Tag: 802.11n

Posted on

Upgraded the Airport Express

After having a few problems with the Airport Express, usually resolved by unplugging it and plugging it back in again, I took the plunge and upgraded the firmware to version 6.3

I was having issues with it failing too often. Though most of my Mac hardware and the iPad run off my 802.11n Airport Extreme, I still have some hardware that can only use 802.11g and that is what I was using the Airport Express for. The iPhone is one example, but as it has 3G it was less noticable when the Express failed and the wifi didn’t work. However my Canon printer also connected to the 802.11g Express network and when the Express fell over, no one was able to print!

I generally don’t upgrade unless there are security issues or as in this case I am having problems with the hardware. The upgrade went fine and it would appear after a few days now to have solved the issue. The Express has stayed up without falling over, so I am keen to see if this will continue.

If it keeps falling over then I may need to get a new one, of course it would have to be the AirPort Express 802.11n model.

Posted on

Replaced my Airport Express

After another session of “not working” I have replaced my aging Airport Express. Though I would like to have replaced it with a new model, I used one that I had got for AirTunes but in the end found wasn’t needed. So it was still sealed, as I hadn’t got around to opening it, or selling it on eBay.

Configuring it was pretty simple using Apple’s Airport Utility, though did forget to put it into Bridge Mode so at first it didn’t work.

Bridge Mode was necessary as my Airport Extreme is the router on my network, which broadcasts at 5GHz 802.11n. I use the Airport Express in 802.11b/g mode for legacy and mobile devices. As the Airport Extreme acts as the DHCP router, adding a second router on the network would mean that devices could connect to the wifi, but wouldn’t be able to access the internet or “connect” with other devices on my network.

The reason for two wireless networks is that the 802.11n network can work at the full 300Mbps speed, whilst legacy and mobile devices will work just fine on a slower network. If I had a single wireless network it would be “slow” for all devices. This usually isn’t too much of a problem, however I do stream video across my network, and when I use to do this in the past (with standard definition video) on an 802.11g network, I found that due to network congestion I would get buffering which was annoying. With 802.11n I can stream high definition video easily across the network to my Apple TV or my iPad. It also works well in moving large files across the network.

802.11n also makes much more sense when using FTTC (fibre) for internet with its higher speeds.

The main problem I was having with the old Airport Express was that it just stopped working and “vanishing” from the network. As a result it would need to be power cycled to get it working again.

So far so good.

Posted on

FTTC

BT Infinity is BT’s new broadband product that makes use of fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) to enable even faster speeds than available via normal DSL. In some cases 40Mbs download speeds are possible.

Of course if you are going to make best use of this and have a wireless network, if you use 802.11g then you may find this is not fast enough and want to get an 802.11n wireless router.

Another feature of FTTC is that unlike traditional UK ADSL that uses PPPoA, FTTC uses PPPoE so that a router like Apple’s Airport Extreme is now possible to use direct with the broadband connection. Before you would have needed to use a ADSL modem between your broadband connection and your wireless router.

My local exchange has just been upgraded to FTTC so looking forward to upgrading and trying it out.

There are also trials with FTTP (Fibre To The Premises) that can result in even faster 100Mb speeds. I can wish.

Posted on

Airport Extreme reliability failing

As mentioned before on the blog, my Airport Extreme is becoming less reliable. I am having to reboot it at least once a week now. There is no warning before it goes dodgy.

I am going to wait before replacing it, as we are getting BT Infinity later this month and I am not sure if I will need a new router. If I do need a specific type of router then I will get a new 802.11n router.

Posted on

Airport Extreme

My 802.11n Airport Extreme base station is starting to be a little unreliable over the last few weeks.

I bought it in 2007 and it has worked pretty much flawlessly over that timeframe.

The only real difference to my network is that I have started using my iPad on the network.

Is this the cause?

Who knows!

Posted on

How many wireless networks do you need?

Both the iPhone 4 and the iPad can connect to the faster 802.11n networks, but it is not as clear cut as that.

Whilst the iPad can connect to a 5GHz 802.11n wireless network the iPhone 4 can only connect to an 802.11n wireless networking using 2.4GHz.

Whilst that is much faster than connecting to an 802.11g network one reason for having a 5GHz is to avoid the often crowded 2.4GHz spectrum as the rest of the world has discovered the advantages of wireless networking.

