Persistent Wifi / Wifi Direct issues with Shield TV - Shield Android TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I created a topic a while back about Wifi being disconnected after waking from standby. I turned off standby mode then and dedicated my 5GHz band to the shield. Problems seemed to go away, but they've been getting worse over the last few weeks. This is xposted on nVidia's forums, but I want to see if the XDA community has any advice as well. Any help is appreciated
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I've had my Shield TV since about last November. Overall the unit is great but I'm getting problems with Wifi that seem to be getting worse. When I first had the unit, it seemed like it would disconnect from my wifi after going to sleep and need to be restarted or manually reconnected about once a week or so. I have an ASUS RT-AC68U, and I am using my 5GHz radio. The Shield is the only device I allow to use 5G, and from Wifi Analyzer, there are no other 5GHz routers in my neighborhood. My router and Shield are on the same floor of my house, and only separated by about 20ft with minimal obstruction (Shield is inside a TV stand, router is in the next room with door open.
When the problem first started, I set the unit to not go into Standby mode, which seemed to help (it was always disconnected after coming out of standby).
Now it seems to be getting progressively worse. The unit now needs to be rebooted after not being used for some time. This is typically once when we first get home from work/school and later on in the night after dinner. In addition to Wifi not working, Wifi Direct often stops working as well as my shield controller wont work. I have to resort to a USB keyboard to get the thing to reboot.
I have updated the firmware each time it becomes available which has made no impact on this issue. Currently I'm on 3.1 stock firmware. I have not rooted or unlocked this device. Does anyone have a similar issue? Is there anything I can do to try and fix this? Connecting by Ethernet is out of the question, I don't have a drop near by and I bought this unit because it has wireless AC capability.

I got disconnects from wifi but never seen an issue with the wifi-direct which is for the controller. The 3.1 update did sort the issue with my shield remote though.
Honestly the short answer is to use Ethernet to get the best out of the kit, even a cheap Homeplug networking kit would be better than the wifi. Besides the wifi drop outs, I had no end of grief trying to get SPMC/KODI to access shared folders on my network with wifi (yes even 5GHz).....using Ethernet resolved the headache.

honosuseri said:
I got disconnects from wifi but never seen an issue with the wifi-direct which is for the controller. The 3.1 update did sort the issue with my shield remote though.
Honestly the short answer is to use Ethernet to get the best out of the kit, even a cheap Homeplug networking kit would be better than the wifi. Besides the wifi drop outs, I had no end of grief trying to get SPMC/KODI to access shared folders on my network with wifi (yes even 5GHz).....using Ethernet resolved the headache.
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*sigh* It's frustrating to buy something for a specific feature (wireless ac - upgraded router as well which I had been mulling for a while)... to have it not work. Thank you for the suggestion though. I was looking at just getting a wireless AC AP or adapter if I gave up on the sheild's network, but the homeplug is in the same ballpark and probably more reliable so I'll keep that in mind if it gets to that point.

jst07 said:
*sigh* It's frustrating to buy something for a specific feature (wireless ac - upgraded router as well which I had been mulling for a while)... to have it not work. Thank you for the suggestion though. I was looking at just getting a wireless AC AP or adapter if I gave up on the sheild's network, but the homeplug is in the same ballpark and probably more reliable so I'll keep that in mind if it gets to that point.
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No worries...I do realise it's not what you wanted to here. IMHO if a device is static then hard wire it, I use wi-fi only for mobile/portable devices.
I think your best move would be to look at getting a triple pack homeplug kit (dual ethernet ports would be good). One is for the Router, another for the SHIELD TV and the third (if you deem necessary) for your old router. Hopefully your old router can be setup as an AP and extend your wifi further throughout your home or garage/garden even. The kits are dead simple to use, although they can be fussy about the power extensions used...Ideally you want one that has passthrough so you can plug the adapter into the wall outlet, then the power extension into the homeplug adapter (Just a word to the wise in case you go this route and encounter problems).
I've had my SHIELD TV for a little while too and I also thinks it's great....I've been offered silly money for it from friends, once they've seen all I've set it up to do. I've actually got to the point now where I want to do a factory reset. I have done my experimenting and now know what I want on there, so it won't take long to redo and i'll lose the junk in the process...perhaps it might help cure some of the wifi niggles I encountered too...who knows?
Wish you all the best with it

