Ethernet Shield: Failed to configure Ethernet using DHCP

Question

I am currently making a design that uses the Arduino's Ethernet shield. I am using the PushingBox API for Arduino, and have tried it with my Arduino Mega (2560) with the ethernet shield attached to the router. When I did this, however, it displayed a message on my serial monitor saying Failed to configure Ethernet using DHCP. The model for my Ethernet Shield is a W5200 Seeed Studio Ethernet Shield, and I am using the libraries that Arduino provides. I do not have an SD card inserted and the DHCP on all other wired devices works. Any help is greatly appreciated.

The code (in case):

#include <SPI.h>
#include <Ethernet.h>
 /////////////////
 // MODIFY HERE //
/////////////////
byte mac[] = { 0x00, 0xAA, 0xBB, 0xCC, 0xDE, 0x19 }; // Be sure this address is unique in your network
//Your secret DevID from PushingBox.com. You can use multiple DevID on multiple Pin if you want
char DEVID1[] = "{[I have replaced this with my DevID]}"; //Scenario : "The mailbox is open"
//Numeric Pin where you connect your switch
uint8_t pinDevid1 = 3; // Example : the mailbox switch is connect to the Pin 3
// Debug mode
boolean DEBUG = true;
 //////////////
 // End //
//////////////
char serverName[] = "api.pushingbox.com";
boolean pinDevid1State = false; // Save the last state of the Pin for DEVID1
boolean lastConnected = false; // State of the connection last time through the main loop
// Initialize the Ethernet client library
// with the IP address and port of the server 
// that you want to connect to (port 80 is default for HTTP):
EthernetClient client;
void setup() {
 Serial.begin(9600);
 pinMode(pinDevid1, INPUT);
 // start the Ethernet connection:
 if (Ethernet.begin(mac) == 0) {
 Serial.println("Failed to configure Ethernet using DHCP");
 Serial.println("Please reconfigure the settings and try again.");
 // no point in carrying on, so do nothing forevermore:
 while(true);
 }
 else{
 Serial.println("Ethernet ready");
 // print the Ethernet board/shield's IP address:
 Serial.print("My IP address: ");
 Serial.println(Ethernet.localIP());
 }
 // give the Ethernet shield a second to initialize:
 delay(1000);
}
void loop()
{
 ////
 // Listening for the pinDevid1 state
 ////
 if (digitalRead(pinDevid1) == HIGH && pinDevid1State == false) // switch on pinDevid1 is ON 
 {
 if(DEBUG){Serial.println("pinDevid1 is HIGH");}
 pinDevid1State = true;
 //Sending request to PushingBox when the pin is HIGH
 sendToPushingBox(DEVID1);
 }
 if (digitalRead(pinDevid1) == LOW && pinDevid1State == true) // switch on pinDevid1 is OFF
 {
 if(DEBUG){Serial.println("pinDevid1 is LOW");}
 pinDevid1State = false;
 //Sending request to PushingBox when the pin is LOW
 //sendToPushingBox(DEVID1); //Here you can run an other scenario by creating a DEVID2 variable
 }
 //DEBUG part
 // this write the respons from PushingBox Server.
 // You should see a "200 OK"
 if (client.available()) {
 char c = client.read();
 if(DEBUG){Serial.print(c);}
 }
 // if there's no net connection, but there was one last time
 // through the loop, then stop the client:
 if (!client.connected() && lastConnected) {
 if(DEBUG){Serial.println();}
 if(DEBUG){Serial.println("disconnecting.");}
 client.stop();
 }
 lastConnected = client.connected();
}
//Function for sending the request to PushingBox
void sendToPushingBox(char devid[]){
 client.stop();
 if(DEBUG){Serial.println("connecting...");}
 if (client.connect(serverName, 80)) {
 if(DEBUG){Serial.println("connected");}
 if(DEBUG){Serial.println("sendind request");}
 client.print("GET /pushingbox?devid=");
 client.print(devid);
 client.println(" HTTP/1.1");
 client.print("Host: ");
 client.println(serverName);
 client.println("User-Agent: Arduino");
 client.println();
 } 
 else {
 if(DEBUG){Serial.println("connection failed");}
 }
}

If the code for the DHCP error is removed, it does display an external IP address, but actual HTTP requests do not work. I tried port forwarding and that did not work either.

EDIT: Now, unusually, it gives me an IP address WITHOUT the ethernet cord connected.

• JayEye: can you get it working without all the pushingbox stuff?
• Cowboy433: No, not even the WebClient sample that Arduino provides works.
• JayEye: so what was the point of putting in all the pusingbox code?
• JayEye: also: how do you know you don't have a defective shield?
• Code Gorilla: If you have connected directly to the router are you sure you have the right sort of cable. Some older router/switches/hubs require crossed network cables. Can you switch the cable with a cable that is connected to a device that you know is working?

Answer 1

If I understood your problem correctly then you might want to check this out, it's more or less the same thing :D

DHCP Failing on Arduino Uno

• Ohbhatt: The page is no longer available