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RT-N56U: Issues with FaceTime

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sirozha

Occasional Visitor
I had RT-N56U working in the AP mode connected to a Cisco SOHO91 router. FaceTime was working just fine, but the overall speed was slow, and after much troubleshooting, the culprit was the Cisco SOHO91. The setup is on the other side of the world, so all the troubleshooting is over the phone, which is not very efficient, to say the least.

Once we determined that the slow access speed (which mostly manifested itself with excruciatingly slow downloads) was caused by the Cisco SOHO91, I decided to have them remove the Cisco and change RT-N56U into the router mode. Immediately, the Internet speeds improved, but to our chagrin, we learned that FaceTime starting having problems. On firmware 1.0.1.3, I could not call into the site using FaceTime. FaceTime would never alert them that there was an incoming call (no audio and no video indication of the incoming call). Then we upgraded to 1.0.1.8f. After the upgrade, when I would place a call via FaceTime, there would be a video indication of an incoming call (FaceTime app would open and indicate that there’s an incoming call), but there’s still no ring when I call.

I found many complaints on Amazon about this issue, going back a year or so. I’m not sure if Asus thinks they have solved this problem, but the problem is still there for me. Someone on Amazon suggested to replace DNS servers with Google’s - 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 in the router’s WAN page. I did that, and I also entered 8.8.8.8 for DNS on the LAN page -> DHCP tab. The iPad is now getting the following DNS addresses: 8.8.8.8 and 192.168.220.254 (the second DNS is the RT-N56U itself - apparently, it uses its own LAN IP either as a primary or as a secondary DNS server). Changing the DNS server IPs didn’t help, though. Even now, when I place an incoming call, there’s a visual indication, but there’s no ring. One time, their iPad’s FaceTime rang about a minute after I hung up, which is also weird.

There’s an article on the Asus web site about doing port forwarding for FaceTime, but I also hear that this was for an older firmware version, and it’s not necessary for the newer releases. Additionally, if I do port forwarding on the recommended ports, I will only be able to use one iOS device with FaceTime behind this RT-N56U.

Has anyone been able to successfully use FaceTime with RT-N56U? If so, did you have to do something special in the setup? What firmware version are you running on it?

If the stock firmware doesn’t work well with FaceTime (and I also hear that iMessage is having the same problem), has anyone tried Padavan’s firmware for RT-N56U? Does it work correctly with FaceTime and iMessage?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
one word solution - skype

Facetime has been noted to have issues with NAT and Firewall hole-punching...
 
one word solution - skype

Facetime has been noted to have issues with NAT and Firewall hole-punching...

Thank you. However, I have never had any problems with FaceTime when the devices are behind Cisco routers or firewalls. I’ve never used Apple’s Airport routers, but I’m sure they don’t have any problems with FaceTime either. So, the problem is definitely not FaceTime but Asus. I can only imagine all the SIP telephony problems if I were to plug in a SIP phone behind this router.
 
Samething for me, but my problem is iMessage (I can't receive) but Facetime work perfectly.

I try the DNS solution.... nothing work

Do you find a solution ?
 

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