Connecting B2 to laptop

[L W]

I have only recently bought a Brennan B2, and with the help of my daughter have set it up. I have ripped a few CD's with some success, but that is not my problem at the moment, will probably be requesting help and advice as the weeks go by.  My immediate problem is that we cannot get the B2 to connect to the laptop.  We have read the thread from Bill a couple of days ago but are still unable to get the connection.

Our router is a Sky Hub , but the ip which appears on the front of the B2, is not being picked up by the router ?

Thanks in advance for help with this.

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Hi LW

The IP number that appears on the front of the B2 (something like 192.168.0.33 but the last 2 sets of numbers after the dots will be different for you!) , are GIVEN to the B2 by your Sky router, so it MUST know about it.

First using the B2's front knob and the menu system from the front screen, see if you can get it to pay a radio station. This will confirm that your B2_ is connected to the internet properly.

If the radio works, then go to your Pc and open up your web browser ( Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc) and in the top bare area where you get

The https://www......  Etc, type in the B2's IP number and the web UI should appear.

Fred.

[L W]

Thanks Fred, we are able to pick radio stations up, although we have found that  the connection  doesn't hold for long, but could this just be the internet signal strength? So yes we are sure the B2 does connect to the internet..  When we enter the ip number into the top bar, we are directed to a selection of router password, router admin login  sites. ???. All our other devices are connected without a problem.  

[PMB]

Hi LW,

When the B2 does connect to WiFi, check the signal level at the B2 - use the front control to go to Settings >> Maintenance >> WiFi Strength. It needs to be around -50dBm (-40dBm is better and -60dBm is worse) for a reliable connection. If on the the low side try moving the B2 closer to the router temporarily.

Aim to get Internet Radio playing continuously - not cutting out.

Make sure you are putting the IP in the address line of the browser (Chrome, Safari, etc) -

Paul

Brennan Support.

[L W]

Hello Paul,  we have followed your instructions to check via Maintenance and Wifi strength and the reading is _8 dbm, briefly reached _13dbm then dropped back. We are definitely entering the ip number in the correct browser line. The B2 is sited right next to the router 2" away.  My daughter has had better success with the radio today and she has installed the Brennan app onto her mobile phone and this works well.  My phone is a smart phone but is probably smarter than me, is not an up to date model and I would much prefer to use my laptop.

Hope this information is helpful, and thank you. 

[JFBUK]

Hi 

Your wifi strength is good.

Can you post the IP address that your B2 shows and also the IP address of your laptop.

If you are not sure how to get the IP address of your laptop then the instructions at this link should help

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/find-your-ip-address-in-windows-f21a9bbc-c582-55cd-35e0-73431160a1b9#Category=Windows_10 

Thanks 

John

[L W]

Hello John, the laptop ip is : 192.168.0.14

B2 ip is : 192.168.0.48

Thanks for your help.

[PMB]

Hi LW,

You could try this -

Power off the B2 and your Router

Wait a minute and then power the router on

Wait 15 minutes for all your devices to reconnect to the Router

Power on the B2

Try the web UI again on your laptop.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[JFBUK]

Hi LW,

the values you posted show that your B2 and laptop are on the same network which is what I wanted to confirm

When you try Paul's suggestion, double check the IP address of your B2 as there is a possibility it will change (unlikely but possible).

John

[L W]

Thank you Paul and John.  We will try the above advice and let you know how we fare after Christmas.

Many thanks for your help and support . Fingers crossed. Merry Christmas.

[Dan Barrett]

Hi all,

I fought my way through similar behavior. If your router supports more than one network, you may need to be more persnickety in how you connect each device.

My router runs a total of 4 different networks: 2 in Standard mode and 2 in Guest mode. (For each of those modes there is a 2.4GHz version and a 5GHz version.) Think of each of those mode/frequency combinations as a sub-network. I was initially confused by the fact that my 4 sub-networks share the same pool of IP addresses. But with my configuration, it's not enough to have the IP addresses right. All devices also have to connect to the same sub-network (mode/frequency combo) in order to communicate successfully.

If your router supports more than one sub-network, look in your router's admin software for a section that lists which devices are currently connected to it. In the screen grab below, I can see (from the info circled in red) that my Brennan B2 is on the same sub-network as DANLP-03-21, but Betsy MS Surface is on a different sub-network and will not be able to communicate. 

Best of luck solving your issues. I think you will like your new Brennan!

Dan Barrett

[Chris Buckle]

Hi Dan,

I can’t say that I’ve experienced the behaviour you describe. My Brennan is connected to my router by Wifi (2.4GHz) and I can access it without any issue through both my MacBook and iPad, which are both connected via 5GHz. And, logically, the physical connection shouldn’t make any difference so long as all devices share the same subnet ie have the first three groups of numbers of the IP address in common - the 192.168.0 bit.

Something else is happening here, I think.

Regards

Chris

[JFBUK]

Merry Christmas all :)

Chris is correct.

