How to Fix a Relayed Bobcat Miner 300 – Helium Miner No Inbound

Learn how to fix a relayed Bobcat Miner 300 in three steps with our comprehensive repair guide. Get your mining equipment up and running again!

When other miners are preventing a Bobcat Miner from continuing to work, it is relayed. The Bobcat Miner’s attempts to solve the block are becoming more challenging, which is usually the cause of this. The Bobcat Miner is forced to stop mining when the level of difficulty becomes too high, which causes a relay. Now, let’s see the impact of relaying and how to fix a relayed Bobcat Miner 300.

The Impact of Relaying

The mining operation’s productivity and profitability suffer when a Bobcat Miner is relayed. The challenger is unable to receive the receipt from the witnesses, which causes no witnesses and therefore zero HNT rewards. It is crucial to comprehend the root causes of relaying and how to stop it.

Inadequate ventilation in the mine is one of the major causes of relaying. A material buildup or inadequately sized airways may cause this. Carbon dioxide levels and other harmful gases may rise as a result of inadequate ventilation, which may clog the miner.

If a miner does get stuck, it needs to be taken out and repaired right away. A problem with the wiring or other electrical components is another factor that can contribute to relaying.

These flaws may cause the miner to overheat and shut down as a result. Operators should also make sure that the miner is properly maintained and that any damaged components are replaced right away.

Operators need to be aware of any potential risks to their safety that could result in relaying. The miner might malfunction if it is used, for instance, in an area with a lot of dust or other debris. Miners need to be regularly inspected for any indications of wear and tear or damage.

Common Causes of Relaying

Relaying has a number of frequent causes. The most common are:

• Outdated Software: A Bobcat Miner may be unable to break the block due to outdated software, which will cause a relay.
• Overheating: Bobcat Miners frequently experience overheating, which if unaddressed could result in a relay.
• Poor Network Connection: The Bobcat Miner could act as a relay if the network connection is unstable.
• Hardware Failure: A Bobcat Miner may occasionally experience hardware issues that prevent it from solving the block, which results in a relay.

How to Fix a Relayed Bobcat Miner 300

The Bobcat Miner 300 Relay problem can be solved using three main steps. Even though not all are always necessary, taking care of them all will guarantee that the Relay issue is solved permanently.

1. Port 44158 should be open both inbound and outbound.
2. Open ports 22 and 443 for outbound traffic.
3. Stop your IP from rotating by setting a static IP address.

Related Hotspots in Helium Explorer are connected to some simple troubleshooting found here. I’ve listed the top solutions I’ve discovered for fixing the Relay issue below. Using a variety of methods, I have fixed the Relay problem for hundreds of devices in North America and Europe. If you have the luxury of owning a third-party router, I’ve discovered that it is the simplest way to get Relay out of my Hotspots. Third-party routers frequently include a user-friendly app that offers a simple user interface for opening and closing ports. The next best option is to call your Internet Service Provider (ISP) if you lack technical knowledge and find reading instructions intimidating. How much service you receive will depend on your ISP and who you contact for customer support. The responses come back ranging from “I don’t know what you are talking about” to helpful staff that seem quite technical in their abilities. The last option is to do it yourself, which can occasionally be frustrating, particularly if the ISP instructions are unclear.

Port Forwarding 44158

While opening ports 44158 has been mentioned in numerous blog and form posts, there are a number of other factors that must be taken into consideration. The solution to the issue is succinctly described below.

Port Forwarding 44158:

1. Aftermarket routers often offer an iOS or Google Play app which easily facilitates the ability to open and restrict ports.
2. Ask your ISP (ie. Cox, Spectrum, Verizon, etc…) to help open 44158 ports. When calling, ask for technical support. Assuming the customer support person understands what you are asking they will either walk you through how to open the ports yourself or they will do it for you. Don’t forget to ask them to stop rotating your IP address.
3. Follow the instructions associated with your ISP provided router at portforward.com or simply google “Port Forwarding <insert the name of your router>”

Follow this DIY port forwarding video tutorial with a Bobcat miner as the example, or view the detailed text steps below. Applies to all Helium miners regardless of the manufacturer.

