How connect U4 to my Network

[Jeddie]

Yes i'm sure this has been asked many time before?

Is there a step by step guide somewhere?

I ran the wizard but I have no idea what to do next?

I can see my local movies on my TV so my network is ok.

What do I type into name-sever?

What are my next steps please?

[MrQuade]

Is there a step by step guide somewhere?

Not that I know of.

If you are using a wired network connection, then it is usually a 1 step process of saying "OK", and letting it configure itself.

Are you using a wired or wireless network?

If wireless, are you using a Beyonwiz-supplied USB WiFi dongle?

I ran the wizard but I have no idea what to do next?

What wizard are you talking about? The initial setup wizard that follows a firmware upgrade?

What do I type into name-sever?

Usually, you don't need to. If you set the network adaptor to automatically-configure itself, then it will get that and other information off your network's DHCP server (which is usually your router).

If you choose to manually configure that setting, then you should specify your network's DNS server's IP address (also usually your router), or you would point it at another DNS server like, Google, Cloudflare, or your local ISP.

What are my next steps please?

It depends how far you have gotten already. You may need to go step by step and tell us what has happened so far.

[Jeddie]

Thanks for replying.

i'm using wired network. I went to Setup > Network > Network wizard. It came with screen showing;
Your IP
Netmask
Broadcast
Mac

There was no indication on screen of what to do next. So I exited.
And here I am?

[peteru]

You should not need to do any of that. As default, wired networking just works out of the box. You'd only fiddle with the settings if you know what you are doing and you have very specific needs to override the defaults.

[Jeddie]

So what do I do next then? As I said I ran the wizard.

Do I need to mount shares? Whatever that means?

[MrQuade]

So what do I do next then? As I said I ran the wizard.

Do I need to mount shares? Whatever that means?

It depends what it is you want to connect to. Do you have a NAS or server of some sort that you have some movie files stored on?

[Jeddie]

I have a PC (Win 10) on the network that I want to be able to transfer movies from ie Win 10 > U4.

[MrQuade]

I have a PC (Win 10) on the network that I want to be able to transfer movies from ie Win 10 > U4.

So assuming that the U4's network is now connected, and you are just needing to transfer files from the PC to the U4's harddisk, then that should all be ready to go.

Just open Windows Explorer, and you should be able to see the U4 as "beyonwizu4" listed under the "Network" entry in the navigation bar on the left.

If the U4 doesn't appear there, then it might be that the Windows network browser can't see it yet (that's a longer story and we can come back to that later).
If that's the case though, you should still be able to simply enter "\\beyonwizu4\" into the Windows Explorer address bar manually, and then you will be able to see the U4's "movie" folder. You can then copy whatever you want to the U4.


If instead, you want to play movies on the U4, but don't want to copy the files to the U4 first, then you can play them live over the network from the PC.

You will need to have shared out the folder on the PC using Windows file sharing.
You will also need to have a valid username and password on the PC which the U4 can use to connect to the PC with. (you can simply use your own Windows username and password if you like).

To do that, you need to mount the Windows 10 shared folder onto the U4.

Open the network browser on the U4 via "MENU->Setup->Network->Netwoprk browser".
This will list all the devices on your network.
Find your PC and select it with OK.
Enter the username and password that has access to the shared folder.
All the PC's shared folder should now be listed.
Select the shared folder that you want to mount on the U4.
Enter the username and password again.
All the default options should be ok as shown, so you can press the GREEN button to accept.
When the mount has been created, press the OK button to accept the popup window (don't press EXIT, or else the mount will not be created properly).

You should then be able to access that mounted folder via the U4's Media Player.

Open the media player with the "MEDIA" button.
Open the "Locations" popup with the YELLOW button (by default....YELLOW is a configurable button).
You should see your PC's mounted shared folder listed in the popup.
Select the mounted share and press OK.
This should open that location in the media player.

Now there are a few things that can go astray in that procedure, so give it a go and see how you get on.

[peteru]

You should not need to do anything on the U4.

On the PC, open File Explorer and type in "\\beyonwizu4" in the location bar. That should show you the contents of the U4. You can then drag and drop files on your PC as required.

[Jeddie]

You should not need to do anything on the U4.

On the PC, open File Explorer and type in "\\beyonwizu4" in the location bar. That should show you the contents of the U4. You can then drag and drop files on your PC as required.

Yes this worked. I can copy from my PC > U4.

[serpeantoz]

I have a PC (Win 10) on the network that I want to be able to transfer movies from ie Win 10 > U4.

If the U4 doesn't appear there, then it might be that the Windows network browser can't see it yet (that's a longer story and we can come back to that later).

So why doesnt my Windows 10 File Explorer see the Beyonwiz U4 under Networkl?

[Grumpy_Geoff]

So why doesnt my Windows 10 File Explorer see the Beyonwiz U4 under Networkl?

