AirPlay No Sound and Wifi Crash
I have read extensively about problems with AirPlay on this forum. Most of what I read has boiled down to three issues:
1. When using AirPlay with an AirPort Express or Apple TV, the iOS device claims to be playing but no sound plays or there is a burst of sound for one or two seconds
2. When attempting to use AirPlay, the iOS device loses wifi connection
3. AirPlay works from a computer but not from an iOS device
I have done several tests on these issues using an iPod Touch (4g), a Mac Mini (latest model), and a MacBook Pro (latest model), AirPort Express (n model with latest firmware)
I tried it in the following ways (playing to the AirPort Express):
With the AirPort Express configured to join the wifi network:
From iOS devices - no sound or one second burst then no sound
From Mac Mini with wired Ethernet connection to the network - worked perfectly
From the same Mac Mini with a wireless connection only - no sound or one second burst then no sound
From a MacBook Pro with a wireless connection - no sound or one second burst then no sound
With the AirPort Express configured to not use any wireless and connected via Ethernet, all of the above configurations worked perfectly.
It seems that when the AirPort Express AND the device trying to play are connected via wifi, the load is too great on my wireless network and it drops the connection to BOTH the AirPort Express and the device attempting to play. (Note: When doing this from an iOS device, the iOS device loses wifi connection and sometimes requires a reboot)
It also seems that when at least one device, either the AirPort Express or the playing device, is connected via Ethernet, AirPlay works perfectly.
My network is an older a/b/g network from a linksys router and has all four wired connections in use with four to five wireless devices connected at almost all times, so I believe that the problem is either the router cannot handle this much wifi activity at once from two devices or having all these connections creates too much interference in the airspace. Streaming content at all requires a decent amount of bandwidth, but AirPlay requires streaming from one device AND to another one, and that seems to cripple my network.
For now, I will just use the AirPort Express on a wired connection, but I plan to get a newer dual band 802.11n router which may solve the problem.
1. When using AirPlay with an AirPort Express or Apple TV, the iOS device claims to be playing but no sound plays or there is a burst of sound for one or two seconds
2. When attempting to use AirPlay, the iOS device loses wifi connection
3. AirPlay works from a computer but not from an iOS device
I have done several tests on these issues using an iPod Touch (4g), a Mac Mini (latest model), and a MacBook Pro (latest model), AirPort Express (n model with latest firmware)
I tried it in the following ways (playing to the AirPort Express):
With the AirPort Express configured to join the wifi network:
From iOS devices - no sound or one second burst then no sound
From Mac Mini with wired Ethernet connection to the network - worked perfectly
From the same Mac Mini with a wireless connection only - no sound or one second burst then no sound
From a MacBook Pro with a wireless connection - no sound or one second burst then no sound
With the AirPort Express configured to not use any wireless and connected via Ethernet, all of the above configurations worked perfectly.
It seems that when the AirPort Express AND the device trying to play are connected via wifi, the load is too great on my wireless network and it drops the connection to BOTH the AirPort Express and the device attempting to play. (Note: When doing this from an iOS device, the iOS device loses wifi connection and sometimes requires a reboot)
It also seems that when at least one device, either the AirPort Express or the playing device, is connected via Ethernet, AirPlay works perfectly.
My network is an older a/b/g network from a linksys router and has all four wired connections in use with four to five wireless devices connected at almost all times, so I believe that the problem is either the router cannot handle this much wifi activity at once from two devices or having all these connections creates too much interference in the airspace. Streaming content at all requires a decent amount of bandwidth, but AirPlay requires streaming from one device AND to another one, and that seems to cripple my network.
For now, I will just use the AirPort Express on a wired connection, but I plan to get a newer dual band 802.11n router which may solve the problem.
iPod Touch, iOS 4, iOS 4.2.1
