- Oct 9, 2002
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TL/DR:
Is the computer's 5GHz channel restriction in the WiFi module or is it an operating system restriction based on a region flag in the computer's firmware? Can a Macbook have the WiFi module swapped so it can connect to a USA 5GHz network? If the restriction is in the computer's firmware+OS, then changing the WiFi module or using an external WiFi adapter probably wouldn't allow it to connect to a US-region 5GHz network.
The full story...
I tried to help a married couple with the following equipment.
From Japan:
From USA:
All of this stuff is on the ground floor; all within 20-25 feet of each other.
When I looked into this, they had been doing a lot of troubleshooting because WiFi is unstable. One of the AirPort Time Capsule devices was no longer connected and no longer powered on. Originally, they had set it up so one computer was doing backups to one of the Time Capsule devices, and the other computer would do backups with the other Time Capsule. The Japanese computers cannot see the 5GHz WiFi network from the Arris cable modem, but other mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, etc) can see it. The only 5GHz network the computers can see is the one coming from the Japanese AirPort Time Capsule.
They said the Apple TV was "unusable" when they tried to watch an iTunes rental days earlier. It kept freezing and glitching and they had to start the movie over and over. She only kept trying because she was determined to get through it before the rental expired. The power was unplugged when I was there, so we plugged it back in. I briefly saw an Apple logo on the TV screen and the TV reported a 720p signal (that would mean it's either a 2nd-gen ATV or a misconfigured 3rd-gen ATV). After that, "720p" appeared again and the screen went black. We waited about 5 minutes while the light on the front blinked slowly. Then, we unplugged/reconnected the power and waited about 10 minutes after it did the same thing. Apple recommends restoring from iTunes with a USB connection if it hangs for more than 3 minutes, but they didn't have a microUSB cable.
I disabled WiFi entirely in the Arris modem, but left NAT / DHCP enabled. I noticed the Time Capsule router did not allow changing the region from Japan to USA (even though my mother's TC allows me to set any region, including Japan). I did a factory reset on the TC and it still wouldn't allow changing the region. I configured it with the same SSID / password it had previously (including the alternate SSID for 5GHz) and all of their devices can still connect to it automatically with the stored password. Devices get their IPs from the Arris modem, so I can tell the TC is operating in bridge/AP mode. For each computer, we removed the stored settings for the 2.4GHz network so they would not connect to that one automatically (they say it's even more problematic than the 5GHz network for them).
The DirecTV device is sitting with a DirecTV receiver box. It's not really clear what purpose it serves. Does it act as another WiFi access point for a receiver box in another room? Does it do networking through the coax lines? The receiver box should already have built-in WiFi, so I don't know why it would need a WiFi bridge. They said DirecTV just recently installed the device and it is supposed to help with some of the WiFi problems they are having with the DirecTV box and Internet VOD. It has two coax lines. Some tethered coax terminators are dangling from it. One of the coax lines and an Ethernet network cable are connected from it to the receiver box. It has a WPS button on the back. The "WLAN" light was on / steady when I looked at it. I have no idea if it's using 2.4GHz or 5GHz. If it operates as a WiFi client, then it would definitely be talking to the AirPort Time Capsule because WLAN is still lit after I disabled WiFi in the Arris modem. They placed it on top of the receiver box, which is on the bottom shelf of the TV stand. If it uses WiFi in any way, I think it would have been better to place it on the shelf above it, on top of the Blu-Ray player. That way, there would be fewer obstacles blocking the signal from reaching whatever devices they have upstairs (probably another DirecTV receiver box).
- AirPort Time Capsule purchased in Japan will not allow region to be changed.
- AirPort devices purchased in US allow region to be changed.
- Macbook computers purchased in Japan cannot see or connect to a USA-region 5GHz network.
- iPad Air purchased from Japan can see and connect to a USA 5GHz network.
Is the computer's 5GHz channel restriction in the WiFi module or is it an operating system restriction based on a region flag in the computer's firmware? Can a Macbook have the WiFi module swapped so it can connect to a USA 5GHz network? If the restriction is in the computer's firmware+OS, then changing the WiFi module or using an external WiFi adapter probably wouldn't allow it to connect to a US-region 5GHz network.
The full story...
I tried to help a married couple with the following equipment.
From Japan:
- 2x Apple Macbook Pro
- 2x Apple AirPort Time Capsule (802.11n, previous generation)
- 1x Apple TV (not sure if it's 2nd gen or 3rd gen)
- 1x iPad Air (probably not the Air 2)
From USA:
- Arris DG1670A cable modem with built-in dual-band WiFi
- Multiple iPhones
- DirecTV Cinema connection kit
All of this stuff is on the ground floor; all within 20-25 feet of each other.
When I looked into this, they had been doing a lot of troubleshooting because WiFi is unstable. One of the AirPort Time Capsule devices was no longer connected and no longer powered on. Originally, they had set it up so one computer was doing backups to one of the Time Capsule devices, and the other computer would do backups with the other Time Capsule. The Japanese computers cannot see the 5GHz WiFi network from the Arris cable modem, but other mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, etc) can see it. The only 5GHz network the computers can see is the one coming from the Japanese AirPort Time Capsule.
They said the Apple TV was "unusable" when they tried to watch an iTunes rental days earlier. It kept freezing and glitching and they had to start the movie over and over. She only kept trying because she was determined to get through it before the rental expired. The power was unplugged when I was there, so we plugged it back in. I briefly saw an Apple logo on the TV screen and the TV reported a 720p signal (that would mean it's either a 2nd-gen ATV or a misconfigured 3rd-gen ATV). After that, "720p" appeared again and the screen went black. We waited about 5 minutes while the light on the front blinked slowly. Then, we unplugged/reconnected the power and waited about 10 minutes after it did the same thing. Apple recommends restoring from iTunes with a USB connection if it hangs for more than 3 minutes, but they didn't have a microUSB cable.
I disabled WiFi entirely in the Arris modem, but left NAT / DHCP enabled. I noticed the Time Capsule router did not allow changing the region from Japan to USA (even though my mother's TC allows me to set any region, including Japan). I did a factory reset on the TC and it still wouldn't allow changing the region. I configured it with the same SSID / password it had previously (including the alternate SSID for 5GHz) and all of their devices can still connect to it automatically with the stored password. Devices get their IPs from the Arris modem, so I can tell the TC is operating in bridge/AP mode. For each computer, we removed the stored settings for the 2.4GHz network so they would not connect to that one automatically (they say it's even more problematic than the 5GHz network for them).
The DirecTV device is sitting with a DirecTV receiver box. It's not really clear what purpose it serves. Does it act as another WiFi access point for a receiver box in another room? Does it do networking through the coax lines? The receiver box should already have built-in WiFi, so I don't know why it would need a WiFi bridge. They said DirecTV just recently installed the device and it is supposed to help with some of the WiFi problems they are having with the DirecTV box and Internet VOD. It has two coax lines. Some tethered coax terminators are dangling from it. One of the coax lines and an Ethernet network cable are connected from it to the receiver box. It has a WPS button on the back. The "WLAN" light was on / steady when I looked at it. I have no idea if it's using 2.4GHz or 5GHz. If it operates as a WiFi client, then it would definitely be talking to the AirPort Time Capsule because WLAN is still lit after I disabled WiFi in the Arris modem. They placed it on top of the receiver box, which is on the bottom shelf of the TV stand. If it uses WiFi in any way, I think it would have been better to place it on the shelf above it, on top of the Blu-Ray player. That way, there would be fewer obstacles blocking the signal from reaching whatever devices they have upstairs (probably another DirecTV receiver box).
Last edited:
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