Access Point mode issue, airplay not working.

[ali.]

I've been having some issues with my Asus Ai-Mesh setup in access point mode. For some reason, AirPlay isn't working. I tried switching to router mode and found a setting called "enable multicast routing" which seemed to briefly fix the issue with AirPlay. However, I'm unsure if I set up the router mode correctly, as I have PfSense as my main router.

Can anyone help me with the router mode settings? What settings do I need to turn off in router mode so I do no have double NAT, and should the incoming connection from PfSense be directed to the WAN or LAN port?

Thanks in advance.

 

[tgl]

I've been having some issues with my Asus Ai-Mesh setup in access point mode. For some reason, AirPlay isn't working.

A router operating in AP mode should act as a pretty transparent wifi-to-LAN bridge. So this should work, and I recall that it did work for me when I had ASUS wifi gear; and it still works with the non-ASUS APs I use now. We ought to drill down on why it's not working ... but you've provided zero detail about either what your network layout is or what problem you are having exactly. Where are you trying to Airplay from and to, and what network gear is in between?

I tried switching to router mode and found a setting called "enable multicast routing" which seemed to briefly fix the issue with AirPlay. However, I'm unsure if I set up the router mode correctly, as I have PfSense as my main router.

Even if it worked, which it sounds like it didn't after all, this'd be a jury-rig setup. You don't want more than one router in a home network, unless maybe you're doing fancy failover stuff.

Since you mention using pfSense, I wonder if you are doing anything with VLANs and if so whether you're trying to Airplay across VLAN boundaries. I can believe that'd be tricky; you might have to forward more stuff across the boundary than you are doing.

 

[ali.]

A router operating in AP mode should act as a pretty transparent wifi-to-LAN bridge. So this should work, and I recall that it did work for me when I had ASUS wifi gear; and it still works with the non-ASUS APs I use now. We ought to drill down on why it's not working ... but you've provided zero detail about either what your network layout is or what problem you are having exactly. Where are you trying to Airplay from and to, and what network gear is in between?

Even if it worked, which it sounds like it didn't after all, this'd be a jury-rig setup. You don't want more than one router in a home network, unless maybe you're doing fancy failover stuff.

Since you mention using pfSense, I wonder if you are doing anything with VLANs and if so whether you're trying to Airplay across VLAN boundaries. I can believe that'd be tricky; you might have to forward more stuff across the boundary than you are doing.

I am using PfSense and I do have VLANs, previously I thought PfSense was the issue since I was trying to AirPlay from one VLAN (on Wifi) to another VLAN (wired connection to my TV). However, to drill down to the root of the problem I removed that complexity: now all devices (to and from) are in the same VLAN.

After changing my setup couple of different times, I have settled on GT-AX11000 in router mode with DHCP, Firewall and NAT disabled. Reason why I am sticking with this Jerry-rigged setup is because of Cake QoS, I have noticed that my WiFi is snappier in this configuration than it is in access point mode.

Keeping all of that aside: the issue seems to be with the Sony TV and its implementation of the AirPlay. And the reason why I am saying this is because I have another TV of LG brand and that one seems to connect without any issue.

The Sony TV appears on the list of AirPlay devices but refuses to connect, whereas LG TV does not.

I will keep the GT-AX11000 in router mode with PfSense handling the DHCP duties, unless I run into some unforseen issues with IP assignment since I like the Cake QoS as it seems to have made the WiFi more snappy. And yes I did confirm that all general and professional wireless settings are exactly the same in AP mode and Router Mode, so I can only attribute better performance to the Cake QoS.

Many will wonder why not buy VLAN aware access points instead of doing this whole shenanigan with Asus routers. Reason is that I had bought multiple Asus routers before I implemented PfSense: I have too much money invested in the AiMesh eco system which works great for my use case as I get full throughput. I have no reason to sink more money into buying dedicated AP points.