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I'm trying to move all my smart plugs to the GUEST network to isolate traffic. All the smart plugs will only operate on a 2.4GHz wi-fi connection, and the main network had both 2.4 and 5 GHz. I don't see any settings on the Router for the broadcast range for the Guest and have spent an hour trying to get any device to connect. Since multiple models will not connect I'm assuming there is no 2.4GHz for the GUEST? The Router from COMCAST has a setting to configure its GUEST for either option, so have enabled the 2.4 just to connect these devices.
Anyone know are there any settings on this unit to allow GUEST to be only 2.4GHz?
Posting this information here in the event others come searching for a solution to the same problem.
The issue I had was that I reset the pw on my wifi router and needed to re-sync all the Gosund smart plugs to it since they could not longer connect to my wifi with the old pw with which they were originally sync'd.
The Gosund smart plugs can be sync'd/paired via a wifi signal that is broadcast from the plug itself. Instead of putting the plug in a "quick blink" mode (where it is searching for your wifi), you long-press the button again to put it in a "slow blink" mode. Once in slow-blink mode, you will see a new network listed in your wifi connection list called "SmartLifexxxx" which you can select, connect to, and pair the device using an alternate setup procedure.
Here are the steps:
Open the Gosund app
Go into each device, click the edit/setup pencil icon in the top-right of the screen
At the bottom, select "Remove Device", and then select the option to "wipe data". Repeat this process for all plugs that need to be reset
Back at the main screen, press the "+" button to add a new device
Select the socket/plug option
Enter your wifi name and pw
On the "Reset your device" screen, press "EZ Mode" in the top right, which will display a quick-pick menu
Select "AP Mode" from the menu
Plug the device in and confirm it is in 'slow blink' mode and, if not, long-press the button until you get a slow blink
Select "Go to Connect" to bring you to your phone's wifi setting to select the "SmartLifexxxx" wifi connection
Return to the app to complete the device connection
This process worked successfully on all eight of my Gosund plugs. I've attached the screenshots sent to me by Gosund when troubleshooting the issue with them.
Hope this helps the next person that runs into this!
Orbi's broadcast the WiFi SSID on both 2.4G and 5G channels, just like the primary WiFi SSID. There is no option to disable either or the Guest channels. Either Guest is "on" or it is "off".
Did these devices connect successfully to the Orbi's primary WiFi SSID?
I have 3 models of smart wi-fi switches and a 4th smart wi-fi bulb that were all on the Primary Wi-Fi SSID. For over an hour I attempted to put these devices on the GUEST wi-fi without any sucess. Decided to try to add a device to the Guest-2G wi-fi of my network provider Router (has a separate 2G and 4G, but only the 2G is activated). It took a couple of attempts to get each device moved over, but now have all 6 devices moved to this Router. At the end of the month I wanted to disable the wi-fi on the provided router to save myself $5 a month. To do this, I need to move all the devices to the GUEST on the Netgear router
I understand. I would want rid of the ISP router as well.
There is no logical reason for a device which successfully connected to the primary WiFi not to connect to the Guest WiFi.
There have been numerous posts from users wanting to move their Internet of Things (IoT) devices from the primary to the guest WiFi network. My impression is that people believe either (a) the IoT devices are a security threat, or (b) the IoT devices take up bandwidth that should be used by "important" activities. (Would love to learn of other reasons.) My own impression is that IoT devices present much less of a security threat than desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. IoT's do not visit web sites, open email, etc. etc. They consume practically no bandwidth and whatever bandwidth they use is the same no matter which WiFi network they are on.
(That's irrelevant. You want to move them. They should move.)
Would you mind sharing the brand/model of smart plugs and bulbs? I have a box full of smart plugs and bulbs and the same RBR50 router. If I have anything that matches, I'll be happy to pull one out and connect it to my Guest WiFi.
My son specialises in Cypber Security with the Air Force and suggested that should any 3rd party device be compromised they could become a "security issue" for a network. So while this may be unlikely, it is possible and we have heard stories about so many companies having this exact issue.
So the 3 plugs I have are 1. Gosund 2.Avatar and 3. ETEKCITY
The wi-fi bulb has a label > MERKURY
I used the ANDROID apps for these companies on both my Samsung Phone and Tablet and none would connect to the ORBI RBR50 Guest network
(update: The phone and the Tablet connect to the GUEST fine, but times out when trying to add the devices)
Well, fooey. I have none of these in my "box of stuff". Nor do the Gosund or Etekcity appear to be selling on Amazon.
I remain puzzled how a device could be connected to the primary Orbi WiFi network but not to the Guest network. The process seems pretty straightforward:
Open the app and delete the device from the smartphone app.
Connect the smart phone to the Guest WiFi network.
Plug in the device and do whatever it takes to reset the device. (usually hold the on/off button until the LED flashes some pattern)
Open the app and Add a device.