Preparation

First and foremost, I advise you to open your Helium app and log in. Assume your miner has been successfully set up, is loaded in the Helium app, and your wallet has also been configured. So open up your app and enter your PIN. I advise setting a PIN there in case you misplace your phone and choose the miner with the relevant problem.

I own this specific miner, as you can see here. In fact, I had two of these miners, and the problem is related. You can access this helium troubleshoot page by clicking the troubleshoot button in the window that appears when you click the yellow icon. In essence, you can read it. But what is important to realize is that there is only one port that needs to be opened.

The port is called 44158. So, basically, we must create this precise Port by logging into our router. I’ll walk you through it step by step, guys. In fact, I have two different WiFi router models so I can demonstrate to you guys how although each WiFi router varies slightly because we are in different countries, use different routers, and brands, the basic principles remain the same. You just need to comprehend how to carry out these steps, then.

Run Diagnostic Report

Running an in-app diagnosis is a great first step. So what you do is locate your Bobcat miner at the back. A tiny little pane hole will be visible to you. The BT button—which stands for Bluetooth button—is what it is called. You want to introduce the pain that is part of the package.

So push this small little button with your pain for about 5 to 10 seconds until your Bobcat miner indicates a blue light. As a result, we have activated Bluetooth mode when that occurs. So, after activating Bluetooth mode, you should use your app to find the miner. You’ll see that we have this wheel icon in the middle section. The settings icon is displayed there.

Once you click on it, this screen will open. There are three alternatives here. Plus, it says Pair at the bottom. It will take a few seconds before you should click on this blue pair button. As long as your Bobcat miner’s Bluetooth mode is on, the scanner should be able to locate the precise miner that is installed at your location.

After choosing this miner, you’ll see three additional options that you should select. Diagnostic is listed as the first option. So it should bring a report out. In essence, you can see the connection, the outbound and inbound connection, and the syncing status. What I do advise is to simply take a screenshot of this entire screen because we’ll be using the IP address of your Bobcat miner shortly.

Additionally, the WiFi Mac address will be checked. These two are therefore extremely crucial. Soon, you will understand what I mean. You only need to take a screenshot; nothing else is required. You should now go find your WiFi router.

Login to Wifi Router

Here is a picture of one of the WiFi routers. You can find the WiFi router model number, along with your network name and password, in the bottom or back of the device. You can find the admin settings, as well as the admin username and password, at the bottom. Usually, the first eight bits of this IP address are 19216. You should use these and a few other numbers to log into your local network and set up your WiFi router.

At least a few of the routers that I’ve seen have this written on them and their password is written next to it. One of my friends is here first. One of the businesses in Canada is this one. It’s called a Telus.

Port Forwarding 44158

As you can see, we have logging into the back end, and once you have logged in successfully, you will need to enter your username and password to log in to the back end to make all the modifications and settings.

Because they were created by different companies, our dashboards may appear slightly different. However, as before, you should take a look around and experiment with the various menu options. Most of these settings are called firewalls, so that’s where you want to start. Therefore, once you’ve found the firewall, you should click on it once. Consequently, you can see that this menu contains a few options under the firewall. The one we want to go to is called the Port forwarding and you can see here You can manually enter the IP address or choose the device again because I have this port forwarding enabled.

Some routers allow you to manually type in the desired information, while others pre-populate it for you. The local devices that are connected to this. If your Bobcat Miner has been successfully configured, you ought to be able to see the Bobcat miner option. The IP address should be the same here as the Bobcat miner, which is why we ran a diagnosis and screenshotted the report earlier. That is the address you should enter here if you have to manually type it.

Allow you to choose the device if you do have a drop-down menu like this. Locate the Bobcat Miner and click once on it if you want to choose this device from the Lane IP address. There, it will automatically fill in. Again. If you want to manually do it, enter the exact IP address from the report and now in the Start Port you want to type in and in the end Port you want to do 44158.

In essence, you should repeat star Port and end Port four times. You want all filling 44158 and a protocol. You want to go with a TCP. You should choose that. When you’re finished with this step, simply click Apply, Add, or any other of the buttons on your router’s settings, and you’ll see that we’ve applied a Port forwarding rule at the bottom.

