Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

TWHH

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
146
13
I have just got hold of an BT HomeHub2 and already have a single band Time Capsule. Having read a few posts it looks as though it's possible to use the HomeHub for my g devices and the TC's n network for my Macs.

After hours of playing around I've achieved the following:

BT HomeHub set up as one network and able to take g and n clients
TC set up as a secondary network but limited to n clients
My TC is connected to the HH via Ethernet and in Bridge Mode
When on the N network the iMac has the same router IP as the iPhone which is forced on the HH network

I was hoping that g clients on the HH Network would, via the Ethernet bridge, be able to connect to the clients on the TC n only network.

However, with my current set up this isn't happening. My Airport Express which I use for AirTunes is an old g type and my iPhones are obviously g. As a result if my Mac and Mac Mini are on the TC N network then they iTunes can't connect with the Express and apps on my iPhone that connect across wi-fi to the Mini can't do so.

Apart from getting a dual band TC is there any way I can get what I want (my Express and iPhones not pulling down the n network to G standards)? I guess I could bite the bullet and get an n AX, leaving just the iPhones dragging things down when they're in use. The reason for me wanting to do this was because AirTunes often cuts out (desired solution wouldn't solve this but TC backups are probably causing heavy network traffic when I'm streaming music), I get a poor wi-fi signal in the garden and iTunes Library sharing between iMac and Mini is unreliable.

Thanks
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
You need to plug the home Hub into port one of the tc and disable the tcs dhcp setting it to a manual ip and subnet within the same range of the home hub. So then the homehub will deal with all the dhcp side of things and the tc becomes an expensive switch.
 

TWHH

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
146
13
Thanks so much for replying so quickly. I'm afraid I need some more Janet and John explanation :eek:

I'm currently connecting the TC to the HH via the WAN (daisy chain icon) port. Do I need to change this to one of the three <---> ports? If so, which is port number one - the one nearest the WAN port or the one furthest away? I currently also have my iMac, my printer and work PC hard wired into the TC. If I need to use one of those pots for the Connection to the HH will I be able to plumb the printer or work PC to the HH?

Sorry for being so novice at this, but could you walk me through setting to Manual IP and how I subnet within the same range as the HH? It looks as though in Airport Utility under Internet settings I can change the option for 'Configure IPv4' from 'Using DHCP' to 'Manually'... but where.how do I do the subnet thing..:confused:

I need to be able to connect to Back to My Mac as I use the Elgato EyeTV iPhone application.

Thanks again - I was up until after 1am last night trying to do this :eek:

EDIT - I think I've cracked it... for now :)
EDIT - No I didn't crack it, I just forgot to switch my Macs back onto the N network!
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
The cable from your hh needs to go into the closest LAN port to the wan on the tc. Log into you tc's controlpanel and change the settings so that dhcp is off then goto the wifi side and change the ip address. If the hh is giving ips like 192.168.1.3 etc then give the tc wifi side an ip of 192.168.1.49

once you've done that save the settings and restart Tc.

You don't need to check the subnet the should both already be 255.255.255.0
 

TWHH

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
146
13
OK, I've switched the Ethernet cable on the TC to the suggested port.

The range between the Start and End IP addresses for the HH's IP range is approx 170, so I've given the TC one somewhere in the middle of this range. Should I be doing anything with the Router IP Address - they are currently the same on the TC and HH?

I had manually put in the DNS server addresses from the HomeHub into the TC, but deleted these as there has been no mention of them in this thread. I ingored the DNS related warning that TC gave been when I restarted it.

Although every device can connect to the Net, I still can't get the iPhone on the g network to connect with the Mac on the n network
:(

I'm sure it's something very basic... but I is quite simple :confused:
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
Have you rebooted your mac and checked that your homehub is issuing the ip's. Log into it and check it's routing table. After rebooting your mac that is.
 

TWHH

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
146
13
Thanks so much for your help so far.

