AirPlay and RT-N66u

[LHF]

Hi Guys!!

Recently, I bought a new stereo Marantz M-CR611 with AirPlay connection. But the connection drops many times and sometimes my iPhone and iPad miss the AirPlay icon. My FW is a little old ... 3.0.0.4.276. My doubts are:

* Should I upgrade my FW?
* Should I open any ports in my router?
* Or is that something else?

Thnks !!

Luiz

 

[jeff3820]

Don't really have enough info to help:

What router?
Are you streaming audio or video to phone or is data in the phone?
If video, what resolution are you sending by airplay? You only have so much WiFi bandwidth...
Is your phone connected by 2.4 or 5gHz?
What phone?
Have you checked to see if the Marantz has a firmware update?

It sounds like your WiFi bandwidth is overloaded...need to understand why.

 

[Zirescu]

Yes, upgrade your RT-N66U firmware that's very old March 2013 - you'll likely need to do a couple upgrades and factory default resets. Probably need to do an upgrade to 376.44 first and then 378.52 and then 380.64. You'll want to do a factory default reset after each upgrade. Do not import any old settings you'll need to set them up from scratch.

No ports will need to be opened as everything should be inside the network.

 

[LHF]

Don't really have enough info to help:

What router?
Are you streaming audio or video to phone or is data in the phone?
If video, what resolution are you sending by airplay? You only have so much WiFi bandwidth...
Is your phone connected by 2.4 or 5gHz?
What phone?
Have you checked to see if the Marantz has a firmware update?

It sounds like your WiFi bandwidth is overloaded...need to understand why.

Hi Jeff3820!

The router is RT-N66U. I am streaming only audio connected by 2.4gHz. I am using an iPad2, iPad Air, iPhone 4s and iPhone SE. All of them have the same issue. And I have already update Marantz fw. I will apreciate if you have any advice.
Thanks!

 

[LHF]

Yes, upgrade your RT-N66U firmware that's very old March 2013 - you'll likely need to do a couple upgrades and factory default resets. Probably need to do an upgrade to 376.44 first and then 378.52 and then 380.64. You'll want to do a factory default reset after each upgrade. Do not import any old settings you'll need to set them up from scratch.

No ports will need to be opened as everything should be inside the network.

Hi Zirescu!

Thank you for your help! Just two more doubts:

* After upgrading, are there specific router settings to use Airplay?
* Is it better if I use a static IP for the Marantz?

Thanks!

 

[jeff3820]

Static IP won't make a difference. For the 2.4 channel, do you have it on "auto" or have you assigned a channel? There are reports assigning a channel improves airplay performance. If you don't have access to an android app like WiFi Analyzer to see the best (least congested) channel, choose channel 1, 6, or 11 and see if performance improves.

Also, as Zirescu suggests, upgrade the firmware...

 

[LHF]

Static IP won't make a difference. For the 2.4 channel, do you have it on "auto" or have you assigned a channel? There are reports assigning a channel improves airplay performance. If you don't have access to an android app like WiFi Analyzer to see the best (least congested) channel, choose channel 1, 6, or 11 and see if performance improves.

Also, as Zirescu suggests, upgrade the firmware...

I have assigned channel 11, the best for me (I have an app in my note much similar to WiFi Analyser). And, yes, I will upgrade my fw .... It is really a little old ... rsrsr.

Thanks again! And if have more info, I will appreciate.

 

[LHF]

Yes, upgrade your RT-N66U firmware that's very old March 2013 - you'll likely need to do a couple upgrades and factory default resets. Probably need to do an upgrade to 376.44 first and then 378.52 and then 380.64. You'll want to do a factory default reset after each upgrade. Do not import any old settings you'll need to set them up from scratch.

No ports will need to be opened as everything should be inside the network.

Zirescu, one more doubt: if I want to go to John's fork because of the wireless range, can I do it to the latest version directly or I have to do it by steps, like you told to by using Merlin's fw?

Thanks again!!

 

[jeff3820]

I have assigned channel 11, the best for me (I have an app in my note much similar to WiFi Analyser). And, yes, I will upgrade my fw .... It is really a little old ... rsrsr.

