Brennan B2 Wi-Fi problem

[manroc]

Good afternoon all,

This is my first ever post so please forgive me if I do it all wrong.

I have just installed an "Intelligent WiFi pod" to boost the signal from my 3.0 hub.  The signal strength is much improved but my Brennan B2 doesn't seem able to connect to WiFi any more.  When I try to connect it goes through some of the routine and then posts "Failed" on the display.  The signal strength is fine; if I put my phone next to the machine, it shows a full strength signal but the B2 can't see it.

This means that not only can I not control the B2 from either my phone or an I-pad, I don't have the clock and I can't update its database.

Has anyone else experienced this problem and overcome it?

Any answers gratefully received.

[jbrennand]

Have you tried connecting the B2 via an ethernet cable to the Hub and see if it works ok that way (it should).

Did you previously have the Hub3 with the 2.4and 5 GHz bands on separate SSID's ? Or merged on one SSID - as they need to be for the Pods to work.

[Adduxi]

Try to disable the 5Ghz wifi band on the Hub as a temporary measure.  Then try to connect the B2.  If this works, then re-enable the 5Ghz band.  It may be the B2 is confused by the single SSID the Pods need to work.

[manroc]

Thanks for this.  The B2 used to work when i had a booster so I don't think that the hub itself is a problem. I am a complete non-tachie but I can't see any options on the hub to change or disable the bands.   I think that the signal is a lot weaker than it was, posssibly due to the booster having given up the ghost.  I tried taking the pod out of the socket and having the B2 reattach to the WiFi but I still get the same result. It looks like I shall just have to go back to usng the front panel.

[jbrennand]

To "separate" the bands do it as below... unfortunately the Pod wont work. But worth trying to see if it improves... if it worked before then just get your own wifi improver (not a booster) look at the TP-LInk powerline adapters (some have wifi built in) as a "cheap" option or spend a bit more on a 2 pack Mesh system (Deco M4/S4) with the Hub in modem mode
_______________________________________

Go into the Hub3/4 settings. Type in  http://192.168.0.1  into your web browser’s url box and login with settings password on the Hub's base sticker (or your own if you changed it). Then in Advanced>wireless signal >smart wifi - tick the disable “channel optimisation” box or “Smart Wifi” box and save settings.  Then, go to advanced>wireless signal>security, rename the 2.4 & 5 GHz network ssid's.  Just type over to change 'em to whatever you like and something that will differentiate them (e.g - Manroc_2 & Manroc_5) Try to avoid spaces and periods in the SSID names as they can cause issues with certain devices. Use the same password for both for simplicity,  Then, apply settings and restart the Hub.  Your 2 wifi networks will now be clearly separated - and you can then select the network you want to connect to individually from the "available networks" list on each device. 

Note all your wifi devices will need re-connecting to the new SSID's and passwords.
All things being equal, 5 GHz is always better/faster and subject to less congestion/interference (and is better for iDevice speeds than the 2.4 one - although the 2.4 one has the better "range" and will be needed when the 5 GHz drops out of range and some older/cheaper/dumber devices can only use this one. 

You should also use a wifi analyser App (or Airport Utility on iOS) to check which 2.4 channels are being heavily used around you and move yours to one of numbers 1,6,11 that is least so, but it wont help if there is other interference.

See if these changes help - you will lose any “seamless roaming” benefits but it may not matter and you can always change the settings back by doing a " pinhole factory reset " if you prefer the way it was - or it doesn’t help.

[manroc]

As a non-techie I really appreciate clear, unambiguous instructions that even I can follow.  My son is a techie at the local university and sometimes I think that he can only speak binary and hex.

I'll let you know the results in due course.