Apple TV on a home network with 2 routers - streaming between them

AaronM5670 said:

Hi guys,

I'm hoping you'll be able to help me with my unusual problem - I have a home network with a modem/router upstairs connected to my iMac. Downstairs in my house, the WiFi coverage from the upstairs router is appauling so I have a second router (with a different local IP obviously), connected via a long ethernet cable from upstairs. My Apple TV is connected to this router (via ethernet) downstairs, which is where I want it to be - next to my TV. I want to be able to stream from my iMac upstairs with the 192.168.0.1 router to the ATV downstairs with the 192.168.1.1 router. How do I do this? Is there a way of setting it up manually with the ATV settings?

Thanks in advance!

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I would recommend placing the 2nd router downstairs in bridge mode so that it is not creating a second network and instead is extending the network from upstairs on the same subnet of IP addresses. This will allow the Apple TV to automatically find your iMac that's upstairs.

I agree with the other post about Bridge Mode. I view to all routers but the main router as Access Points. I name them as (using your ip address's),

192.168.1.1 - Main Router
192.168.1.2 - Second Router (Access Point)
192.168.1.3 - Third Router (Access Point)

Setting up Bridge Mode can be a "little" different on different routers so you want to check on how to set it up on your router.

IE. Only the Main router does the DHCP (assigns ip addresses). Normally this starts at .100 so that is why you are using the low numbers for the other routers.

AaronM5670 said:

Thanks for the advice guys! Unfortunatley, I've got a Virgin Media SuperHub which won't let me change it's local IP address, and I can't change the IP address of the other router either because it is conflicting with other devices! What do I do?

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If the Virgin Media SuperHub is the Main Router on 192.168.1.1 then you DO NOT what to change it's IPADDRESS.

You did not say what Router the other one is.

AaronM5670 said:

Thanks for the advice guys! Unfortunatley, I've got a Virgin Media SuperHub which won't let me change it's local IP address, and I can't change the IP address of the other router either because it is conflicting with other devices! What do I do?

Click to expand...

You do not have to change the Virgin router's IP address. That was just an example.

Sorry for the confusion. Your first post said the main router was on 192.168.0.1. So in that case my "example" should have been this.

192.168.0.1 - Main Router (Virgin Media SuperHub)
192.168.0.2 - Second Router (Access Point)
192.168.0.3 - Third Router (Access Point)


Regarding the following. If you are saying that 192.168.0.2 is conflicting with other devices then you need to pick something else. Maybe your main router is assigning addresses start with .2 instead of .100 as I said. If that is the case then you Second Router might should be 192.168.0.200 (or something like that). That is an example.

I can't change the IP address of the other router either because it is conflicting with other devices!

Is there no way to put the Virgin router in gateway mode?

AaronM5670 said:

The other one is an old TP-Link 300mbps router with DD-WRT firmware. The virgin superhub's IP is 192.168.0.1. I have changed the IP address of the other router to 192.168.0.2 as you suggested but this isn't working, I have a little knowledge of routers etc. and I think it's due to a clash of IP addresses with another device. Do I have to alter the DHCP settings?

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I assume you mean DHCP on the second TP-Link Router. Yes, you TURN IT OFF. You only want the Main Router to do DHCP. On my Linksys Router I also have to turn off NAT under Setup / Advanced Router.

I am not familiar with TP-LINK but the DD-WRT is pretty common so you should b able to find information via Google.

If the Main Router (Virgin) is setup to have DHCP hand out IP Adresses using .2 then you can not put your second router on .2. See my prior posting.

I am leaving soon so can not help much more.

AaronM5670 said:

The other one is an old TP-Link 300mbps router with DD-WRT firmware. The virgin superhub's IP is 192.168.0.1. I have changed the IP address of the other router to 192.168.0.2 as you suggested but this isn't working, I have a little knowledge of routers etc. and I think it's due to a clash of IP addresses with another device. Do I have to alter the DHCP settings?

Click to expand...

Agreed, you DO NOT want to change the IP of the Virgin Superhub as that is your main router and should be handling DHCP for your entire network. You also shouldn't need to manually set the IP address of the TP-Link router as it should obtain an address from the Virgin Superhub automatically using DHCP if the TP-Link router is in bridge mode.

One thing I found with an old Linksys router (I did this awhile ago so my memory is a little fuzzy) was that when I connected it to my main router using one of the regular ports on the back instead of the WAN port, the router automatically started acting as a bridge assigning IPs in the same range as my main router to anything that connected wirelessly. Maybe give that a try if you're unable to configure the TP-link router in bridge mode.

AaronM5670 said:

On the TP-Link router, I have a choice of:

AP
Client
Client Bridge (Routed)
Adhoc
WDS Station
WDS AP

It's currently set to WDS AP, is this correct for a repeater?

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Client Bridge is the option you want

I am not familiar with your router so you have to do some research. This is normally pretty easy to setup.

You may want to use MODE = AP instead of Client Bridge (Router). You may need to test.

This link may be helpful as a reference only.

http://nickberardi.com/creating-a-wireless-access-point-using-dd-wrt-refresh/