Wireless-N problem

[sudya]

I am trying to move Boxee to 802.11n but it would not see the network. I put a laptop right next to it and get a perfect signal. I have wpa2 with AES. Anybody has any ideas?

[ewarlick]

I am trying to move Boxee to 802.11n but it would not see the network. I put a laptop right next to it and get a perfect signal. I have wpa2 with AES. Anybody has any ideas?

many of us are in the same box(ee)

no real solution yet

[canuckle]

I am trying to move Boxee to 802.11n but it would not see the network. I put a laptop right next to it and get a perfect signal. I have wpa2 with AES. Anybody has any ideas?


What kind of Router do you have?
Is it OEM Firmware or hacked IE: Tomato, DD-WRT?
Is your SSID hidden or visible?
Can you see other access points in your area?


If it's #4 and you can't see AP's, it could be a bad WIFI card/chip on Boxee Box.
Have you tried to doing a factory restore?

I found with the firmware debacle on the 11th, it messed a lot of things up. After the factory default restore and reverting back to 1.0 FW -125, 98% of my problems were gone.

[sudya]

1. D-Link WNDR3700
2. DD-WRT
3. SSID visible
4. Yes i can
I have a duo range router - I can see G but not N. Will call Dlink and make sure that I am not missing something completely obvious

[Ph8]

1. D-Link WNDR3700
2. DD-WRT
3. SSID visible
4. Yes i can
I have a duo range router - I can see G but not N. Will call Dlink and make sure that I am not missing something completely obvious

Jsut a heads up, I ahve seen other reports of people using DD-WRT and having issues, once they flashed back to stock ti worked again. also, are you using the latest stable version of DD-WRT or a "beta" release.

[dialing_wand]

I don't know if you folks are aware of this (I certainly wasn't when I pre-ordered my Boxee Box) but it supports N in the 2.4GHz spectrum only, not the 5GHz spectrum most of us use for our N networks.

:(

[canuckle]

1. D-Link WNDR3700
2. DD-WRT
3. SSID visible
4. Yes i can
I have a duo range router - I can see G but not N. Will call Dlink and make sure that I am not missing something completely obvious

I'm one of those people who was using DD-WRT on a Linksys WRT-310N.
I was using the DEV build SP2 and had HD streaming problems with certain sites.

I was only using the DD-WRT for a bridge router, but I don't need the bridge anymore. I read on the DD-WRT forum that there was an issue with some streaming. The fix info for it was as long as War & Peace, so I said screw that.

I reverted back to the OEM firmware which had been recently updated and I have zero problems now.

DD-WRT is great, but it is a hack, so it could pose problems in some situations. I guarantee if you tell DLINK you're using hacked firmware, their response will be to revert to the OEM. Any vendor will tell you they cannot troubleshoot something for which they did not create...which is fair.

Are you using SP1 or DEV build SP2?

[Chippyboy]

I have exactly the same problem. Under no circumstances can my Boxee box see my Wireless-N network. I have tried everything on the router (Netgear DGND3300) - different channels, 5GHz or 2.4GHz, 130mbps max or 270 mbps - but it just will not see the network.

It WILL detect the Wireless-G network, but with only one miserable bar of signal, even from 15 feet away, direct line of sight. I have maybe 7 other devices in the house (laptops, ipad, iphone, blackberry, access points) and they all see the networks just fine.

So I am assuming the Boxee Box is defective.

My question is, are they all like this? Is it worth getting another one? I am also none too impressive with the whining noise. Altogether a bit disappointing to be honest.

[Ph8]

I have exactly the same problem. Under no circumstances can my Boxee box see my Wireless-N network. I have tried everything on the router (Netgear DGND3300) - different channels, 5GHz or 2.4GHz, 130mbps max or 270 mbps - but it just will not see the network.

It WILL detect the Wireless-G network, but with only one miserable bar of signal, even from 15 feet away, direct line of sight. I have maybe 7 other devices in the house (laptops, ipad, iphone, blackberry, access points) and they all see the networks just fine.

So I am assuming the Boxee Box is defective.

My question is, are they all like this? Is it worth getting another one? I am also none too impressive with the whining noise. Altogether a bit disappointing to be honest.

The Boxee Box does not do 5Ghz it only runs on the 2.4Ghx which is still N compliant.

BTW the 1 bar reading is a know issue, its a software bug, and has no reflection on the actual signal. If you are running DD-WRT then that may also cause problems.

You may have a defective box, but I ahve seen others with simillar problems.


I should also note you should always try a factory reset to see if things change.

[Chippyboy]

The Boxee Box does not do 5Ghz it only runs on the 2.4Ghx which is still N compliant.

BTW the 1 bar reading is a know issue, its a software bug, and has no reflection on the actual signal. If you are running DD-WRT then that may also cause problems.

You may have a defective box, but I ahve seen others with simillar problems.

I should also note you should always try a factory reset to see if things change.

