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Wireless Wi-Fi access is an alternative (in relation to wired one) way to connect STB to a network (local or/and Internet).

STB wireless connection to the Wi-Fi access point can be provided with the built-in Wi-Fi module (mounted on the board) or an external Wi-Fi adapter (connected via USB-port).

The presence of the built-in Wi-Fi module in STB and the ability to support external Wi-Fi adapters can vary depending on STB model (see STB model range).

Built-in Wi-Fi module

The presence of a built-in Wi-Fi module in particular STB model is indicated with index w following the model number: for example, MAG254w1, MAG256w2, MAG349w3.
The number (1, 2 or 3) following the letter w indicates applied wireless Wi-Fi access standard:

w1 - Wi-Fi 802.11, 2.4GHz b/g/n, 1T/1R
w2 - Wi-Fi 802.11, 2.4 / 5GHz b/g/n/ac, 1T/1R
w3 - Wi-Fi 802.11, 2.4 / 5GHz b/g/n/ac, 2T/2R

External Wi-Fi adapters support

Сonnecting Wi-Fi adapter to STB is performed via USB port. Ability to use external Wi-Fi adapters depends on the particular STB model:

1. In MAG-2xx, MAG-3xx models without a built-in Wi-Fi module, external Wi-Fi adapters can be used (see below table).

2. STB models with a built-in Wi-Fi module, as a rule, do not support connecting Wi-Fi adapter via USB. The exception is MAG-322w1/324w2 models, which contain the internal Wi-Fi module and support also external Wi-Fi adapters (see below table). In these STB models, an external Wi-Fi adapter has a priority higher than the internal Wi-Fi module: when an external Wi-Fi adapter is connected, the internal Wi-Fi module is deactivated.

3. In MAG-4xx models, external Wi-Fi adapters are not supported.

The use of WiFi access with STB MAG-4xx models can be provided only for STB with the built-in WiFi module (MAG-420w1, 424w3).

The below table specifies supported external Wi-Fi adapters in accordance with STB models.

Model Chipset MAG-250/254/255
270/276
MAG-256/257 MAG-3xx* Notes
ASUS USBN13 rev.B1 Realtek RTL8192CU - - -
Asus USBN14 Ralink RT5370sta + + - 0.2.18r12
Asus USBN53 Ralink RT3572 + + - 0.2.18r12
Asus USBN53 rev.B1 MediaTek MT7612U - - -
D-Link DWA125 rev.A1,A2 Ralink RT3070 + + +
D-Link DWA125 rev.A3 Ralink RT5370 + + + 0.2.12
D-Link DWA125 rev.B1 Ralink RT5370 + + + 0.2.16b2
D-Link DWA125 rev.D1 Realtek RTL8188ETV - - -
D-Link DWA160 DualBand rev.B2 Ralink RT5572 + + - 0.2.16b2
Netis WF2150 DualBand Ralink RT5572 + + - 0.2.16b2
Edimax EW-7711UAN rev.V1 Ralink RT3070 + + +
Edimax EW-7733UnD DualBand(AC) Ralink RT3573 + + - 0.2.16b2
Foxgate WA 411 Ralink RT5370 + + +
Tenda W311M Ralink RT5390 + + + 0.2.12
Tenda W311MI Ralink RT5370 + + + 0.2.12
TPLINK TLWN727N rev.V1 Ralink RT3070 + + + 0.2.12
TPLINK TLWN727N rev.V4 MediaTek MT7601U + + + 0.2.18r17, 0.2.20a7.15
TPLINK TLWN721N Atheros AR9271 - + - 0.2.20a7.15
TPLINK TLWN722N rev.1 Atheros AR9271 - + - 0.2.20a7.15
TPLINK TLWN723N Realtek 8188E + + + 0.2.18r17, 0.2.20a7.15
TPLINK TLWN725N Realtek 8188E + + + 0.2.18r17, 0.2.20a7.15
TPLINK TLWDN3200 Ralink 5572 + + - 0.2.18r17, 0.2.20a7.15
TPLINK TLWDN3200 DualBand Ralink 5592 + + - 0.2.18r17, 0.2.20a7.15
Totolink N150 UA Ralink RT5370 + + + 0.2.16b2
Dune HD Air Ralink RT3070 + + + 0.2.12
Linksys WUSB600N DualBand rev.2 Ralink RT3572 + + - 0.2.16b2
LogiLink WL-0145 Ralink RT5370 + + +
LogiLink RT8111 Realtek 8188E + + + 0.2.18r17, 0.2.20a7.15
NIC RT8111 802.11n Realtek 8188E + + + 0.2.18r17, 0.2.20a7.15
Edup EP-MS150N Ralink RT5370 + + + 0.2.18r17, 0.2.20a7.15
AuraHD air/AuraHD air nano Ralink RT5370 + + + 0.2.12
Comfast CF-WU715N Ralink RT5370 + + +

* - MAG-322/324/322w1/324w2

External WiFi adapter connecting

STB supports hot-plugging of USB devices:

  • Connect external WiFi adapter to one of the available USB ports
  • After a while (20-30 seconds) the device must be ready for use.