honosuseri said:
No worries...I do realise it's not what you wanted to here. IMHO if a device is static then hard wire it, I use wi-fi only for mobile/portable devices.
I think your best move would be to look at getting a triple pack homeplug kit (dual ethernet ports would be good). One is for the Router, another for the SHIELD TV and the third (if you deem necessary) for your old router. Hopefully your old router can be setup as an AP and extend your wifi further throughout your home or garage/garden even. The kits are dead simple to use, although they can be fussy about the power extensions used...Ideally you want one that has passthrough so you can plug the adapter into the wall outlet, then the power extension into the homeplug adapter (Just a word to the wise in case you go this route and encounter problems).
I've had my SHIELD TV for a little while too and I also thinks it's great....I've been offered silly money for it from friends, once they've seen all I've set it up to do. I've actually got to the point now where I want to do a factory reset. I have done my experimenting and now know what I want on there, so it won't take long to redo and i'll lose the junk in the process...perhaps it might help cure some of the wifi niggles I encountered too...who knows?
Wish you all the best with it
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Click to collapse
Thanks. I switched to my 2.4G wifi and problems seem to have gone away, at least for now. Probably try that a little longer. I too have thought about resetting and using one of the custom roms on here.

Using 2.4Ghz is worse for some users from neighbor's wifi causing it to drop out.
I use 5Ghz and have to occasionally restart the device to fix it.
You would be better off using power off instead of relying on standby mode as that is buggy and prone to causing issues with stuff like audio and a stored media playback glitch.

Related

Problematic ethernet cable conectivity. Help needed

I have 3G internet router/receiver in one of the rooms of my house, which has the best 3G reception. There is WIFI router in my living room. I have in-wall cables with ethernet sockets in every room, and all cables come into on "routing box" where I can use patch cables or powered switch to route and share internet connection. So 3G router in one room is connected with WIFI router in another room by a help of a patch cable.
1 week ago I noticed that there is no WIFI connection. I tried lots of things untill I found out that if i unplug the cable from the WIFI router and plug it into my laptop, the LED of the ethernet socket is blinking red, meaning there is no internet connection. If i plug the cable directly into 3G router, the internet is fine. I replaced 4 patch cables and the result was the same, no internet. Then I tried to use my WIFI router in between of the two rooms routing, just one cable went into Internet IN and another went out of Ethernet out (there are 4 of these). This way the LED of the ethernet socket was blinking green and the internet was fine.
Could anyone explain me what's wrong with my ethernet cables? Or what else could it be? Why all of a sudden perfect connection stopped working while none of the cables were cut off? Is there signal degradation and WIFI router works like signal amplificator? I am a no networking specialist. Please help me to find an answer so I would know what to do.
Thanks
Anyone? please
camspy said:
Anyone? please
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unfortunately i dont know i am sorry
camspy said:
Anyone? please
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On the road right now. Give me a couple hours for travel. Will summarize what i understand works and does not work for you. We can then try a couple things to isolate the issue.
Still Charged Up
OK. Tell me what you've tried and works, as well as what you've tried and fails.
You've plugged your laptop into your 3G router and you can get to the internet.
You've connected your WiFi router to your 3G router by physically moving it next to your 3G router. You've then tested your laptop, connected wirelessly to the WiFi and via ethernet to your WiFi router and in both cases they work (assuming your WiFi router has ethernet ports.
If everything above is correct and functional, then yes - the problem is your wiring and/or hub/switch that connects all of your cabling.
