Bought M1001 two weeks ago and have been unable to play anything through it since then. Have been onto Roku customer support on and off for two weeks trying to sort out the problem.

Problem:

Router - Netgear DG824M

Soundbridge can see my music library on the computer but when asked to play it it sits and sulks! Buffer level 0% and nothing.

Have done all the common things as suggested by support - nothing.

Have had two 'techy' friend around and they are stumped.

Have tried a wireless bridge and plugged it in directly but no go.

Have taken the Router into the living room (where the stero is - hence the purchase of Soundbridge) and hardwired the SB directly into it - nothing.

The only time it has worked is when it is sat right next to the Router in the same room as the computer and even then it re-buffers a lot.

REALLY disapointed. Did loads of research on SB before it bought it and asked Broadbandstuff if it would work with the Netgear router I have. They said, although not tested, it should be fine.

ANY IDEAS OUT THERE PLEASE??!!

Can the SoundBridge play internet radio?

Sorry to hear you're having problems.

Can you please say what music server you're using, and in what format your music is stored? The problem you describe sounds a little like what happens when playing AAC music that was not encoded for fast-start streaming, but that wouldn't explain it working briefly when close to the router.

When it's in its normal position, what sorts of numbers do you get back if you do System Configuration -> Show WiFi Status?

Oh, and can you play Internet Radio okay? Have you checked to see if the firmware in the SoundBridge is up to date (System Configuration -> Software Version and Updates)?

Last thing: if you take out the WiFi card and connect with wired Ethernet, do things improve?

Thanks for these ideas. I will work on them this evening and post the answers.

Right, I have been through all your questions:

Music Server: itunes and WMC
Format the files stored: AAC and wma

Wifi status: Quality 100, Signal -73dBm

Other info under status: (thought it might be useful?)
Connected to shared key access point
Interface: 1(kWireless) has a link local address.
Mac Address:********
IP Address:********
Netmask:*********
Gateway : 0.0.0.0
DNS1: 0.0.0.0
DNS2: 0.0.0.0

Firmware is up to date (did that last week)

Cannot play internet Radio - 'Connection to server failed)

Don't know how tocarry out your last comment about the Wifi card etc. Please let me know how and I will try it.

Look forward to hearing back from you.

Ignore Mike's the WiFi card part of Mike's last question, as it doesn't apply to you situation. If you plug in an ethernet cable and use wired either rather than the wireless connection, does the situation get better?

Yes, if the SB if wired direct into the router it will play.

What types of security do you have enabled on the wireless router? MAC address filtering perhaps?

Hi again

No, I just have simple WEP encryption on the wireless router. It will connect wirelessly, but with a very low signal.

If you have a "link local" address, then you are not getting a good IP address from your router with DHCP.

You should set your SB to connect with a static IP address - you'll need to search the forum for the exact procedure to do this, sorry I can't post a link as I am off to bed

Hello,..... Still need help!!

Have done the above suggestion. Took me all afternoon!

Can get the SB to connect wirelessly while sat next to router and will play music on my computer!! Yes! but........

.....move it into the room I want it to play in and it cannot connect!!!!!

Next to the router - Quality 94 Signal -59dBm
In the other room - Qaulity 100 Signal -84dBm Lost connection

PLEASE, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM????

Unfortunately, -84dB is extremely poor signal (on this scale, the number for signal is negative, and reflects how much the signal is attenuated from a reference level. So, -84dB is 25dB lower than the signal you get in the other room. Since dB is logarithmic, this means that your signal is something approaching 8x weaker in the second room than it is near the router).

In other words, I'm afraid it just sounds as though the wireless signal is not good in that second room. Perhaps it's the construction of the building. Certain materials affect wireless signals more than others. Also, some routers have stronger/better signal than others. Sometimes it helps to re-locate the router to a more-central location in the house, too.

Some people have tried using wireless range-exension products, but these generally don't work well for some reason, and often make an existing problem worse. They also tend to cost nearly as much as a new router with better signal performance. Several of the "MIMO" routers seem to perform well in otherwise bad signal environments. I'm using a Belkin Pre-N MIMO router at home and it seems to work very well indeed.

So, I guess my suggestions (in order) would be:

1) Run an Ethernet wire if that's possible.
2) Try re-locating the router to a different location that produces better signal in that second room. If the router has antennas, make sure they're properly connected and oriented according to the manual.
3) Try a different router.

Sorry you're having trouble.

Seems like the router just isn't putting out much signal strength (-59dBm next to the router is quite low in and of itself). I have a signal of Quality: 96; Signal Level: -56dBm two rooms away from my router to my laptop, and 96/-60 on the SoundBridge a hallway plus one room away (through two walls).

My D-Link router has an adjustable signal output control on the router setup page (I think it goes from 0 to 100, or something like that). Presumably, the control is there so you don't transmit your wireless network any farther than you have to (such as to avoid your neighbor picking up the signal). Perhaps your router also has one and you happen to just have it turned down rather low (maybe it's never been checked or adjusted at all). Another possibility - a friend of mine had a nearby 2.4 gHz phone that interfered with his 2.4 gHz router - I think the solution was to switch to a 5.8 gHz phone.

Hope you figure out the solution...

Just another idea that you can try for no cost - I had some improvement playing around with the positioning of the antennae on my LinkSys router - the orientation seemed to make a difference in terms of signal strength in different rooms. Turning the router through 90 degrees can help for the same reason.

Hardly technical, I know, but worth a try....

Hope it helps.

Another thing you could try is changing the wireless channel setting on your router. I had an old d-link router that went dead every time we used our cordless phones, changing the channel setting on the router made it (somewhat) better.

I recently upgraded to the Belkin pre-n router, and an very pleased with it. I get excellent signal strength all over my (3500sqft) home. More than I could say of my old 802.11b router which seemed to need line of sight in order to connect !
Of course you can pick up another Router for $20 and try your luck, but I think the Belkin (~$100) is worth every cent.