Ideas to improve robustness of HA setup - host + ethernet hardware

Hardware
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1

Hey all,

Looking for some wisdom (or wild ideas) to tackle two annoying connectivity gremlins in my Home Assistant setup. Hoping the hive mind here can help me out!

The Setup:

  1. Been running Home Assistant for 3 years now — it’s been mostly smooth sailing, and honestly, it works most of the time, when it works…
  2. Host machine: A mighty Chinese NUC (vintage i3, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD — all the power you need for a smart home…).
  3. Network config (all Cat6 ethernet because I’m fancy like that):
    Fiber Modem ⟷ Router (Mikrotik Hex) ⟷ Cisco 8-port Unmanaged Switch ⟷ 3x Netgear Orbi APs (Wi-Fi 5) scattered across the house.
    The Orbi APs were chosen for their 3 free Ethernet ports. The NUC? It’s wired directly into one of those ports.

When It Works: Sometimes, this whole setup runs like a dream. Months of uninterrupted bliss where the lights dim just right, and my smart home feels smarter than me.

When It Doesn’t: Two recurring issues that make me question my life choices:

A. NUC Randomly Powering Off (Because Why Not?)

  • The NUC occasionally decides to take spontaneous naps (full power-off, no warning).
  • My fix? Installed an ESP8266 with a relay wired to the NUC’s power button terminals. The ESP pings the NUC every 7 minutes. No ping? BAM! Instant power-on.
  • Works, but… it feels a bit janky. Any better (and smarter) ideas for keeping the NUC awake?

B. Orbi AP Playing Dead:

  • The Orbi AP that the NUC connects to randomly freezes. Ethernet goes silent, and the NUC becomes unreachable.
  • Solutions? Magic spells? Sacrificing a router? I’d love suggestions for keeping the network stable.

Help me out, tech wizards! I dream of a world where my HA setup just… works. Thanks in advance for any clever fixes or crazy ideas!

2

Have you tried swapping the NUC’s AP for one of the others?

3

NUC is a trademark of the Intel Corp. What brand of micro-PC are you really using? I would highly suspect the power supply for your Home Assistant host.

4

No, good idea will try that.

5

It’s by a Chinese company called Eglobal, bought on Aliexpress 10 years ago, it served me well since I bought it.
The stock PSU supplied with it went straight to the bin, I’m using Menwell NDR120-12 to power the “NUC” and some 2.5" SATA SSDs power rating should be plenty for those.

6

That doesn’t mean the PSU can’t fail or be flaky. Try a different PSU to rule that out. At best you will have found your problem, at worst you have a spare PSU.

7

Thanks, will try that.