The problem is you have at least 3 different APs all on the same SSID. All are on different channels and one is so far away it doesn’t work well. Since the Wi-Fi code is mostly looking at SSID, it apparently sometimes gets confused and picks the one that is farthest away. This is what is causing problems. Eventually it figures this out and picks the closer one. I have different SSIDs for my house and barn that 70-80 meters apart. When I walk from one to the other my phone will stick with the same one until it is so weak it really has to switch. With the same SSID it would probably switch sooner, but this can be good or bad.
If you create a new network with only a single SSID, that is close but not too close, and that is the only network it knows about, it will stick to it and likely work better.
Some APs will do auto selection of channel to use. Some give you the option to turn that off. If an AP decides to change channels, the clients need to keep up. The client then need to figure out what to do. If both sides are trying to be smart about what they do, but don’t communicate it well, it will lead to miscommunication, which seems like what you are seeing. The problem appears to be happening because the AP that is farthest away sometimes becomes the “best” one in Iotawatt’s view. Try turning it off and see if things improve.
I think this will not be the issue - i am more feeling that one of the extenders is faulty intermittently or is conflicting with the router at the mancave.
How is the router at the mancave setup ? is it in router mode or is it in Access Point or WIFI extender mode ? What router is it (make and Model)
As the IOTAWATT is stationery and is close to the main unit then it should not try and move from it to another AP unless the 2nd access point is so strong that it is overwhelming the signal - if this was the case though then it would have as equally as strong a connection to the main AP and would be able to provide DHCP addresses not the self assigned.
Is the newest WIFI extender also the farthest away ?
Can you take a picture of one of them with its model number so i can check out what they are doing ?
Just did a bit of quick googling - its not a mesh it really is an extender and a weird one at that
I know you do not want to get into network etc but i really think if you spent a bit of time in the networking forums on Whirlpool and asked some questions re the 4G backup (which is your main driver and simplicity) you might find that there are other solutions that some of the aussies will recommend
I can’t recall make/model of mancave router but think it’s a Netgear. It should have DHCP disabled. I have devices down there working with a static IP assigned by the Telstra router.
Next time I’m down there will give it a look. Will also try to log into it to check on set up. Even so it’s down the hill and inside a besser brick building and there is no signal from it up here.
Ultimately I may need to rip what I have out and start fresh with an alternative. I didn’t find the 4G backup options suggested on WP particularly appealing.
Speed of the router is not a bottleneck here, the NBN fixed wireless is way slower than anything I might connect to it.
So presumably it is hardwired back to the house then ? As we see a DHCP address for it on the Telstra printout
Might be an idea to check because if DHCP is turned on and it is giving out incorrect addresses on the Network that could cause issues.
Whilst some of the Whrlpool Stuff sounds a little daunting it is like the other stuff we have done - step by step and you could get there - i have NEVER had a good experience with the Telstra NBN gear except in a tiny Studio apartment
Yes, there is an underground ethernet cable connecting the mancave router to the Telstra router.
I have devices down there with IP addresses assigned by the Telstra router. e.g. the ESPHome smart switch/power monitor on the fridge. I can enter its IP address 192.168.0.158 and it takes me directly to the device’s own web page.
The Studio (granny flat) also has underground data cable connection.
The Studio router I just left to form its own network/DHCP as that was my Mum’s house so I left it as a separate network. But now she has passed I’ve been thinking about how best to integrate the Studio as I might want to add some smart devices up there (e.g. aircon control, door sensors) as we will probably convert it to a short stay accommodation venue.
Yeah, starting from a low knowledge base. And trying to do too much at once.
I think what’s happened is up until recently we were fairly basic home network users. Computers, phones, video streaming, Fronius inverter and few personal devices. Basic Wi-Fi routers, data cables and it did the job. If it works then leave it. The Telstra router gave us 4G backup, with the regular NBN outages it’s got value for us.
Then Home Assistant entered the fray and next thing you know I’m trying to integrate everything under the sun and discovering the Telstra supplied kit has limitations. Telstra’s answer was to send us their extenders. One, then another, then another.
I was close at one time to getting the TP link mesh kit, connecting that to the Telstra router and disabling Wi-Fi and DHCP on the Telstra router (and ditch the Telstra extenders). At least that keeps the 4G backup alive. But I would also need a switch to keep using the ethernet connections as the kit only has one network port and so it just got too complicated.
The thought of undoing it all and trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together is a little daunting.
Switch it back on and see if the problems come back.
Iotawatt does not appear to log BSSID, so you can’t tell that way. Maybe the Telstra APs keep a table. That would be another way. Or, you could just be happy and wait for a week or more to see if you stay happy.
Thanks. Ordinarily my inner tinkerer would try this but with a WFH wife I really don’t want to screw around with the network too often. It’s working and seems stable so I’ll leave it that way for now.
