BG smartsockets wont connect to wifi

[Gary29]

dear sir have just got router from vodaphone and broadband , broadband all works fine but wont connect to BG smart sockets so my former smart home is no longer smart any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Ripshod]

The theory goes that if you use the same ssid and password on the new router things will just work.

Practically though the vf router is indeed a strange beast. 

[CrimsonLiar]

If you feel the need to reset the BG smart sockets just hold down the power buttons for about 5 seconds until the button surrounds start to flash.  If you can't then set them up the conventional way, connect your phone to the WiFi network SSID that the socket broadcasts, and set them up in AP mode.  You'll need to enter the SSID and WiFi password for the router, but it should work pretty easily!

[Gary29]

crimsonLiar

Thanks for your reply, when I try to use AP mode app defaults to no internet connection and dous nothing, looked up using AP setup and can find very little info on how to do it, in the mean time have phoned Vodafone technical help and told sorry we carnt help you with this issue, all worked well with my old internet router, wishing id left well alone as my lovely smart home is now scrapped off for 2 years during the coontract, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[CrimsonLiar]

I was going to be a real smart alec and so decided to go through step by step....  Start the process and the app has changed (not for the better), such that you now need to connect the device running the app to the router on a 2.4GHz channel and can't go straight to connecting to the socket in AP mode!  Without splitting the SSIDs which I understand can be difficult on the THG3000 and is something I don't want, the only way I could get this working was to set up a secondary phone as a hotspot mirroring the router SSID and password.

This was not s step forward - once you get these working though, they are well worth it!  I've paid for these, use them every day and enjoy them.

*This is different to the odd position on TAPO/TP-Link devices as I've received a number FOC and need to be more careful in future about how I reference them!

[Jayach]

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@CrimsonLiar wrote:

Start the process and the app has changed (not for the better), such that you now need to connect the device running the app to the router on a 2.4GHz channel and can't go straight to connecting to the socket in AP mode!  Without splitting the SSIDs which I understand can be difficult on the THG3000 and is something I don't want,

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Once you have set them up, you can then re-join the bands.

[Gary29]

Thanksfor reply

tried work round couldent do it as soon as you create wifi hotspot phone switches off vodafone wifi, will create hotspot with sky phone broadband must be router not allowing this, its imposible vodafone appears to block you every whitchway

[Ripshod]

You don't need a wifi connection to connect with a hotspot - in fact it's better to switch the router wifi off until you've completed the setup.

The idea is to use your hot-spot to spoof the vodafone wifi ssid and password and connect your smart devices to your hot-spot. Once setup is done disable the hotspot, enable the router wifi and it should connect straight away thinking it's the same WiFi (within reason).

The alternative is to buy your own third party router. 

[CrimsonLiar]

It is still possible to get to the AP pairing mode on the switches, it's just they've changed the app a little very recently.  I've put the method in the parallel post!

[CrimsonLiar]

So heads up on this, the AP mode on the BG sockets is still there, you just get to it a different way.  So if you start by getting the sockets into standard pairing mode (rapid flashing rings) by pressing the buttons for 5 seconds.  After releasing the buttons continue to press the buttons until the rapid flash changes to an intermittent flash.  The socket is now in AP pairing mode, and you can use your phone to log into a WiFi connection created by the socket, the app when you run it should recognise this and allow you to set the sockets up.  The setup should spot the router SSID and potentially initiate WPS on the router to make the connection easier, otherwise, you'll need to enter the password manually.

*Personally if you are going to use WPS, I'd turn it off after you use it since it does off a very simple means to bypass the router WPA security!