In the 'Network' pane, right-click>>Refresh.
"Ahh, that's better, thank you Mr. Master Browser; but why do you take so long? - who are you, where are you"

[raymondjpg]

So why doesnt my Windows 10 File Explorer see the Beyonwiz U4 under Networkl?

In the 'Network' pane, right-click>>Refresh.
"Ahh, that's better, thank you Mr. Master Browser; but why do you take so long? - who are you, where are you"

Unless SMB1 has been explicitly enabled, or the Windows 10 installation has been updated from Windows 7, then Mr. Master Browser has been retired.

If Refresh doesn't reveal the listing in the Network area of the Windows 10 file explorer, then renaming the BW device may resurrect it.

[Jeddie]

Hi all,

My questions above were asking about connecting my U4 to my network ia ethernet.

Well since then I have moved house and wish to connect U4 via wifi to my home network.

My goal is to be able to transfer files from the PC to the U4's harddisk (Like I did before).
It seems I need a wifi dongle? Is that correct? But Beyonwiz shop says they are out of stock?
Can I use a different type of dongle?

Then I assume I can follow the steps in manual for the setup?

TIA

[Paul_oz53]

Hi all,

My questions above were asking about connecting my U4 to my network ia ethernet.

Well since then I have moved house and wish to connect U4 via wifi to my home network.

My goal is to be able to transfer files from the PC to the U4's harddisk (Like I did before).
It seems I need a wifi dongle? Is that correct? But Beyonwiz shop says they are out of stock?
Can I use a different type of dongle?

Then I assume I can follow the steps in manual for the setup?

TIA

In this post and after we discussed the EDUP AC 1619. It works at 433 Mbps on 5GHz.

To set it up you have to select it as the network adapter and restart the network or reboot. If DHCP returns wrong values for the IP address, etc. you will need to setup manual values but that's not hard.

[Paul_oz53]

In this post I indicate how to manually setup the wireless settings.

[Jeddie]

Thanks Paul.

I notice the dongle on Nasa website does not mention U4?
https://www.nasaelectronics.com.au/prod ... ield-pvr-s

Do you know if it will on my U4?

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Thanks Paul.

I notice the dongle on Nasa website does not mention U4?
https://www.nasaelectronics.com.au/prod ... ield-pvr-s

Do you know if it will on my U4?

Yes, but wouldn't pull the skin off of a rice pudding. Way too slow for file transfers.
My suggestion to you is to use a wireless-to-ethernet bridge - far more reliable than USB wireless dongles.
See viewtopic.php?f=66&t=14625#p193148

[Paul_oz53]

Thanks Paul.

I notice the dongle on Nasa website does not mention U4?
https://www.nasaelectronics.com.au/prod ... ield-pvr-s

Do you know if it will on my U4?

I have used the EDUP on the U4 briefly, so yes - it will work.

Regarding Grumpy_Geoff's suggestion, it is a good idea if the WiFi signal is good but I generally found the EDUP ok for streaming and for file transfers if slower than a wired connection.

In my new digs, I have a TP-Link RE205 WiFi extender which has an ethernet port. However, it reported weak reception where I wanted to use it so I had a wired connection installed and now use it as an access point.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Thanks Paul.

I notice the dongle on Nasa website does not mention U4?
https://www.nasaelectronics.com.au/prod ... ield-pvr-s

Do you know if it will on my U4?

I have used the EDUP on the U4 briefly, so yes - it will work.

I believe the "Do you know if it will on my U4?" question was in regards to the Xtreamer 11n dongle from NASA Electronics.
If memory serves, it's a single-stream "up to" 150Mbps (on 40 MHz), thus likely connects at 72 Mbps on the neighbour-friendly 20 MHz channel width. Actual throughput will be much less of course (perhaps 40 Mbps - hence my rice pudding statement).

[Paul_oz53]

Thanks Paul.

I notice the dongle on Nasa website does not mention U4?
https://www.nasaelectronics.com.au/prod ... ield-pvr-s

Do you know if it will on my U4?

I have used the EDUP on the U4 briefly, so yes - it will work.

I believe the "Do you know if it will on my U4?" question was in regards to the Xtreamer 11n dongle from NASA Electronics.
If memory serves, it's a single-stream "up to" 150Mbps (on 40 MHz), thus likely connects at 72 Mbps on the neighbour-friendly 20 MHz channel width. Actual throughput will be much less of course (perhaps 40 Mbps - hence my rice pudding statement).

Thanks for clarifying Geoff. I had switched focus to the better EDUP unit as I took it that Jeddie was responding to my post. You are completely correct that the cheaper dongle is useless for file transfers. I struggled with it at 72 Mbps until I upgraded to the EDUP but later installed a wired connection.

When we moved recently I had to use the older WiFi adapter briefly on the U4. It worked fine for IceTV and was otherwise useless, as you predict. Fortunately, I got a guy in to wire up four points and that wrinkle passed quickly.

