Hello folks,
Just bought the OBI110 a couple of weeks ago and having problems with people being able to hear me and vice versa.
The router:
Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster WRT54GS Firmware Version: v7.50.8. 2.4ghz
The linksys is hooked to my cable modem. I also have an ooma VOIP device on it which works flawlessly and is connected to the router with an ethernet cable. If I hook obi to linksys router it sounds great also. But I need to move obi to different spot and its impractical to run Ethernet over there.
The access point / bridge / repeater:
ASUS RT-N13U Wireless N router
Firmware version beta firmware 7.6.2.2
Improve the RT-N13U and Cable Modem compatibility issues
I set the RT-N13U in repeater mode (per asus tech support)
The OBI is connected with an Ethernet cable to the RT-N13U.
Secured connection wpa 2 personal.
Absolute crappy connection this way
Distance from linksys doesn't seem to matter. Voices cutting out on both ends during conversations.
. The wireless bridge (I think that's what you call it) isn't working.
Any configuration suggestions? Should I load ddwrt on the linksys? Do I need new hardware? Anybody else running a configuration like this? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
I have a Linksys WRT54G running in Wireless Ethernet Bridge mode using Tomato firmware which connects to a Netgear WNR3500L also using Tomato firmware. An OBi connected to the WRT54G Wireless Ethernet Bridge has superb audio.
If Tomato firmware is compatible with your routers, I would recommend giving it a try.
ddwrt firmware installed on my Buffalo hardware router works fine for me as a remote access point for an OBi100. I have the router configured as a "Repeater Bridge" talking to another ddwrt router connected to the internet.
Before you change anything I would try to pinpoint the source of the problem. If you have the Asus router just a few feet from the Linksys does it work better? In other words is it something to do with the wifi transmission. What about changing the wifi transmission channel? Does it have anything to do with encryption?
Are you by any chance using a 2.4GHz cordless phone? That will garble your audio since the wifi is on the same band.
FWIW: I am running dd-wrt on a Linksys WAP54g in repeater bridge mode with a Grandstream HT-502 ATA as an extension phone in an out building. It works flawlessly over the wireless link back to my Obi-110 in the house.
Thanks for all the help you have been giving me folks. My linksys is version 7.x so I couldn't run tomato. However, I was amazingly able to install ddwrt on my linksys and that seemed to improve the connection between the two somewhat. I'm still getting cutouts for about 10 seconds where I can't hear someone talking but they can hear me fine. Today I'm going to flash the asus with the ddwrt and hope that solves the problem. I'll keep you posted. Maybe it has something to do with flow control. My cable is something like 10mbs down and 5 up (comcast). Also the devices are all next to each other for testing so signal strength shouldn't be a problem. Wondering what else I can check. Anyway, I'll keep you folks posted once I upgrade the asus with ddwrt.
A few ideas you may already have tried:
- ping the Obi from the main router and look for packet loss.
- change wireless channels in case there is an interference problem.
- site survey looking for competing wireless networks. (Easy on Tomato, don't know about DD-WRT - if not try Inssider http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/ (http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/) on a laptop)
- move phones and access points etc. further apart in case there is a shielding / electrical interference issue.
- check call stats on Obi Status / Call Statistics while call in progress to look for packet loss
just upgrade the asus with the DDWRT and it seems to have solved the problem. No cutouts at close range. I'll be moving the linksys with the DDWRT about 50 feet away to see if there are no problems at long range. BTW, I haven't tried boosting the signal yet if I do get cut out so I'll try that in combination with the other suggestions posted by MB.