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will HDR-Fox-T2 connect to a wifi network without DHCP

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david_n_c

New Member
Is it possible to connect an HDR-Fox-T2 to a wifi network (like) mine which uses manual IP allocation? I can't switch back to DHCP because I'd have to change my whole network. I can connect using ethernet cable no problem. I cannot find a way to enter IP numbers when the Ethernet is unplugged and the wifi dongle (Edimax EW-7711USn) is plugged in. I enter the correct IP numbers and connect using Ethernet. I then unplug the Ethernet and plug in the dongle. When I go to check the IP settings they have changed back to some default setting that bear no relation to my own. When I try to enter the correct IP numbers and then click 'Apply' I get an error message which says the network cable is unplugged, which is true. However, how do I enter IP numbers manually for the wifi dongle? There doesn't seem to be a way. The HDR can see my wifi network no problem and recognises the signal as high power.

This is the second problem I've had to face. The first one was that that the HDR was incapable of remembering my password which happens to have some spaces in it. I have now changed the password on the router (and every other bit of equipment that connects) so that there are no spaces. This password is now accepted but I cannot get the HDR to remember my manual IPs. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
In the Humax Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Settings screen there are 4 options i.e. Configure Wi-Fi, Configure LAN, Content Share and FTP server, you need to enter your IP details into the Configure Wi-Fi screen, Note this will be 'greyed out' if the Humax can't 'see' the Wi-Fi dongle.
The unrecognisable IP address see on your Humax is probably the default one the Humax uses if if can't determine the one entered manually or allocated by DHCP, there are some notes in the Wiki here :- http://wiki.hummy.tv/wiki/FAQs#Why_has_my_Humax.27s_IP_address_changed.3F
 
Thanks very much for replying. I've always been a great admirer of 'The Cantos'. I should add here that I am using the unmodified firmware for the HDR at the moment. If I do Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Settings >> Configure Wi-Fi all I get is Network Name, Security Type and Password. There are no other options on this screen. There is nowhere to enter manual IP details. The Configure Wi-Fi option is not greyed out so the HDR can see the dongle. Am I doing something wrong?
 
I can't remember where it is offhand but you will need to tell the HDR not to use DHCP before it will let you set an IP address manually. Have a good look through the other Internet menus for that setting.
 
The only other place I can think of is in the Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Settings >> Configure LAN screen, this is obviously to configure the Wired LAN connection, but maybe the Humax uses the Manual / DHCP setting in there to switch the Manual / DHCP setting in 'Configure Wi-Fi'. However I'm guessing the the OP has already set Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Settings >> Configure LAN>> Configure IP to Manual
 
The Humax regards the Configure LAN settings irrelevant to WiFi, and the Configure WiFi settings irrelevant to operating a wired connection.

The answer is to fix the IP addresses at the router instead of the devices themselves, so that the DHCP requests are always assigned the same IP address (recorded by MAC). Devices that are currently configured manually can co-exist in this environment, as long as the network administrator is careful setting it all up. The router needs to be told what addresses to reserve (although, in fact, when you look in the settings you will probably find a table of devices that have connected and the IP addresses they connected on).
 
Right I've installed the customised firmware and the web interface. All went very smoothly. I can access the web interface OK. As you correctly surmise I have indeed set Configure LAN >> Configure IP to 'Manual'. However once I unplug the Ethernet and plug in the dongle it seems that the IP settings revert to numbers that wont connect me to my own wifi network. The other interesting new problem that the dongle has developed is that although it searches for and finds a bunch of local wifi networks mine is obvious by its absence from the list. This is odd because the dongle found it no problem earlier today when I got it home and first played around with it. But now it has gone. The original firmware on my HDR is 1.02.32. As far as I can see there is no option for entering manual IP numbers when using the wifi dongle. How do those things work that transmit via the mains? Maybe I'd be better off with that system.
 
BH, So if the wired LAN has a Manual / DHCP option on the Humax, wouldn't you expect the Wi-Fi setting to have the same option?
 
Thanks Black Hole. Are you saying that it is possible to operate some devices with manually set IPs and some devices with DHCP set IPs providing that I select a DHCP range that doesn't interfere with the manual IPs? So, an example might be - turn DHCP on at the router - set the range as 5,6,7,8 and 9 (for the HDR) - this leaves 0,1,2,3,4 as possible manual IPs (for other PCs, etc) - the router will then accommodate both the HDR on IP 7 (say) and my PCs on IPs 1,2,3. Or have I misunderstood?
 
No, you haven't misunderstood - that is the method I use on my local network (historic reasons).

Is it possible that there is something else being operated which effectively obscures your local network (things like baby alarms and digital phones don't show on a scan, but can stop wifi working).
 
david_n_c : Are you saying that it is possible to operate some devices with manually set IPs and some devices with DHCP
Click to expand...
Yes, most routers will have a DHCP option that sets a 'DHCP range', e.g. the addresses from 002 to 100 will be allocated by the router using DHCP leaving the addresses from 101 to 254 to be manualy allocated by the user
 
david_n_c said:
Are you saying that it is possible to operate some devices with manually set IPs and some devices with DHCP set IPs
Click to expand...
Yes it is possible, I have my setup like that.
providing that I select a DHCP range that doesn't interfere with the manual IPs?
Click to expand...
There is no need to do that if some of your devices have been set to a fixed IP so long as you also allocate their IPs on the router. The router will not allocate via DHCP the reserved addresses to any device.
 
