"My home Wi-Fi broke down, so I bought the latest TP-Link router!" --The story of a small business that hastily introduced telework (85)

Introducing telework in a hurry! the story of

Apparently, my home Wi-Fi router has reached the limit of the number of connections...

Wi-Fi router "Archer AX73"

　In the past, the number of connected Wi-Fi routers in the company has increased too much, and Zoom has told me that the connection is unstable, but I have teleworked. Our house is in a similar situation. Newly purchased gadgets, etc., are having trouble connecting to Wi-Fi.

…… At the time of writing this article, 7 days have passed since the implementation of priority measures to prevent the spread of the virus in Tokyo.

　At the small and medium-sized company in Shinjuku where I work, each staff member is currently working remotely to the extent possible. Among them, this time I bought a new Wi-Fi router to improve the Wi-Fi environment that reached the limit of my home.

[Highlight of this time] Incidents where gadgets do not connect to Wi-Fi occur frequently Wi-Fi 6 is still fast! Having trouble connecting to the internet with the app?

January 19th (Wednesday): My gadget won't connect to Wi-Fi! Is it the router?

Several months have passed since we brought the "Aladdin Connector", which is an optional part of the integrated lighting projector "popIn Aladdin", to our house, but it sometimes fails to connect to Wi-Fi. Even when I made the initial settings with the app for the first time, I actually failed at the step of connecting to the network.

Even if I try to connect to Wi-Fi during setup, it won't connect...

　Recently, when I try to connect a mobile projector to the internet, I sometimes experience the same symptoms. In such a case, reducing the number of devices connected to Wi-Fi seems to help in many cases.

When I followed the same procedure this time, I was able to successfully complete the initial settings for "Aladdin Connector". Probably, the processing power of the router has been exhausted due to the increase in the number of devices connected to Wi-Fi, such as Amazon Echo, Fire TV Stick, smartphones, game consoles, PCs, tablets, etc. Well, what happened...?

January 24th (Monday): I bought a TP-Link Wi-Fi router "Archer AX73"

I bought an "Archer AX73" that advertises 80 simultaneous connections

Every time I use the projector, I decided to buy a new Wi-Fi router because it is troublesome to unplug the gadgets in the house. My family has been using TP-Link products for the past few years, so I chose the company's latest model, "Archer AX73," which supports Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax). I was able to purchase it online at a reasonable price for its performance, at around 11,000 yen.

　The actual device arrived at my house today, so I immediately connected it. In my home network environment, it is necessary to leave the home gateway, so if it is left as it is, it will become a double router state. So I changed the router settings to access point mode (also known as bridge mode) and then connected to the network.

Using the app, I changed the operating mode of the "Archer AX73" to access point mode

After that, when I connected my laptop to the "Archer AX73", I was able to successfully connect to the Internet.

January 26th (Wednesday): "Wi-Fi has been enhanced!"

　Today, I will be working on the latest model of a laptop that I am borrowing from the manufacturer. Immediately, when I connected to the network of "Archer AX73", a pop-up saying "Wi-Fi has been strengthened!" was displayed at the bottom right of the screen. Apparently, this machine seems to have connected to "Archer AX73" with Wi-Fi 6.

The first time I connected to the network with Wi-Fi 6, a pop-up was displayed

By the way, you can check the Wi-Fi standard used to connect to the network on the Windows screen. When I checked with the notebook PC provided by the company, it seems that this machine did not support Wi-Fi 6, and there was an overwhelming difference in communication speed when comparing the two.

Click the "Network" icon in the notification area. Select the network you are connected to and click "Properties" to check the Wi-Fi standard you are using IEEE 802.11ax measurement results

and measured. The Internet line used is "au Hikari Home 1 Giga"

　The "Archer AX73" is placed on the 2nd floor for the convenience of the optical fiber wiring, but when I measured it in the living room on the 1st floor, I was able to communicate at almost the same speed. In the future, if you prepare a PC that supports Wi-Fi 6, you will be able to use the Internet at the same speed as a wired connection. If the iPhone is 11 or later, it supports Wi-Fi 6, but unfortunately the model I'm using now doesn't support it. Hmm, I wonder if I should change the model of the iPhone soon.

Thursday, January 27: I can't use my iPhone as a webcam! I'm in trouble...

Today is the day of the company's general meeting. As usual, I used the app "NewTek NDI Video" to use my iPhone as a webcam, but for some reason it wouldn't connect to my desktop PC. The app "EpocCam" with similar functions is also useless. Thanks to that, I was able to participate in the meeting without camera footage.

I can't proceed from the computer connection screen...

After that, I tried various things, but it seems that there is no problem if the desktop PC's wired LAN is connected to the "Archer AX73" instead of the home gateway. In fact, the same symptoms as this occurred with "popIn Aladdin", and when the desktop PC was connected to the home gateway, the saved video files could not be accessed when connecting to the "Archer AX73". What is the cause?

January 28th (Friday): Is the cause of the trouble the DHCP server of "Archer AX73"?

After reviewing the settings of the "Archer AX73", I finally found the cause. That's because when I made the initial settings for "Archer AX73", I set it to access point mode, but forgot to turn off the DHCP server function. After disabling this setting, NewTek NDI Video now connects to my desktop PC.

　The DHCP server of the home gateway assigned an IP address of the "192.168.0.x" series, and the "Archer AX73" assigned an IP address of the "192.168.1.x" series, so perhaps this is the difference in subnets might have caused the problem.

Turn off the DHCP server function. Apparently, "Archer AX73" was assigned a "192.168.1.x" IP address. An address is now assigned

With this, the problem that I was worried about during the test operation was resolved, so after reconnecting all the gadgets to the "Archer AX73", I removed the old router from the network. To. I'm worried about radio interference, so I'll only use "Archer AX73" from now on.

About a week has passed since I started using the "Archer AX73", and I am fully satisfied with its speed and functions. I also like the ability to get notifications on my iPhone when a new device connects and the ability to share passwords. With this, you can check in advance if there are too many connected terminals, and companies can check the access of untrustworthy terminals.

When a new device is connected, you can send the password to the input screen of the device with a single tap.In addition, you will receive a notification on the iPhone notification screen and the application screen of the iPhone where the app is installed

　In this way, you can connect to your home Wi-Fi environment. I could afford it. Well, what kind of gadget should we welcome next?

　

* From the editorial department From the introduction of telework to how to enjoy living at home! The site "Home Life" that summarizes information on "the era of working from home" is now available. Please use all means.

Tobita Ninety-nine