Opening Ports tp allow my Humax box to connect to my router

[#1]

I'm sure this is a naiive question but a techie i am not!  I have been trying to connect my fairly old (not SMART) Samsung TV to a Humax Freeview BOX.  Humax tell me that my PlusNet router is blocking internet access for the box and i need to ensure the following ports are opened on the router....

HTTP: 80

HTTP: 8080

SSL: 443

Then they also say "If you are not seeing the router/hub and cannot connect then the issue can be caused by the default WiFi encryption protocol on the router. Make sure that the Hub is set to "WPA" auto or "WPA-PSK"(Tkip). If the box is unable to connect then you would need to try the router on WEP temporarily to rule out any WiFi security issues."

Sorry again for my lack of knowledge, but if anyone can sort me i'd be grateful!  Thanks very much!

[#2]

Welcome to the forums, @JamesTree .Strangely enough, I set an FVP4000T up with my non-smart Samsung TV a couple of months ago, following the set-up instructions (wireless version) in the manual with no problems - and no need for any 'open ports' or messing with WiFi encryption - which I certainly wouldn't mess with.

What model TV, and what Humax box? TBH , it should just 'work' if the instructions are followed.

[#3]

@JamesTree  Welcome to the forum.

You should not need to play with ports to get this to work so I would take this advice with a pinch of salt.

You should start again from scratch.

1. How are you connecting to the box, wireless or Ethernet cable?

2. Is the Humax box showing as connected? If there are error messages what do they say?

3. If you log in to your router at look at your network can you see that it is connected?

[#4]

Thanks to you all.  My problems seem to be getting worse!  The TV is a Samsung LE 32 M86BD.  The Freeview box is a FVP - 4000T.  There was a connection a while ago via a Netgear extender AC2200 Tri-Band wifi Extender, but itt was never very good.  A software update was 'recommended' for the Netgear, and although i had a connection for a short time now there is nothing.  I get two lights on the Netgear rather than two plus an orange, or even three, so no joy even trying to link my iPad which was a good connection.  What i can't understand is that the Netgear uses the same password as my router, but i've never been asked to 'search' for an available wifi network

Yesterday, before I called HUMAX, i saw the attached file on the TV which led to my writing to them.

So I'm not a happy bunny.  Sorry!!  My 26 year old 'tecchie' grandson tells me i need Ubiquiti disks around this old stone house.  Maybe i have to bite that bullett!!

Any advice still would be very welcome.

Thanks

[#5]

What router are you using, and as you are connected via LAN rather than WLAN, I assume you have an ethernet cable between you FVP-4000T and the router?

I'm no networking expert, but your IP and Gateway addresses look strange.

@Baldrick1 - comments?

[#6]

It sounds to me that @JamesTree is connecting the Humax to the router over a wireless ling via a Netgear extender.

@JamesTree the first thing to try is replacing the wireless link with an Ethernet cable if your Humax box has a LAN socket. This will determine whether your only have a wireless problem.

Long Ethernet cables are very cheap and it's worth having one just for test purposes.

[#7]

I assume you have already done this, but if not. Go into the Memer Centre and disable the PlusNet firewall.

See if it makes any difference and let us know.

EDIT: Said the US version (Center) and not the UK one (Centre).

[#8]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

It sounds to me that @JamesTree is connecting the Humax to the router over a wireless ling via a Netgear extender.

@JamesTree the first thing to try is replacing the wireless link with an Ethernet cable if your Humax box has a LAN socket. This will determine whether your only have a wireless problem.

Long Ethernet cables are very cheap and it's worth having one just for test purposes.

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That explains the weird IP and Gateway addresses, but I have just noticed he's tried to set it up on 'LAN' - surely using wireless it should have been configured on 'WLAN' - as the setup instructions specify?

[#9]

Thanks to all of you for helping.  I did find a long ethernet cable and connected it directly to the Plusnet router...   and everything worked brilliantly.  So clearly the problem is wifi, which has always been temperamental upstairs, so I think i just have to bite the bullet and upgrade the access points to something like the Ubiquiti indoor access points and run an ethernet cable to them.  What do you think of that suggestion?

