Forum Discussion

Follower

Dec 11, 2020

Solved

How to connect 2.4GHZ Devices

I just bought few smart plugs. But they only connect to 2.4 Ghz. How do i add them to my home network as they will not show up in App on my phone for a setup. I have a good coverage in my house so mo...

CrimpOn
Dec 11, 2020
Kcobra1 wrote:
I just bought few smart plugs. But they only connect to 2.4 Ghz. How do i add them to my home network as they will not show up in App on my phone for a setup. I have a good coverage in my house so most of the time phone is on 5Ghz.

While the smartphone apps for many (most?) Internet of Things (IoT) devices are able to deal with "mesh" WiFi networks, there are some which are poorly written and simply fail to work when the smartphone is connected at 5G. What has worked for many people (including me) is this:
Access the Orbi web interface (http://orbilogin.net) using the admin credentials user "admin" and the Orbi router password (not the WiFi password)
Navigate to the Advanced Tab, Advanced Settings, Wireless Settings
Uncheck the box "Broadcast SSID on 5G Channel"
This will not affect any devices which are currently attached to the Orbi at 5G.
On the smartphone settings, "forget" the Orbi WiFi
Search for WiFi networks and select the Orbi WiFi
Enter the WiF password and connect
At this point, open the IoT app and go through the steps
After the device is connected, reverse the steps
Check the box "Broadcast SSID"
"Forget Orbi WiFi"
Search for and connect.
This sounds like a lot of work, but doesn't take very long.

p.s. "Poorly written" may seem harsh, but GEEZ. My TP-Link, Belkin, Eufy, Teckin (and other) smart plugs connected immediately. I have only had one that required the above steps. For one plug, I simply ignored the warnings "MUST connect to w.4G" and kept hitting "Continue" until it worked. "TAKE THAT!", I said.

frcouture

Initiate

Nov 02, 2022

Hello,
I have uncheck the broadcast ssid 5ghz and forgot the wifi network on my pixel 6, but the cell phone still connect to wifi 5ghz. So I'm still unable to connect my IoT device.

CrimpOn

Guru - Experienced User

Nov 02, 2022

frcouture wrote:
Hello,
I have uncheck the broadcast ssid 5ghz and forgot the wifi network on my pixel 6, but the cell phone still connect to wifi 5ghz. So I'm still unable to connect my IoT device.

This discussion has been going for almost two years (Dec 2020), and "things change".

It would be helpful to know:

Specifically which Orbi model this is.
What Internet of Things (IoT) device is being set up.
Where during the setup process it fails. (a screen shot would be helpful)

IoT devices spell out in LARGE TYPE, "2.4G WiFi Required" for a variety of reasons:

#1 is the obvious: if the customer has no 2.4G WiFi, the device cannot connect.
- This is analogous to a flashlight saying, "requires (2) C-batteries." If the customer has a drawer full of AA and D cell batteries, but no C batteries, the flashlight cannot work.
- It is also almost comical because 99.9% of all consumer WiFi systems provide 2.4G WiFi
#2 Is to point out that when the smartphone app attempts to connect to the device for setup, the phone must be capable of 2.4G WiFi. Again, this is almost comical because all modern smartphones support 2.4G WiFi.
#3 is the killer. Some smartphone apps were written by software engineers who got "too cute" and thought it would be a cool idea to provide the IoT device with the actual MAC address of the WiFi access point. When the phone is connected at 5G, it will be connected to a 5G access point rather than the 2.4G access point. If the engineers had done what they should have done (provided the WiFi SSID & password), the IoT device would have found the network by itself. Instead, the poor device is searching for a MAC address that it cannot possibly find because it has no 5G radio chip.

What I have found is that 90% of the time, simply ignoring those "Use 2.4G" statements and pressing"Continue" gets the device to connect just fine.