WiFi Range Extender causing WMC Extender (XBox) issues

[tserafin]

So I have this issue which I can’t find any possible solutions on the web, hopefully some of you might have an input. I have a HTPC with Windows Media Center and two XBOX 360 acting as extenders, one hard wired to Ethernet and other connected through wifi. Had this set up for several years with absolutely no issues, other than slow wifi on one of the xbox360 that sometimes made the playback choppy. One day my router died so I replaced it with a new one. The xbox that was connected through WiFi was so slow that it became unusable so I’ve gotten a Linksys RE6500 AC1200 range extender which works like a charm in terms of wifi speeds. However this is where my issue begins.

If I set everything up, and use only one extender at a time, I have no issues. However if I turn on the extender that is hooked up to the Linksys AC1200 range extender, and then try to turn on the hardwired one I can’t connect (windows 7 tells me that something is blocking upnp). If I have the hardwired xbox on, and then try to turn on wifi xbox on, I can. However after that, once I turn off the Xboxes I can’t connect either of them, (UPnP error). The only way to get back up and running is to turn off the Linksys range extender and restart the HTPC. Then I can watch it on either xbox again with no issues, as long as they aren’t watched at the same time. So I believe the issue is the wifi extender, just not sure what to do about it. I can’t run a wire up there and wifi is crap for some reason with the xbox (other devices run perfectly in that area but not the xbox). If anyone has had similar issues and solved it I would appreciate any help.

[sbaeder]

unless you really need the UPnP, I would see if you can just turn it off on the main router as well as the extender (if it is on)....The extender may be trying to do something with the "universal plug-n-"pray" that is causing the main router to go into a fit of rage (or just loose it's mind)...

Good Luck

[tserafin]

I just realized that any device connected to the linksys range extender rather than router itself has the same MAC address (same as Linkys), therfore the XBOX and the range extender show up as two different IP addresses and one MAC address. I think this might be causing some confusion on the WMC end and therefore crating this issue. I just got a used router and will flash with DD-WRT to use it as bridge, and return my Linksys Wifi Extender, hopefully this will solve this use.

[DrSmith]

Just fwiw, I tried using an XBOX behind a DD-WRT router and was unable to get it working. I put the DD-WRT in client bridge mode and it then behaves the same way your range extender did. All wired IP clients behind the DD-WRT end up with the same MAC address on WiFi and this freaks out some older protocols (netbui?). You might have different results now with a newer version of DD-WRT, or maybe with WDS mode.

I eventually found the best solution for me was to use a Microsoft USB XBox wifi dongle. The USB wifi for xbox seems to work better than the built-in wifi. Also, I configured one of my extenders to use 802.11g (5GHz band) all by itself, no other users on that frequency in my setup.

[tserafin]

Thanks for the info, I just found used router for couple of bucks and flashed it with DD-WRT to Client Bridge. I was planning to hook it up to XBOX tomorrow and then I saw your post. I beleive you just gave me my results as one thing I've noticed is that one MAC address for all devices also happens on DD-WRT. I guess I'll just get the dongle and stop wasting my time.

[DrSmith]

On the dongle front, there are 2 MS Xbox 360 Wireless adapter models. I have used both models on both 5GHz and 2.4GHz and they work fine for me. But the single antenna model is older and the dual antenna model is 802.11n compliant, probably a little faster too. And with a little USB extension cable you will be able to tweak the antenna location closer to your router for even better throughput.

[tserafin]

Thank you much DrSmith