Recently purchased a Generac standby generator that comes with Mobile Link to monitor generator status.I have the Nighthawk MR80 base station with two satellites. Base is in the house and the last sat is in the garage about ten feet from the generator.Generator uses the 2.4 band for communication. Set this up no problem and it ran for two weeks just fine. Since then it has had several interuptions. Have spent many hours on phone with their tech support. They claim I needed dedicated 2.4 band for the generator and maybe it doesn't like mesh network systems but they weren't 100% sure about that. Went into my settings and created customized 2.4 band just has the gen on it. Very easy. Since then I can connect the gen to the custom band and it will run fine seemingly but I keep gettting notifed by their app that the gen is disconnected from the WIFI. If I check the generator it shows connected with 70% wifi strength. They are telling me its a problem with the mesh system and a 2.4 range extender would work better. I'm not sure a range extender from the base station which is 100 feet away would really work.Any ideas what I may be doing wrong?Suggestions?

What is the distance between this one device and the MR or nearest MS satellite? Possible there app could be saying the devices is off line incorrectly while it's online or the device could be ping ponging around and not staying locked on to one wifi signal source, i.e. MR or MS. Placement of the MR and MS and distances between them is important. Do you have any MS deployed and if so, how many and what is the distance between the MS, each other and in between the MS and MR...

The distance between the MR and the first MS is about 45 feet. From that MS to the next one is about 100 feet. The generator is about 10 feet from the last MS. Have a solid four bars at the generator nearest the MS.Fast.com speed test is about 60 MBps on the custom 2.4 band.Only the one MR and two MS units.I have a tv in the garage is why one unit is so far away and that MS supplies signal to the Tv and the firestick. They work fine.Their tech dept just emailed me and tell me that the gen does not work with mesh units like EERO. What is strange is that for two weeks while I was gone this system was running fine. That was before I customized the 2.4 band just for its use.Currently the gen says it has 70% WIFI signal which tech support says it can run on as little as 18-20%. Their app says thier is no WIFI.

100 feet maybe a bit of a stretch between 1st and 2nd MS. Possible this distance could be a factor. Is the device working ok and it's app just not liking the MESH system? Unless the device is doing some heavy traffic, 60Mpbs should good enough for this device. There app maybe limited or more restrictive in how it's detecting it's device thru the MESH system.

Suddenly this afternoon it was working when I got home.After that I moved the MS closer to base so its only 60 feet now. Generator still shows 70% signal which they say is fantastic.Now they trying to tell me they think it was in the middle of a firmware update is why it dropped out. After I bought a range extender they insisted would be better thant he mesh signal.Is the Netgear AC1200 range extender better than trying satellite to the garage? How would I just get that to run off the MS?Isn't a range extender basically the same thing as the MS?

Lboomer wrote: Now they trying to tell me they think it was in the middle of a firmware update is why it dropped out. After I bought a range extender they insisted would be better thant he mesh signal. Who are "they"? Firmware updates involve a reboot. A satellite on the edge of its range might well lose the connection. Don't spend more money until you have confirmed that you need to. Is the Netgear AC1200 range extender better than trying satellite to the garage? Which one? AC1200 is not a reliable guide to model number. Many devices come with an AC tag, but it is essentially a label that Netgear, and other brands, attach to hardware to describe wifi speeds. Several extenders support Mesh WiFi 6.

Trouble stayting connected to 2.4 customized band.

17 Replies

FURRYe38
Guru - Experienced User
Oct 06, 2023
What is the distance between this one device and the MR or nearest MS satellite?

Possible there app could be saying the devices is off line incorrectly while it's online or the device could be ping ponging around and not staying locked on to one wifi signal source, i.e. MR or MS. Placement of the MR and MS and distances between them is important.

Do you have any MS deployed and if so, how many and what is the distance between the MS, each other and in between the MS and MR...
- Lboomer
  Aspirant
  Oct 06, 2023
  The distance between the MR and the first MS is about 45 feet. From that MS to the next one is about 100 feet. The generator is about 10 feet from the last MS. Have a solid four bars at the generator nearest the MS.
  Fast.com speed test is about 60 MBps on the custom 2.4 band.
  Only the one MR and two MS units.
  I have a tv in the garage is why one unit is so far away and that MS supplies signal to the Tv and the firestick. They work fine.
  Their tech dept just emailed me and tell me that the gen does not work with mesh units like EERO.
  What is strange is that for two weeks while I was gone this system was running fine. That was before I customized the 2.4 band just for its use.
  Currently the gen says it has 70% WIFI signal which tech support says it can run on as little as 18-20%. Their app says thier is no WIFI.
  - FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User
    Oct 06, 2023
    100 feet maybe a bit of a stretch between 1st and 2nd MS. Possible this distance could be a factor.
    
    Is the device working ok and it's app just not liking the MESH system?
    
    Unless the device is doing some heavy traffic, 60Mpbs should good enough for this device.
    
    There app maybe limited or more restrictive in how it's detecting it's device thru the MESH system.

Forum Discussion

Trouble stayting connected to 2.4 customized band.