Put your WiFi router back where it belongs. Patch your 3G directly to your WiFi and test again. You've eliminated everything but the wires. Does it work? If so, then it should be your hub/switch. Doesn't work? Patch your laptop to the 3G at the patch panel. Does it work? If not, then it's your connectors and/or cabling between the 3G router and your patch panel.
Hung any pictures lately where a nail could have penetrated a cable? What's changed?
Eliminate as much a possible at first and then add as little as possible and you will find the problem.
OK, i tried wiring my own LAN cables to try things out. What i found is that one part of the problem was that i needed to use one crossed patch cable, straight one had no signal at all if used.
The other part of the problem was that when i tried all combinations, the cable that was plugged into laptop was showing binking red. But my 3G router was showing that there was connection. Apparently the sites were loading in browser, but very slowly. But when i tried testing with speedtest.net, it couldn't pass ping test...
So, i think it could be the bad/crossed wiring in one of the wall cables and it is impossible to test and find exact answer without a tester. So I have ordered a good LAN tester that is capable to detect bad wiring so i will know what custom cable i could make. It should arrive in a week or so.
Thanks for your time and help
Confused here. You said it was working up to two weeks ago. Unless you replaced the ends, you can't go from not needing a crossover to needing one. I don't know what kind of gear you have, but some equipment allows you to change the port configuration so that you do or don't need a crossover. Usually this is at the hub/switch level. I've never heard of consumer equipment requiring a crossover. Are you sure you haven't made any config changes to your 3G router, WiFi router, hub/switch, or even laptop?
I don't know that I helped, but I'm glad you found a solution that works. Cheers!
I didn't make any changes on routers ends, but there was one day when there was no electicity for like few minutes. You think it could make some harm to routers settings?
Assuming power loss outside your control then there could have been a spike either before loss of power or when power restored. Not likely reset but it can't hurt to check. What OS are you running on laptop? Have you tried deleting your wireless config on laptop and recreating?
Everything is a process of elimination. Asking questions since I get the impression you still have a problem.
Still Charged Up
Yes i still have a problem, and both the routers work fine when they are close to each other connected with a short patch cable without using wall cables. I revised all settings on them and didn't find anything that could be wrong.
So, i think i gave up for a week or so, till i get the cable tester which will be able to show me the truth about wiring of wall cables
Very strange it's the cable but it sure looks that way. Please let me know how it ends up - you've got me hooked.
Still Charged Up
OK, sure
http://www.peaktech.de/productdetai...er-mit-digital-multimeter/produkt/p-3365.html
this is what i bought and waiting to receive, i hope it will show the situation
Hey Reilly1812,
I have news, I tested the cables and there's a problem in one wall cable.
The tester I was using was testing all fibers in a cable one by one and I found that the fibers 2 and 5 are looped/connected together, as if testing fiber 2 it shows 2 and 5 active in tester, when I was testing 5th fiber again 2 and 5 was active...
Is it possible to get 100% OK internet over these cables and how, if yes?
Thanks
Not all pairs are used, but I can't tell you which ones. Unless someone driving nails/drilling I would think the cable ends more likely the culprit and I would think about cutting off the ends and retesting. cable might actually be ok.
Still Charged Up
Yes, I See
I have success here. I found info that 4,5,7 and 8 wires are unused. So I crossed 2 with 8 in two patch cables and everything works now
Good to hear. You just need to know what caused the cable failure in the first place so it doesn't happen again.
Still Charged Up
I as you think that the problem is more likely in one of the in wall sockets. But making custom patch cables seemed an easier task for me, so i went this route.
Don't you just love this stuff? Cheers!
Still Charged Up

