I need help...

[Photojeep]

Hi,
About 6 months ago my church got a Behringer X Air XR-16 sound system that until last week worked perfectly for me.

Each of the 6 or so choir directors use their ipad or laptop to log into the X Air software and set the pre-determined settings for their particular group. Me included. Until last week I was able to do this.

My ipad had been acting very strangely so I took the advice of Apple folks to reset the settings. This means I lost all of my passwords and background images. No big deal and I was back up and running at home in about 2 minutes. However, when I got to church, I found I was unable to connect to the XR16's network, at first I thought it was just because of forgetting the password. The previous Mass's choir leader used his laptop to pull up my Mass's settings and all was fine. Later he got me the password but I still could not log on.

Using the XR16 is a two step process: The first is to log onto the XR16's network, essentially like logging into your home network. (Once you've done it on an iPad, it will remember the network and it then connects automatically.) The second step is launching the X Air software itself so you can choose your group's predetermined settings.

However, I cannot connect to the XR16's network. Without that connection launching the software does nothing because it can't see the XR16.

Is anyone here familiar with this XR16? I've already gone through all of the recommended iOS network steps, "forget connection", "reset Network Settings", "re-booting iPad" but to no avail. I've turned on and off the XR16 itself as well (5 times this morning alone.)

What's even weirder still, this past Thursday evening in an effort to solve the issue, I found I was able to connect to the XR16's network using my Macbook Air laptop (it actually connected to the unit's wifi automatically) and I could launch and use the software. However this morning I could not connect to the unit's network. I was forced to use the previous Mass's settings and that was a disaster.

The gentleman who set up our system can access the unit's wifi connection with all of his devices but I cannot. His iphone and ipad can both connect to the unit's wifi but neither of mine can. We have identical versions of iOS.

I'm desperate here, and could really use some help from someone who is familiar with these systems.

Thank you,
PJ

[lkingston]

I really hate the XR series built in WiFi. It’s 2.4 GHz only, and worse than that, you have to set the WiFi channel manually. That means you have to use an app like WiFi Explorer (android only) to see the WiFi traffic before choosing a channel. If it happens to be on a busy channel, good luck trying to connect in order to change it!

From your problem description, I would say that this is your problem. Your XR WiFi is set to a busy channel and you need to change it. Unfortunately, the busy channel won’t always let you log in the first time to change it. Once you change the WiFi channel, you have to turn the mixer off and on in order for it to actually change to the new channel. If you don’t use WiFi Explorer, you have to guess on the channel, and you might choose a busier one and be locked out even worse! If you have an iPhone...Apple has locked app developers out of that kind of access, so good luck guessing! In hotel ballrooms, there usually are no open 2.4GHz WiFi channels.

On three separate occasions, I’ve had everything running smoothly, then suddenly lost communication with the XR mixer right as a performance started. This has happened with two separate XR mixers (an XR16 & an XR18). My theory is that this happens when someone decides to livestream video, but I’m not certain of this. This happened once in a high school auditorium, and twice in gigs in hotel ballrooms. Hotel ballrooms have an enormous amount of 2.4GHz traffic and next to no 5GHz traffic.

My solution has been to give up on the built in router and by an Apple Airport Express. I set it up to use the much less crowded 5GHz range and it is rock solid. The mixer control also becomes noticeably quicker. Using the Airport Express also lets me use AirPlay audio for BGM and backing tracks. I bought my Airport Express refurbished for about $50.

Everything else about the XR mixers is stellar but the built in router is absolute crap!

[midwinter]

I had a VERY similar situation with my XR16. Is you iPad up to date? Once I updated my iOS, the issue was resolved.

[Photojeep]

Thank you for the replies. My iPad is up to date so it wasn’t that.

It turns out we just had to reset the router (sticking a paperclip into the little reset hole did the trick.)

From what I could gather, this is not an uncommon problem. What makes this solution less than ideal is that there are about 6 other choir leaders who’ve never had a problem and when we reset it, the guy who installed the unit had to re-name it and set up the password again so everyone else wouldn’t be messed up when logging in. Luckily he’s one of the 6 other leaders but I hope we won’t have to do this very often.

Thanks again,
PJ

[martingitdave]

The Wifi network hardware and software on these devices is consumer grade technology. If you want ultimate reliability, have them purchase a commercial grade router and connect the mixer via ethernet.