Checking status of WiFi connection

STB WiFi connection status can be checked in two ways:

  • SettingsSystem settingsNetwork infoWireless (Wi-Fi)
  • SettingsSystem settingsNetworkWireless (Wi-Fi)Network Info

Supported authentication and encryption methods

The table below shows features supported by some types of external Wi-Fi adapters.


ASUS USB‐N13, D‐Link DWA‐125, Edimax EW‐7711UAN, TP‐LINK TL‐WN727N, Dune HD Air, Tenda W311MI
Open system / none +
Open / wep64 +
Open / wep128 +
Shared / wep64 +
Shared / wep128 +
WPAPSK / AES,TKIP +
WPA2PSK / AES,TKIP +

Environment variables of Wi-Fi interface

The table below describes Environment variables regarding wireless Wi-Fi access.

wifi_int_ip Specifies the IP address to be assigned to the wireless network interface. If it is set to "0.0.0.0", the autoconfiguration of the network parameters is used (set by the DHCP server)
wifi_int_mask Subnet mask
wifi_int_gw The IP-address of the network gateway
wifi_int_dns IP-address of DNS server
wifi_ssid Service set identifier (SSID) - it is used as an identifier of wireless LAN
wifi_auth Authentication method: «open», «shared», «wep_auto», «wpapsk», «wpa2psk»
wifi_enc Traffic encryption method: «none», «wep», «wep64»(deprecated), «wep128»(deprecated), «tkip», «aes»
wifi_wep_def_key The default key for encryption mode: WEP64 и WEP128
wifi_wep_key1, wifi_wep_key2, wifi_wep_key3, wifi_wep_key4 4 keys to set for WEP64 and WEP128 encryption mode

Configuring connection, viewing network status on STB

For a description of the wireless access parameters, see System SettingsNetwork.

  Connection set up. Example:

In System Settings window

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One way to transfer IPTV streams from operators to users is multicasting. If STB is connected to the network via wireless Wi-Fi connection network device (usually, Wi-Fi router) must ensure transferring multicast streams that received from the WAN interface of the router (usually, connection to ISP) to STB wireless interface. Modern Wi-Fi-routers for this purpose IGMP snooping technology is used. However, for earlier Wi-Fi router models the proxy server feature was intended. This feature is described below.

Formulation of the problem

The IEEE 802.11 standard of wireless (Wi-Fi) network can not be used for transmission of multimedia traffic by multicast streaming. Therefore, to transmit multimedia streams in the Wi-Fi network, the mediation server feature (proxy server) is used. It can transmit multicast streams as if unicast ones. To solve this problem user should install in its premise a router that supports proxy server feature of the desired type (should use router class “home” or “SOHO»).

Example of configuring the home router

Let's consider home router ASUS RT-N16 that is used to connect STB MAG-200 (wireless connection) and provide access to an IPTV service operator (operator uses multicast to deliver multimedia streams to customers). At first (before router using) an alternative router firmware should be installed on. For example, it can be used “ Oleg's Firmware” that is widely known in the Internet community (use  http://google.com to find specific information).

After specifying basic settings open router configuration page, tab IP Config, then IP Config ‐ Miscellaneous.

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In IPTV UDP Multicast to HTTP Proxy Port: specify port number related to the proxy server.

Option Enable access from WAN is configured according to work conditions. For typical applications, it is desirable to remove its selection (that is not to use the proxy server from WAN port side).
After router configuring is completed apply settings and reboot it.

Configuring STB

Set up WiFi access, check settings.

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Enabling proxy server support on STB

After setting up the wireless network you can configure proxy server support:
  • Enter SettingsSystem settingsAdvanced settingsMore;
  • Set Use multicast proxy to ON;
  • Enter proxy server IP-address in the Multicast proxy URL option.

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Thus, STB uses HTTP requests to the proxy server instead of using multicast resources. As a result, there is no need to use multicast traffic in wireless networks.

Use multicast proxy option should be ON only in case the STB has an active Wi-Fi connection to the router with proxy server feature enabled. Otherwise, the broadcasting of IPTV channels on STB may be disrupted.

Need Help

Dave is an expert on the MAG STB and the author of this article.

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