Forum Discussion

theyoungsavage's avatar
theyoungsavage
On our wavelength
3 months ago
Solved

Unable to scan connect pod?

My wifi signal (downstairs) has been glitchy for a few weeks and now has given up the ghost. The hub is upstairs (2nd floor) in an old house (~130yrs) that seems to absorb wifi signals, even with a pod coverage was always poor, (four smart bulbs on front door lights have never all paired successfully), and so ground floor in the house is a tech free zone and the first floor is a hit or miss area.
So... I loaded up VM Connect and run a scan with the result that it is "Unable to scan connect pod". The pod had always felt excessively hot and now doesn't, but the front LED is lit up (I've switched it on and off several times but still no joy) so I'm wondering if it's kaput and decide to call 150 for some tech support advice. And that's as far as I get. The closest option I could find on the electronic triage system was 'broadband fault' but selecting this results in a warning that the whole system is going to be temporarily shut down - which is not the tech advice I was looking for. All I needed was to talk to an actual human being and I'm pretty sure my issue could have been sorted quickly, but I couldn't find that option in the list of topics available? So what am I supposed to do now? Suggestions welcome.

  • Steven_L's avatar
    Steven_L
    2 months ago

    You're very welcome theyoungsavage, glad that we could help to get this resolved for you. Please do let us know if you have any further issues.

    Kind Regards,

    Steven_L

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    3 months ago

    Test the VM Pod by moving it into the same room as the VM Hub.
    If the VM Pod still fails to connect it may be faulty.

    VM Pods also fail to work if these conditions are not met :

    1) VM Hub in Router
    2) VM Hub has Smart Wi-Fi Enabled
    3) SSID of 2.4 & 5GHz must be the same ( split SSID is not supported )
    4) Wi-Fi must be configured for encryption with a password set.  ( E.g. Security WPA2-PSK )
    5) Password of 2.4GHz & 5GHz Wi-Fi must be the same

    • theyoungsavage's avatar
      theyoungsavage
      On our wavelength
      3 months ago

      Thanks for the reply Client62. The pod was working fine until a couple of weeks ago when my wifi signal started to fail intermittently. The pod is in the same location that it has always been, and the hub has not moved either nor had any settings changed. I tried last night to connect my firestick to the wifi and it worked on and off for 2 or 3 minutes at a time - this is the same symptom that drove me to use the VM Connect app to check the wifi coverage.
      The real frustration is not being able to contact anyone in tech support. In the past, these forums have been much more effective at solving problems that calling 150..

      • Alex_RM's avatar
        Alex_RM
        Forum Team
        3 months ago

        Hi theyoungsavage,

        Thanks for posting, and sorry to hear you've been having some issues with the pods. I've had a look at things from our side and everything looks to be connected and working.

        Can you please confirm if you're still experiencing issues since you last posted?

        Alex_Rm

  • Tudor's avatar
    Tudor
    Very Insightful Person
    2 months ago

    With a house like yours, about the same as mine, the only real answer is to Ethernet cable the pods back to the VM hub and then you can have the pod I the area where the target is located. Normally for the pods the work correctly in a mesh setup they must be equal distance from the hub and the target. Really to get the best signal I would ditch the pods and get some good quality Wireless Access Points. I get no lower than 60dBm on the 5Ghz band in all locations of my home.

    • theyoungsavage's avatar
      theyoungsavage
      On our wavelength
      2 months ago

      That sounds like a really good approach, I didn't realise that the pods could be connected by ethernet. Sadly my hub is up in the converted loft, 2 flights above the pod and it won't be feasible for me to run a cable. I tried the hub on the first floor to see if it worked better theoretically getting a stronger wifi signal from the hub but the resulting wifi on the ground floor was too poor and so I settled for the pod being further from the hub but nearer the TVs etc...

      • Tudor's avatar
        Tudor
        Very Insightful Person
        2 months ago

        Well I have my VM hub under the stairs with my router and a network switch in the loft and also the fibre for my second ISP line comes into the loft. It’s fairly easy to run Ethernet cables down the outside of the house behind the rain downpipes where they are not seen. 
        I have Ubiquiti/Unifi equipment, UDM Pro router, 24 port PoE switch 2 x 8 port PoE switches, 4 x WAPs, 4 x cameras and doorbell/camera.

  • Steven_L's avatar
    Steven_L
    Forum Team
    2 months ago

    You're very welcome theyoungsavage, glad that we could help to get this resolved for you. Please do let us know if you have any further issues.

    Kind Regards,

    Steven_L