nmenaker

I think the switch is throwing some error. If the SB now is assigned via a static ip (same IP via the DHCP server), it should just reconnect to the DHCP server (even though you have assigned a static, the router is simply reserving that IP address in the table for the slingbox)

It seems the switch is doing something different. have you changed the network topography at all lately? It could be that it is looking for addresses on say 192.168.1.1 and yet the router is serving addresses on say 192.168.2.1.

FlyinHawaiian

I haven't made any changes to the network since I set it up other than moving the wired drop from the TV to the Slingbox.

It does sound like the switch is the culprit, doesn't it? I'll poke around the interwebs for some troubleshooting on the unit. Thanks!

FlyinHawaiian

Getting pretty frustrated.

The Slingbox will only work if it's connected directly into my router. If I connect it via a switch, the IP address will show as "expired" on my router. I even went out and bought a Netgear switch and swapped it with the D-Link to see if there was some hardware incompatability (didn't make a difference). I also tried using different drops in the apartment, all which work with other devices but not the Slingbox.

Any thoughts?

cme2c

Sorry, don't have a solution for how to get your switch working. I wanted to setup my slingbox in another room as well. I got mine working flawlessly with a D-link wireless bridge. I do have a D-link router, was a piece of cake, something to consider.

nmenaker

Hmm, that is odd. Every slingbox I have in the house is sitting on the other end of a switch. There are three SB's all on the end of switches and all being served DHCP actually from a router.

I'll try to think about it more today

j210277

Worth a try, anyone have a decent internet connection want to make some bucks sharing there cable. Just trying to cut down on costs

PTravel

Unless you've bought an expensive managed switch (unlikely), it should be transparent as far as either the router or the SlingBox is concerned. Silly question: have you checked your cables? Both the cable from the router to the switch, and from the switch to the SlingBox should be "straight-through" cables, and not cross-over cables (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_crossover_cable ). Try replacing them.

What lights do you see on the switch when everything is connected?

FlyinHawaiian

First, thanks for the help; really learned a lot about setting up networks this weekend.

I got tired of banging my head against the wall so I found a coax splitter and moved my router into the living room so I could keep the wired connection to the Slingbox intact. That seemed to do the trick but when I plugged the router into the drop there (so the rest of my wired drop can get Internet access), I wasn't seeing any network activity in my switch. I suspect there is something not quite right with the wiring from the closet to the drop in the living room. I have an adjacent drop in the kitchen and that's never worked either, so maybe they used the wrong cable as PTravel suggests.

I went out and got a USB wireless N adapter for my desktop until I can get everything straightened out.

It looks like my next step is to look into port forwarding; we're going to Europe in a few weeks and I'd like to try out the Slingbox. It sounds like Port 5001 is blocked a lot, so I should try to change that.

Thanks again.

nmenaker

As an alternative, you could just bypass the switch and put a powerline adaptor in. I use these all around the country just for this. A couple of 25-40$ boxes, one at the router and one near the TV and you'll have a direct ethernet connection between the two points. It really does sound like the issue is in that switch or the cabling.

PTravel

This is a very good suggestion. That's how I link my Slingbox to my main LAN (as well as a lot of other devices at my media center, e.g. femtocell, BluRay player, etc.). I've found these devices rock-solid reliable and faster than WiFi.

RichMSN

I was fortunate -- in both my houses (last one and current one) the router was in the same room as the SlingBox. At the new house, we had an ethernet jack put on the wall behind the TV and ran a cable from the router to a wall jack under the floor to the wall plater behind the TV.

If I could do it again, I'd put ethernet in the entire house -- jacks in every room.

nmenaker

Ethernet is great and would be recommended to use, faster, reliable, doesn't impact other WIFI performance, etc. Unfortunately for FlyinHawaiian, their ethernet or switching doesn't seem to work.. :-(

FlyinHawaiian

The fact that I have non-working drops bugs me, so I'm going to look into having someone check the wiring. Is this something a normal electrician should be able to handle or do I need someone with network experience?

I'm really pleased with the video quality so far. I also bought the $30 app for my iPhone.

nmenaker

yes, with just a 1MB upstream you can get a nice "HD" image to computer, ipad or iphone.

pittpanther

I wonder if the makers of Slingbox are reading this thread...

These discussions about "managed switches" and "port forwarding" and "assigning static IP addresses" all point to a product that's not quite ready for mass market. Sure people in the IT industry know what these are, but this is just too complex for the regular people.

By the way, i am in IT, know what all this stuff is, but don't want to purchase a product that requires this amount of support and hand holding. I get paid good money to deal with these issues during the day - I don't want to deal with them "for free" in my off-hours. I want it to "just work."

Imagine if it took these types of gyrations to get your Wii or Xbox connected to the internets.