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Agra's avatar
Agra
Aspirant
Aug 16, 2018

Outdoor smart plug that works with 5Ghz Orbi?

Hi,
I'm trying to hook up my patio lights through an outdoor smart plug. I can't get the plug to connect to the wifi because they all say they're 2.4Ghz only. I know that or I assigns 2.4 and 5 automatically depending on the connected device. The thing is that in order to setup the device, it needs to connect through the phone (Pixel 2XL) which is 5Ghz.

Does anyone know about an outdoor smart plug that works with 5Ghz (preferably without an additional hub) or how to get my phone to use 2.4Ghz just for a while so I can connect the plug?

Thanks.
Troubleshooting

5 Replies

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  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru
    Aug 16, 2018

    What FW is currently loaded?.

    What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
    Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
    Try disabling the following and see:
    MIMO, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6. Change the CTR/RTS threshold values for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (2341 and 2345 respectively), changed preamble modes to long preamble, and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only.  Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

    • Agra's avatar
      Agra
      Aspirant
      Aug 16, 2018
      Thanks.
      FW is 2.1.4.16
      I don't even know what those options mean and how they'll effect my wifi in general. I have 3 neighbors about 100 ft away.
  • Dozer461's avatar
    Dozer461
    Aspirant
    Dec 09, 2018

    Connecting smart devices to the Orbi can be a pain. The only real solution that's worked for me has involved Geeni and Merkury products. I picked up an old android 4.2 phone for like $20 on Amazon. This will only connect to 2.4, then I was able to set up all of the smart devices from these brands with no issue, other brands including Etekcity wouldn't work. Then once its setup everything shows up in the Geeni app on my personal phone and it was easy to send it all over to Google Home, even though these two phones were on different networks. 

     

    I know there's a way to manually edit the network to allow you to add things but I also know some of us do not want to mess around with the network in that way. This is the only solution I've come across otherwise. 

    • ekhalil's avatar
      ekhalil
      Master
      Dec 09, 2018

      You can also try reducing the 5GHz transmission power found under >> ADVANCEDZ >> Advanced Setup >> Wireless Settings >>.

      Reduce the power to force the phone to connect to the 2.4 GHZ network and complete the setup.