
If the issue persists after trying the steps above, it may be a real internet problem. It's advisable to check your ISP’s system status page for maintenance or outages, or contact your ISP's technical support.
This event almost always means a physical disconnection between your Firewalla Box's WAN and your modem/router.
If you have a Firewalla Switch or Firewalla Access Point, you'll also receive Events when the device goes online or offline, and when any of its ports is connected or disconnected. See the full list.
Ensure that the Ethernet cable is securely plugged into your Firewalla box's port. Check for any physical damage to the cable and the ports it connects to.
Swap out the current Ethernet cable with a known working one to rule out the possibility of a faulty cable.
Check your modem for any recent changes or reboots.
You can try to place a simple/dumb switch between the Firewalla and your modem. If you no longer see the Ethernet Port disconnect, then the issue is likely on the modem side, which could potentially be:
Make sure your Firewalla and device are getting stable and sufficient power. Unstable power can cause random disconnects.
By default, all Firewalla ports are auto-negotiable. Firewalla negotiates the port speed via the Ethernet cable and the connected device. (Any of these three elements may cause the speed change).
If you have a Firewalla Switch or Firewalla Access Point, you'll also receive Events when a port's speed increases or decreases.
This action will trigger negotiations, and most of the time, it will get you back to the original speed. If not, please go to Step 2
For downlink ports, you can also restart the port from the app instead of unplugging the cable (requires Box 1.984): from your Firewalla's main screen, tap Network > Topology > tap your Box > tap the port > Restart This Port.
Ensure that the Ethernet cable you are using is qualified for the expected speed. For example, you need CAT 5e or better for 1 Gbps and CAT 6 for 10 Gbps.
Connect different devices to the same Firewalla port. If possible, put a switch in between. This can help determine the issue with the device or the network.
If possible, try connecting to a different Firewalla Ethernet port to see if it only happens on a specific Firewalla port.
STP is enabled on Firewalla when devices are connected directly to a Firewalla with multiple ports bridged into a single LAN. This is to protect your network from a switching loop, but it could make some devices uncomfortable. Check how to disable Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).
Some devices, like Mac mini, will set the link speed to 10mbps when it goes to sleep or power-saving mode.
Ensure that your network adapter drivers are up to date.
High packet loss and high latency won't bring your network down, but it could explain why sites are slow or can't load at all.
Tap the event in the Events list to see more details, including the possible cause of the event.
Are you experiencing any network issues? You can run a simple speed test from your LAN or Firewalla to see if your speed test is normal or not.
Check your ISP's status page to see if they're performing maintenance or experiencing outages.
If you are experiencing network issues, check your physical connections.
If you're still having network issues, go to Step 3.
If the issue persists after trying the steps above, it may be a real internet problem. Please contact your ISP's technical support.
If your speed test is normal and you are not experiencing any problems, tune the test targets.
Sometimes the upstream network has filtering on specific destinations. Not all IPs are pingable from your network. Try to use more popular public servers as your test target.
Additionally, you can change the ISP Profile of your WAN, so that fewer false positives are generated. On your Firewalla's main screen, tap Network > tap your WAN Connection > Edit > ISP Profile. Choose the profile that best fits your ISP connection, or leave it as Default.
This is mainly for the Purple unit or box with Wi-Fi SD installed:
If your power was not down, please check these.
| Box | \nPower Supply | \n
| Gold/Gold Plus/Gold Pro | \n12V 3A | \n
| GSE/Purple/Purple SE | \n5V 3A | \n
| Red/Blue/Blue Plus | \n5V 3A | \n
These Network Events are specific to the Firewalla Box. For Firewalla Switch and Access Point Events, see the table here.
