Change T4 from LAN to WLAN

[madmax]

Hi all, it's been a long time.....

I just moved house and decided to change my T4 from LAN to Wifi, as all I need is IceTV's guide data. So I ordered and received a wireless dongle from the Beyonwiz shop, plugged it in to the rear USB port, but no idea what to do next? I can't see where to change the network settings from LAN to WLAN. I also tried the front USB port, same result.

Would appreciate some help. Cheers.

[prl]

I can't see where to change the network settings from LAN to WLAN. I also tried the front USB port, same result.

Connect USB WiFi dongle, MENU>Setup>Network>Network adapter setup, then select WLAN connection, then Network settings/info.

It shouldn't matter to the PVR which USB port you use, but if you're plugged directly into the rear port, you may not get good WiFi signal propagation to and from the dongle.

[madmax]

I go into:

MENU>Setup>Network>Network adapter selection

It is already set to LAN, and I can't see any way of changing that setting, as the cursor does not go up to that line.

Confused.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

I go into:

MENU>Setup>Network>Network adapter selection

It is already set to LAN, and I can't see any way of changing that setting, as the cursor does not go up to that line.

Confused.

Run the Network wizard. If it doesn't offer the wireless adapter then reboot and try again.

[madmax]

Did a power-off reboot, but no change. Ran network wizard, no WLAN option that I can see. When I try the USB port with a different USB stick with files on it, the T4 recognises it and offers to play the media files, so the port seems functional.

Could I really be unlucky enough to get a DOA dongle?

[madmax]

Maybe I can test it in my PC tower?

If I put the dongle in my PC, what would you expect to happen if the dongle is functional?

[Grumpy_Geoff]

If I put the dongle in my PC, what would you expect to happen if the dongle is functional?

Windows should have drivers for the chipset. You should be able to connect to the wireless dongle and see the list of SSIDs.

[Paul_oz53]

Maybe I can test it in my PC tower?

If I put the dongle in my PC, what would you expect to happen if the dongle is functional?

In Windows it will be detected as a USB device and a driver installed. You then have to configure it for use but only if you need to confirm the wireless side is working. Your problem seems to be with detection.

I've never had a problem with detection that couldn't be fixed by a reboot or by a power off/on cycle.

[madmax]

So I plugged it into the PC, and got this message:

Device driver software was not successfully installed.
Please consult with your device manufacturer for assistance getting this device installed.
802.11ac WLAN Adapter No driver found

But as you can see, it does recognise it as a WLAN adapter.

So, now what to do from here?

[madmax]

Also, can someone show me a screenshot of where the WLAN option appears, when a dongle is recognised?

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Also, can someone show me a screenshot of where the WLAN option appears, when a dongle is recognised?

Dongle, not enabled:

WLAN_dongle.png (71.84 KiB) Viewed 3280 times

Selected, then open settings:

WLAN_dongle_selected.png (66.59 KiB) Viewed 3280 times

Ready to enable:

WLAN_settings_info.png (80.12 KiB) Viewed 3280 times

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Also, can someone show me a screenshot of where the WLAN option appears, when a dongle is recognised?

Also see user manual, page 18 "Wireless LAN Setup".

[madmax]

Ok, that first screen is the one I don't see. Mine goes straight to the second screen, showing "LAN connection".

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Do you get an entry for the dongle in /var/log/messages, mine is shown below -

Code: Select all

Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8812au

Surrounding lines -

Code: Select all

Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: EXT4-fs (sda1): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode. Opts: (null)
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.warn kernel: tpm: loading out-of-tree module taints kernel.
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: DVB: registering new adapter (beyonwizu4)
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: platform beyonwizu4.0: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 0 (Si21682)...
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: platform beyonwizu4.0: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 1 (Si21682)...
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: platform beyonwizu4.0: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 2 (Si21682)...
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: input: dreambox remote control (native) as /devices/virtual/input/input0
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.notice kernel: random: crng init done
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8812au
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: usb 4-1.4: dvb_usb_v2: found a 'Realtek RTL2832U reference design' in warm state
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: usb 4-1.4: dvb_usb_v2: will pass the complete MPEG2 transport stream to the software demuxer
Jan  3 04:18:45 beyonwizu4 user.info kernel: DVB: registering new adapter (Realtek RTL2832U reference design)

You can use File Commander to view the file (pressing TEXT).

[prl]

Ok, that first screen is the one I don't see. Mine goes straight to the second screen, showing "LAN connection".

That means the WiFi dongle isn't being recognised. Which is what Grumpy_Geoff is trying to verify in the post above.

[madmax]

Ok, that first screen is the one I don't see. Mine goes straight to the second screen, showing "LAN connection".

That means the WiFi dongle isn't being recognised. Which is what Grumpy_Geoff is trying to verify in the post above.

