Christmas light can't connect to 2.4ghz on my Orbi RBR50

[Sd82-M]

Hi Netgear community,

I am not an experienced user of wi-fi configurations and setup.

I have these Christmas lights that I have been connecting to from the app to the wi-fi to the lights. After we went to our cable company for a replacement wi-fi router cause the one that came with the apartment stopped working. We set it up per the instructions. We then tried to connect to the lights and now the lights app says not able to work on 5ghz needs 2.4ghz.

Any help will be greatly appreciated and will make my kids happy to see the lights working.

I also have no windows or mac pc to make changes if need to. I only have access to my chrome book, android tablet and android phone.

Thank you

[CrimpOn]

It would be helpful to know the brand/model of Christmas lights so that we can look up the specs and setup instructions.

Is it correct to assume that the lights were connected to the Orbi WiFi system rather than to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) device?  (would be helpful also to know what that device is)

These lights were working previously, before the ISP device was replaced?

p.s. A Chromebook is a suitable device to access the Orbi web interface and run the Orbi 'app'.  We 'old-timers' prefer a computer that is wired to the router, but a WiFi connected device with the Chrome browser works fine.

[Luke12345]

I’m having the same probably with the XMcosy outdoor lights. They were connected. I had to reset one and now I can’t connect it. Keeps timing out. Says I need 2.4 connection.

[CrimpOn]

Which specific XMCosy+ product is this? (Amazon has LOTS of lights by XMcosy+)

Yes, it is true that the product contains a WiFi radio which is capable only of 2.4G connection.  As their FAQ points out, 2.4G WiFi has greater usable range than 5G WiFi. (In addition, such products require almost zero bandwidth and 2.4G WiFi chips are CHEAPER than 5G chips.)  Thus, the product cannot detect if there are 5G WiFi systems nearby (or 6G, or AM radio, television, etc.)

A common problem with Internet of Things (IoT) products is poorly written smartphone apps.  Rather than simply convey the WiFi credentials (SSID/password) to the device, the app attempts to "be smart".  Either it (a) detects that the smartphone is connected to 5G WiFi and assumes that the credentials for 2.4G must be different.  The app then complains and will not proceed.  Or, the app tries to tell the device the hardware MAC address of the WiFi system, which is different for 2.4G and 5G - and thus the device cannot find the WiFi.

Since these IoT devices have no keyboard to enter WiFi credentials with and have no camera that can be pointed at a QR code, almost all of them create their own tiny WiFi access point with a unique name. The IoT app looks for a suitable WiFi access point and connects to it.  During this process, the access point will be visible to any device looking for a WiFi connection.  It might be useful to perform another reset of the product (holding down whatever button is required, or whatever) and start over.  (maybe that first reset did not work completely)

On the RBR50 product, there is an option on the web interface, Advanced Tab, Advanced Settings, WiFi settings to disable broadcasting the SSIS on 5G:

If you uncheck that box, click "Apply" at the top of the page, and wait for the Orbi WiFi to restart then you can:

• On the smartphone disconnect from the Orbi WiFi
• Count to 10 (say a Mantra)
• Select the Orbi WiFi, enter the password, and connect
• Open the smartphone app and go through the setup process.
• After the IoT device is working correctly, go back and re-enable the SSID broadcast on 5G