Follow the same process as with the primary network, except entering the SSID/password for the guest network.
After the device has been added, see if it responds to app commands (turn on/off)
Disconnect from the guest network and reconnect to the primary network.
Repeat the on/off test
So this process that worked with the primary WiFi network fails with the Guest network? Did theses devices require any 'tricks' to get connected to the primary network?
First, let me say thanks for looking at this and any suggestions are appreciated.
* the device names did not show up under the app until I added them when connected to the Primary or Comcast Guest network. When I push the reset button for 5 seconds, the device in the app disappears.
Got a wild hair (get a lot of those in my old age) and brought out my old Netgear Range Extender (RE). I put this away when I got the ORBI Mesh network Router as my entire house was then covered.
Connected the RE to the ORBI GUEST WiFi which then broadcast GUEST_2G and GUEST_5G. Connected my tablet to the GUEST_2G and was able to sucessfully connect EVERY device to this network. After getting every device connected, moved my Tablet to the GUEST from Orbi and was unable to connect any device???
UPDATE: I looked at what you said to connect my device to the Primary network and try to input the name for the GUEST. This didn't work, one app refused to let you change it and the other took you to the WiFi setup and changed what you were connected to.
Finally got some time to play with this again and trying to analyze why the GUEST network won't allow any of 4 devies to connect.
1. When trying to connect all devies they warn: Select 2.4GHz WiFi band, 5 GHz is not supported.
2. I'm using a Netgear dual band WiFi Range Extender to connect to the GUEST network.
* The extender broadcasts the GUEST as seperate Guest-2G and Guest-5G
* The Mesh unit only Broadcasts as GUEST, so no way to select the 2G
3. Repeated attempts to connect to GUEST have failed
4. No problems at all connecting to the GUEST on Extender Guest-2G
So looking at these details I'm thinking it is how the Netgear MESH is broadcasting the GUEST?? I have setup the Extender in the middle of the house to allow all devices to connect. This works, but hate having to use another device when the MESH gives a great signel to all areas of the house.
That is odd as Gosund is the most recent purchase from Amazon, bought two 4 packs to standardize most of my plugs and be able to use ONE app most of the time.
1. Gosund Wp5 and uses the Gosund app
2. EtekCity ESW01 and uses the VeSync app
3. Avatar AWP02l-N and uses the Smart Life app
4. Merkury light bulbs use the geeni app
All four devices were on the main Orbi wi-fi without a problem. Have reset all devices multiple times and none will connect to the GUEST. I used to have a Comcast Router (turned it in last week to save $5 a month on my bill), and all devices connected to the GUEST on this Router.
I now have a Netgear Dual Band wi-fi Range Extender (RE) that is connected to the GUEST on the Orbi. All devices connect to GUEST-2G from the RE without a problem. For S&G, after connecting to the RE I reset several of the devices an upteenth time and they still would not connect to GUEST but connect on 1st try back to Guest-2g
(again) my attention went to the wrong part of the problem. I am so used to people wanting to disable the 5G WiFi that I missed the point entirely. (Totally My Bad)
Could you please humor me with two questions:
The smartphone was connected to the Guest WiFi during these connection attempts, correct?
Which option was selected on the Guest WiF? a) Allow Guests to see each other and access the local network, or b) NOT allow Guests to see each other and access the local network?
1. Have used my Phone and Tablet, both were connected to GUEST when trying to setup directly to Orbi, GUEST-2G when they connected to the Range Extender
2. The Orbi Router has the block UNchecked under > allow Guests to see each other and access the local network
I believe this option doesnt matter, becasue all the devices work when connected to the Guest-2G under the Range Extender that is connected to GUEST, so the same rules would apply.
My Guest WiFi requires a password and has the option checked to allow devices to see each other and the primary network.
Pulled out a YI home camera and connected it to Guest WiFi, "no problem." However, cameras are not a fair test because they get set up using a QR code. (Smartphone never connects directly to camera.)
Feeling cocky, got out a TP-Link KASA Smart Plug. "no Problem" Can switch plug on/off when phone is on Guest network and on Primary network. (Note: The TP-Link refused to connect to Guest network when it did not require a password.)
Next, Wyze Smart Plug. "No Problem". Can switch plug on/off when phone is on Guest network and on Primary network.
Eufy Smart Plug Miini. "No Problem". Plug is connected to Guest WiFi. Can switch on/off when phone is connected to Guest or Primary network.
Aukey SH-PA1 Smart Plug. ugly connection process, but then... Fine. Plug is connect to Guest WiFi. I'm not a big fan of this plug. But... can turn plug on/off when phone connected to Guest and primary WiFi.
So, I have successfully connected one camera and four smart plugs to the Orbi guest WiFi. Thus, "Happy"
Have no explanation for what would cause your devices not to connect to the guest WiFi. (What?)