DHCP Reservation (Static IP)

We’re almost there but we’re not quite there yet. The second place you should go is called “reserve a static IP address,” where you inform your local network that your Bobcat Miner has a static IP address. Therefore, rather than changing the IP address, the helium network as a whole is being confused. Basically, you want to reserve or assign one static IP address to this specific miner that is connected to your local WiFi. So it won’t jump around, okay.

Flipping through your menus is what you want to do. In some places, they may go by different names. What I discover is that I must select Proceed after selecting Advanced Setup on this particular friend’s network. I’m an advanced user, so after entering advanced mode, I discovered this particular choice called the DHCP reservation. So you can locate some language that is comparable.

Basically, they should provide you with a description to let you know that this setting allows you to attach a particular static IP address to your device. The same feature known as a DHCP reservation or Reserve was present on many of the routers I logged into. Here, as you can see, is a drop-down menu. Once more, we have the option to choose the Bobcat miner. Alternatively, if you don’t have that choice, manually enter an IP address.

This IP address must match the one on the Diagnosed report, which you previously screenshotted. There is still another possibility. Is it requesting the Mac address? This can be found on our Diagnosed page as well. Earlier, we took a screenshot.

The Mac address is visible here in this particular option, as you will see. There are many codes present in this. I have no idea which one is Bobcat Miner. I ran a diagnosed report earlier for that reason. So now I am aware of which one is a Bobcat miner.

Look up this Mac address. Once more, if you have access to the device option that is displayed, select it. If you don’t, then there should be an option to ask you for an IP address. If you don’t see that choice, it’s probably asking for your Mac address.

Choose the Mac address connected to the Bobcat miner specifically. The second option is now available, and it instructs me to choose an IP address to link to this Mac address. There will either be a drop-down menu or both for you to choose from. This one is great if you can find it. If not, a menu adding IP address field ought to be available.

This IP address matches the Diagnosed report exactly in this context. We previously took a screenshot. Just choose or manually enter the Bobcat miner’s IP address. So, basically, that is all you need to do. Next, you should choose either Apply or Add.

Additionally, the DHCP reservation list is visible here at the bottom. I have a Bobcat miner, and it has a static IP address and a Mac address that are both assigned to it. The dynamic IP address, which changes as you move, will no longer be used going forward; instead, this one will be static. That is all you need to do. You’ll be quite close to the finish line once you’ve completed these two steps.

On the Discord group, I spoke with a few experts, and some of them suggested that your router’s back end may offer you another option. They advise using this option to disable or turn off the so-called UPHP. Okay, so I do advise you guys to try the first two steps and see if your situation actually improves. If not, you can eventually access the up HP and simply deactivate that option.

After completing all of these steps, you are left with only that. Basically, all you have to do is restart both your WiFi router and your Bobcat miner. In my situation, I therefore asked my friend to unplug the WiFi router, wait a short while, and then plug it back in along with the Bobcat miner and the Helium miner. Unplug it first, then wait a few seconds before plugging it back in. This should restart everything and apply the configuration we just made to the miner.

Port Checker

When you’ve finished everything, you want to go to a website called Port Checker Co. The link is in the description. It’s there, if you look. Therefore, when you visit this website, your default IP address should load immediately. In the Port number field, just leave this field alone. You want to change whatever is there to 44158, leaving the rest of this FTP 21 alone.

These are some additional standard choices. simply turn a blind eye to them. Once you’ve completed that, click Check, and you should be able to see that Port 44158 is open. Okay, that is a really good sign that you completed everything. I’ve done this a few times at my friends’ two different locations.

If the issue persists, I advise you to try port forwarding and static IP reservation first. You can disable this option at UPHP if it doesn’t if necessary. I was informed about it by someone in the Helium discord group. Turn off the UPHP option so that I can access IP addressing and advance once I’m finished with it. The DHCP reservation could be found.

