Some devices not connecting to Hub 4

[jfs1969]

Recently one of the devices I have connected to wifi dropped out and would not let me reconnect it to wifi.  It's a datalogger for my PV inverter and had worked fine since it was installed 3 months ago.  

While investigating I found that my phone wouldn't connect to the 2.4GHz wifi that the datalogger and many other devices are on although it's fine on the 5Ghz band (I have both running with different names).  Then when trying to resolve that I found that the phone would connect to 2.4 wifi if I set it to use phone MAC instead of random MAC.

Anyway this option isn't available to me for the datalogger but I'm thinking this might not be connecting for the same reason.  And then when I was talking to the datalogger tech support guy he said he was with VM and had heard of hub DHCP issues with multiple devices connected.

I'm hoping someone clever on here has a suggestion.  I tried calling VM to see if I could upgrade to Hub 5 but didn't manage to talk to a human.

(This problem seems similar to the one reported here for Hub 3 that is marked as solved, although I'm not sure it really was.  Anyway I have a Hub 4).

[Client62]

When you login to the Hub 4 menu at http://192.168.0.1/  are your phone and / or data logger listed as devices that are paused / blocked from Wi-Fi access or blocked by MAC address ?

I would not check this with the VM Connect app - it is notorious for failing to list all blocked / paused devices.

[jfs1969]

Looking in Advanced, Security area I can't see any devices as blocked.  Wireless MAC filtering is Disabled. About 16 devices are connected to 2.4GHz and 2 to the 5Ghz band including my phone.

In the DHCP section there are no reserved rules or anything on the reserved list, if that's relevant.

Also, I tried connecting data logger to a mobile hotspot and it worked fine.  So seems like it's just the VM wifi it won't connect to.

[Client62]

What else could one check on the Hub. Wi-Fi options ..

1) the mode is g/n mixed ( like a mobile hot spot ) or n only if that is suitable mode for the data logger
2) 20MHz channel width is more compatible that 20/40MHz or 40MHz only
3) Security is WPA2-PSK.   Some devices fail to connect when WPA-PSK / WPA2-PSK are both present.
4) Try with Smart Wi-Fi aka Wireless Channel Optimization Disabled
5) Try with a fixed channel number : Channel 1 or 6 or 11 are preferred.
6) Try to connect with with 5GHz Wi-Fi disabled. 

[legacy1]

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@jfs1969 wrote:

I'm hoping someone clever on here has a suggestion.

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yes use hub in modem mode get a better router like this

ZYXEL - SOHO NBG7510 AX1800 WIFI 6 ROUTER : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

[jfs1969]

Answers in caps below (I'm not shouting!)

1) the mode is g/n mixed ( like a mobile hot spot ) or n only if that is suitable mode for the data logger - ALREADY ON G/N MIXED
2) 20MHz channel width is more compatible that 20/40MHz or 40MHz only - ALREADY SET TO 20MHz
3) Security is WPA2-PSK.   Some devices fail to connect when WPA-PSK / WPA2-PSK are both present. - ALREADY SET TO WPA2-PERSONAL
4) Try with Smart Wi-Fi aka Wireless Channel Optimization Disabled - ALREADY IS DISABLED
5) Try with a fixed channel number : Channel 1 or 6 or 11 are preferred. JUST TRIED THIS AND STILL WOULDN'T CONNECT
6) Try to connect with with 5GHz Wi-Fi disabled. - TRIED, BUT IT'S ON A SEPARATE THING WITH DIFFERENT NAME ALREADY

Given datalogger had worked fine for 3 months until last Monday and my phone will only connect to the 2.4GHz network if I disable random MAC, doesn't this all indicate a problem with the Hub?

[jfs1969]

Thanks for the suggestion but I think I'll see if VM can resolve before spending £50 on a new router.  I'm not trying to anything complicated.

[Adduxi]

I wouldn't worry about getting a Hub 5 either, as it's wifi 6 ax protocol can cause even more problems with IoT devices. 

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @jfs1969 

Thank you so much for your post and welcome back to the forums, it's great to have you here. 

I am so sorry that you have faced this issue and a big thank you to our community team for their help so far it's very much appreciated. 

Can I just double check, are these issues occurring on one or multiple devices? 

I know you have mentioned you have split the frequencies, have you been able to check with them as one? 

[jfs1969]

Two devices - data logger and phone.  However the phone will connect if I set it provide phone MAC rather than random MAC address which phone says is safer.

Can you confirm purpose of the single channel thing?  For many years I've had boring IoT stuff on the 2.4GHz channel, phones and tablets on 5GHz and computers on ethernet.  I don't want to change this and don't understand what this test will prove.