Hi all,
I'm having problems getting my newly-acquired Chromecast to work with my home WiFi network.
When I first set up my home network a couple of years ago, I was having problems in the 2.4GHz band with other routers in my street. So I ended up setting up a 5GHz network and a 2.4GHz network. The 2.4GHz network was capped at 54Mbps to give it a bit more resilience and to avoid overlap with neighbouring signals. The 5GHz network was used by my laptop (since that's the only thing I have capable of running at that frequency). The 2.4GHz network is used by everything else (Squeezebox players, android phones, my wife's laptop, TV, PVR, Bluray player, tablets etc etc). The 5GHz and 2.4GHz networks have different names.
The 5GHz network is run by a VirginMedia SuperHub. The 2.4GHz network is run by a dlink DAP-1522 Access Point, connected to the SuperHub via an ethernet cable. The AP is set as a fixed-IP DMZ on the SuperHub.
When I got my Chromecast last week, I tried setting it up to connect to the network via the AP. It seemed a bit flaky to begin with (took ages to convince it to connect), but it did connect in the end, and then did a firmware update. Fine. According to the connection status on my SuperHub (which manages all the IP allocations etc), the Chromecast is connected and has an IP address.
However, no other devices can actually see the Chromecast. I can't cast to it from anything (laptop on the 5GHz network, tablet or phone on the 2.4GHz network).
I did a bit of digging and found some info about ipmg snooping options or some such, so turned that option off on the AP. I also found some info about AP isolation, but can't find that option anywhere on the SuperHub.
I tried an experiment yesterday and converted the 5GHz network to a separate 2.4GHz network. I factory reset the Chromecast and connected to the 2.4GHz SuperHub network this time.
Now all my devices can see the Chromecast and can cast to it, whichever network they're connected to (I tried casting from my laptop on the 2.4GHz SuperHub network, also from my phone and tablet, which were on the 2.4GHz AP network - all worked fine).
So I'm at a loss as to where the problem is. Is it the AP? Or is the SuperHub? And what can I do about it?
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!
If it comes to it, I could simplify my setup and ditch the dual-band network setup by running my SuperHub at 2.4GHz (the 2.4GHz band seems a lot less cluttered compared to when I set the network up a couple of years ago) and get rid of the AP. I want to investigate other avenues first, as that would mean reconfiguring wireless access for 10+ devices!
Rhyan
I'm having problems getting my newly-acquired Chromecast to work with my home WiFi network.
When I first set up my home network a couple of years ago, I was having problems in the 2.4GHz band with other routers in my street. So I ended up setting up a 5GHz network and a 2.4GHz network. The 2.4GHz network was capped at 54Mbps to give it a bit more resilience and to avoid overlap with neighbouring signals. The 5GHz network was used by my laptop (since that's the only thing I have capable of running at that frequency). The 2.4GHz network is used by everything else (Squeezebox players, android phones, my wife's laptop, TV, PVR, Bluray player, tablets etc etc). The 5GHz and 2.4GHz networks have different names.
The 5GHz network is run by a VirginMedia SuperHub. The 2.4GHz network is run by a dlink DAP-1522 Access Point, connected to the SuperHub via an ethernet cable. The AP is set as a fixed-IP DMZ on the SuperHub.
When I got my Chromecast last week, I tried setting it up to connect to the network via the AP. It seemed a bit flaky to begin with (took ages to convince it to connect), but it did connect in the end, and then did a firmware update. Fine. According to the connection status on my SuperHub (which manages all the IP allocations etc), the Chromecast is connected and has an IP address.
However, no other devices can actually see the Chromecast. I can't cast to it from anything (laptop on the 5GHz network, tablet or phone on the 2.4GHz network).
I did a bit of digging and found some info about ipmg snooping options or some such, so turned that option off on the AP. I also found some info about AP isolation, but can't find that option anywhere on the SuperHub.
I tried an experiment yesterday and converted the 5GHz network to a separate 2.4GHz network. I factory reset the Chromecast and connected to the 2.4GHz SuperHub network this time.
Now all my devices can see the Chromecast and can cast to it, whichever network they're connected to (I tried casting from my laptop on the 2.4GHz SuperHub network, also from my phone and tablet, which were on the 2.4GHz AP network - all worked fine).
So I'm at a loss as to where the problem is. Is it the AP? Or is the SuperHub? And what can I do about it?
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!
If it comes to it, I could simplify my setup and ditch the dual-band network setup by running my SuperHub at 2.4GHz (the 2.4GHz band seems a lot less cluttered compared to when I set the network up a couple of years ago) and get rid of the AP. I want to investigate other avenues first, as that would mean reconfiguring wireless access for 10+ devices!
Rhyan
