Orbi not visible for Nefit Easy - solution

[tNoorden]

There is another topic on this forum with a similar title but the presented solution did not work for me. It did find another solution that I wanted to share, but the original topic is closed and does not allow any posts anymore.

My issue was similar to the other post; I have a Nefit Easy smart thermostat. I have been using an Apple Airport WiFi router for years but I recently decided to upgrade to a mesh Wifi for better coverage around the house. After installing the Netgear Orbi I found that the Nefit Easy was not able to see the new WiFi network.

The workaround I found was to temporarily change the channel settings for the 2.4Ghz network. By default it is set to 'automatic'. When I set it to channel 10 the Nefit Easy was able to see the new WiFi network and it was able to connect. When after this I changed back the channel to 'automatic' the Nefit Easy's WiFi connection persisted. 

I guess the issue has to do with broadcasting the SSID. For some reason the device does not pick it up with the channel is automatic. Once connected it apparently does not matter anymore. 

Anyway, hope this helps for the ones that have the same issue.

[tNoorden]

@FlorianM 

[CrimpOn]

---

@tNoorden wrote:

The workaround I found was to temporarily change the channel settings for the 2.4Ghz network. By default it is set to 'automatic'. When I set it to channel 10 the Nefit Easy was able to see the new WiFi network and it was able to connect. When after this I changed back the channel to 'automatic' the Nefit Easy's WiFi connection persisted. 

---

Are you located in a country that allows 2.4G channels 12 & 13?  The reason I ask is that some products are designed for the "US Market" that allows only channels 1-11 and if the WiFi channel is 12 or 13 the product will not detect it.

[tNoorden]

---

@CrimpOn wrote:

---

@tNoorden wrote:

The workaround I found was to temporarily change the channel settings for the 2.4Ghz network. By default it is set to 'automatic'. When I set it to channel 10 the Nefit Easy was able to see the new WiFi network and it was able to connect. When after this I changed back the channel to 'automatic' the Nefit Easy's WiFi connection persisted. 

---

Are you located in a country that allows 2.4G channels 12 & 13?  The reason I ask is that some products are designed for the "US Market" that allows only channels 1-11 and if the WiFi channel is 12 or 13 the product will not detect it.

---

That could be yes. I am in the Netherlands. Nefit - the manufacturer of the thermostat - is a Dutch company origninally. I believe they have been bought by Bosch in 2004. 

[CrimpOn]

---

@tNoorden wrote:

---

@CrimpOn wrote:

---

---

Are you located in a country that allows 2.4G channels 12 & 13?  The reason I ask is that some products are designed for the "US Market" that allows only channels 1-11 and if the WiFi channel is 12 or 13 the product will not detect it.

---

That could be yes. I am in the Netherlands. Nefit - the manufacturer of the thermostat - is a Dutch company origninally. I believe they have been bought by Bosch in 2004. 

---

Wikipedia indicates that Netherlands probably allows 12 & 13:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels 

One would think that a Dutch company would design products to recognize those channels.  A simple test would be to manually select 12 or 13 and "see what happens".  Or, if the thermostat suddenly goes off line, check which channel the Orbi 2.4G is on.  With "auto" it will scan periodically and change channels if the algorithm decided a different channel is "better".  This leads to a fascinating dance when a bunch of nearby WiFi networks are doing the same thing.

Or, I could be totally off on a tangent.