Thanks again! And if have more info, I will appreciate.

Let us know if ch 11 helped

 

[Zirescu]

Uncertain about John's fork you might be able to upgrade to it directly, you'll still need the factory default reset. His fork sticks with an older version of the wireless driver. If you don't have any improvement with his you can try switching over to Merlin afterwards.

Stick to channels 1, 6, or 11 for the 2.4GHz. I personally have all my Apple devices on the 5GHz radio. The 2.4GHz side is just too crowded where I live.

 

[john9527]

Zirescu, one more doubt: if I want to go to John's fork because of the wireless range, can I do it to the latest version directly or I have to do it by steps, like you told to by using Merlin's fw?

Thanks again!!

You should be able to go directly via the gui. As @Zirescu said, you will need to do a factory default reset after loading the firmware. You should also make sure jffs is enabled and do a reformat of jffs after the reset.

 

[LHF]

Uncertain about John's fork you might be able to upgrade to it directly, you'll still need the factory default reset. His fork sticks with an older version of the wireless driver. If you don't have any improvement with his you can try switching over to Merlin afterwards.

Stick to channels 1, 6, or 11 for the 2.4GHz. I personally have all my Apple devices on the 5GHz radio. The 2.4GHz side is just too crowded where I live.

Channel 11 is good here. And wifi here is not crowded. The range of 5 GHz here is not so good .... I will do the fw upgrade and will post the result here.

Thanks!

 

[LHF]

Let us know if ch 11 helped

Channel 11 is good here. But i will upgrade the fw. Imwill post the result hete.

Thanks !

 

[LHF]

You should be able to go directly via the gui. As @Zirescu said, you will need to do a factory default reset after loading the firmware. You should also make sure jffs is enabled and do a reformat of jffs after the reset.

Hi John!

Thanks for you reply! I will upgrade my fw. Just two doubts:

* Have I only to do a reformat once, after the factory reset? Then, should I disable it?

* Any specific settings for Airplay runs smooth?

Thanks!

 

[Zirescu]

If you're not using any jffs scripts or OpenVPN settings you can leave it as is.
Shouldn't need to do anything special for Airplay from the defaults.
If you're using the same SSID settings from a previous router (or even if not) it might be worth setting a new SSID and setting up your devices again so that all of them are pulling the updated settings from the router.

 

[LHF]

If you're not using any jffs scripts or OpenVPN settings you can leave it as is.
Shouldn't need to do anything special for Airplay from the defaults.
If you're using the same SSID settings from a previous router (or even if not) it might be worth setting a new SSID and setting up your devices again so that all of them are pulling the updated settings from the router.

Yes, I am not using any jffs scripts or open vpn. So, I will leave as it is. And I am going change my SSID too. I will let you know about the result as soon as I upgrade my fw.

Thanks for helping!

 

[LHF]

You should be able to go directly via the gui. As @Zirescu said, you will need to do a factory default reset after loading the firmware. You should also make sure jffs is enabled and do a reformat of jffs after the reset.

Hi John!

I installed fw 22E4 this morning. So for, so good! Very stable untill now and the wifi range .... is awsome!

I will test Airplay tonight and will let you know.

Thanks again and congratulations for this great fw!

 

[LHF]

Hi John!

I installed fw 22E4 this morning. So for, so good! Very stable untill now and the wifi range .... is awsome!

I will test Airplay tonight and will let you know.

Thanks again and congratulations for this great fw!

Hi guys!

Just to update: John´s fork 22E4 is rock solid and Airplay is running smooth from all my Apple devices. No changes in any set. Just left the defaults, like Zirescu told me.

Thank you John and Zirescu for helping me!

 

[john9527]

Hi guys!

Just to update: John´s fork 22E4 is rock solid and Airplay is running smooth from all my Apple devices. No changes in any set. Just left the defaults, like Zirescu told me.

Thank you John and Zirescu for helping me!

Thanks for the feedback....glad to hear it worked for you!

 

[Zirescu]

Great! Happy to help.