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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Installed Netgear Orbi/DM200 now BBC iPlayer won't work on NowTV

Had working NowTV black box - fine with, variously, PlusNet, BT and Sky modem/routers wired and wireless.

After a house move, I've just put in a Netgear Orbi mesh wifi plus a DM200 modem (set to modem only/bridge mode) and found iPlayer won't work (loads then goes black).

Updated settings - no change. Remove and reinstall iPlayer app - failed to uninstall.

Thought I'd do a complete factory reset to clear out any old data. The box failed to reinstall its own software and apps - reporting a -4 failure to load error. Seemed to be related to a poor or failed connection. Odd as I have 77 mbps fibre and very strong wifi.

As a test, I turned on the wifi hot spot on my phone and changed the NowTV box connection to this. The reset went through immediately, all apps reloaded and iPlayer ran fine.

Switched the connection back to the Netgear - iPlayer failed (though strangely it's only this app that has a problem - All4, ITV player etc work OK).

I raised this in the Netgear support forums - they assure me it's a problem with the NowTV box - well, they would, wouldn't they! For my part, when troubleshooting, I look at what's changed or is different - in this case it's the Netgear kit!

It's so annoying because we don't currently have our Freesat kit working so this is the only way to do catchup at the moment! I know it's only a £15 box compared to a few hundred for the Orbi but it would be great to know why it's misbehaving.

If I can't solve, I'll probably chuck it out and find another option - put a Chromecast on teh kitchen TV but my other half really prefers her own 'real' remote control!

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Thanks Chris

No intended disinformation - my starting point was that, as the NowTV box worked fine via mobile hot spot and doesn't via the Netgear, the Netgear was the root cause (whatever Netgear say!).

I have tried 10.0 and 192.168 as default IP ranges, as someone suggested possible the NowTV box didn't like a 10.0 range - the two have not been co-existing.

I have updated the NG firmware and about to try this switchover of the DM200 to regular modem/router mode and the Orbi to Access point mode (see above).

No, Orbi isn't creating a second network, mesh or otherwise as the modem is set to bridge mode, making the Orbi the DHCP/NAT source. Following the NG recommendation reverses this relationship - DM200 will be DHCP/NAT and Orbi provide wifi. So no double-NATs.

View solution in original post

16 REPLIES 16
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Reply received today from BBC iPlayer support:

"Hello Nicholas,

Thanks for contacting BBC iPlayer support.

We're sorry to hear about the problems you've been experiencing. We appreciate the details you have provided.

It is strange that the factory reset prevented other apps from being installed.

The fact that iPlayer works fine on the device when connected to Wifi hotspot suggests that the issue is not with BBC iPlayer application.

We're happy to register your feedback with iPlayer management who are keen on hearing from users.

Please update us on the outcome if you continue to have issue after the Now TV investigation."

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Tony-D Latest suggestion from the Netgear forums is to put the modem DM200 back into regular modem mode and switch the Orbi to Access Point mode so it's not doing any processing.

May give this a try, though with the Orbi being the newer range of kit, I would expect it to be better at handling the 'processing' over the older DM200, but what do I know?!

Tony-D
NOW Team Member
NOW Team Member

@Anonymous User wrote:

@Tony-D Latest suggestion from the Netgear forums is to put the modem DM200 back into regular modem mode and switch the Orbi to Access Point mode so it's not doing any processing.

May give this a try, though with the Orbi being the newer range of kit, I would expect it to be better at handling the 'processing' over the older DM200, but what do I know?!


Haha i'd expect it to be better too. Maybe it's just not good as processing older types of information which seems like the info BBC and Roku seem to use. Let me know how this goes. Will this have any negatives effects your network in any other areas?  @Anonymous User

 

P.s thanks for the update 🙂

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Some disinformation in this thread.

iPlayer app doesn't do any 'TV licensing' checks or so forth, it only does the usual checks for IP geolocation (is user in the UK? if not, deny access) and requires users to sign-in. That's done based on the public IP address, not the LAN IP.

If the app works fine over a hotspot 3G/4G connection, and doesn't work through the Orbi/DM200 combo, it's a bug in the Netgear software.