Networking can be a dark art :)

The main purpose of a router is to route network traffic between devices connected to it and also to/from other external resources like the internet

To help it do this a router uses a routing table to determine where it should send incoming network traffic.

Thus it knows what it should send over each of it connections , ethernet ports, Wi-Fi SSIDs, and WAN, based on IP addresses of the destinations.

This is how it knows that you want to connect to an address on the public internet (after first resolving a text name into an IP address using DNS) and sends it over the WAN.

When a device starts up and gets its IP address it also stores the address of its network gateway.

The gateway is your router providing your Wi-Fi and  the device sends and receives its traffic to/from that gateway. 

Unless a router is explicitly configured to NOT send traffic between its 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz SSIDs then it will happily do so.

They don't have to be on the same SSID/frequency.

Dan,

something else was an issue on your network.

John

[Mark Fishman]

192.168.0 is a quite common subnet for inside-the-home use, because it isn't routable on the public internet. I live in a moderately densely populated suburb, and my neighbor's router probably provides addresses that start with 192.168.0, just as my own router does. The only thing preventing me from connecting to theirs is that I don't know their wifi password.

But having a 192.168.0 address doesn't by itself guarantee that your devices are on the same subnet: they also have to be connected to the same side of the same router, and if you have to use the same wifi password for two devices that is a helpful hint that they are probably connecting to the same router.

[Chris Buckle]

Just another thought on this issue. It is possible to allow a device to connect to a router for internet access but deny access to any other devices on the local network. Guest mode works like this, for example.  In such a case a regular local IP address will be allocated but the router will prevent connection to anything other than the internet.

It may be helpful to reset the WiFi on the Brennan and ensure that it connects to a non-guest SSID.

Chris

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

And, following on from Chris' suggestion, you would also need to make sure your PC, Laptop, Tablet or Phone were also connecting to the SAME non-guest WiFi network as the B2 unit.

Fred

[L W]

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions, and for taking the time to reply.  We will take our time to read all the replies in detail and follow through as best we can. I will ask other family members to help me with the advice as I am out of my depth with some of this. Not giving up though as I like the B2 and it's good to hear my CD's again, using the B2 remote and my daughter's phone which picked up the B2 without a problem. The variety of radio is amusing me too.

[L W]

Hi everyone, yesterday we tried to reset the Wifi  as suggested, after a minute or two the front of the B2 gave us the failed message. Today, we find that we appear to be in guest mode, and when attempting to find a CD, other than the first one,1 when we try to change the tune so to speak, the message " cannot make changes or load  music" pops up ?  Can we get out of guest mode please as I don't know how we have got here. Nothing else has changed, ip still won't connect to laptop. Thanks in advance. 

[JFBUK]

Hi

in the web UI click on the cog wheel

Guest mode is a tick box

alternatively from the menu

>SETTINGS>GUEST MODE

which acts as a toggle. 

John

[L W]

Thanks John, sorted it. That's something else we've learned today.

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Hi LW,

Once you have got out of guest mode (use the front panel to do this as described above), can you try once again to connect your B2 to the WiFi.

I know from further up this Thread that you had managed this before because you got the unit to play the radio. I believe the IP number that was given to your B2 was 192.168.0.48.

Once you have reconnected your B2 ul again, check its IP number, it may have changed, and write it down.

Then go to your PC/Laptop (which I assume is Windows) and open your browser (that would be Edge or Chrome or Firefox etc.) And in the top area where the web site you are on is displayed, click with your cursor at the end of any text in the box. Then using the back key  delete ALL the text in the box.

Then type in the IP number for the B2 that you wrote down and hit the carige return button.

Fred

On Thursday, 30 December 2021 at 15:13:30 UTC JFBUK wrote:

[L W]

Hello Fred, I have followed your advice above, checked the ip number which was exactly the same, entered it again in the top box (windows edge by the way, have also previously tried google chrome), no luck. Took me to the "this page cannot be reached" again. Just out of curiosity I tried the option windows network diagnostics which was offered on this page. Anyway, the result of this was "computer appears to be correctly configured, but the device detected or resource is not responding". I don't know whether this is relevant or of any help at all.

 The radio will play, I've ripped a few CD's which play ok, although I am still finding my way through the best way to use this. 

Thanks. L W.

[Mike W]

There are times like this I would just like to knock on the door and have a look at what's going on.

Whereabouts are you LW?

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Yes i  see what you mean 😕

Clutching at straws I can only think that there is a problem with the software on the SD Card, so my next step would be to suggest a reflash!

Fred

[Dennis]

Instead of typing only the IP address, I would try typing the full  version:

http://192.168.0.48/original.html

[PMB]

Hi LW,

Just tried Edge (Windows 10 laptop) -

Paul

Brennan Support.

[L W]

Thanks everyone. Tried the http login Dennis, no joy unfortunately.

I have heard of an SD card, Fred, but wouldn't have a clue about its function. Also wouldn't know how to do a reflash, or what it means, without a very basic "idiot's guide" on how to do this. 

Really wish the Windows 10 Edge login page on my laptop looked like this Paul.

