Apple TV, Airplay Streaming, Multiple Routers

[StarStrike]

Hi everyone,

I've been googling the answer to this question the last few days, but haven't had much luck. I'm hoping you guys can help out!

I've recently bought an AppleTV..so far everything is great, except I'm having trouble getting Airplay to work. I have 3 routers (Netgear Nighthawk AC1900s) located in various locations throughout the house. The AppleTV is located in the home theatre room and connected to a Control4 system in the basement - Airplay streaming works perfectly fine there, but as soon as I move upstairs (where the connection to the 2nd router is stronger) Airplay dies out.

All 3 of the routers have the same network name and password...so my network connection is seamless. Unfortunately I can't say the same about my AppleTV. Some googling shows that Airplay will work if the routers are under the same subnet mask...though I am a bit confused on how to get this all to work.

Does anybody know if it is possible to get Airplay to work across multiple routers?

Thanks for your help!

StarStrike

 

[blueroom]

Nice routers but do they support WiFi roaming? I use Apple's networking gear because it supports WiFi roaming.

I also hardwire all stationary devices, but if that's not an option you might consider using a pair of POE adapters (Ethernet over Power).

 

[StarStrike]

Hi blueroom,

Thanks for the speedy response. How do I check if Wifi roaming is supported? (is there an official name for it?). I get the feeling it should, but I'm not too sure what to look for (the tech specs/product info can be found here http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-routers/R7000.aspx).

My AppleTV is currently hardwired to the rack in the home theatre room. I've tried testing Airplay wirelessly and via Ethernet...it seems to work as long as I am connected to the router that is linked to the AppleTV. Though the entire point of the setup is to be able to use airplay anywhere within the house.

What are your thoughts?

StarStrike

 

[blueroom]

I would leave a message in the forums at www.smallnetbuilder.com asking about that router and roaming. It might also be called handoff.

This might work.
http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/19852

 

[mh`]

AirPlay relies on Bonjour (sometimes referred to as MDNS) for discovery on the network(s).

the WiFi configuration isn't what's relevant here, but your LAN configuration (on each of the routers.)

if they're all configured as APs within a single network, not NAT'ing their connected devices, it should work.

basically the devices need to be in the same broadcast domain, AFAIK.

writing this from my phone, if you provide some details on how your network is setup I can help when I'm back at computer.

 

[JHankwitz]

Although some get upset about it, sticking to Apple products ensures that "it just works". I have my Time Capsule, Airport Extreme, Airport Express, iMac, and Apple TV all connected together with Ethernet cables. I have never had any network problems. It just works!