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Issue connecting 2.4 gHZ to Orbi system
Firstly, I apologize if I've picked the wrong Location. My router says Orbi Router RBR20 and the title of the amazon page says its NETGEAR Orbi Tri-band Whole Home Mesh WiFi System with 2.2Gbps spe...
(Are users with dementia allowed to post on the forum? Today is not going well for me.)
Got my Tekin Outdoor Plug out of the "Box of Stuff" and could not get the damn thing to connect. Before getting out the Big Hammer, I remember that you have the same WiFi5 Orbi generation as I do.
On the Orbi web interface, Advanced Tab, the bottom menu item (Advanced Settings) has an option for Advanced Wireless Settings:
In those settings is the option to Enable/Disable SSID Broadcast on each of the frequency bands separately. Uncheck the box (Blue arrow above) and press "Apply" at the top. The RBR20 will take about 2 minutes to restart the WiFi radios. (and people think computers are "fast" - ha)
Once the smartphone, do the following:
- Open the network settings and Disconnect from the Orbi WiFi.
- When the list of available settings appears again, Select the Orbi (ORBI71, I believe)
- Once the phone has connected to the Orbi, open the Smart Life app and select the Plus sign to add a device.
- Select manual and select Socket (WiFi)
- Select the Orbi WiFi (ORBI71) and enter the password. Select Next.
- Put the plug into pairing mode by holding the switch until the LED begins to blink rapidly.
- In my case, the plug paired almost immediately.
Once the plug has been setup, reverse things:
- Go back to the Orbi and Enable Broadcast SSID on the 5G network. Click "Apply"
(wait for 2 minutes. Not enough time to do a Rosary, but may enough time to pour a glass of wine) - Disconnect the smartphone from WiFi again, then reconnect to the Orbi WiFi
- Open the Smart Life app and verify that the plug can be controlled.
In their infinite wisdom, Netgear removed this feature from newer Orbi models. Only customers who cling to their aging Orbi can use this technique.
I connected a Teckin outdoor smart plug to an Orbi RBR50 (similar to the RBR20. These are WiFi5 systems, originally released in 2016.)
It has been some time, but I recall no issues with setting up the plug.
(Have since consolidated on the TP-Link brand and the Teckin plug is in my "Box of Stuff that Works")
I would open the Smart Life app.
If the plug was working before, it should still be part of the app, but won't connect because it has been reset (and thus does not know which WiFi system to use). So select the option to Remove Device. (This takes a few steps. Select the plug, which opens a page saying Device Offline. Select the picture of a pencil in the upper right of the screen. Then, scroll the next screen until Remove Device appears at the bottom.
Then, go back to the beginning and select the option to Add a new device and select it from the list of products.
Once the Smart Life app communicates the WiFi information (SSID/password) to the plug, it should find the Orbi WiFi and connect.
Thanks for providing useful information. I believe Teckin is one of the "Good ones."
I've already removed the device.
When I go to Add New Device I select the Socket Wifi and try to add it manually.
At this point the app tells me to Select 2.4 GHz wifi network which I cant seem to figure out how to do
Pick the Orbi WiFi from the list of available systems. BOTH 2.4 AND 5G have the same credentials.
It doesn't let me pick anything I get this when I select the Socket Wifi
the only thing I can click on here is the arrows on the right of the ORBI71
which sends me to the second screen grab.