What's the best WiFi adapter for a PC?

I plan to drop my verizon fios service and just tether from my S4. I figured this was a good place to ask which WiFi adapter is the best for this, or at least which brand? I figure PCI is better then USB, but that's all I know.
I'm running Win7 64bit on a nice custom built rig, if that makes any difference.
Thanks!
Nobody had a thing to say?
Well, I did a little poking around and saw that the S4 has 802.11ac capability. There's only one PCI-e adapter available on New Egg that supports 802.11ac. Its an Asus brand with a nice tri-antenna stand to get the antennas away from the back of the PC box. I'll report back in a few weeks to say how it works.
Got the WiFi adapter in the mail and installed today. Only spent a few minutes fooling with it but it installs easy and appears to work well. Connection speed for forum browsing and email checking was snappy and indistinguishable from the wired fios connection.

WiFi connectivity problems

Has anyone had issues with their player randomly dropping connection to WiFi?
I only noticed this because I use Plex a lot. And after a few days it would stop playback and tell me it couldn't find the server. So naturally I though it was either an issue with my server (never had problems in the past) or the app.
Recently I noticed when I scroll through the apps the WiFi logo at the bottom shows its not connected.
I scrolled through setting to try and see if there's any advance settings I could tweak but there's not.
I will reset my netgear router when I get home. But has anyone experienced this yet??
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
Haven't had any issues staying connected to my AC68U over the past three days. Family streamed a few movies yesterday and last night and been playing music quite a bit without any problems. Hopefully resetting your router will fix your issue. Good luck.
I have also been having wifi issues on the nexus player. I have not updated to the recent image that was posted and was hoping that would fix the issue. I also have a usb ethernet adapter on the way. Not really impressed with the devices so far, am still using my mk808 primarily which the nexus player was supposed to replace
Edit: update by flashing the latest system.IMG and have not had WiFi drop out yet.
Elrondolio said:
Haven't had any issues staying connected to my AC68U over the past three days. Family streamed a few movies yesterday and last night and been playing music quite a bit without any problems. Hopefully resetting your router will fix your issue. Good luck.
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I believe I got it acting right now. I saw in another thread issues with the player dropping 5ghz signal. It was suggested to just use 2.4 band instead. When I got home this morning I set up a separate network for the player to connect to with the player as the highest priority and it seems to be jam up.
Only other issue I'm seeing is my mkv blurays will only play for a few minutes then stop. They're huge files so I'm thinking this has something to do with it. Other than that I'm happy for now!
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
same problem. Fix?
I have had the exact same problem. If it isn't too much trouble, would you mind explaining how you did this? I am not too versed in network technology. I am guessing this is something I do on the d-link page? Is that correct?
Thanks so much.
codygs83 said:
I believe I got it acting right now. I saw in another thread issues with the player dropping 5ghz signal. It was suggested to just use 2.4 band instead. When I got home this morning I set up a separate network for the player to connect to with the player as the highest priority and it seems to be jam up.
Only other issue I'm seeing is my mkv blurays will only play for a few minutes then stop. They're huge files so I'm thinking this has something to do with it. Other than that I'm happy for now!
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
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markculton said:
I have had the exact same problem. If it isn't too much trouble, would you mind explaining how you did this? I am not too versed in network technology. I am guessing this is something I do on the d-link page? Is that correct?
Thanks so much.
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I've been using Plex for 4 years or so.. In my experience, nothing beats using Ethernet instead of Wifi...
I use TP Link Powerline extender to connect the Nexus Player (i also have a Roku next to it)... My plex media server is on a laptop connected directly to the router... I have tried everything and this set up is the fastest and the best resolution. NEVER buffers and i watch everything in 1080p.
Stop wasting time figuring out the wifi and go ethernet. You wont regret it.
Wifi needs to be better.
spyderman33 said:
I use TP Link Powerline extender to connect the Nexus Player
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spyderman33 said:
Stop wasting time figuring out the wifi and go ethernet. You wont regret it.
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How, precisely, do you have it connected? There is no Ethernet port on the Nexus Player--do you have a USB to Ethernet adapter that works? There is no arguing that Ethernet is the way to go with Plex and high bitrate; however, I rarely ever have any issues playing my 1080p stuff over Chromecast (which is 2.4Ghz N wifi only) and I have this device connected using 5Ghz 802.11ac so there should be no issues.
Sadly, mine will not stay connected to my 5Ghz 802.11ac network, it does seem to stay connected to my 5Ghz 802.11n access point a little better. I am pretty certain the Nexus Player has some wifi bugs that need to be worked out, ASAP! It's frustrating that Ethernet is not an option by default.
innoman said:
How, precisely, do you have it connected? There is no Ethernet port on the Nexus Player--do you have a USB to Ethernet adapter that works? There is no arguing that Ethernet is the way to go with Plex and high bitrate; however, I rarely ever have any issues playing my 1080p stuff over Chromecast (which is 2.4Ghz N wifi only) and I have this device connected using 5Ghz 802.11ac so there should be no issues.