From your post the key difference in our setup is you have > My Guest WiFi . . . has the option checked to allow devices to see each other and the primary network. < Mine does NOT have this option selected as I want to keep the Guest separated from the Main network.
My first thought on this matter is there is NO WAY this can be the issue (my bad) as the Range Extender (RE) is just broadcasting the GUEST with the same rules and I can connect to the RE without a problem.
I have two spare plugs of each brand < 1. Gosund Wp5, 2. EtekCity ESW01, and 3. Avatar > and I used these to test turniing this feature on, to allow GUEST to see each other and the primary network. To my surprise all devices but ONE Gosund unit were able to now connect to GUEST. The one that wouldn't still connects fine to the RE Guest-2G. So having just one that would not connect, I would say this is partially the issue.
I took this a step further and went back to the ORBI Router and unchecked the option to see each other and the Primary network. After a reboot I was suprised to see that all units that connected to GUEST were still working with this now off. So for most of the devices, I could enable this feature, add all to GUEST and then disable it??
It just doesn't make sense to me how having this feature off prevents a device from connecting (still works after connecting) especially when they all connect to the RE with the same rules??
Internet of Things devices are sort of a "Black Hole" in terms of how they get set up*.
(and it is obvious that products and their smartphone apps behave differently)
My hypothesis is that
As part of the original setup, after connecting to the WiFi network, the device attempts to connect to the smartphone app to confirm that they are on the same network. "See, I made it!" After the confirmation, the device then opens a connection to the vendor cloud so that it can be controlled by the app no matter where the smartphone is located.
Thus, after the setup is complete, there is no longer a requirement for the device to connect directly to the smartphone.
This would explain why the "see each other" option being checked will facilitate the original setup process, but not be required for 'normal' operation.
The Range Extender may be "too smart". It 'knows' which devices are connected directly to the RE and can route packets directly between the devices without passing them up to the host access point (then receiving them back again to go to the other device). The RE has no concept of Guest WiFi being 'special' in terms of two states: allow vs. disallow.
* Capturing network traffic to analyze the setup process would be a challenge.
The debug option to "Capture LAN/WAN traffic" will collect any packets that make it to the router, but not any packets that do not make it that far. (Such as if a satellite recognizes the destination device is local, or the RE does that.)
The debug option also does not capture the WiFi management frames used to make the actual device connection to WiFi. So, collecting both the actual WiFi connection and the network traffic requires two WiFi adapters.
I have two spare plugs of each brand < 1. Gosund Wp5, 2. EtekCity ESW01, and 3. Avatar > and I used these to test turniing this feature on, to allow GUEST to see each other and the primary network. To my surprise all devices but ONE Gosund unit were able to now connect to GUEST. The one that wouldn't still connects fine to the RE Guest-2G. So having just one that would not connect, I would say this is partially the issue.
Did you setup the wifi for these using app, with your phone ALSO connected to your GUEST network? If so then there may be something about the app needing to be able to "see" or interoperate with the connected switched once it gets on wifi. When your guest network prevents connectivity with other devices then it breaks something.
This would also explain why such plugs can be connected to the guest network when you temporarily allowed guest network communication during the initial wifi setup, and those plugs continued to work later when you disabled the guest network communication. Because interactivity with your phone was only needed during the initial wifi setup but after that, no longer and the plug can be isolated from then on.
Posting this information here in the event others come searching for a solution to the same problem.
The issue I had was that I reset the pw on my wifi router and needed to re-sync all the Gosund smart plugs to it since they could not longer connect to my wifi with the old pw with which they were originally sync'd.
The Gosund smart plugs can be sync'd/paired via a wifi signal that is broadcast from the plug itself. Instead of putting the plug in a "quick blink" mode (where it is searching for your wifi), you long-press the button again to put it in a "slow blink" mode. Once in slow-blink mode, you will see a new network listed in your wifi connection list called "SmartLifexxxx" which you can select, connect to, and pair the device using an alternate setup procedure.
Here are the steps:
Open the Gosund app
Go into each device, click the edit/setup pencil icon in the top-right of the screen
At the bottom, select "Remove Device", and then select the option to "wipe data". Repeat this process for all plugs that need to be reset
Back at the main screen, press the "+" button to add a new device
Select the socket/plug option
Enter your wifi name and pw
On the "Reset your device" screen, press "EZ Mode" in the top right, which will display a quick-pick menu
Select "AP Mode" from the menu
Plug the device in and confirm it is in 'slow blink' mode and, if not, long-press the button until you get a slow blink
Select "Go to Connect" to bring you to your phone's wifi setting to select the "SmartLifexxxx" wifi connection
Return to the app to complete the device connection
This process worked successfully on all eight of my Gosund plugs. I've attached the screenshots sent to me by Gosund when troubleshooting the issue with them.
Hope this helps the next person that runs into this!
