This is by design.  Reopen with details if you think it's a bad idea.

(In reply to comment #0)
> If you do not have an Ethernet cable plugged in, why does it give the option?  
> 
I agree with this point.  If you really think that removing this choice from setup improves usability, why is the Wired choice still there when no cable is plugged in?

Also, how will this work with bridging?  I may have an Ethernet cable plugged in because I want to connect the Fab4 via wireless but bridge to a PC via wired.

Bridging (as well as static IP when a DHCP server is present) will need to be configured after you get the thing on the network.  The idea here is that for the 99% case, we need to make it dead simple.

Which does support the idea that we _never_ ask about ethernet.  Choose it automatically if it's plugged in, choose wireless if it's not.  To set up bridging, go through setup via wireless and then plug in ethernet and turn on bridging in the settings.

Weldon: What do you think?

I understand why the behavior seems odd, but basically the rationale is:

- ethernet users who don't read the quick start guide are somewhat likely to  turn on the device before they have an ethernet cable plugged in.  For this case, we provide the choice between wired and wireless in the menu.

- since we can, we've enabled the device to automatically connect via ethernet if a connection is detected on startup, and we've included this step in the quick start guide instructions.  People who read the guide, repeat users, and those who think to connect ethernet before startup will have the benefit of bypassing a couple menu screens.

So essentially we've made it as quick as possible for ethernet users in the two different cases, with the slight pain of one extra (quick) click for wireless users.  It's a trade-off.

Is the bug as described likely to be common behavior for people?  What percentage of users will plug in an ethernet cable they DON'T want to use, then reboot the machine and get an unwanted ethernet connection?

I guess I see the risk but surely it has to be a very minimal one.

If anything, we should optimize for the wireless users, that's the most common case.  Matt: Why not just default to wireless if you don't have ethernet plugged in?

Assigning to Matt for a response to Dean's question.

I fully agree that we should remove the Ethernet option when no Ethernet cable is detected. 

"To set up bridging, go through setup via wireless and then plug in ethernet and turn on bridging in the settings."

If it works that easily this would be a great way to do bridged.

First, I will re-iterate that this is an uncommon use case (maybe not an "edge" case, but uncommon).  

In the case we're discussing, a user has an ethernet cable plugged in but is choosing NOT to use it (which is what makes this uncommon).  Then the user performs a factory upgrade, and because of the current design the squeezebox thinks the user wants to connect via ethernet, when in fact this user doesn't.

So the problem here isn't really that the device is defaulting to ethernet (when ehthernet is connected) per se.  The problem is that we switched networks without telling/warning/prompting the user.

2 obvious solutions: one is to prompt in this case (which adds complexity and I think might cause more problems than it solves)

A better solution: simply try to connect to the last thing the user was connected to.  So if the user was previously connected to a wireless network, just attempt to re-connect to that network, then maybe degrade gracefully to the ethernet (but show a progress screen in both cases as to what you're connecting to).

Is the squeezebox smart enough to remember this bit of info (previous network configuration) after any firmware upgrade?  If so this is the right way to go IMO

(In reply to comment #9)
> A better solution: simply try to connect to the last thing the user was
> connected to.  So if the user was previously connected to a wireless network,
> just attempt to re-connect to that network, then maybe degrade gracefully to
> the ethernet (but show a progress screen in both cases as to what you're
> connecting to).

Then how would the user change from wireless to wired if the wireless network is still working?

You guys have beaten this thing to death.

Please, just like all the SBs that have come before - always ask the user which one they want to use during the network setup.  It's a step and decision that takes all of five seconds for even the dumbest of dumb users.

It's simple, it's flexible, users don't need to know that to get wireless working then they need to disconnect any ethernet cable.  Someone setting up bridging doesn't get sidetracked and thoroughly confused.  Switching between wired and wireless should be very easy, without having to know which unstated rules have been applied to automatically choose one or the other.  Keep it simple.

Works as designed.