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Nighthawk X6S Mesh Extender - no devices ever connect to it?
I have set up my new Nighthawk X6S Tri-Band Mesh Extender. Everything seems to be correct according to the admin page but the device has been turned on for hours now and no devices have connected to it. When I take my phone and tablet away from the range of my main router and into the range of the extender, the devices seem to show some increased WiFi range but if I try and connect my Android phone just says "Connecting..." and then not connected and then keeps trying over and over.
I wanted to use this extender to help provide extra range to 2x WiFi cameras outside my house but both cameras also do not connect and just stay connected to the old router showing low signal.
I have 5 devices in total currently sat outside or low range of my main router but should I hope be in range of the extender yet on this screen it seems to suggest no devices connect to it.
Not sure what to do :(. Maybe unit is broken or have I missed something? I have attatched an image of how the admin page looks. Appreciate any wisdom 🙂
Re: Nighthawk X6S Mesh Extender - no devices ever connect to it?
Try this.
Rerun your installation assistant. (might need to factory reset to do so).
during the install, uncheck "extend 2.4ghz" during setup.
You'll still be able to use the 2.4ghz but it disables using it as a failover backhaul between router/extender.
2.4ghz is slow and sensitive to interference. Relying on just the wider/faster 5ghz backhaul is usually a better option.
Then, during the install, leave the "enable smart connect" option enabled. Then devices should roam between the 2.4ghz and the 5ghz as needed.
Once thats all done and its installed, power off the camera's and back on.
Sadly, if you're using the one wifi feature, it relies on the device (phone/table/camera) own roaming protocol (and they're not always that smart) to choose whether to connect to the router or extender. Sometimes you have to give the devices a bit or a few reboots/reconnects before it'll swap. If it doesn't work, you can always disable "one wifi" and then manually choose which one to connect to.
Again, its sad because a lot relies on the camera/phones own protocol to choose.
Re: Nighthawk X6S Mesh Extender - no devices ever connect to it?
A couple things.
1. I don't think you set it up in mesh mode as from your picture, you have seperate ssid's from 2.4ghz/5ghz. That means devices won't roam the same as mesh mode. (tough to tell as you didn't include all the info)
2. did you set it up using the installation assistant? Or wps?
3. do hardwired devices connect to the ex8000 and work?
1. I don't think you set it up in mesh mode as from your picture, you have seperate ssid's from 2.4ghz/5ghz. That means devices won't roam the same as mesh mode. (tough to tell as you didn't include all the info)
2. did you set it up using the installation assistant? Or wps?
3. do hardwired devices connect to the ex8000 and work?
1. I think it is in Mesh mode, the reason there are two SSID's is my router has 2x SSID's it has one SSID for 2.4ghz and another for 5ghz.
I used the "sync settings from router" option.
2. Set up was done initially from the wizard, not WPS.
3. Just connected a device via hardwire and it seems to have internet connection fine.
Have added another screenshot of wireless settings page.
Re: Nighthawk X6S Mesh Extender - no devices ever connect to it?
Try this.
Rerun your installation assistant. (might need to factory reset to do so).
during the install, uncheck "extend 2.4ghz" during setup.
You'll still be able to use the 2.4ghz but it disables using it as a failover backhaul between router/extender.
2.4ghz is slow and sensitive to interference. Relying on just the wider/faster 5ghz backhaul is usually a better option.
Then, during the install, leave the "enable smart connect" option enabled. Then devices should roam between the 2.4ghz and the 5ghz as needed.
Once thats all done and its installed, power off the camera's and back on.
Sadly, if you're using the one wifi feature, it relies on the device (phone/table/camera) own roaming protocol (and they're not always that smart) to choose whether to connect to the router or extender. Sometimes you have to give the devices a bit or a few reboots/reconnects before it'll swap. If it doesn't work, you can always disable "one wifi" and then manually choose which one to connect to.
Again, its sad because a lot relies on the camera/phones own protocol to choose.
Rerun your installation assistant. (might need to factory reset to do so).
during the install, uncheck "extend 2.4ghz" during setup.
You'll still be able to use the 2.4ghz but it disables using it as a failover backhaul between router/extender.
2.4ghz is slow and sensitive to interference. Relying on just the wider/faster 5ghz backhaul is usually a better option.
Then, during the install, leave the "enable smart connect" option enabled. Then devices should roam between the 2.4ghz and the 5ghz as needed.
Once thats all done and its installed, power off the camera's and back on.
Sadly, if you're using the one wifi feature, it relies on the device (phone/table/camera) own roaming protocol (and they're not always that smart) to choose whether to connect to the router or extender. Sometimes you have to give the devices a bit or a few reboots/reconnects before it'll swap. If it doesn't work, you can always disable "one wifi" and then manually choose which one to connect to.
Again, its sad because a lot relies on the camera/phones own protocol to choose.
@plemans Thanks for your help with this. I tried factory reset and unchecking 2.4ghz for extend but had the same issues. In the end I did your last suggestion of disabling One WiFi and setting a new SSID. I have now got the cameras connected ok 🙂
Its a shame the roaming does not seem to work but I understand what you say and that it is not perfect science and down to the devices how they roam.
I'm happy now I have the devices I want connected albeit not with one wifi/roaming.
Re: Nighthawk X6S Mesh Extender - no devices ever connect to it?
Another option you can try if you want to get the "one wifi" feature working is to leave it enabled but go into the primary router and turn its 2.4ghz/5ghz broadcast power down. Then reboot the cameras. If the primary router doesn't reach that far, it should force them to connect to the extender. Once connected, if their roaming protocols are that strict, you should then be able to turn the broadcast power back up and have them stay connected to the extender (or thats the hope).