This is most odd.

I've rebooted everything.

When I go to the HomeHub's Devices page I get a tree diagram which shows under the 'Physical Connections' branch my TC (with it's name) with a series of devices underneath it: two connections for my Work PC (wireless and cable) which show the name of the PC. I then have 2 'unknown' items, which have to be the two Macs I have I guess.

Under the 'wireless connections' branch there are 2 'unknown' items. One has the same IP as my iPhone. I assume the other will be my g rated Airport Express.

When clicking on each of them they all have their own IP addresses.

However, when I go into the DHCP Table page of the HH there are just 6 devices, and the IP address that is missing is the one I manually gave to the TC.

So it looks like the HH is and isn't 'seeing' the TC
 

TWHH

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
146
13
Totally flummoxed on this.

Have done hard reset on the TC and the HH and will try something (not quite sure yet what) from scratch.

Although once can clearly achieve 2 networks that feed into one router, thus creating 2 Wi-fi networks for one ADSL connection, I've actually yet to see evidence that devices on one network can talk to devices on another - my Airport Express on a g network being seen by a Mac on the n network for example.

Can anyone say if this is actually possible?

Thanks
 

coopermac

macrumors member
Nov 5, 2007
68
0
UK
I think the reason you were not seeing all items connected to the HH is a shortcoming of the HH and not that they were not connected. It is documented that the HH does not always display device names connected via wifi. I still have my HH in the box because of it's sort comings (well documented on the BT and associated forums) and my primary modem router is a trusty Netgear DG834GT.

What you need to do is to set your HH to supply the DHCP and turn this off in the TC. Set the HH to supply a b and g signal only. Connect an ethernet cable from the HH to the WAN port on the TC. In the TC settings set it up in bridge mode and to supply an N only network (I have found that 2.4ghz is more robust than 5). This should allow you to have all your g stuff connecting to the HH and all your n stuff on the TC but all items connected should be visible on the network. Additionally I have set up mac filtering to keep the network more secure but this is not absolutely necessary.

I have my netgear and TC set up this way and connected to:
Macbook Pro, Mac Mini, Apple TV, iPod Touch, XP Laptop, Vista Laptop,Wii and an Airport xpress which supplies connections for airtunes, printer and ethernet to Linux desktop. There is also a network drive connected via ethernet to the Netgear.

Generally all this works together but an occasional reboot of one or other item is sometimes necessary.
 

TWHH

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
146
13
Hmmm... Being as dogmatic and anal as I am, it's not often I do this, but I've thrown the towel in on this one.

Everything was visible on the network at the router level - I could see MAC addresses and IP addresses for each device. It was getting the devices to see each other that was the problem. N iMac would not see G Airport Express, N Mac Mini would not connect with G iPhone, even though all were showing up on the HomeHub DHCP Table.

Apart from the two iPhones in the house all but the Airport Express is N rated. If I'm honest I really don't use my Wii or PS3 for any Internet based stuff, and you can get an N wi-fi adapter for an X360. Even my crappy work Toshiba Fista/7 thing has an N Wi-fi chip in it. And I've hard wired my network printer to the Homehub.

The N network not being slowed down by the Airport Express was a nice to have, rather than essential. Perhaps when I'm feeling flush and I'm passing an Apple store I'll get a new Airport Express and be a N household, just being dragged down to G speeds by my iPhone... why does he 3GS only have a G chip... I see the new Touch is N capable (if not applied).

Ho-hum...
 

SHIVERINGGOAT

macrumors member
Dec 22, 2007
50
13
If its any consolation, I've had it with the BT Home Hub 2. It's about as much use as a handbrake on a canoe.

I am running it with the Airport Extreme, I've had a LOAD of headaches and BT are useless at supporting macs.

I am running the Extreme in Bridge Mode but then the guest network doesn't work.

Can anyone recommend a cheap modem?

Thanks
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.