[L W]

Eureka!! tried Dennis's suggestion about the http address again, and it appears to have worked this time. Will now have some fun, I hope, fingers crossed. 

Thanks so much for your patience and support. Thanks Dennis, like I said I need an idiot's guide for techy stuff. 

Happy New Year.

[JFBUK]

Hi

great news

For interest what browser and its version are you using to connect ?

Thanks

[L W]

Microsoft Edge Windows 10, would there be any more detail than this I should know.

Thank you.

[JFBUK]

Hi

no, its just unusual for the latest versions of a browser not to automatically insert  http:// when you type an IP address into the browser bar 

Just my curiosity :)

Thanks

[Dennis]

Possibly the browser was automatically inserting https:// which the B2, and other local devices, do not use.

[JFBUK]

Hi Dennis,

that's a possibility 

On my version of Edge it just flags the connection as insecure but still connects.

The important thing is that its sorted :)

[L W]

Hello.  Although I have made progress with the B2, the UI connection on my laptop is very temperamental for want of a better description.  

I have successfully ripped a few CD's but as  I'm not technical, I am taking this very slowly. What I find is that the response to whatever I wish to do is very slow, or the keyboard just doesn't work at all on the UI but will work with the remote , which is OK but not as convenient. The laptop is fine with everything else required of it.

Also I find that when the B2 doesn't recognise the CD sometimes it gives the album a number, but on 2 occasions it has come up with the name and track names of something completely different, although it does play as my CD.  I have been trying for a few days to rename the album and then the tracks without success, the name just will not change.. Am I missing something very simple here?

Thanks in advance. 

[Dennis]

Also I find that when the B2 doesn't recognise the CD sometimes it gives the album a number, but on 2 occasions it has come up with the name and track names of something completely different, although it does play as my CD.  

This is normal. There is nothing stored on a music CD to identify it. Instead, the B2 uses a database which compares the CD's fingerprint (number of tracks, track lengths, etc) and looks for a statistical match. Sometimes it finds no match and assigns a number, other times it finds more than one match and you need to turn the knob on the B2 to choose the correct option if listed.

The problem editing the CD and Track names is likely related the the general instability of the  connection between your PC and the B2. They both connect to your router, not directly to each other. Do you have another computer, tablet or phone that you could connect to the same network to test if it gives you more reliable control of the B2? (The remote control works directly with the B2, not through your network.)

If you have not already done so, completely power off your router, computer, and B2. Restart the router first, wait a few minutes then restart the B2. Make note of the IP address shown on the front panel of the B2, which may change in this process. Finally, restart your computer, open the browser, and manually type in the current IP address.

[L W]

Thanks Dennis. The information about the CD fingerprint is helpful and has put another piece in the B2 jigsaw.  I did wonder if the connection was something to do with the problem, but I don't have a problem with any other equipment in the house. Anyway, I'll have a go on my daughter's tablet, at some point, and see if that narrows it down at all.  Have tried the restart sequence before, but always worth another go. 

[PMB]

Hi LW,

The B2 can be fussy about the WiFi signal level it is getting, so please check this - use the front control to go to Settings >> Maintenance >> WiFi Strength. It needs to be around the -50dBm mark to maintain a reliable connection. Let us know what figure you get.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[L W]

Hello Paul, I have just checked the WiFi signal as recommended, and the level is jumping between -9dBm and -17dBm.  This is no where near -50dBm, is there anything I can do to improve this?

Thanks in advance.

[Mark Fishman]

Notice the minus sign: your signal is STRONGER than the minimum required -50.

It *is* possible for a signal to be *too* strong, resulting in overload -- can you move the B2 farther away from the router or access point? A level between -25 and -35 should be ideal. Alternatively you could try a wired connection instead of wifi.

[JFBUK]

Hi,

A Wi-Fi strength of -9dBm to -17dBm  is excellent !

Higher = worse when you look at Wi-Fi signal strength

John

[Dan Barrett]

Out of curiosity, is that because the measure reflects the degree of diminishment from a point immediately adjacent to the source?

[Mark Fishman]

dB [decibel] is just a way of expressing a ratio between two power or amplitude levels. dBm is a ratio with one of the two levels being 1 milliwatt [mW]. A level of 0 dBm would mean that the received power is 1 mW. Weaker signals would have negative values, stronger signals would have positive values. (You get netagtive and positive values because it's actually the logarithm of the ratio.)

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBm

[JFBUK]

Hi Dan,

To add to Mark's post.

Wi-Fi , is like all radio waves, the further they emanate from their source the more they dissipate and weaken.

This helped me

https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/understanding-rssi/

Mark makes a good point in his earlier post about signal strength being  "too strong".

Too weak a signal and you might get data loss but also too strong a signal can distort the transmission of data and means that the source has to retry the transmission.

The net effect of either is to delay communication between devices

[L W]

Thank you all for the advice.  Have moved the Brennan to another room.  WiFi is -47dBm.  Will let you know if this improves the issues I have been having.