192.168.* and 10.* ranges are both IANA 'reserved' private ranges suitable for any private networks. Traffic to/from those IPs will never be able to be routed across the public internet. This is not the cause of the problem.

I'm not familiar with the Orbi, but if it's creating a second mesh network which forwards traffic to and from the main Netgear router's network, that's quite probably a double-NAT arrangement - not ideal and can cause all sorts of problems.

Meshed devices getting a 10.0 range IP is indicative of a second network double-NATted to the main 192.168. LAN IP range before heading out to the Internet.

It sounds to more likely be either a double-NAT issue, a port forwarding issue or the iPlayer app being unable to connect to the remote servers due to a bug in how the Netgears work together. 

Perhaps the Netgears also run some kind of traffic detection, parental access control or 'smart firewall' which is actually hindering rather than helping.

Less likely, perhaps a specific mechanism the iPlayer app uses to initiate connections / download the latest programme info doesn't play well with the Netgear software's way of working.

Either way, if it works direct, and not via the Netgear, it's demonstrably a Netgear problem.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Thanks Chris

No intended disinformation - my starting point was that, as the NowTV box worked fine via mobile hot spot and doesn't via the Netgear, the Netgear was the root cause (whatever Netgear say!).

I have tried 10.0 and 192.168 as default IP ranges, as someone suggested possible the NowTV box didn't like a 10.0 range - the two have not been co-existing.

I have updated the NG firmware and about to try this switchover of the DM200 to regular modem/router mode and the Orbi to Access point mode (see above).

No, Orbi isn't creating a second network, mesh or otherwise as the modem is set to bridge mode, making the Orbi the DHCP/NAT source. Following the NG recommendation reverses this relationship - DM200 will be DHCP/NAT and Orbi provide wifi. So no double-NATs.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

This evening I can advise the cause and a solution to this issue.

Assuming I was never going to get to the bottom of a £15 NowTV box (and needing a Freeview HD recorder anyway), I bought a new Panasonic Freeview Player recorder. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't get any of the Freeview Player features to work!

Other internet features (YouTube, Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall) worked fine so it couldn't be the internet connection itself.

I troubleshooted by connecting the Panasonic box to my mobile wifi hot spot, instead of the NG - didn't work (unlike the NowTV box). Connected to the Orbi by wire - didn't work.

Following the suggestion in the Netgear forums, I switched DM200 to regular modem/router mode and Orbi to AP mode.

Both Panasonic and NowTV work fine.

SO
i) the router handling protocols of the Orbi are flawed ; OR
ii) there are settings on the Orbi that were blocking internet connections to the Freeview Player and NowTV BBC iPlayer functions

I've added this to my NG support ticket, requesting that they publish what these are and make them available to support and the forums.

It would be really good to know whether this is a bug or whether it's simply a configurable option.

Tony-D
NOW Team Member
NOW Team Member

@Anonymous User wrote:

This evening I can advise the cause and a solution to this issue.

Assuming I was never going to get to the bottom of a £15 NowTV box (and needing a Freeview HD recorder anyway), I bought a new Panasonic Freeview Player recorder. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't get any of the Freeview Player features to work!

Other internet features (YouTube, Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall) worked fine so it couldn't be the internet connection itself.

I troubleshooted by connecting the Panasonic box to my mobile wifi hot spot, instead of the NG - didn't work (unlike the NowTV box). Connected to the Orbi by wire - didn't work.

Following the suggestion in the Netgear forums, I switched DM200 to regular modem/router mode and Orbi to AP mode.

Both Panasonic and NowTV work fine.

SO
i) the router handling protocols of the Orbi are flawed ; OR
ii) there are settings on the Orbi that were blocking internet connections to the Freeview Player and NowTV BBC iPlayer functions

I've added this to my NG support ticket, requesting that they publish what these are and make them available to support and the forums.

It would be really good to know whether this is a bug or whether it's simply a configurable option.


@Anonymous User That's probably the most detailed rpely i've ever seen on this forum. Very interesting info 🙂 Thanks and @Anonymous User I'm glad you got it sorted and it actually seemed to be a simple solution from the start but not one that is that obvious by any means.