Sadly, mine will not stay connected to my 5Ghz 802.11ac network, it does seem to stay connected to my 5Ghz 802.11n access point a little better. I am pretty certain the Nexus Player has some wifi bugs that need to be worked out, ASAP! It's frustrating that Ethernet is not an option by default.
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Correct, I am using an MIcro USB to USB OTG Cable http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D8YZ2SA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I am sure the bugs will get sorted out but until then, this is the best solution...
innoman said:
How, precisely, do you have it connected? There is no Ethernet port on the Nexus Player--do you have a USB to Ethernet adapter that works? There is no arguing that Ethernet is the way to go with Plex and high bitrate; however, I rarely ever have any issues playing my 1080p stuff over Chromecast (which is 2.4Ghz N wifi only) and I have this device connected using 5Ghz 802.11ac so there should be no issues.
Sadly, mine will not stay connected to my 5Ghz 802.11ac network, it does seem to stay connected to my 5Ghz 802.11n access point a little better. I am pretty certain the Nexus Player has some wifi bugs that need to be worked out, ASAP! It's frustrating that Ethernet is not an option by default.
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i could argue that ethernet is not the way to go. FireTv/Ouya/Mojo Madcatz only have a fast ethernet port (100mbps max) and ac can go close to gigabit speeds. I get 833mbps on my Netgear r8000 on ac. I can easily play 20GB+ files without any drops. I even played REMUX blurays (as long as they arent VC1, which the firetv doesnt support either) and those files played just fine too. So unless you get a true gigabit port (which i know of no Android box having) 802.11ac is the ideal option for the Nexus Player. Dont waste your money with a gigabit to USB adapter because the NExus PLayer has a USB 2.0 which can only give you a max of 480mbps.
My suggestion is save some of that money you're saving from your cable bill, sell your current router and keep that $20 you would be spending on a USB to Ethernet adapter and invest in a wireless AC router, you can get a decent Route for $100.
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Arche...F8&qid=1416715312&sr=8-1&keywords=wireless+ac
Also what AC ROuter do you have? if its an ASUS than im sorry, i had a ASUS 87u and changed it for a Netgear r8000 because i had constant drops with ASUS, if you turn off Beamforming it will fix your wireless AC drops. at least it did for me.
---------- Post added at 08:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:52 PM ----------
markculton said:
I have had the exact same problem. If it isn't too much trouble, would you mind explaining how you did this? I am not too versed in network technology. I am guessing this is something I do on the d-link page? Is that correct?
Thanks so much.
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Click to collapse
what kind of router do you have?
mejdam said:
i could argue that ethernet is not the way to go. Fire Tv only has a fast ethernet port (100mbps max) and ac can go close to gigabit speeds.
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100Mbps is more than the device would likely ever need to stream any type of media one would stream on the Fire TV and it will get 100% of that bandwidth between the Fire TV and the switch (assuming you don't have a faulty cable, obviously) 100% of the time--regardless of what other devices on your network or your neighbors networks are doing. Sure, 802.11ac permits better than gigabit speeds... but that doesn't guarantee them. Also, there is the issue of signal degradation when you're further away from your router, the fact that it's shared bandwidth, etc. You could argue both ways but wired is definitely the more reliable option in most cases. The FireTV has either Fast Ethernet OR 802.11n, no gigabit speeds either way.
Sadly, the fire TV has issues with several audio codecs and just isn't what it should be (yet, at least). I'm kinda over the fact that I have to use an external player to play DD 5.1--which is part of the reason I decided to give the Nexus Player a try... that and I wanted to see what google could do this time around.
I have the Buffalo WZR-D1800H--It was an earlier model and not the greatest but it's worked flawlessly and lets me transfer at 40+MB/s on a different floor. I get around 12MB/s using my 802.11n 5Ghz AP upstairs (3 floors with the ac router on the first). If I got the Ethernet cable thing, I'd spend $10 on the 10/100Mbps since it would be sufficient but I shouldn't have to do that. All the other devices in my place do fine even on N, the Nexus Player should be working awesomely on ac... It just isn't and it has issues on N and G--I honestly think it may partly be a Plex issue. I think there are also some deeper wifi connectivity issues.
spyderman33 said:
Correct, I am using an MIcro USB to USB OTG Cable http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D8YZ2SA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
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Cool, what are you using for USB to Ethernet? I have a few USB OTG cables (I got them pretty cheap when I got my first Nexus) and I might as well put them to some good use... I'd like for my Nexus Player to actually play my Plex media without all the issues! Would something like this work?: http://smile.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Ethernet-Adapter-Black/dp/B00ET4KHJ2
****
I should also add that my NAS & Plex Server (PC, used for several things) are all wired over Gigabit. My wireless router doesn't have to do that much, generally, except connect my phone, Mac Book Pro, Chromecast in bedroom, SqueezeBox and a few other little things that don't use much data.
innoman said:
100Mbps is more than the device would likely ever need to stream any type of media one would stream on the Fire TV and it will get 100% of that bandwidth between the Fire TV and the switch (assuming you don't have a faulty cable, obviously) 100% of the time--regardless of what other devices on your network or your neighbors networks are doing. Sure, 802.11ac permits better than gigabit speeds... but that doesn't guarantee them. Also, there is the issue of signal degradation when you're further away from your router, the fact that it's shared bandwidth, etc. You could argue both ways but wired is definitely the more reliable option in most cases. The FireTV has either Fast Ethernet OR 802.11n, no gigabit speeds either way.