| Event Types | \nEvent Description | \nTroubleshooting | \n
| WAN Disconnected | \nYour WAN has failed either a ping test or a DNS test. This typically means your WAN is not connected to the Internet. | \n\n If your WAN is disconnected, it often means your ISP is down. You may need to check with your ISP to resolve frequent or long outages. Also, please check your physical connections to ensure your ports and cables are where they should be. \n\n | \n
| WAN Restored | \nYour WAN has been reconnected after an outage. | \n\n |
| Wi-Fi WAN Disconnected from SSID | \nThis event appears if you're using your Firewalla Purple or Firewalla Gold + SD to configure a WAN connection using a Wi-Fi network and the connection is lost. | \n\n This often means the Wi-Fi network is down or the box is out of its range. Check that the Wi-Fi network is still operational and move the box closer to the Wi-Fi source. If you are using Gold + SD, try unplugging the SD, waiting a few seconds, and then plugging it back in. \n\n | \n
| Secondary WAN Disconnected | \nYour secondary WAN is not connected to the Internet. | \n\n As long as your primary WAN is up, you should still have Internet access even if your secondary WAN is down. You can troubleshoot this issue the same way you would troubleshoot your primary WAN going down. \n\n | \n
| Secondary WAN is Standby | \nThis event only appears if you have a multi-WAN configuration in failover mode. Your secondary WAN is connected to the Internet, but you are still connected to your primary WAN. | \nIf you want to change your multi-WAN configuration mode or change which connection is your primary WAN, you can learn more here: Firewalla Feature: Multi-WAN. | \n
| Secondary WAN is Active | \nThis event only appears if you have a multi-WAN configuration in failover mode. Your primary WAN is down, but you still have Internet access through your secondary WAN. | \nIf you want to change your multi-WAN configuration mode or change which connection is your primary WAN, you can learn more here: Firewalla Feature: Multi-WAN. | \n
| Both WANs are Disconnected | \nThis event only appears if you have a multi-WAN configuration. All of your WANs have failed either a ping test or a DNS test, meaning they are not connected to the Internet. | \n\n Both of your WANs failing is unusual and may have a specific local cause (such as a natural disaster near you or a physical disruption to your network setup). If not, you can troubleshoot each WAN as you would a single-WAN setup. \n\n | \n
| High Packet Loss | \nPacket loss is when data doesn't arrive at its destination. This can impact the speed and quality of real-time content, such as Zoom meetings, streaming videos, and VOIP calls. | \n\n A variety of factors can cause packet loss, including but not limited to weak signal strength, port/connection issues, system noise, interference, and an overburdened network. \n\n | \n
| High Latency | \nNetwork latency is the time it takes for you to request and receive information. High latency can drastically affect your online meeting, phone, or real-time interactions. | \n\n Latency spikes also have a variety of potential causes, including distance, internet connection type, content type, Wi-Fi, and hardware. Please note that latency can only be eliminated partially due to the cumulative effects of distance and infrastructure equipment. \n\n | \n
| Ethernet Port Disconnected | \nA previously filled Ethernet port has been disconnected. | \n\n If you weren't expecting this event, please check your physical networking setup to ensure all your connections are in place. \n\n | \n
| Ethernet Port Connected | \nA previously empty Ethernet port has been connected. | \n\n |
| Port Speed Change | \nOne or more of your Ethernet ports has changed speed. | \n\n Any number of factors can cause a port speed change. You may need to check with your ISP, inspect or upgrade your Ethernet cable, or restart your devices. \n\n | \n
| Power Outage | \nYour box has experienced a power outage. | \n\n This event is triggered any time there's a loss of power to the box. To prevent power outages from affecting your network, you can try connecting your box to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). \n\n | \n
These Network Events are specific to the Firewalla Switch and Firewalla Access Point 7. For Firewalla Box Events, see the table above.
| Event Types | \nEvent Description | \nTroubleshooting | \n
| Switch/AP Offline | \nYour Firewalla Switch or Access Point has gone offline. | \n\n Check that the device has power and that its uplink cable is securely connected. \n\n | \n
| Switch/AP Online | \nYour Firewalla Switch or Access Point is back online. | \n\n |
| Port Disconnected | \nA previously filled Ethernet port on your Switch or Access Point has been disconnected. | \n\n If you weren't expecting this event, please check your physical networking setup to ensure all your connections are in place. \n\n | \n
| Port Connected | \nA previously empty Ethernet port on your Switch or Access Point has been connected. | \n\n |
| Port Speed Increase/Decrease | \nThe negotiated speed of a port on your Switch or Access Point has gone up or down (for example, from 1 Gbps to 100 Mbps). | \n\n Any number of factors can cause a port speed change. You may need to inspect or upgrade your Ethernet cable, or restart the port or your devices. \n\n | \n
| DFS radar detected | \nDFS radar was detected and the AP7 switched its 5 GHz channel automatically. | \n\n |