Orbi-Compatible Smart Plugs?

Thanks for your detailed analysis!

Yes, Whirlpool has tried all three connection methods, and none seem to work. Connecting the appliance to the network always works, putting the appliance into "beaconing mode", then pressing the Sync button on the back of either the router or satellite (we tried this method with the satellite off, using the Sync button on the router...and with the satellite on, using the Sync button on the back of the satellite. In both cases, the appliance gets connected to the network just fine...and I can confirm it's on the 2.4GHz band via the Orbi app. We've done this with the 5GHz radio turned off temporarily and my phone connected to the 2.4GHz band (again, verified in the Orbi app).

But no matter what we've done, the end result is always the same....the iPhone says it's unable to connect to the appliance's network.  And, of course, without the iPhone connected to the appliance's network, I'm not able to do anything at all with the appliance's network connectivity.

It's been in this condition for several months now, since purchasing the appliance in February 2018. 

As I've never spoken directly to a software engineer, I suspect the software Whirlpool uses was developed in Asia or eastern Europe. Instead, all interaction with Whirlpool is conducted with their IoT support team in Benton Harbor, MI (a very small team of only 4).

Sounds like and issue between the iphone and the appliance device if the iphone can't even connect to the devices setup wifi signal. 

Do you have a previously used router by chance? 

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OzzzieMike wrote:

Thanks for your detailed analysis!

 

Yes, Whirlpool has tried all three connection methods, and none seem to work. Connecting the appliance to the network always works, putting the appliance into "beaconing mode", then pressing the Sync button on the back of either the router or satellite (we tried this method with the satellite off, using the Sync button on the router...and with the satellite on, using the Sync button on the back of the satellite. In both cases, the appliance gets connected to the network just fine...and I can confirm it's on the 2.4GHz band via the Orbi app. We've done this with the 5GHz radio turned off temporarily and my phone connected to the 2.4GHz band (again, verified in the Orbi app).

 

But no matter what we've done, the end result is always the same....the iPhone says it's unable to connect to the appliance's network.  And, of course, without the iPhone connected to the appliance's network, I'm not able to do anything at all with the appliance's network connectivity.

 

It's been in this condition for several months now, since purchasing the appliance in February 2018. 

 

As I've never spoken directly to a software engineer, I suspect the software Whirlpool uses was developed in Asia or eastern Europe. Instead, all interaction with Whirlpool is conducted with their IoT support team in Benton Harbor, MI (a very small team of only 4).

 

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Page 2-12 of the Whirlpool document says to select, "already connected to WiFi" (which it is) and enter the SAID from the label on the appliance.  It doesn't say anything about "connecting to the appliance."

I often put my ethernet traffic capture program into "promiscuous mode" and capture all the traffic on my LAN (the Orbi has an option to copy everything out one of the ethernet ports).  It would be fun to see if the appliance is talking to Whirlpool's cloud service.  It could be that once you got an IP address for the appliance, it contacted Whirlpool and said, "Hey, this SAID is alive and well.  No idea where I am or who owns me."  Then, when you "register", the Whirlpool cloud says, "oh, yes.  we know that appliance.  We'll add it to your account."

It also might be fun to use a web browser to connect to the appliance through the IP address that it got from the Orbi router.  i.e. when the appliance is broadcasting its own SSID, it has a web server listening at 192.168.10.1.  Wonder if that same server is listening at the new IP?

Alas, no...I do not have another router available.

I've never experienced an issue with the phone's WiFi performance, no matter the location, so although I certainly can't rule it out, I doubt the issue is with my iPhone 8, running the current Apple iOS.

I've attached a couple of screen shots from the phone to show what happens when the phone attempts to connect to the Whirlpool's network. These two screen shots demonstrate what happens every time, no matter the procedure used to connect.

For some reason, only one photo was uploaded before.

Here's the other one that's seen before the failure to join message appears.

I would presume this is a problem with the appliance device and the iPhone. Something the appliance Mfr will have to sort out...

Find a different device, a friends android or a different model iPhone or an iPad and see if you can get any of these connected to the appliance wifi. 