Sadly, the fire TV has issues with several audio codecs and just isn't what it should be (yet, at least). I'm kinda over the fact that I have to use an external player to play DD 5.1--which is part of the reason I decided to give the Nexus Player a try... that and I wanted to see what google could do this time around.
Cool, what are you using for USB to Ethernet? I have a few USB OTG cables (I got them pretty cheap when I got my first Nexus) and I might as well put them to some good use... I'd like for my Nexus Player to actually play my Plex media without all the issues! Would something like this work?: http://smile.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Ethernet-Adapter-Black/dp/B00ET4KHJ2
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yes my ac band of 833mbps is shared, so even if i have 8 constant devices on that band it still would be faster than a 100mbps wired connection. I own a firetv and have no issues with DD5.1 files from my Synology 1812+, by any chance are you using Samba shares from a windows box? if so thats your problem, switch to NFS shares. also wired connections are shared unless you run a router directly to your setup box without going through a switch. you didnt answer my question though, what ac router do you have that you're having issues with.
mejdam said:
by any chance are you using Samba shares from a windows box? if so thats your problem, switch to NFS shares. also wired connections are shared unless you run a router directly to your setup box without going through a switch. you didnt answer my question though, what ac router do you have that you're having issues with.
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I added in, it may not have posted until you already started your reply. I accidentally posted before I added it in--I needed to check on the model.
The Ethernet connection is only shared if you are using a hub. A switch (I have a 16 port Gigabit switch that connects to my router) provides dedicated bandwidth to each available port--up to 2Gbps/port (1 up and 1 down, concurrently). My specific switch with 16 1Gbps ports can handle up to ~32Gbps worth of traffic at once. My Plex server is connected directly to the switch as is my NAS. The only way I'd have to worry about saturating the PC (Plex Server) to switch link is if I am transferring large amounts of data between the PC and my NAS and that's not common--and definitely not the cause of my issue. It's actually never caused me an issue. The link between the Fire TV and switch is always 100Mbps (assuming there isn't any broadcast traffic or that sort of thing, which isn't likely).
I do use NFS with everything except the media shares from my NAS, sadly. It is a goal but I am going to have to install the Enterprise version of Windows on my PC--Microsoft doesn't appear to support NFS (client) on Windows 8.x unless you have Enterprise and I have Pro. I guess that's what I get for actually paying for it? I am going to put Enterprise on my PC at some point but it's not a priority. Over Gigabit, SMB is sufficient for my use--the overhead isn't an issue right now. That said, I do use Plex so the media share between the Fire TV and my Server is Plex.
If you have your Plex server on let's say port 3 and multiple devices are talking to the Plex server than that line is being shared, which was my point. Again it would take over 8 devices on my ac band before its the speed of your single 100mbps line.
Over gigabit smb is sufficient? You just said you needed to connect a hard drive to your firetv to correctly play ac3 files. Clearly smb is your problem and you don't need to pay for NFS shares, there are free alternatives. Also the speed of your "network" might be gigabit but your speed to your firetv is truly only 100mbps because that's the max the Ethernet port can go. I'm not trying to pick a fight, I'm just saying that with the nexus player 802.11ac gives you the fastest speeds. Sure wred gigabit could be faster but there's one problem, there's no gigabit port or even fastethernet port.
mejdam said:
If you have your Plex server on let's say port 3 and multiple devices are talking to the Plex server than that line is being shared, which was my point. Again it would take over 8 devices on my ac band before its the speed of your single 100mbps line.
Over gigabit smb is sufficient? You just said you needed to connect a hard drive to your firetv to correctly play ac3 files. Clearly smb is your problem and you don't need to pay for NFS shares, there are free alternatives. Also the speed of your "network" might be gigabit but your speed to your firetv is truly only 100mbps because that's the max the Ethernet port can go. I'm not trying to pick a fight, I'm just saying that with the nexus player 802.11ac gives you the fastest speeds. Sure wred gigabit could be faster but there's one problem, there's no gigabit port or even fastethernet port.
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I think there is a little bit of confusion. My Plex Server/PC are on say port 1 of my 16 port gigabit switch and is communicating with the switch at ~1Gbps. My NAS is on ports 2/3 and both ports are at a Gigabit (each NAS port has it's own IP--one is just used for my Mac and phone backups, the other is predominately used by my PC for Plex shares and whatever other files I put on there) and my FireTV is on port 4 at 100Mbps (limited by the FireTV). (I do not connect a hard drive to my Fire TV, I think someone else said that). I can stream to 3 different TVs (using a mix of a google TV (wired), Chromecast (wifi) and Fire TV (wired or wifi--same results either way) without any issues, buffering or otherwise, at full 1080p with ~12GB files all using Plex. It works near flawlessly most of the time. The only issue is that the Fire TV doesn't stream 5.1 audio (most of my content is AC3) UNLESS I use an external player (XBMC, etc...)--lots of info about this in the Plex forums.