So if you if you only have a single 802.11n wireless network you will need to ensure it is either running at 2.4GHz or add a new network just for the iPhone, which is a little bit over the top.

I can see myself adding a 2.4GHz 802.11n network for my new iPhone 4 in the main so I can stream video over my network using the AirVideo App.

Posted on

Nearly there, but not quite…

I did write:

Very easy to configure, I plugged it into the power then plugged the supplied ethernet cable into my iMac, reconfigured the ethernet settings in System Preferences, turned off the Airport on the iMac. Then went to a browser, typed in the 1.1.1.1 address, entered the username and password. Added my Airport network details. Very pleased to see that my 802.11n 5GHz network was recognised, remembered to use WPA2-AES (as that is what the Airport Extreme uses). Click configure,update. Job done!

However life is never that simple…

Once I placed the Buffalo Nfiniti Wireless-N Dual Band Ethernet Converter under my TV, it didn’t seem to work. I in the main purchased the Buffalo device so that I could connect my new LG BD370 Blu-ray Player to the internet. The LG Blu-Ray Player can also play YouTube videos, but has to be connected to the internet to do so.

The LG Blu-Ray Player intially could not connect to the network, which indicated to me that the problem was with the Ethernet Converter. In the end I did a full reset and reconfigured. Checking the web based advanced menu, I worked out that it had retained the default 1.1.1.1 IP address.

In that menu I changed the Unit IP Address from Manual Setup to dynamic and to acquire an IP Address automatically.

At this point the LG Blu-Ray Player could now connect to the network and the internet, but still wouldn’t play YouTube videos. Of course now I was connected to the internet I could download updated firmware for the LG Blu-Ray Player. Once downloaded and installed the LG Blu-Ray Player could now play YouTube videos.

Posted on

Buffalo Nfiniti Wireless-N Dual Band Ethernet Converter, Done!

Well that was simple.

I ordered the Buffalo Nfiniti Wireless-N Dual Band Ethernet Converter from Amazon on the 1st January. I used the Super Saver Delivery option, I was in no hurry and why pay extra for postage (especially over New Year). Really surprised to see the parcel arrive this morning! Excellent service Amazon, well impressed.

It’s smaller than the picture makes it look.

Very easy to configure, I plugged it into the power then plugged the supplied ethernet cable into my iMac, reconfigured the ethernet settings in System Preferences, turned off the Airport on the iMac. Then went to a browser, typed in the 1.1.1.1 address, entered the username and password. Added my Airport network details. Very pleased to see that my 802.11n 5GHz network was recognised, remembered to use WPA2-AES (as that is what the Airport Extreme uses). Click configure,update. Job done!

The reason the Buffalo device appeals, is that it comes with four ethernet ports, which means I can connect four devices to the network.

Now to test it out under the TV!

Posted on

Buffalo Nfiniti Wireless-N Dual Band Ethernet Converter

I was always a fan of the Linksys WET54G. It allows you to connect a wired client to a wireless network, acting as an ethernet bridge. For some time I have been thinking about getting an 802.11n version of the device.However whenever I looked it appeared that Linksys weren’t making one. Obviously I haven’t been looking enough as there are now quite a few 802.11n ethernet bridges now on the market. As well as the Linksys, there is a D-Link and I noticed that Buffalo make the Buffalo Nfiniti Wireless-N Dual Band Ethernet Converter. This looked like an ideal solution for under the TV. I have been using an ethernet cable however the “Little People” kept pulling the cable out so I have been thinking about a wireless solution. I didn’t want 802.11g as that (from experience) with the WET54G it was too slow for video.

The reason the Buffalo device appeals, is that it comes with four ethernet ports, which means I can connect four devices to the network.

I have ordered the Buffalo device and it should arrive next week.

Posted on

Airport Express fell over…

Today despite a strong green light the Airport 802.11g network that my Airport Express provides was nowhere to be seen.

I couldn’t see the Airport Express in the Airport Utility either, despite it been connected to my network via cable and I was using my 802.11n network.

In the end I power cycled the Airport Express, twice and this resolved the issue.

This happens now and again with Airport base stations, mainly the older the 802.11g base stations in my experience.