Since you have all been really helpful, may i ask a couple of other questions?

1.  Is the Plusnet Router as good as any others out there?  I have a Hub One.  Obviously i'm looking for a good range and a better ability to go through walls.  Suggestions welcome!

2. If I have a wired Ubiquiti type access point, could i then run an ethernet cable to the Humax box?

Thanks for all your help and understanding!

[#10]

Afternoon @JamesTree .

I'll try and make this short and concise, From the photo in your earlier post, you have configured the FVP4000T over ethernet, but you are then trying to use wireless - that will never work effectively. To use the box over your wireless network, it should be configured over WLAN , not LAN.

My off-the-wall suggestion is to remove the cable and then configure the box using the 'WLAN' option in setup. Then see if it works. If it doesn't, refit the cable and report back.

As regards the Hub1, it is not exactly the best - it is suggested you try and source a BT HomeHub 6, which will work much better. Suggestions and set-up details are on one of the 'pinned' topics on the My Router board.

I can't answer your final question as I have never used an access point/network setup - again @Baldrick1 may be able to answer that.

Let us know how you get on.

[#11]

@JamesTree 

You will always get the fastest, most reliable internet over an Ethernet cable. After playing with wireless extenders and powerline units for ages I gave up and bit the bullet and wired my house for Ethernet. If you do the job properly by buying unterminated cable you might be surprised at how unobtrusive you can make it. You can run up to 100m of CAT5E cable and still get 10000Mbps through it so length is not an issue.

To give you an idea, to get a cable from my router into the lounge the route is through the hall wall into the kitchen, up the wall behind the cooker into an upstairs built in wardrobe, through the wardrobe ceiling into the loft. Here it goes across the loft and out through the eaves behing the guttering downpipe. Down the back of the downpipe, through the exterior wall and in the lounge. On each end I have fixed a standard wall socket with an RJ45 socket. No cable is visible in the house and the fixed output sockets leave a very professional job. The drilling might sound daunting but the cable is only 5mm diameter so it's not that big a deal. I agree it was a [-Censored-] but it's there now and I know that I will have a rock solid connection that will not deteriorate as time goes on.

I have never used an Ubiquiti Access Point, I get the impression that they are expensive and as I said, you can keep throwing money at trying to distribute WiFi around a house but any improvement might not be permanent. If the Access Point has a spare Ethernet socket then you will be able to connect it to your Humax box.

Edit,

What on earth has been censored now! The last time it was a word that was a simile for hassle (as intended) or cigarette. Have I used it again?

[#12]

@Baldrick1 I totally agree with your post above, but I sometimes wonder if a compromise can be reached by optimising router/equipment positioning, or, as I suggested , getting better equipment?

When I first used a router (Netgear DG834Gv5) it  was connected via cable into my desktop, but I then got a laptop for use in a more convenient location. The modem/router stayed where it was in the upstairs 'office', the laptop is in my front room downstairs running wirelessly, and TBH I notice very little, if any, difference in performance.

Router is now a TG582n, but only because the Netgear died on me.

[#13]

@jab1 

There is always a need for wireless these days. I think that the best compromise on medium to large properties is an Ethernet backbone with wireless access points connected to this backbone where required. Depending on the need for having a common SSID and budget the access points can be convectional APs or ideally a Mesh system with Ethernet backhaul.

[#14]

I would suggest a better solution would be to get a pair of power line adapters. Plug one in by the router and connect it by cable, one by the Humax box  and connect to the box by cable. Unless ypu have an unusual power distribution system ( more than one consumer unit (fuse box) you should get a stable connection.

[#15]

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@wisty wrote:

Unless youd have an unusual power distribution system ( more than one consumer unit (fuse box) you should get a stable connection.

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I beg to differ, see. https://community.plus.net/t5/Tech-Help-Software-Hardware-etc/Powerline-Unit-Performance/m-p/1607450...