The Fire TV does not have 802.11ac, it has 802.11n. Having it connected to an 802.11ac access point doesn't offer any real benefit other than they tend to do 802.11n slightly better than most 802.11n routers, presumably because they tend to be more powerful. There is no benefit for putting my FireTV on wifi over Ethernet--none what-so-ever since there is already an Ethernet port right next to it--because it will only add traffic to my wireless network. Putting it on wifi isn't going to give it much more bandwidth than having it connected Ethernet with the distance it is away from my 5Ghz router/AP (each is on a different floor) and the level of congestion around me on 2.4Ghz, which is on the same floor (I live in a Condo Complex in uptown Dallas, lots of other wifi routers). The connection between my Fire TV and my switch is ~100Mbps and the connection between my Plex Server is ~1Gbps. I can be moving files betwen my Plex Server and NAS at around 700-800Mbps and still play video on my FireTV from my Plex Server without any issues at it's max bitrate.
SMB is not my problem, I've been using it for a while. The Fire TV has some audio codec/passthrough issues with it's native player. If I switch to SPMC or XBMC and PlexBMC, I can play AC3 5.1 fine straight from my Plex server. I can also select External Player within Plex and play media through any external player such as XBMC without any issues with audio. The problem is that it's a pain to do it that way and it doesn't keep up with watched history, etc. like it should. You also have to manually choose the external player you want to use each time and there are issues with exiting some of them, FF/Rew, etc. The Nexus seems to be able to play my media fine with full AC3 5.1 surround... except it chokes randomly, freezes, etc. and that appears to be related to the wifi. I never said I would be paying for NFS! I will most definitely not be giving Microsoft more of my money to get a simple feature that should have been available in the pro version. As for the free options, I've tried several and they are flaky--so annoying. There is a good NFS server for Windows (Hanewin or something like that) that I've used (and actually run on my moms setup) but I need a client because my NAS does NFS. The free clients I've tried just aren't what they should be, many are dated. The good clients want money.
Ultimately, the fact that the Ethernet port on the FireTV isn't really relevant because that's all that specific port needs to be, I don't have any media with anywhere near a 100Mbps bitrate. Using a switch means that port gets 100% of its bandwidth 100% of the time regardless of what else my network is doing. A lot of people think a switch and a hub are the same thing because they look the same and kind of function the same, but they are quite different. A switch is able to provide each port it's dedicated bandwidth to each other port (traffic is only sent to the port it's designated for) and a hub is totally shared across all ports (traffic from every port is seen by every port). (I'm not suggesting you don't already know this, please don't take offense.) Sorry, I know that's a lot of info, I just want to try to clarify. It's so much easier with a whiteboard! The end result, however, is that something is not right with either the Nexus Player or Plex--I think there are issues with both considering my Nexus Player has issues connecting to my router and both access points and loses connection randomly and that when it is connected, YouTube/Hulu/Netflix all play pretty well. I, also, am not trying to argue--I'm just trying to clarify my situation.
Also, you mention if I have my Plex server on port 3 and multiple clients talking to that port... it's shared. True, but it's a gigabit connection being shared. Unless there are a whole lot of clients communicating with that Plex Server, it's not going to saturate so there should still be plenty of bandwidth for any other Plex client I might have on other ports. It would take 10 Fire TVs each playing close to a 100Mbps (bitrate) media clip to saturate my Plex Server connection (assuming there is nothing else communicating with my Plex server).
"Cool, what are you using for USB to Ethernet? I have a few USB OTG cables (I got them pretty cheap when I got my first Nexus) and I might as well put them to some good use... I'd like for my Nexus Player to actually play my Plex media without all the issues! Would something like this work?: http://smile.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Ethernet-Adapter-Black/dp/B00ET4KHJ2"
I am actually using an Apple USB to Ethernet adapter that I had lying around and never use... Its exactly like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MB442-U...1416754525&sr=8-1&keywords=apple+usb+ethernet
I think you can use any generic one really..
It was plug and play, didnt ask for anything, it just said it was connected to Ethernet when I checked.
If anyone else is having connection issues check you Date and Time. My Nexus Player was connected but but none of the apps could connect to anything. Upon checking dmesg I saw a lot of these error exceptions
Code:
Caused by: com.android.org.bouncycastle.jce.exception.ExtCertPathValidatorException: Could not validate certificate: Certificate not valid until Fri Apr 05 09:15:55 MDT 2013 (compared to Fri Dec 31 19:41:48 MST 1999)
Turns out all the Google apps use SSL and since my date was set to 1999 the certs showed up as invalid, I have automatic time turned on.
So for now just set your date manually and don't use Automatic Date&Time.
My NP is only able to connect to 2.4Ghz wireless. I have 2 different SSID's (2.4 and 5.0) and NP can see the 5.0, but gives an error that it can't find the network after you enter the password and try to connect.
The NP also keeps on dropping the 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi connection. I have many wireless devices on this network on both 2.4 and 5.0 Ghz working just fine so I know that the router is not the issue. (Asus RT-N66U)
I'm seeing similar issues, problems with 2.4ghz and worse with 5ghz. I'm using a USB to ethernet adapter and it was working pretty well when I was home. I left for the weekend so I only got a few hours to play with it but no issues
I too had trouble connecting to 5Ghz until I manually set the channel to 48 in my ASUS DSL-AC68U router. It won't connect to any 3 digit 5Ghz channels like 149 etc.
I am having issues with most 1080p content, even over Ethernet. There are just issues with the device and with Plex that need to be worked out. Google needs to get to work on it now!

