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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...
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!)
I purchased a Teckin SS31 Outdoor Smart Plug from Amazon. Installed the Smart Life app on my Sony phone (which is connected to the Orbi at 5G). Created an account, got my "confirmation", defined my "Family" (sigh), and was then ready to "Add a Device". Held the button down until the blue light began to flash. It brought up my Orbi SSID. I entered the password. It complain, "Must be a 2.4G network!"
I ignored this and pressed "Continue". "Take THAT", I said aloud, "Orbi has another SSID with that same name and password on 2.4G."
After what seemed like longer than "electronics" should take, my SS31 plug works! I can turn each of the two outlets on or off (or both at one time). I gave it a cool name ("5G Orbi Plug") I have connected to it several times.
So, no fooling around with Orbi settings. No messing with radio signal strength. Just ignore the admonition to use 2.4G and "Continue."
There are at least a dozen products on Amazon which seem to be identical to the Teckin, and all use the same "Smart Life" app. My guess is that inside the plastic, they all came from the same factory and use the same firmware.
