Recently I ran into a connectivity issue with a few Wifi devices in my home and figured you might eventually run into this as well. This is about the issue I had and how I solved it.
My Phone Can’t Find My Device
You followed the directions.
You connected your new speaker, lightbulb, camera, etc. to your wifi.
But … the app on your phone can’t find it.
Your Wifi Network
The most likely problem is your phone and the device aren’t on the same wifi network. “But,” you say, “I only have one network in my home. How could this be?”
I know, I know, they look like they are. Both are on the “CleverWifiName” network. However, your phone is probably on the Wifi router’s 5Ghz network and the smart home device is on the 2.4 Ghz network.
How to Fix It
Now we are going to dive a little into the technical stuff to help you fix your problem.
- First, you will need to log into your Wifi router. If it is still in its default settings, the login is likely on a sticker on the side. Also you can probably google the default login for your model if it isn’t.
- Next, you will want to rename the 5Ghz network to something like “CleverWifiName5G”
- Save your change. It will likely cause a brief router reboot (10-30 seconds).
- Now connect your smart device and your phone to the 2.4Ghz network of “CleverWifiName” and you should be able to find your device from your phone.
Why Did This Happen
Most modern Wifi routers offer wifi signal over 2 channels. The standard channel of 2.4Ghz radio waves and the more recent 5Ghz channel.
Modern smartphones can connect to both channels but they typically default to use the 5Ghz channel because it is less crowded in the airwaves and offers better quality reception. They also do not have an option of turning the 5Ghz radio off to force the use of the 2.4 Ghz network.
Smart home devices will likely only be able to connect to the 2.4Ghz network. Which means as your phone connects to the 5Ghz network, it cannot find the smart devices in order to manage them.
The solution described above allows you to force the phone onto the same network by choosing to explicitly connect to the 2.4Ghz network offered by your router.
Hope this helped you connect your app to your smart home device.