Iotawatt on wifi net, but browser connect fails

Support
1

I’ve had this unit setup and working for several years. Recently I upgraded the router, and it’s been sporadic since then. I posted something a month ago, but this time the router says it’s connected, but there’s no browser connection.

The LED is pulsing green, & I can see it on my wifi connected devices list. I have previously set it to a static IP. The browser says can’t connect. I’ve tried 2 computers, & 2 different browsers. All are on the same network. It does respond to ping. I’ve rebooted both router & iotawatt several times. What else to try??

The router log shows this (this is the MAC addr for the iotawatt):

Aug 25 15:10:42 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl0.1: Auth DC:4F:22:5D:D0:71, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Aug 25 15:10:42 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): wl0.1: Assoc DC:4F:22:5D:D0:71, status: Successful (0), rssi:-68
Aug 25 15:10:45 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl0.1: Deauth_ind DC:4F:22:5D:D0:71, status: 0, reason: Deauthenticated because sending station is leaving (or has left) IBSS or ESS (3), rssi:0
Aug 25 15:10:45 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(662): wl0.1: Disassoc DC:4F:22:5D:D0:71, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:-66
Aug 25 15:10:45 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl0.1: Auth DC:4F:22:5D:D0:71, status: Successful (0), rssi:-66
Aug 25 15:10:45 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): wl0.1: Assoc DC:4F:22:5D:D0:71, status: Successful (0), rssi:-66

2

claude.ai suggested running arp -d (I’m on linux). That seems to have fixed the issue, or it randomly started working. claude’s explanations don’t explain why it fixed it on another computer also.

3

If the LED is pulsing green the IoTaWatt is connected to a LAN.

Sounds like mDNS (multicast DNS) is not working on the new router. That service is a protocol whereby the router broadcasts the question “is anybody called Iotawatt?” to devices on the LAN.

The IoTaWatt listens for that question and will respond to the sender with it’s IP address.

The sender is usually a browser and then remembers the IP address of iotawatt.local.

If you look at your router DHCP tables you should see the IP address assigned to the iotawatt, then type that IP address into your browser URL area. If the iotawatt responds, then the problem is with mDNS and you should look into that. I’d suggest using ChatGPT or some other AI to diagnose a problem with your router not properly configured for mDNS. Inhibiting mDNS is a common feature for routers used in guest or unsecured environments to prevent interlopers from exploiting other devices on the network.

4

I have a static IP setup for the iotawatt. That takes mDNS out of the loop doesn’t it?

5

It does not. Again, can you reach the iotawatt using the IP rather than the .local url?

6

I always use the static IP, that doesn’t work now. The router shows it’s connected.

I had it working yesterday, but unplugged it briefly. Now not working again. The arp trick didn’t work, as suspected it was just random chance yesterday.

It’s not responding to ping today, yesterday it was responding to ping even when it wouldn’t respond to the browser.

The only way to reset this is to unplug, correct?

I just rebooted the router and the iotawatt is not showing up in the list of clients yet. But the iotawatt is still showing green?

7

Sigh…

Again, can you reach the IoTaWatt using the IP address rather than IoTaWatt.local?

8

We must be having communication problems. No, I thought I said that several times. I’m trying to reach it with the static ip address, 192.xxx.xx.xx. The router sets a static IP, and I type that in the browser window. I’ve been doing that for years.

I think I’m going to setup my old router as an extender or AP and put it closer. It’s probly either a weak signal or something in the new router

9

That was not clear. Most folks use the .local URl.

Next thing I would check is that the router is always using the same channel, and preferably 1, 6 or 11.

If you get connected, post the message log please.

10

I had several power cycles this afternoon not for this, but for a battery backup system I’m installing. It’s working now & I didn’t do anything. Here’s the log. I think before 14:50 it wasn’t working, not sure if it was working at 14:50, but it’s working now after the last power cycle. I see that it’s using channel 9 or 10, not 1, 6 or 11. I’ll see about fixing that.
thx

8/25/26 20:12:08z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/25/26 20:12:08z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/25/26 20:12:08z SPIFFS mounted.
8/25/26 14:12:09 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/25/26 14:12:09 device name: IotaWatt
8/25/26 14:12:09 HTTP server started
8/25/26 14:12:09 timeSync: service started.
8/25/26 14:12:09 statService: started.
8/25/26 14:12:09 dataLog: service started.
8/25/26 14:12:12 dataLog: Last log entry 08/25/26 14:08:45
8/25/26 14:12:14 historyLog: service started.
8/25/26 14:12:14 historyLog: Last log entry 08/25/26 14:08:00
8/25/26 14:16:22 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=169.254.114.208, channel=10, RSSI -71db
8/25/26 14:16:22 Updater: service started. Auto-update class is MAJOR
8/25/26 14:41:21 WiFi disconnected.
8/25/26 14:41:31 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=192.168.50.10, channel=10, RSSI -71db
8/25/26 14:41:32 Updater: Auto-update is current for class MAJOR.