LOL...everyone in my family has iPhones, but there are different models, so I may try using my wife's iPhone 6 and see if the results are different.  (But it's kind of a pain, since I'd still have to turn off the 5GHz radio temporarily even with that phone...and my wife isn't thrilled if she doesn't have her phone available at all times...LOL).

I don't think this is an iOS or iPhone issue or there'd be a TON of complaints out there. I am almost certain it's an issue with mesh routers and/or the Orbi system in particular (but, of course, I don't have the requisite knowledge to confirm this).

Try the beaconing and CTS adjustments I mentioned and see if this might help. 

Also set manual channel 1 or 11 on 2.4Ghz. 

Well tell the wife that you need to disable 5Ghz for just a few minutes while you try and get this device attached, if possible. 

Lower the power output of the 5Ghz radio is all you need to do. Leaving the 2.4Ghz radio at 100%. 

I presume this is more like a appliance device issue. Possible that there drivers don't like MESH wifi. Again, something the devices Mfr will have too look at. 

It's been my experience with IT that it's always the "simple things" that persistently go wrong and take hours (and hours) to resolve.  Pretty ambitious for a microwave to be Internet connected.

I'm still hung up on, "why attempt to connect to the MICRO_xxxxx network in the first place?"  The thing is connected to the router, has an IP, and can talk to Whirlpool if it wants to.  That's how my security cameras allow access without setting up dynamic IP.  They open an connection to the camera company which allows it to know where they are.

Is there a way to "add a device" WITHOUT connecting to it?  i.e. Page 2-8 and page 2-12 say the same thing: check the box that says, "already connected to the Internet", enter the SAID, and go on? 

Not to beat the 5G dead horse, but do you DISCONNECT your iPhone from WiFi completely BEFORE trying to connect to the microwave?  I notice the message says "Whirlpool is attempting..."  I know that apps can listen to WiFi, but I don't know that an app can connect to a different AP at the same time the iPhone is connected to a different AP.

To answer a couple of questions here....

• After temporarily turning off the 5GHz radio, I made sure I rebooted my phone, after which it connected to the 2.4GHz band.
• I may try all of this again using my wife's phone, but will probably have to wait until the weekend for that.

At this point, though, I have to weigh the benefits of working on this more or just letting it die and operate the microwave just as I have been....as a regular microwave. LOL.

I've looked at the iOS app store reviews for the Whirlpool app, and it doesn't fare well. Seems to be a lot of disconnects, app not connecting, updates breaking things, latency issues...just to name a few. So I don't think I'm the only one having issues with it...but I don't see a ton of issues in the app store regarding connecting the phone to the appliance.

The sad thing is that, several months ago when I was in a support session with Whirlpool, their tech told me she was pretty sure they had an Orbi system where she was located. If Whirlpool truly cared to find out if Orbi is the problem or not, they'd be able to test it easily...but since they haven't, I suspect it's not on their priority radar screen.

When you rebooted your phone and it connected to 2.4G, did you "disconnect" so that it was not connected to ANY access point before trying to run the Whirlpool app?

p.s. I looked at the Android Whirlpool app.  Same thing.  1 star reviews outnumber 4-5 stars 10 to 1.  NOT a good sign.  With that many unhappy users, it looks like you indeed have an "ordinary microwave."

By "disconnect", I assume you mean that, after rebooting, I should turn WiFi off on my phone, and not turn it on again until I'm ready to go thru the iPhone setup process?  (Because it's never been able to "connect" to the appliance, which is what I've been faced with thus far).

If that's what you mean, I'll try that during my next session with Whirlpool. (Though I'm not sure if there's any difference between doing that and rebooting the phone after turning off the 5GHz radio, in which case the phone will automatically connect to the 2.4GHz band?)

I have no idea if this makes a difference (or not).  What I'm trying to say is that our phones and tablets automatically connect to any WiFi access point that they remember as soon as they wake up.  Turn it on, and it's connected to your WiFi in seconds.  Then, the Whirlpool app starts up, finds at least one Wirlpool access point (SSID starting with MICRO....) and tries to connect.  What does the phone say?  "Hey, I'm talkin' here!"  (Sorry, can't do the Brooklyn accent on the computer.)  "Butt out!"  Or, does the phone say, "well, heck, I guess I should disconnect from that WiFi and reconnect to this Whirlpool WiFi.  Hmmm. No Internet there, can't find a DNS, won't give me a DHCP, heck with this"  I have no idea.