[Jeddie]

Thanks Paul.

I notice the dongle on Nasa website does not mention U4?
https://www.nasaelectronics.com.au/prod ... ield-pvr-s

Yes, but wouldn't pull the skin off of a rice pudding. Way too slow for file transfers.
My suggestion to you is to use a wireless-to-ethernet bridge - far more reliable than USB wireless dongles.
See viewtopic.php?f=66&t=14625#p193148

Thanks GG.
Located with my BW I have a smart TV and an old Squeezebox for music - all located in same room.
I prefer to have my squeezebox connected by ethernet cable - better performance.
My TV works fine via wifi as my modem is close by eg SBS On Demand works ok.

The TL-WA1201 has only 1 Ethernet connection. Can I connect my Squeezebox to the Bridge via a network switch?
eg Modem > Wifi > TL-WA1201 > Ethernet cable > Network Switch > 2 x seperate ethernet cables to TV & Squeezebox

Would it be ok to leave TV as wifi to main modem? Or should I connect same BW & Squeezebox via ethernet cable and network switch?

[MrQuade]

Located with my BW I have a smart TV and an old Squeezebox for music - all located in same room.
I prefer to have my squeezebox connected by ethernet cable - better performance.

If the Squeezebox is currently connected via hard-wire Ethernet, then you should definitely install a switch.

My general advice is that you shouldn't ever have your fixed equipment using wireless connections if you have the option of using a cable.

[Paul_oz53]

Located with my BW I have a smart TV and an old Squeezebox for music - all located in same room.
I prefer to have my squeezebox connected by ethernet cable - better performance.

If the Squeezebox is currently connected via hard-wire Ethernet, then you should definitely install a switch.

My general advice is that you shouldn't ever have your fixed equipment using wireless connections if you have the option of using a cable.

Agree - I have a 1 Gbps 8 port switch in the living room so the Access Point, TV, Foxtel and Beyonwiz all have wired connections. Works perfectly.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

The TL-WA1201 has only 1 Ethernet connection. Can I connect my Squeezebox to the Bridge via a network switch?
eg Modem > Wifi > TL-WA1201 > Ethernet cable > Network Switch > 2 x seperate ethernet cables to TV & Squeezebox

Would it be ok to leave TV as wifi to main modem? Or should I connect same BW & Squeezebox via ethernet cable and network switch?

I'd connect a 5-port gigabit ethernet switch to the TL-WA1201 and then cable to U4, Squeezebox, and TV.

[Jeddie]

Thanks guys for the usual helpful advice!

[Jeddie]

So I bought the TL-WA1201 and connected my TV, Beyonwiz & Squeezebox. It works but......?

I find after a day or 2, when I try to view any content via the network (ie SBS on Demand via TV, view movie folder on BW from my PC, etc) it does not work,

I get error messages saying can't connect. All 3 of my devices are no longer on the network.

To fix I simply turn off/on the TL-WA1201 and voila everything works again until the next time it doesn't.

How can I get reliable network for my devices?

Your thoughts?

[Grumpy_Geoff]

To fix I simply turn off/on the TL-WA1201 and voila everything works again until the next time it doesn't.

How can I get reliable network for my devices?

Try different wireless control channels on your wireless router.
Use a wireless analyser app on your phone (such as "WiFiman" by Ubiquiti Inc.) to see the local channel use.

If you're using a TL-WA1201 "V2" (version 2) check to see if you're using the latest firmware -
TL-WA1201(US)_V2_220103 Published Date: 2022-01-10
https://www.tp-link.com/au/support/down ... /#Firmware

[Jeddie]

Try different wireless control channels on your wireless router.
Use a wireless analyser app on your phone (such as "WiFiman" by Ubiquiti Inc.) to see the local channel use.

If you're using a TL-WA1201 "V2" (version 2) check to see if you're using the latest firmware -
TL-WA1201(US)_V2_220103 Published Date: 2022-01-10
https://www.tp-link.com/au/support/down ... /#Firmware

Thanks GG.

In regard to wireless channels > Not sure thats the problem. My PC & 2 x mobile phones are all connected wirelessly to main router. No drop outs whatsoever.

The only devices to experience dropouts are those connected to the WA1201. (Just happened again tonight).

How would I troubleshoot this?

[Jeddie]

**Bump**

More info;
I have 2 x PC's connected to my network wirelessly. They are both located much further from router than the WA120/ Network switch/ TV, BW, Squeezebox. No drop outs at all.

Would really appreciate some assistance to try and work out my above 3 device only drop out of my network?

P.S. Last night while watching SBS On Demand, I lost network connection. Wife not happy.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Would really appreciate some assistance to try and work out my above 3 device only drop out of my network?

Return the TL-WA1201. It's not fit for the task if it keeps dropping out when your other wireless devices don't.