There is nothing I can find in the router’s admin set up which tells me information such as this or what channel an extender is using. It’s like they have decided to obfuscate such things.
I think so. A network overhaul with better equipment is on my home improvement hit list.
IotaWatt is coming up to four days with a stable connection, so that’s a good sign.
As I mentioned in my other thread, after previous failures to load the Home Assistant integration, it successfully loaded yesterday using this IP address. I can only guess these things were related.
I now have the data populating my HA dashboards. I’ll wait a while for confidence with system stability before I use the entities in automations (mostly load management stuff).
It’s been reasonably stable, still occasionally drops onto that IP=169.254.166.136 mode for while but eventually rejoins to its “proper” local IP address IP=192.168.0.74. Sometimes it swaps between channels.
I’m assuming the Telstra extender isn’t the best but for now is working. I’ve had a bit much else going on to focus on that issue.
I’m still trying to get data cabling people here. It’s ridiculous. Data comms people here seem to be the worst communicators!
But ultimately I need to ditch the Telstra kit and put something decent in.
System of late has mostly been OK but still drops out at fairly regular intervals. It’s having a particularly bad connection day today. Dropped out at 7:30 this morning and refuses to reestablish connection sitting instead on IP=169.254.166.136, which means it can’t find it’s local (static) assigned IP address and I don’t know how to get it back online.
It has perfectly fine signal strength. I know it’s not the IoTa’s fault but it’s still very frustrating when it’s the only device which won’t connect.
I’m so over this networking nonsense. I’m way over tired, unwell and have no energy to resolve.
I just can’t get any data/networking people here.
Other stuff I just plug in the ethernet cable and it just solves the problem. The Solar Assistant Raspberry Pi, the Fronius inverter are the same.
Yet the log says it’s connected to a local IP address:
** Restart **
SD initialized.
4/19/23 05:49:51z Real Time Clock is running. Unix time 1681883391
4/19/23 05:49:51z Reset Reason: Power-fail restart.
4/19/23 05:49:51z ESP8266 ID: 15763621, RTC PCF8523 (68)
4/19/23 05:49:51z IoTaWatt 5.0, Firmware version 02_08_02
4/19/23 05:49:51z SPIFFS mounted.
4/19/23 15:49:51 Local time zone: +10:00, using DST/BST when in effect.
4/19/23 15:49:51 device name: IotaWatt
4/19/23 15:49:54 Connecting with WiFiManager.
4/19/23 16:01:54 HTTP server started
4/19/23 16:01:54 WiFi connected. SSID=Telstra25BEB0, IP=169.254.166.136, channel=2, RSSI -51db
4/19/23 16:01:54 timeSync: service started.
4/19/23 16:01:54 statService: started.
4/19/23 16:01:54 Updater: service started. Auto-update class is MINOR
4/19/23 16:01:55 dataLog: service started.
4/19/23 16:01:55 dataLog: Last log entry 04/19/23 15:49:35
4/19/23 16:01:59 historyLog: service started.
4/19/23 16:02:01 historyLog: Last log entry 04/19/23 15:49:00
4/19/23 17:33:47 WiFi disconnected.
4/19/23 17:35:11 WiFi connected. SSID=Telstra25BEB0, IP=192.168.0.74, channel=11, RSSI -79db
4/19/23 17:35:12 Updater: Auto-update is current for class MINOR.
4/19/23 17:35:29 WiFi disconnected.
4/19/23 17:36:10 WiFi connected. SSID=Telstra25BEB0, IP=192.168.0.74, channel=11, RSSI -79db
4/19/23 17:39:46 WiFi disconnected.
4/19/23 17:39:54 WiFi connected. SSID=Telstra25BEB0, IP=169.254.166.136, channel=2, RSSI -51db
4/19/23 17:58:07 WiFi disconnected.
4/19/23 17:58:09 WiFi connected. SSID=Telstra25BEB0, IP=192.168.0.74, channel=11, RSSI -82db
4/19/23 17:58:55 WiFi disconnected.
4/19/23 17:58:58 WiFi connected. SSID=Telstra25BEB0, IP=192.168.0.74, channel=1, RSSI -49db
I’ve tried rebooting router, rebooting extender, removing extender altogether, tried to reset the IoTaWatt’s Wi-Fi but it just refuses to play ball with my network.
I’m at a loss as to what to do. It’s the only device which won’t connect.
Intermittent problems are hard to debug/figure out. With the tools you are currently using, you will likely never figure out which component(s) are causing the problem. You need better tools to provide you better visibility.
I installed the app Network Analyzer. It shows all the access points it sees and it includes BSSID information. I suspect what is happening is that the Iotawatt connects to the nearer AP and that device is having difficulty talking to the rest of the network, so the Iotawatt sometimes doesn’t get an IP address.