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/25/26 21:05:05z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787691905
8/25/26 21:05:05z Reset Reason: Power-fail restart.
8/25/26 21:05:05z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/25/26 21:05:05z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/25/26 21:05:05z SPIFFS mounted.
8/25/26 15:05:05 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/25/26 15:05:05 device name: IotaWatt
8/25/26 15:05:08 Connecting with WiFiManager.

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/25/26 21:10:39z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787692239
8/25/26 21:10:39z Reset Reason: Power-fail restart.
8/25/26 21:10:39z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/25/26 21:10:39z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/25/26 21:10:39z SPIFFS mounted.
8/25/26 15:10:39 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/25/26 15:10:39 device name: IotaWatt
8/25/26 15:10:42 Connecting with WiFiManager.
8/25/26 15:10:45 HTTP server started
8/25/26 15:10:46 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=192.168.50.10, channel=10, RSSI -70db
8/25/26 15:10:46 timeSync: service started.
8/25/26 15:10:46 statService: started.
8/25/26 15:10:46 Updater: service started. Auto-update class is MAJOR
8/25/26 15:10:47 dataLog: service started.
8/25/26 15:10:49 dataLog: Last log entry 08/25/26 15:04:45
8/25/26 15:10:50 Updater: Auto-update is current for class MAJOR.
8/25/26 15:10:52 historyLog: service started.
8/25/26 15:10:52 historyLog: Last log entry 08/25/26 15:04:00

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/26/26 15:50:29z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787759429
8/26/26 15:50:29z Reset Reason: Power-fail restart.
8/26/26 15:50:29z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/26/26 15:50:29z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/26/26 15:50:29z SPIFFS mounted.
8/26/26 09:50:29 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/26/26 09:50:29 device name: IotaWatt
8/26/26 09:50:32 Connecting with WiFiManager.
8/26/26 09:53:32 Did not connect after power-fail. Restarting to reset WiFi.

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/26/26 15:53:34z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787759614
8/26/26 15:53:34z Reset reason: Software/System restart
8/26/26 15:53:34z Trace: 34:30, 34:10[4], 34:30, 34:10[5], 34:30, 34:10[6], 34:30, 34:10[7], 34:30, 34:10[8], 34:30, 34:10[9], 34:30, 34:10[10], 34:30, 34:10[11], 34:30, 34:10[12], 34:30, 34:10[13], 34:30, 34:10[14], 11:31[3], 11:30[3], 11:35, 11:36, 11:35, 11:40, 11:45, 11:50, 11:55, 11:70
8/26/26 15:53:34z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/26/26 15:53:34z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/26/26 15:53:34z SPIFFS mounted.
8/26/26 09:53:35 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/26/26 09:53:35 device name: IotaWatt
8/26/26 09:53:35 HTTP server started
8/26/26 09:53:35 timeSync: service started.
8/26/26 09:53:35 statService: started.
8/26/26 09:53:35 dataLog: service started.
8/26/26 09:53:37 dataLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 09:50:15
8/26/26 09:53:40 historyLog: service started.
8/26/26 09:53:40 historyLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 09:50:00
8/26/26 09:57:48 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=169.254.114.208, channel=10, RSSI -77db
8/26/26 09:57:48 Updater: service started. Auto-update class is MAJOR

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/26/26 16:43:23z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787762603
8/26/26 16:43:23z Reset Reason: Power-fail restart.
8/26/26 16:43:23z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/26/26 16:43:23z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/26/26 16:43:23z SPIFFS mounted.
8/26/26 10:43:23 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/26/26 10:43:23 device name: IotaWatt
8/26/26 10:43:26 Connecting with WiFiManager.
8/26/26 10:46:26 Did not connect after power-fail. Restarting to reset WiFi.

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/26/26 16:46:29z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787762789
8/26/26 16:46:29z Reset reason: Software/System restart
8/26/26 16:46:29z Trace: 34:30, 34:10[4], 34:30, 34:10[5], 34:30, 34:10[6], 34:30, 34:10[7], 34:30, 34:10[8], 34:30, 34:10[9], 34:30, 34:10[10], 34:30, 34:10[11], 34:30, 34:10[12], 34:30, 34:10[13], 34:30, 34:10[14], 11:31[3], 11:30[3], 11:35, 11:36, 11:35, 11:40, 11:45, 11:50, 11:55, 11:70
8/26/26 16:46:29z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/26/26 16:46:29z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/26/26 16:46:29z SPIFFS mounted.
8/26/26 10:46:30 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/26/26 10:46:30 device name: IotaWatt
8/26/26 10:46:30 HTTP server started
8/26/26 10:46:30 timeSync: service started.
8/26/26 10:46:30 statService: started.
8/26/26 10:46:30 dataLog: service started.
8/26/26 10:46:32 dataLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 10:43:15
8/26/26 10:46:35 historyLog: service started.
8/26/26 10:46:36 historyLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 10:43:00
8/26/26 10:50:43 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=169.254.114.208, channel=10, RSSI -70db
8/26/26 10:50:43 Updater: service started. Auto-update class is MAJOR