On my HDR (currently using wifi and on 1.02.32)) in the System menu with Internet Settings highlighted it shows Configure Wifi, Configure LAN and FTP server on the right. If I actually go into Internet Settings then Configure LAN becomes Configure LAN(Wifi) and inside there the ConfigureIP is set to manual instead of DHCP and the various IP addresses are set. I don't think the HDR can handle wired and wireless together and if a valid wireless dongle is present the settings go there so to speak.

No reason the term LAN will not cover Wifi - it's still the Local Area Network (as opposed to the WAN).

My HDR is set to a fixed manual IP and on my Netgear router under LAN setup I have used address reservation to lock that IP address to the MAC of the HDR. The rest of the home devices, mixed wired and wireless, are DHCP. (I only bolted the HDR down because the pointers in my browser bookmarks kept breaking when the address changed.)
 
All these posts are very helpful and I can now see a way to do what I want although I'll have to go back into the router and change some settings.

I got round the problem of the dongle/HDR not listing my wifi by moving the dongle from the front panel USB to the back USB. Then when I searched it was back in the list of local wifi networks.

MikeSh - My HDR, also on 1.02.32, simply doesn't do this. I am beginning to wonder if there is some incompatibility with the dongle I'm using, Edimax EW-7711USn. If I go into Internet Settings (this is with Ethernet unplugged and the dongle plugged in) then "Configure LAN" does not become "Configure LAN(Wifi)". The setting name stays exactly the same. When I've got the Ethernet plugged in I set the following values under "Configure LAN" - Configure IP = Manual, IP Address = 192.168.2.150, Netmask = 255.255.255.0, Gateway Address = 192.168.2.1, DNS Address = 194.72.9.34 . When I disconnect the Ethernet and plug in the dongle I go to "Internet Settings" and "Configure Wi-Fi" is no longer greyed out but the name of the setting hasn't changed to "Configure LAN(Wifi)". The settings available under "Configure Wi-Fi" are "Network Name", "Security Type" and "Password" but nothing else. If I enter the correct values here it will not connect. If I now go back to "Configure LAN" to check the IP numbers, they have changed. The values are as follows - Configure IP = Manual, IP Address = 192.0.2.100, Netmask = 255.255.255.0, Gateway Address = 0.0.0.0, DNS Address = 194.72.9.34 . In other words, the IP Address has changed and the Gateway Address has changed. If I change them back to what I believe are the correct values then I cannot "Apply" the changes because I get an error message which says the Ethernet is unplugged, which is of course true.

Ezra Pound - I agree when you say "...if the wired LAN has a Manual / DHCP option on the Humax, wouldn't you expect the Wi-Fi setting to have the same option?" That's what I was expecting too but I cannot see any way to set wifi manual IPs on my HDR. Seems pretty strange.
 
That is what I have seen on HD-FOX 1.02.29 also. After EP's comment I checked and found the Configure LAN options active with a WiFi dongle plugged in, but as I can go no further from that point (my WiFi credentials are too obscure to connect a 'FOX) I did not then discover the LAN settings cannot be saved. From your data, the DNS address appears to be retained, but the remainder are the Humax defaults and would require considerable contortions to accommodate within an existing network (if, indeed, the Humax uses them in WiFi negotiation).

So basically my original post 6 was correct (but could be reworded to clarify - done).

Perhaps somebody who knows the ins and outs of WiFi can confirm: it would not surprise me if WiFi uses its own addressing scheme, and IP addresses as seen on the wired side of the network are actually proxies assigned by the WiFi access point.

Ultimately you may well find the WiFi link unsatisfactory, there have been mixed experiences reported. A TP-Link 702 is cheap and provides another means to connect an Ethernet port to a WiFi network (other similar devices are available). I use HomePlug.
 
I experienced similar issues to David when initially trying to connect via wifi. Also there often seemed to be timing problems - ie the wifi would try to connect before the HDR was ready, fail and give up but then would manually connect OK. I gave up and switched to ethernet connection via Homeplug. Again there were timing issues because some Homeplugs sleep when not in use and do not wake quickly enough for the HDR. This was solved by connecting via a switch ( which keeps the Homeplug awake ) and which also supports an extra wifi access point ( for improved reception ) and an AppleTV ( mainly for Netflix ). It is now absolutely rock solid.

I use DHCP on my network but manually allocate the HDR's IP address outside the router's DHCP range. I use the Webif on both Mac and IPhone and it would be a pain to do so if the address kept changing. I just fix and bookmark it.
 
socrates said:
Again there were timing issues because some Homeplugs sleep when not in use and do not wake quickly enough for the HDR.
Click to expand...
I solved this (Devolo) by converting my Humax DHCP setting to manual (with a no-expire allocation at the router). When DHCP was in use, whether my 'FOXes connected to the network at boot was hit-and-miss.
 
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