I'm still hung up on WHY the Whirlpool app makes you go through this after you have used WPS to connect the appliance.  The appliance has an IP address, knows where the gateway is (192.168.1.1), knows where the DNS servers are, and can talk to Whirlpool all it wants.  I think the Whirlpool app should let you select the option, "Appliance ALREADY connected to Internet." and proceed to registering it.

Please let us know what Whirlpool says.

OzzzieMike

One crazy thought in an "if it was me" moment. I still have my old router. I also retained the same SSID from that router to the Orbi. I would drag out my Asus RT-AC68U, pull the internet plug on the Orbi, fire up the old unit, cycle my phone hook up. I can manipulate the Asus to broadcast bands how I want. I would then go through all the set up for the appliance knowing my phone was hooked up to the 2.4GHz signal. When done, hopefully the appliance would then hook up to the SSID 2.4GHz signal for the Orbi. Not sure if any of this is possible with you, but just wanted to let you know what I would try if all the other things had failed. Just a thought.

Yeah...but even if I had my old router (Apple Airport Extreme) I don't think I had the ability to either separate the SSIDs between frequencies or turn off the 5GHz band (but it's been quite a while since I dug into that...might be wrong).

The puzzling thing to me is that even though the phone and microwave are on the 2.4GHz network, somehow the Whirlpool app (or my phone?) thinks they're on different networks. (I think this is what's happening...no idea if that's truly the case or not).

What will be interesting (to me, anyway) is how the setup goes with the TP Link Kasa smart plug that should arrive later this evening.  It, too, is a 2.4GHz device, but was recommended here, so I'm thinking it should connect just fine to the Orbi. And if this device connects (and I can talk to it thru the app on my phone that's connected to the 5GHz band) then what do they do differently?

LOL...I'd no sooner finished posting my last message than the doorbell rang, and my TP-Link Kasa smart plug was delivered.

15 minutes after delivery this plug is now configured and works fine. (Using it to control our christmas tree lights). (Would have been quicker but it had to update the firmware on the plug).

And, although the plug is on the 2.4GHz band and my phone is on the 5GHz band, the setup was flawless, including linking it to our Amazon Echo.

So, obviously, TP-Link knows something Whirlpool doesn't! 

OK...just got off the phone with Whirlpool, and I'm now able to connect to the appliance via the app on my iPhone.  I was told their engineers did something at their end...but what exactly was done I've no idea.

Prior to calling them, of course, I had turned off the 5GHz radio on the Orbi, and ensured my iPhone was connected to the 2.4GHz band.

The support tech did notice some things weren't exactly right with what I was seeing in the app, and was told they'd be back in touch with me once they sort that out.

So now, after a mere 6 months, the microwave connects to my iPhone as designed!

Like you, my TP-Link Mini Smart Plug 105 arrived. Used my Android phone (on 5G), downloaded Kasa app, and in 15 minutes the smart plug is working.  Total breeze.  I like that it takes up only a single wall outlet, leaving the other free.  Am not thrilled about the "snap" sound it makes when turning on and off (guess it's a mechanical relay of some sort).  I use a wireless switch for the Christmas tree (so the gradkids can "blow" and turn the tree off at night), but I'll find a use somewhere.

MEROSS smart plugs work extremely well and 100% reliably for me - I have 3 of them.

Agree that the relatively soft selonoid trip with the Kasa plugs and switches was a bit of a surprise for me, but I presume since they decded to use a mehanical switch it was for the sake of reliability. Due to the current they are rated for and potentially could carry, electronic switches such as in light bulbs - that are a known and consistent wattage - might not handle current that was put through a wall switch or outlet. I installed a couple of wall switches (again, the set up of the switch itself - other than the physical installation - was a breeze and connected with no problem to the Orbi network) and both have a very muted activation sound but it is not really audible unless you are right next to the switch.