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/26/26 17:50:55z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787766655
8/26/26 17:50:55z Reset Reason: Power-fail restart.
8/26/26 17:50:55z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/26/26 17:50:55z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/26/26 17:50:55z SPIFFS mounted.
8/26/26 11:50:55 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/26/26 11:50:55 device name: IotaWatt
8/26/26 11:50:58 Connecting with WiFiManager.
8/26/26 11:53:58 Did not connect after power-fail. Restarting to reset WiFi.

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/26/26 17:54:00z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787766840
8/26/26 17:54:00z Reset reason: Software/System restart
8/26/26 17:54:00z Trace: 34:30, 34:10[4], 34:30, 34:10[5], 34:30, 34:10[6], 34:30, 34:10[7], 34:30, 34:10[8], 34:30, 34:10[9], 34:30, 34:10[10], 34:30, 34:10[11], 34:30, 34:10[12], 34:30, 34:10[13], 34:30, 34:10[14], 11:31[3], 11:30[3], 11:35, 11:36, 11:35, 11:40, 11:45, 11:50, 11:55, 11:70
8/26/26 17:54:00z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/26/26 17:54:00z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/26/26 17:54:00z SPIFFS mounted.
8/26/26 11:54:01 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/26/26 11:54:01 device name: IotaWatt
8/26/26 11:54:01 HTTP server started
8/26/26 11:54:01 timeSync: service started.
8/26/26 11:54:01 statService: started.
8/26/26 11:54:01 dataLog: service started.
8/26/26 11:54:04 dataLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 11:48:15
8/26/26 11:54:06 historyLog: service started.
8/26/26 11:54:06 historyLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 11:48:00
8/26/26 11:58:14 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=169.254.114.208, channel=10, RSSI -74db
8/26/26 11:58:14 Updater: service started. Auto-update class is MAJOR
8/26/26 12:09:34 WiFi disconnected.
8/26/26 12:10:53 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=169.254.114.208, channel=9, RSSI -68db

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/26/26 20:50:02z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787777402
8/26/26 20:50:02z Reset Reason: Power-fail restart.
8/26/26 20:50:02z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/26/26 20:50:02z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/26/26 20:50:02z SPIFFS mounted.
8/26/26 14:50:02 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/26/26 14:50:02 device name: IotaWatt
8/26/26 14:50:05 Connecting with WiFiManager.
8/26/26 14:50:22 HTTP server started
8/26/26 14:50:23 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=192.168.50.10, channel=9, RSSI -74db
8/26/26 14:50:23 timeSync: service started.
8/26/26 14:50:23 statService: started.
8/26/26 14:50:23 Updater: service started. Auto-update class is MAJOR
8/26/26 14:50:24 dataLog: service started.
8/26/26 14:50:26 dataLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 14:49:55
8/26/26 14:50:26 Updater: Auto-update is current for class MAJOR.
8/26/26 14:50:28 historyLog: service started.
8/26/26 14:50:29 historyLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 14:49:00

** Restart **

SD initialized.
8/26/26 22:41:03z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1787784063
8/26/26 22:41:03z Reset Reason: Power-fail restart.
8/26/26 22:41:03z ESP8266 ID: 6148209, RTC PCF8523 (68)
8/26/26 22:41:03z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_03
8/26/26 22:41:03z SPIFFS mounted.
8/26/26 16:41:03 Local time zone: -7:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
8/26/26 16:41:03 device name: IotaWatt
8/26/26 16:41:06 Connecting with WiFiManager.
8/26/26 16:41:09 HTTP server started
8/26/26 16:41:09 WiFi connected. SSID=Cottonwood, IP=192.168.50.10, channel=9, RSSI -70db
8/26/26 16:41:10 timeSync: service started.
8/26/26 16:41:13 statService: started.
8/26/26 16:41:13 Updater: service started. Auto-update class is MAJOR
8/26/26 16:41:14 dataLog: service started.
8/26/26 16:41:16 dataLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 16:40:25
8/26/26 16:41:16 Updater: Auto-update is current for class MAJOR.
8/26/26 16:41:18 historyLog: service started.
8/26/26 16:41:18 historyLog: Last log entry 08/26/26 16:40:00