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Known Router Issues

Overview

Flair requires a 2.4GHz network connection.

Incompatible Routers

The following routers have known issues with the chip used with Flair. Please contact support if you have one of these routers.

  • Arris D63450, D63450A
  • Asus RT-AX92U
  • Cisco RV160 (EOL router)
  • Linksys WRT3200ACM
  • Hitron Coda 4589 - combines 2.4 and 5.0 networks and Puck does not stay connected

Routers with Known Issues

  • Asus RT-AC55U: If the router goes offline, when it comes online, Gateway Pucks are unable to re-connect to WiFi. Perform "Forget WiFi" for all Gateway Pucks, then re-add Gateway Pucks via the PLUS menu -> Add new Gateway Puck.
  • Netgear Orbi: the router has some Armor features that filter traffic. Check to see if this is active/on and remove/disable/turn it off.
  • XFinity: turn off any advanced security settings

Mesh Networks

Bridge Mode

Fix double NAT issues.

Other Mesh Network Solutions

If the above doesn't work, try the following:

  • For dual band routers, make sure the 2.4 GHz network network name is unique and different from the 5.0 GHz network name.

  • Alternately, turn off "band steering" or "smart connect" (for Netgear) - this disables switching between the two networks.

  • Try creating a 2.4GHz guest network with a unique SSID, and see if the Gateway Puck will connect to the guest network.

  • Disable the mesh access points, so only the main router is powered on, and see if the Gateway Puck will connect to the main router. If so, then power on the access points.

OpenWRT

Issue

OpenWrt is open-source router software. There's a bug that prevents the router from assigning an IP address to the Puck, which prevents the Puck from connecting to the internet and communicating with the Flair app.

These articles explain that OpenWrt has interoperability issues with IoT devices with ESP chip sets (Flair Puck uses the ESP-8266 chipset):

Solution

There are two options:

  1. Disable WMM <-- may result in speed loss
  2. Enable WMM but Disable LDPC

We recommend option 1. If the user can create a dedicated network used only for IoT devices, they can just disable WMM for that network.

Gateway Puck won't Connect during WiFi Setup

  1. Try doing a firmware update on your networking hardware (modem, router, etc)
  2. If you have multiple routing devices in your home network, make sure devices are configured in bridge mode
  3. Some routers broadcast 2.4 and 5.0 GHz networks but seem to only allow devices to connect to 5.0GHz. Once a device is connected to 5.0GHz, the router will then allow connection to 2.4GHz. This has been identified as the WiFi router rejecting new connections under 2.4GHz. Try these  specific router solutions:

Google WiFi

  1. Temporarily rename the home WiFi to "Temp 123" - do not change the password
  2. Create a Guest network that uses 2.4GHz. Give it the original name for the home WiFi - and use the same password.
    For example, if the original home WiFi name was "Mi Casa" and you renamed it to "Temp 123", then name the Guest network "Mi Casa". Both should use the same password.
  3. Connect the Gateway Puck to the Guest network
  4. Disable the Guest network
  5. Rename the home WiFi network back to its original name
  6. Power off the Gateway Puck, wait 60 seconds, and then power it back on
  7. The Puck will reconnect to the home WiFi network

Archer TP-Link AX-1800

  1. On the WiFI router
    1. Log into the router admin
    2. Wireless > [Wireless Settings] > Network Name: "Temporary"
    3. Wireless > [Guest Network] > Network Name: (what your main network name was)
    4. Wireless > [Guest Network] > Password: (same as your main network's password)
    5. Save (at the bottom)
  2. In the Flair App
    1. Tap the PLUS sign
    2. Select "Add new Gateway Puck"
    3. Connect the Gateway to the Guest network
  3. On the WiFi router:
    1. Wireless > [Guest Network] > uncheck 2.4GHz (to disable it)
    2. Wireless > [Wireless Settings] > Network Name (main network's name)
    3. Save (at the bottom)
  4. Power-cycle the Puck, waiting 60 seconds before plugging in
  5. The Puck will reconnect to the WiFi network

Single (Combined) 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Network

Some mesh routers create a single 2.4 and 5.0 network instead of two separate networks. Pucks may not be able to connect to these routers. It's a known issue in the industry:

https://staceyoniot.com/why-some-smart-home-devices-wont-connect-to-your-wi-fi-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

The best solution is to manually set up a separate low-cost 2.4GHz router that’s attached to the mesh network. This will create a separate 2.4GHz network to allow the Puck (or other smart home devices) to connect to the mesh network.

Ubiquity Unifi Dream Machine SE

A number of countries may be Geo IP blocked as possible malware/phishing threat sources in the threat management settings.

Remove "Colombia" from the Geo IP block list. The router may be assuming the ".co" of "api.flair.co" is for the country of Colombia and mistakenly blocking access to api.flair.co.

Are you using Ubiquiti AC Pro Access Points? These are access points that give coverage from what is effectively a mesh network, but broken into the 2 frequencies.

Gateway Puck Repeatedly Disconnects from WiFi

  • Is it happening frequently at the same time of day or night?
    Check to see if your router is set to reboot every night (or on a schedule). This will cause all devices to disconnect from WiFi.

  • Is it happening randomly?
    • Check to see if your router has combined the 2.4 and 5.0 GHz networks. Once the Gateway Puck is connected to the 2.4 GHz network, the router may be forcing it to connect to the 5.0 GHz network. At that point it will disconnect because the Gateway Puck requires a 2.4GHz connection. Try the solutions in the Mesh Network section of this article.

    • Check to see if the router is running out of DHCP leases and try increasing the number of devices that can connect to the router. Maybe when someone connects a phone or a laptop to WiFi the router is bumping the Gateway Puck off the Wifi. In most cases, a WiFi router has an estimated 200 leases before it cycles through the Lease Pool and stops allowing devices to connect. One solution is to assign the Gateway Puck(s) static IP address(es). This will prevent them from getting booted off the network. Note: this is a known issue with the Google Nest Pro mesh router.

Puck Won't Reconnect After a Power Outage

A Gateway Puck should reconnect once WiFi is established, but in some cases, it won't reconnect.

The fastest solution is to do a "Forget WiFi" on all Gateway Pucks and go through WiFi Setup again. This is a good short-term solution to get the system up and running again. However, this will have to be done every time there's a power outage. For a long-term solution, try one of the following:

  • Dedicated IP Address: Assign a dedicated IP addresses to each Gateway Puck. This is the best solution, especially for office environments.

  • Increase DHCP Lease Time: When trying to reconnect, the Gateway Puck may show a WiFi symbol but appears offline in the Flair app. Increase the DHCP lease time from x hours to 7 days. This is okay for most homes. It allows the DHCP lease to last for a long time - longer than most outages - so when the Gateway Puck comes back online, the lease is still valid.

Additional solutions for mesh routers:

  • Blacklist the MAC address of the Pucks on the main router. Whitelist the MAC address of the Pucks on the other access points.

  • eero: Unplug Gateway Puck(s) so they will stop trying to reconnect. Wait 1 hour after the router is back online and then power on the Flair Puck.

Note 1: A Puck's MAC address is in the Status menu (push Puck to enter menus, rotate to the Status menu and push to select).

Note 2: Reboot the Puck after any router changes.