I have been having problem with Apple AirPlay feature especially with Apple TV when I have source devices connected to the 5 GHz band of the RT-N56U.
The problem is less severe on my MacBook Air than what I have experienced on an iPhone and an iPad. What'd happened is that the source devices will not discover AirPlay destination devices on the network. This means they cannot stream multimedia data to the AirPlay devices.
The fix I usually do is to disconnect these source devices from the 5 GHz band and connect them to the 2.4 GHz band, or reconnect to the same 5 GHz band. The AirPlay devices then automatically show up. The 2.4 GHz band is slightly more stable than the 5 GHz band, although both will disappear eventually (perhaps a night or 2 later).
I read somewhere that AirPlay devices are using the Multicast feature to broadcast their presence. I'm not sure if this is causing incompatibility with the router but I'm just guessing that this ASUS 'advanced' router may be trying to save energy by disconnecting/disabling/filtering some network traffic.
Now I would like to fix it permanently. What I have done is setting these in the Wireless - Professional page (firmware version 3.0.0.4.360):
- Enable wireless scheduler - No (default was "Yes") - I don't think this is causing the problem but just want to disable it regardless
- Enable IGMP Snooping - Enable (default was "Disable") - edit: 4/Oct/2013 - this seems to be the only setting that matters
- WMM DLS - Enable (default was "Disable") - edit 04/Oct/2013 - it seems that this setting is irrelevant
I have these set about 3 days ago. So far it's been stable. I hope this will last.
Update on 11-Aug-2013: I can see that my AirPlay devices are definitely staying visible more permanently. I think perhaps in 1 occasion during past couple of weeks I upgraded the firmware on the RT-N56U, Apple TV disappeared on a 2.4 GHz band - My Apple TV is permanently on the 5 GHz band - I just apply the same settings mentioned above on the 2.4 GHz and restarted the router. It's been working well since.
Update on 13-Nov-2018: If you want to help me financially, even if it's just a little, I thank you!
Update on 11-Aug-2013: I can see that my AirPlay devices are definitely staying visible more permanently. I think perhaps in 1 occasion during past couple of weeks I upgraded the firmware on the RT-N56U, Apple TV disappeared on a 2.4 GHz band - My Apple TV is permanently on the 5 GHz band - I just apply the same settings mentioned above on the 2.4 GHz and restarted the router. It's been working well since.
Update on 13-Nov-2018: If you want to help me financially, even if it's just a little, I thank you!
