Tivo iOS app can't find DVR

[mjp]

I have a Tivo Roamio DVR and an iPad with the Tivo client application, and am trying to use the latter to stream from the former, without success.

Setup: My Almond and my Tivo are both fed over ethernet from a WRT54G router. The WRT54G dispenses IP addresses in the 192.168.1.X range and the Almond in the 10.10.10.X range. Both are pretty much stock configured, no crazy settings that I'm aware of.

When the iPad is wifi-connected to the WRT54G, it CAN discover the Roamio.
When the iPad is wifi-connected to the Almond, it CANNOT discover the Roamio.

Now, when the iPad is wifi-connected to the Almond, it can "see" the Tivo in the sense that the Roamio has a built-in HTTP server and if I browse to its IP address I can see its web page. But the discovery protocol (apparently Bonjour, see http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2658) does not appear to work properly across the two subnets.

(You might ask, why not use the WRT54G? (a) it's not very reliable under the best of circumstances and (b) it's all the way at the other extreme end of the house from where I want the iPad to work, whereas the Almond is much closer and far more reliable.)

So my question is: how can I adjust the settings on the Almond and/or WRT54G so that the Tivo App can discover the Roamio?

Thanks in advance.

[Patrick Wilson]

I have a Tivo Roamio DVR and an iPad with the Tivo client application, and am trying to use the latter to stream from the former, without success.

Setup: My Almond and my Tivo are both fed over ethernet from a WRT54G router. The WRT54G dispenses IP addresses in the 192.168.1.X range and the Almond in the 10.10.10.X range. Both are pretty much stock configured, no crazy settings that I'm aware of.

When the iPad is wifi-connected to the WRT54G, it CAN discover the Roamio.
When the iPad is wifi-connected to the Almond, it CANNOT discover the Roamio.

Now, when the iPad is wifi-connected to the Almond, it can "see" the Tivo in the sense that the Roamio has a built-in HTTP server and if I browse to its IP address I can see its web page. But the discovery protocol (apparently Bonjour, see http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2658) does not appear to work properly across the two subnets.

(You might ask, why not use the WRT54G? (a) it's not very reliable under the best of circumstances and (b) it's all the way at the other extreme end of the house from where I want the iPad to work, whereas the Almond is much closer and far more reliable.)

So my question is: how can I adjust the settings on the Almond and/or WRT54G so that the Tivo App can discover the Roamio?

Thanks in advance.

Depending on how the two are connected together you are probably looking for either the Range Extender or Access Point features of the Almond.  If possible/practical,  you might want to look at the feasibility of wiring the two together,  so that you can use the speed of Ethernet,  and provide Wi-Fi coverage at both ends of your physical structure using the Access Point feature.  (I have my Router + 3 Access Points here.  I get great Wi-Fi coverage everywhere in my home).  If wiring them together is impossible/impractical then your next best option will be to setup Range Extender mode instead. 

Regardless of which of these options you choose,  you will probably need to reconfigure your Almond to be in your main Router's 192.168.1.0/24 network. Your present setup is creating two separate networks,  and your Tivo Roamio DVR apparently doesn't like to work across network segments.  By combining both the Linksys and Almond into a single (192.168.1.0/24) network you can ensure that your iPad and your Tivo Roamio DVR are always in the "same" network segment,  even if they are at opposite ends of the building.

Please share the Topology of your network.  You have done an excellent job of explaining the equipment.  Unfortunately not so well with your network itself,  or the goal you are trying to accomplish.  Are the Linksys WRT54G and Almond connected to each other via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable?   If your intent is to operate both the WRT54G and the Almond at other ends of the house,  then you will probably want both setup to share the same network,  and SSID.

You can confirm the IP address of your Almond my pressing on the "Status" tile of the Almond's TouchUI.


Once you know the IP address of the Almond (from the TouchUI),  you can access the WebUI of the Almond to change the IP address.
In the example above you'll note that the Almond has an IP address of 10.77.13.79.  Once I know this I know I can access my Almond with any Web Browser by browsing to http://10.77.13.79/. 

Simply select the Network Settings tile:

[mjp]

Thanks, Patrick, for your quick response.

You mention AP mode: actually, I would have already put the router in AP mode -- but my Almond didn't have an AP mode, only Router and Range Extender, so I didn't think that was supported. The furthest I got was trying to disable the Almond's DHCP server, which it actually refused to do (it went through the motions, but after a few minutes in a bad state it came back up with the DHCP server still enabled).

The reason I didn't have an AP mode is that my firmware was way out of date (W181 or something).

The reason my firmware was way out of date is that the Almond kept insisting its firmware was, in fact, up to date.

When I finally checked the version number and determined it wasn't actually the current, I was able to manually update the firmware, enable AP mode, and now, after a couple of hours of all this, everything's happy as can be.

So it seems like there's something preventing older units (mine was purchased Oct 2012) from getting fresh firmware.

[Essoh]

Actually the firmwares older than R186 are updated manually (via the webUI). And also, when Almond is not connected to Internet it keeps saying that the firmware is up to date as it does not receive any information from internet.

[mjp]

Well, in my case the Almond did have an internet connection, yet confidently reported that it was up to date even if I told it to check again.

But yes, I can confirm your observation that even with the latest firmware, if I disconnect the Almond's upstream ethernet and tell it (via TouchUI) to check for updates it reports that no updates are available -- rather than reporting that it doesn't know because it couldn't contact the relevant server. That might seem like a marginal bug, but in my case it (or some variant of it) cost me a couple of hours.

Anyway, in spite of that, having knowledgeable folks like Patrick around to answer obscure questions like these gives me a lot of faith in the product and the company.

[Patrick Wilson]

Thanks, Patrick, for your quick response.

You mention AP mode: actually, I would have already put the router in AP mode -- but my Almond didn't have an AP mode, only Router and Range Extender, so I didn't think that was supported. The furthest I got was trying to disable the Almond's DHCP server, which it actually refused to do (it went through the motions, but after a few minutes in a bad state it came back up with the DHCP server still enabled).

The reason I didn't have an AP mode is that my firmware was way out of date (W181 or something).

The reason my firmware was way out of date is that the Almond kept insisting its firmware was, in fact, up to date.

When I finally checked the version number and determined it wasn't actually the current, I was able to manually update the firmware, enable AP mode, and now, after a couple of hours of all this, everything's happy as can be.

So it seems like there's something preventing older units (mine was purchased Oct 2012) from getting fresh firmware.

Thanks for the edication.  I've only been with Securifi for 6 months,  so every Firmware revision I've played with has supported "Access Point" mode.

You can download the current Firmware directly from the Almond Software Update site.  If you click on the Download Latest Software link,  it will download the latest version for you.  (Presently the Firmware version available is:  AL1-R196-L299-W33 at the time I wrote this message).

You'll find manual update instructions on this same page.  Please proceed to the Almond Software Update site,  and grab the latest Firmware. 

Once you have updated the Firmware you will find find the Access Point listed on the 5th Home Screen:



It is very easy to setup,  it only has a "single" option: