[scraejtp]

There is probably an easier way to handle this so I am open to suggestions. I picked up an Amazon Fire TV stick thinking it would be quick to setup, and have run into an issues that is over my head. Short version:

- I installed Kodi on the Amazon Fire stick
- Kodi connects to my SMB share from my server. Bitrate is too high for 54 Mbps network connection and hangs up.
- I attempt to setup an access point, only to realize a secondary router as an access point is limited to WEP and 54 Mbps (I assume this is not a limitation of all, but the N300 I had on hand has this limit)
- I setup the N300 as a secondary router, but can no longer access the SMB share.
- I spent a bunch of time trying to setup a different type of share or connect the SMB to the new subnet with no progress made.

Suggestions on how to make this work with my current hardware? Access points will need to be involved in my household as the area is too spread out, so a better single source router is not an option.

[kricker]

Depending on your router, you may find the wireless N (which is the fastest the FireTV stick supports) is not up to the task of streaming high-bitrate content. The user experience will be widely varied. Some will say it works perfectly, other will say it doesn't work at all. There are a lot of variables in play with streaming HD wirelessly. WEP and 54Mbps is not good. I used to try to stream everything of wireless using a n300 device. It never worked perfectly. I gave up and ran cable. WEP alone slows down a wireless network. You should use WPA2 or just forget WEP since it is shoddy protection anyhow. You can try some AC rated APs. Even thought the Fire TV isn't AC, it appears AC rated APs can still deliver faster speeds for N devices. Go check-out the The Wirecutter or Smallnetbuilder for some great info. Take your time reading to understand "what you are reading. It can be overwhelming.

[BatterPudding]

If you don't want to run cables, get Powerline adapters. In the long run it saves you many headaches. Had plenty of success with Dupulo and TP-Link adapters. So much less of a headache that slow old WiFi kit. The hours I have wasted to messing with WiFi networks in houses has long gone. Now I use powerline kit to spread into odd rooms of a house.

[scraejtp]

Update: This is a Fire TV stick, so wired is not an option. All of my other media equipment is wired, which is probably why my wireless equipment isn't quite as updated as it should be.

I do use WPA2, but the extra Netgear N300 router I have requires WEP to act as an access point. Obviously this is unacceptable. I have an extra router laying around (doesn't everyone?) that I have been able to use as an AP properly. This barely keeps up with my higher bitrate content. (2.4ghz N)

I will look at updating to an AC router which I imagine will help this case (dual band), and try to stay wired for future additions.

[rlg6767]

If you don't want to run cables, get Powerline adapters. In the long run it saves you many headaches. Had plenty of success with Dupulo and TP-Link adapters. So much less of a headache that slow old WiFi kit. The hours I have wasted to messing with WiFi networks in houses has long gone. Now I use powerline kit to spread into odd rooms of a house.

Would second this but go for the 200 Mbps version at the least. Whilst the 100 Mbps version should be up to the job I found it can sometimes struggle and lead to buffering. Upgrading to the 200 Mbps version solved that for me.

[kricker]

My experience with power line adapters is similar to wireless. Results will vary based on your house wiring and the power line adapters. Definitely go for the fastest versions if you try them.

[Jogee]

scraejtp,

Don't set up your N300 as a secondary router. Connect it up as a switch within your primary network.

Here are the basic steps:

• Turn off DHCP and whatever other service the N300 has that might conflict with the primary router.
  
• Configure wireless on the N300.
  
• Give the N300 a static IP address in the same subnet of your primary router, using the subnet mask, gateway, DNS etc that the computers get when plugged into your primary router network.
  
• Plug the input feed from your primary network into a LAN port of the N300 (NOT the WAN/Internet port).
  

Now your secondary wireless will be within the network of your primary one, and you'll have one big happy network and all clients will be able to see eachother.

You want a static IP address set on the N300 that is outside of the DHCP scope that your primary router provides. You might run into problems down the line if you accidentally get two devices with the same IP address on the network. So, if your primary router DHCP is set to serve addresses from 192.168.0.100 to 150, pick something like 192.168.0.5.

Good luck.