Patiently Wait

These are some additional standard choices. Just completely disregard them. Once you’ve done that, click Check, and you should be able to see that Port 44158 is open. Now that you’ve completed everything successfully, that’s a really good sign. I’ve thus performed this a few times at my friends’ two various locations.

You should try port forwarding and static IP reservation first to see if the issue resolves itself. If not, you are more than welcome to disable this option at UPHP. I was informed about it by someone in the Helium discord group. Turn off UPHP so that I can access IP addressing as my final option when I’m finished and have access to advance once more. The DHCP reservation could be found.

Numerous hours could pass. In the case of my particular circumstance, I waited for eight to ten hours. After eight to ten hours, I checked my Helium app and found the miner that had previously relayed status, but by that point, the status had vanished entirely. I have therefore eliminated the relayed status. As a result, some guys in the discord group are urging you to address the relay issue.

If you don’t, it could have an impact on how profitable your mining is because, in essence, what this means is that Bobcat is having trouble connecting to the network. It uses the network of other people to communicate with your Bobcat Miner. Therefore, that is essentially what takes place in the background. Hopefully, the steps you took to remove the relayed status from your Bobcat Miner were successful. Because that’s how long it took me, you might occasionally want to leave it overnight or at least for eight to ten hours.

Ports 22 and 443

You must enable outbound ports 22 and 443 in order to support Helium and update the firmware. With more recent Helium Hotspots, this occurs more frequently.

Creating a Static IP Address

Regardless of whether you are using a wireless or Ethernet connection, you must first locate the MAC address of your connected miner by looking up your routing and DHCP allocation settings. Change the allocation configuration to Static and assign a particular IP once you have determined the MAC address. The MAC address should be written on a sticker on the actual device. Discover your NAT settings page, which is typically under Firewall settings, after assigning the device a Static IP on your local router as described above.

Check Your Helium Diagnostics

You need to have your hotspot in pairing mode in order to access the Helium Bluetooth diagnostics. The pairing mode is normally activated as soon as your hotspot starts up, but you can also manually start pairing mode by pressing the pair button on the back or side of your hotspot for a few seconds. A new menu will appear after you click the cog icon in the top right corner of the Helium app (next to the flag icon). There will only be one device visible if there is only one Hotspot plugged into your location, so select Pair.

When looking at the Helium diagnostics you want to verify the below:

• Peer-to-Peer Connections: Here you can check the success of the outbound and inbound connections from your hotspot. This data will be updated within 15 minutes to a few hours. Your hotspot is being relayed if there are no inbound connections. Check the port forwarding instructions to make sure you opened your ports properly.
• Blockchain Sync: The sync status may not always be accurate and may appear to be at 100% even though the Hotspot may still be syncing. This is where we advise using the Helium app diagnostics page or Hotspotty “Real Time Status” For more precise information, do some research.

Related reading: How Long Does It Take for Bobcat Miner 300 to Sync?

• Your Hotspot’s Wi-Fi MAC address will be displayed when you select Wi-Fi MAC.
• Ethernet MAC: Shows the Ethernet MAC address of your hotspot. It is a unique identifier for your device and should always be kept private.
• NAT Type: Indicates the NAT type of your hotspot. Moreover, if your hotspot is delayed, this can alert you. You want your NAT-type to show “none” and “unknown”. “Restricted” means that the port is blocked. Port forwarding might not be possible because a symmetric NAT-type shares an IP address with other devices. You can fix it by asking your ISP for a distinctive (static) IPv4 address.

Once you’ve finished with the aforementioned steps, I like to pair my Hotspot with Bluetooth once more and then, for added thoroughness, re-establish my wifi network by forgetting the previous WiFi connection and adding it again. Any modifications to ports or IP addresses could take several hours or even a day to take effect.

Summary: Solving the Bobcat Miner 300 Relay Problem

In order to solve the Bobcat Miner 300 Relay problem, three key steps were introduced in the post.

1. Port 44158 should be open both inbound and outbound.
2. Ports 22 and 443 should be made accessible for outgoing traffic.
3. To prevent your IP from rotating, set a static address.

The Relay issue will be solved once and for all if all are addressed, though not all may always be required.

FAQs