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Forum Discussion
Smart Plug NOT Connecting to Orbi Mesh RBR50 - Main and Satellite
Purchased some smart wifi plugs that are only 2.4 ghz. Orbi was supposed to be this great and automatic mesh system but my smart plugs are not connecting. For someone who is not super techy... I wo...
The best place to start is by identifying the specific product that doesn't work properly and describing at what step in the connection process it fails. I would also look first to their product support site rather than your networking vendor (although Netgear Community members are happy to help). If it doesn't connect to Orbi, it probably doesn't connect to other WiFi brands as well.
The explosion of products connected to WiFi has created a sort of "Wild West" environment where each manufacturer attempts to create a unique ecosystem to provide themselves a competitive advantage (and future revenue!). In the past, only things with keyboards or simple ethernet connections connected to WiFi. Type in some parameters, and it connects. Today, a "wall wart" costing $10 with no input mechanism at all is expected to learn which WiFi access point to use (which may have "hidden" it's SSID) and the password. Some products create their own temporary WiFi access point. Some use Bluetooth for the setup. Some cameras take a picture of the configuration from your phone. The variety is amazing! Netgear only provides the WiFi.
The " requires 2.4G network" seems to scare prople. The product only has a 2.4G radio. If your WiFi is only 5G, it can NEVER connect. Suppose you bought a device and the box said, "requires UK electric socket." You'd say, "well, duh, I can't even plug that in." I'm sure WiFi with only 5G exists, but certainly not very many consumer products.
Reading through these forum posts, users report having success with a number of smart plugs. Which did you get, and how does it fail?
Thank you for asking! I wasn't sure what to post. I purchased the TECKIN Smart Outlet and utilized the "Smart Life" app on my phone. I went through the prompts to connect and got the rapidly blinking light etc, but no connection. No devices would show up on the app. I emailed the TECKIN company and have yet to get a response from them. I was under the impression that orbi was both 5 and 2.4 to optimize connections. I thought that it would work with both. I figured that the ghz was the issue because the app seemed to work, aside from the device not showing up part...
Yeah, I have exactly the same problem as you do. I plugged the Teckin SS31 outlet literally a meter away from my Orbi router(router, not AP, DHCP enabled), and disabled my 5G SSID broadcasting, still doesn't work. I am not sure what went wrong here. Looking for answers from both Netgear and Teckin.
This flood of inexpensive smart plugs is proving to be a challenge for consumers. Yes, the plug itself has only a 2.4G WiFi radio. It is not capable of detecting or connecting to a 5G WiFi signal. If this smart plug functions similarly to other Teckin products, it appears that there is more than one way to configure it. (Did you watch the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtMXyRXKxGQ ) Does your product support both the "Quick" and "AP" methods described in the video?
What seems to happen is the "Smart Life" android app is not able to connect to the 2.4G Techin WiFi access point when the smartphone is connected to a 5G WiFi signal. Apps by Belkin, TP-Link, and Aukey have no problem when the phone is connected to a 5G WiFi, but these other apps do. People have adopted the "turn off 5G WiFi" workaround to force the phone to connect at 2.4G. So, the trick is to get the phone connected to Orbi at 2.4G and then set up the Teckin plug. After it is set up, communication goes through "the cloud", so it no longer matters what band the phone is using. (The phone no longer talks directly to the Teckin. They both talk to the Orbi.)
That's why ekhalil suggested the wisdom of keeping an old 2.4G only phone around. (Verizon offered me $10 tradein for my old phone. I kept it for a paperweight!)