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Forum Discussion
RBK753 why does reset router needed to reconnect dropped device? (Lennox S30 thermostat)
Periodically one of my Lennox S30 thermostats will drop WiFi connection. When I try to reconnect it is unsuccessful and times out. However if I go to the Orbi and do a router reset, and then try to...
I'll try that. Today also I'm having the thermostat hub (it's actual Wifi which is located near the furnace in the attic) moved. The thermostat S30 that you see is merely a display. I'd like the hub moved away from the ductwork and will see if that resolves issues.
As for the number of Sats, the house is 4200 sq ft which doesn't include a 4 car garage and covered patio. Their are Wifi devices around the perimeter of the house so you are really trying to cover about 5000 sq feet single story. The RBR is located on the far right of the house next to the ISP access and modem. RBS1 gets ethernet cable to a location in the middle of the home which also allows further distribution through switches to all the media devices. RBS2 is on the left side of the home and serves devices in the guest wing, patio and garage.
If I still have issues I can try your suggestion.
But I'd like to go back to the original question. When the device has dropped Wifi connection, I can stand there and repeatedly pound in the password for the network, try to connect, and it will timeout. No connection (and yet it sees the network at about -40dBm). However if I go to Orbi and reboot the router and then try to connect....voila...it connects first time. What did rebooting the router suddenly accomplish such that the device will easily connect first attempt?
I have a similar situation with a Bryant (Carrier) Connex thermostat where the thermostat itself houses the wifi. It has a good signal in its location and "sees" the ssid 6 times although it is a 2.4ghz-only device. I only got it connected to the mesh (RBK763) once and that was after rebooting the RBR. Previously with the older RBK753 there were some adjustments that in combination would allow the Connex to connect. The RBK763 however doesn't have all the same options available so I have added a 2.4ghz extender with a different ssid and the Connex has no issue staying connected.
I'd still like to see if I can get it to work without the extender and have a call with Netgear support next week.
titaniumrx8 wrote:
"sees" the ssid 6 times
What this often means is that the device has detected every access point that is broadcasting the SSID. In my case with one router and three satellites, each of them (4) broadcasts Beacon Frames between 5-10 times per second on:
- Primary SSID @ 2.4G
- Primary SSID @ 5G
- Guest SSID @ 2.4G
- Guest SSID @ 5G
So, that is four access points broadcasting four Beacon Frames between 5 and 10 times per second. That comes to between 80 and 160 Beacon Frames every second!
Most WiFi devices hide all this from the user and present only unique SSIDs (primary and guest). Internally, they know which they prefer and will attempt to join if it is selected by the user. My Samsung tablet actually shows all of them, along with the RSSI level of each access point.
If you were lucky enough to have the thermostat located closer to the router than any of the access points, then it is almost trivial to get it connected. Power off everything except the router, the thermostat will show only one SSID and connect to it.
Since this is rarely practical, it might be worth experimenting by deliberately selecting different SSIDs (even though they are identical) until one seems to "work better" than the others.
p.s. That's why the extender gimmick works. The extender broadcasts only one unique SSID, so there is no confusion over which access point the thermostat is connecting to.
I have the RBK853 which is one RBR router and WiFi, and two RBS satellites. The first satellite is hardwired, and the farthest satellite is wireless backhauled.
Both Lennox S30 thermostats are 2.4Ghz only, and they tend to see in their list of networks to connect multiple Primary and Guest. The RBR is on the far right of the house in a walk in closet and that is also the location of the Motorola modem that connects to Comcast. The more difficult to connect Lennox thermostat actually connects to this Primary RBR on 2.4Ghz, but it also sees beacons from RBS1, although not quite as strong. It's currently connected to RBR with an RSSI of -35dbm.
I don't know if it is possible but it would be nice to not have the 2.4Ghz Guest network, and only have a Primary network on 2.4Ghz. All guests that come to the house would be on modern Apple devices with 5Ghz Wifi. The only 2.4Ghz devices on my network are all my devices and connect on the Primary network which also coexists on 5Ghz. I probably still like having both 2.4 and 5Ghz having the same Primary SSID which allows you to go to the extremes of our property where 5ghz might be sketchy and still retain a 2.4Ghz connection.
I still don't understand why rebooting the router fixes the issue when the Lennox thermostats loose connection and won't reconnect. I realize all the IP addresses get reassigned. Lennox makes a great HVAC, but their thermostats have user comments of being finicky on Wifi, and certainly not as resilient as the prior Google Nest thermostats which could loose power during an outage and reconnect easily.
Let me know any hints suggestions, and recommendations you get from your support call with Netgear.
If you were lucky enough to have the thermostat located closer to the router than any of the access points, then it is almost trivial to get it connected. Power off everything except the router, the thermostat will show only one SSID and connect to it.
Even This Doesn't Work. The Last Orbi Allowed Changing The CTS/Rts. That Worked.