Thanks for the info. The 5GHz thing is interesting, but it still didn't see the N network when I set it to 2.4GHz. Even if it did, it's still a problem for me, because 5GHz is much less prone to interference and my 5GHz network at home works a treat. I can stream 720p to my Apple TV without a single hiccup It's faultless. 2.4GHz, no chance - stuttering all over the place.

I tried playing BBC iplayer on the Boxee through the 2.4GHz connection and it stuttered here and there. Whether that was the network or not, I don't know but it wasn't really watchable.

I'll have more of a play around, but if it can't do wireless adequately, it's an RMA job I'm afraid. I suppose I could use another Buffalo wireless-N ethernet bridge (I have 2 of these and they work a treat). But at £60 each, that's making the Boxee even more expensive and messy with the Boxee Box, the ethernet brige box and a USB disk drive - 3 boxes just to what my Apple TV does :-(

[giyad]

I don't know if you folks are aware of this (I certainly wasn't when I pre-ordered my Boxee Box) but it supports N in the 2.4GHz spectrum only, not the 5GHz spectrum most of us use for our N networks.

:(

IS THIS TRUE????

I have the Boxee Box, made by D-Link... are you serious that it doesn't support the 5GHz spectrum?... its made by D-Link! A networking company!

[Prospero424]

Yes, and D-Link's dual-band 802.11n routers, like everyone else's, are significantly more expensive than their 2.4Ghz-only routers.

From what I understand, Boxee is making almost no money on the sale of the actual Box. Their business model relies upon making it up later through partnerships with content providers.

They had to keep the cost down to $200, so it's not going to have premium networking hardware in it. Same reason there's no gigabit Ethernet.

It's not like this should be a surprise to anyone. I've never come across a dedicated set-top box (SFF PC pre-builds don't count) from any CE manufacturer that shipped with dual-band 802.11n.

[giyad]

Yes, and D-Link's dual-band 802.11n routers, like everyone else's, are significantly more expensive than their 2.4Ghz-only routers.

From what I understand, Boxee is making almost no money on the sale of the actual Box. Their business model relies upon making it up later through partnerships with content providers.

They had to keep the cost down to $200, so it's not going to have premium networking hardware in it. Same reason there's no gigabit Ethernet.

It's not like this should be a surprise to anyone. I've never come across a dedicated set-top box (SFF PC pre-builds don't count) from any CE manufacturer that shipped with dual-band 802.11n.
Its a surprise to me, and its a mistake on Dlink/Boxee's part. The excuse of boxee not making money is not an excuse because dlink makes $200 off the box and they are the one manufacturing it, and neither is the fact that there is nothing else on the market that ships with dual-band 802.11n... on the contrary actually, the fact that no other box ships with dual-band n is the exact reason it should.

[fforsberg]

Another reason i have noticed is that sometimes when a router is set to automatically switch channels some devices can have issues connecting to it. So if your router is set to do this, try switching it to a set channel instead and try again.

[aaronwt]

I don't know if you folks are aware of this (I certainly wasn't when I pre-ordered my Boxee Box) but it supports N in the 2.4GHz spectrum only, not the 5GHz spectrum most of us use for our N networks.

:(

Most people use 2.4Ghz wireless N not 5Ghz.

[aaronwt]

Its a surprise to me, and its a mistake on Dlink/Boxee's part. The excuse of boxee not making money is not an excuse because dlink makes $200 off the box and they are the one manufacturing it, and neither is the fact that there is nothing else on the market that ships with dual-band 802.11n... on the contrary actually, the fact that no other box ships with dual-band n is the exact reason it should.

many media boxes don't even ship with wireless built in. You need an optional adapter to add wireless capabilty.

[giyad]

its 2011 almost, they all should is my point :P

[Prospero424]

Its a surprise to me, and its a mistake on Dlink/Boxee's part. The excuse of boxee not making money is not an excuse because dlink makes $200 off the box and they are the one manufacturing it, and neither is the fact that there is nothing else on the market that ships with dual-band 802.11n... on the contrary actually, the fact that no other box ships with dual-band n is the exact reason it should.

D-Link isn't making $200 off of the Boxee Box, but I suspect that you know this already.

Welcome to the world of marketing and economic realities. We don't always get what we want. We get what can be delivered at a price that people will actually want to pay.

I would have liked the remote to be backlit and include motion controls. I would have liked the wireless to be dual-band. I would have liked gigabit Ethernet. I would have liked an integrated 1.8" hard drive. I would have liked component video outputs. I would have liked a baby unicorn to come with it.

But I know that if they integrated even half that stuff (especially the unicorn), it would have brought the price up into the same range that bare-bones HTPCs sell in, and that would not be good.

Personally, I think they struck a pretty damned good balance considering the other corners they could have cut and didn't.

[giyad]

I'm not saying I regret buying the box, I'm just putting criticism out there so they know what people want in the next version. Overall the box is great, but in this day in age we're coming to expect these things, at least i expect it in the next version without a doubt, and actually not putting in a next version would make it a deal breaker for me