I have no idea how to get into /var/log/messages, but let's say you are right about the dongle not being recognised. What corrective actions do I have available to me?

[Paul_oz53]

...
What corrective actions do I have available to me?

Return to Beyonwiz. It's a dud unfortunately.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Ok, that first screen is the one I don't see. Mine goes straight to the second screen, showing "LAN connection".

That means the WiFi dongle isn't being recognised. Which is what Grumpy_Geoff is trying to verify in the post above.

I have no idea how to get into /var/log/messages, but let's say you are right about the dongle not being recognised. What corrective actions do I have available to me?

As I said -

You can use File Commander to view the file (pressing TEXT).

[madmax]

Ah, silly me. A firmware update did the trick. The dongle must be newer than the firmware I was running.

So, now I see the WLAN option, and it can detect my wifi network no problem (Telstra NBN Gen 2 modem). But the wizard doesn't ask me for the wifi password at any stage. I presume it needs it somewhere, but where does it go?

[prl]

Which wizard? I'd normally take that to mean the initial setup wizard. I can't remember exactly what the screens are for that, but if you're set up in the new firmware now, MENU>Setup>Network>Network adapter selection>WLAN connection>Scan wireless networks.

Select your network.

Then switch on Enable xxx wireless network device

The config screen should expand to show the setup options.

Scroll down to Encryption and set that to the encryption type used on your network (most likely WPA2 - if you're not using it you should be, and WEP is way out). The encryption settings aren't automatically enabled, even if the scan detected that your connection is encrypted

Select the key type (only for WEP - did I say that you really shouldn't use that?), and enter the password for your network in the Encryption key field.

The setup is probably similar in the initial setup wizard.

[madmax]

Yep, it was the non-auto encryption setting that did me in.

IceTV now working! Thanks all - legends as always!

[prl]

Ideally, it should also get the encryption type as well as just "encrypted" and use that to pre-set the encryption type in the setup screen. I'm not sure how hard that would be, though.

[madmax]

It seems my battle is not over yet. I manually enabled IceTV and forced a guide download, but then it sat like that and did nothing for the next whole week until the data ran out. This is despite being set to 'log in to IceTV server every 15 minutes'.

The IceTV log shows no activity since the manual download and if I try to do another manual download, I get this error:

"Login failure: The IceTV server can not be reached. Try checking the internet connection on your Beyonwiz T4.
Details: HTTPConnectionPool (host='api.icetv.com.au', port=80): Max retries exceeded with url:[some really long string of letters and numbers]: Failed to establish a new connection: [Errno -2] Name or service not known',))"

Going in to Setup/Network/Network Adapter Selection/Network Test, it was all green ticks when I first installed the dongle, but now I get IP address 'Unconfirmed' and Nameserver 'Unconfirmed'.

After the first week ran out, I managed to reset it somehow (can't remember how) and do a fresh manual download, but then it sat there again for another whole week until the data ran out tonight.

I know most of you guys don't use IceTV, but hoping someone out there can help.

[MrQuade]

What do you mean "the data ran out" and "the week ran out"?

Is you wireless access point being switched off at any time?

When you've noticed the network is disconnected, have you tried rebooting the Wiz to see if that restores the connection?

[peteru]

Sounds like you have a flaky router.

Or, maybe the USB connection to your WiFi dongle is less than 100% reliable. Power off, ensure everything is securely attached (use a small extension lead if required) and then power on again. I expect it will work for a while after you do that.

[Paul_oz53]

I use IceTV but I switched to LAN a while ago. However, I can tell you your problem is with the wireless adapter losing its IP address. If you fix the unconfirmed issue then IceTV should work. It does for me on wireless.

I assume you have the adapter set to use DHCP. This is normally correct but works best if the router assigns a preset IP address based on the adapter MAC address.

I just reconnected my wireless adapter and found I had to setup the ip address manually. My gateway is 192.168.1.1 so I entered an IP address of 192.168.1.119 with a netmask of 255.255.255.000. I used 119 because I know it is unused on my network. On the automatic configuration setting I got unconfirmed for the IP address.

If you manually set an IP address you will need to know the gateway address, an available IP address and the netmask which should be 255.255.255.000 for your network.

In the encryption setting there are two options for wpa2. One is just "wpa" the others (edit: "wpa2" or) "wpa or wpa2". I use the latter but both worked. I did not have to reboot or restart the U4 when changing settings. Saving changes worked immediately.

On the IceTV website you will want to resend all settings for the T4.

[madmax]

Thanks Paul.

I didn't quite follow all of that, but I think I get the general idea. I looked at the Wireless Adapter settings and found that it has been allocated 192.168.1.153. I couldn't figure out how to change it, so I just turned off DHCP and it seems to have retained the same IP address. So, I'll leave it like this for a few days and see if the EPG updates.