Casting troubles

I got in on the $50 NP deals a little bit ago. It's been a neat little device aside from a couple issues. First, nothing can cast to it. Various phones, tablets try to connect then give up with a "Unable to connect to device" error. I have Chromecasts and they work flawlessly. I have done a factory reset or two without any improvement. Another oddity is that from my desktop computers, most of the time the device doesn't even get listed from the Chromecast icon (No cast devices found). One exception seems to be Youtube. There it shows the device, but still never sends anything to the Player.
The other issue I've had is that Netflix plays 1-5 seconds of a show before popping up it's aip-703. Netflix's web site gives a few suggestions, remove and readd account and the like, but that hasn't helped.
The only other thing I can think of is that the upgrade to Marshmallow might magically fix things, but I'm not holding out much hope. Any other suggestions?
I bet the casting problems you're getting are due to the NP's dodgy wi-fi connectivity. It's got compatibility issues with loads of different routers. I for example have a dual band router and since I moved the NP over to the router's 2.4GHz band, I have been able to cast without issues. And this sucks since I prefer it to connect to the 5GHz band for throughput and interference reasons. If you get any chance to try this with a different router you'll most likely see that those issues go away...
I was wondering that too, so I picked up an OTG cable and connected my Wii's ethernet adapter. Devices still aren't able to connect to the NP's casting receiver. So much for that...
In dealing with the Netflix thing, I decided to give their support a try. Surprisingly, they were very easy to deal with as far as tech support phone lines are. We tried a few things, but weren't able to settle on anything more than maybe it's the ISP's fault (Comcast). One interesting thing was they were able to pull up a demo movie that displays the current bitrate that you're getting. It was only pulling 1700kbps before getting the error. At other devices I get a similar rate, up to 3000kbps. I don't see how if Comcast were throttling Netflix connections, it should fail on any device rather than just this one (phones, tablets, computers, Chromecast, GoogleTV work just fine).
I've been able to cast on both NP I have without an issue. They were both running 5.1.1 and connected through 5Ghz wifi. I updated one to 6.0 and now I have the high brightness issue.
Both the casting and Netflix app got updated yesterday. Hopefully that will fix your problems
Casting no longer powers on TV via HDMI
Has anyone else experienced that casting no longer wakes up a powered-off TV?
Since I got my NP, starting to cast (with the TV off) would power on the TV and set it to the correct input (via HDMI commands sent from the Nexus Player). But, since yesterday (6.0 upgrade and new Cast Receiver - not sure which is to blame) this no longer happens. Is this now a configurable setting somewhere? I do observe that I can still use my TV remote's d-pad to control the Nexus Player, so believe HDMI-CEC is still active and configured correctly on the TV.
I loved this feature (prevented me from needing my TV remote!) and sad that it's now broken.

On 7" terrible wifi connection

Hello I just bought the 7" onn tablet from Walmart yesterday. The wifi connection is TERRIBLE. I've tried TWO different routers and modems and even a wifi extender, if I move 10 feet from the access point my connection drops to basically nothing. Then ON TOP of that it I connect my Bluetooth the tablet could litterally be sitting next to the access point and lose internet and audio! Nevermind the fact I can't move 5 feet or I will loose my Bluetooth too! And don't tell me the Bluetooth is interfering with my wifi, the wifi is dog **** without the Bluetooth even being on.
Is this a defective item or all these ONN tablets like this?
Edit: I am also using updates from June 5 2019. I have tried updating BOTH system places, and BOTH updates say I am current!
Straitshot47 said:
Hello I just bought the 7" onn tablet from Walmart yesterday. The wifi connection is TERRIBLE. I've tried TWO different routers and modems and even a wifi extender, if I move 10 feet from the access point my connection drops to basically nothing. Then ON TOP of that it I connect my Bluetooth the tablet could litterally be sitting next to the access point and lose internet and audio! Nevermind the fact I can't move 5 feet or I will loose my Bluetooth too! And don't tell me the Bluetooth is interfering with my wifi, the wifi is dog **** without the Bluetooth even being on.
Is this a defective item or all these ONN tablets like this?
Edit: I am also using updates from June 5 2019. I have tried updating BOTH system places, and BOTH updates say I am current!
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No, they are (obviously) not all like that. Might have a sample defect; sounds like the internal antenna may have an issue
Yeah I'd concur with @DB126. Sounds as though your tablet has an faulty antenna connection. If you cannot exchange or return the tablet, I can get you some instructions together for checking your internal antenna connection and repairing it if necessary. The antenna for WiFi and Bluetooth typically consists of a single (or pair of) wire with an FPC circular connector on each end. One connector usually attached to the main logic board and the other end will connect with the secondary (power) board. If either FPC connector gets detached, your WiFi/Bluetooth/Cellular signal will malfunction exactly as you have described -- little to no signal unless you are within a couple of feet from a WiFi access point or Bluetooth device.

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