Connecting Smart Plugs

[robertkent87]

I've recently switched to Vodafone broadband and I can't connect any of my smart plugs to the new network. My previous network worked fine - you reset the devices and put them in pairing mode, select your network (2.4Ghz required) and the phone app finds them. With my new Vodafone router the smart devices are never found, I've tried both 24/5 Ghz mode and 2.4Ghz only mode. I'm not sure what's wrong.

[HappyNomad]

Your Router has probably selected 2.4Ghz Channel 12 or 13 with smart plugs that can only see up to channel 11.  (My own smart plugs only have the 2.4 Ghz band - no 5 Ghz connectivity).

Unfortunately, I think you can't manually change wifi channels any more either via the router UI or the Vodafone app.   Not sure what the answer to that is - sorry.

[robertkent87]

That's crazy if true - so my best bet is a 3rd party router?

Edit: Just installed a Wifi analyser on my phone - my network appears to be channel 9 - 13 on 2.4 GHz

[Jayach]

It shouldn't be on multiple channels. You can see what channel it is on via the Status&Support tab on the router interface.(scroll down)

[robertkent87]

Channel 11

[Jayach]

Then your problem isn't the wifi channel. (but it might be in the future as they change)

[robertkent87]

I tried setting up a split wifi network on 2.4 GHz only but that didn't work either.

[robertkent87 · Accepted solution]

I've found out how to connect with AP mode instead of EZ mode and that appears to work - I've reconnected two so far.

Edit: That's all them connected now. For anyone who comes across this in the future, these are the steps I followed:

1. Power down the plug for 10 seconds
2. Power on the Plug
3. On the Plug HOLD down the button for 5s (flashes fast)
4. Then again on the Plug HOLD down the button for 5s (Flashes slow ) this is AP mode, which generates a Wi-Fi hub.
5. In the app select Plus to add device
6. Select Socket Wi-Fi
7. Enter the your WIFI password
8. Then switch to AP mode from EZ Mode (default) - top right corner of the app screen
9. Follow the instructions when asked to change network
10. Change the network to 'Smart life xxxx' (Generated by the plug so may be different names)
11. Press back (to app) and scan will find the plug and re-attach it to the network with its existing name

[zorgster]

This is the same also with a Smart thermostat I bought. And Roku.

I bought a cheap TP Link extender because WiFi coverage was very low in places... but actually that works quite well as an Access Point wired into the Vodafone Router..

it would solve these issues because it doesn't use ch12 or 13.

You can pick up a sufficient TPLink from Argos for under £20... set it up without DHCP, wired in, with it's own SSID (and password)... and connect all old equipment to it, leaving the 2.4GHz/5GHz switching WiFi to your PCs, TVs and other devices.  The downside - extra cables, power socket... more boxes...

[Dougster]

When I moved my broadband contract from Sky to Vodafone last week (due to tempting discount for mobile users), I was rather shocked to see that my new Vodafone router (THG3000) was not working properly with my TP-Link powerline adaptors. And while the Sky router (SR102) had been working pretty well, the range of the Vodafone router itself was extremely disappointing as you say, and as noted in many places on this forum. The powerline adaptors were working intermittently if at all.

After checking some internet posts including on this forum, I decided to try to connect my old Sky router to the Vodafone one and link the sky router with the TP-Link connectors. It has worked really well and was much simpler than I had feared.

However, I’m not sure I have used all the right settings. Here’s what I did (might not be exactly in sequence!) for anyone to comment or improve on, or if it’s any help:

• Disabled wi-fi on new Voda router

On old Sky Router:

• Named an SSID and set up a password; on Advanced/LAN IP Setup page - inserted IP address of 192.168 1.2 (Voda router is 192.168.1.1) and unticked “use router as DCHP server”; unchecked “Enable IPv6 on LAN side”.

Using the LAN sockets, linked the two routers by a short cable, linked the Sky router with the base TP-Link powerline plug, and linked the PC to the Sky router – although that last link seemed to work fine on the Voda one too.

Finally, used the TP utility to link each of my powerline wi-fi adaptors to the Sky SSID.

The only thing that puzzles me is that the PC ethernet connection has the name of the Sky SSID, regardless of which router it’s connected to.

Hope this is helpful. Do I now have the best of both worlds? Or might this setup be insecure or unstable over time?