topic Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m in Broadband & Landline

SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

beanie_again — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 17:28:46 GMT

Hi - been in IT for the last 30 years, so this really shouldn't be this difficult for me (although I am happy to be proven wrong!).

I'm just having trouble getting the SW40J WiFi Extender to reliably connect over more than 1 meter from the main hub, without having a flashing orange light.

I have followed the steps below from another post, and it works great when connected using an RJ45 cable on ethernet - and continues to work ok when less than a meter away from the main hub, but if I power down and take a couple of meters away - flashing orange light is all that I get, constantly. The steps from another post:

Plug in ethernet cable to SW40J and router and wait for the solid turquoise light and leave it for a few minutes
Power down (and take the power cable out of) the SW40J extender, so it connects to the WIFI and leave it for a few minutes
Power down (and take the power cable out of) the SH40J extender
Power down (and take the power cable out of) the SH40J hub
Wait for 10-20s to enable the hub's RAM to clear before powering the hub back up and wait for solid turquoise light

Saw another post about resetting the device, which I have also tried without success - and I have tried leaving the device on the ethernet cable for a couple of days to allow a firmware update to happen - it is currently showing r2.64.6-R-1303886-PROD-1

Am I missing something, or are there any other tips or tricks for me to try?

Thanks in advance.

Paul

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

JimM11 — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 18:07:14 GMT

@beanie_again Have you also tried the factory reset of the Smart Pro router as well as the Smart wireless device, user's have reported that sometimes both reset and then re-paired seem to kick it all into operation.

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

beanie_again — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 20:58:35 GMT

Thanks for the response Jim - yes I have seen that advice, just powered down both - and reset both.

Powered up hub, then connected extender using ethernet - all good with aqua lights on both.

Disconnected ethernet, still aqua, then moved extender about 3m away from hub using an extension lead without powering down (no walls or anything blocking). It was still showing aqua light but connection type was N/A - then disappeared from extenders completely (still aqua light on extender):

Any ideas? Try disabling 2.4Ghz?

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

beanie_again — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 21:18:39 GMT

Tried turning off 2.4Ghz channel, and connecting using the hubs wizard that takes 7 minutes (felt more like 30 minutes lol):

Couldn't find it, bearing in mind that the extender is within sight of the hub:

Still flashing blue - not sure what else to try?

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

JimM11 — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 21:24:56 GMT

@beanie_again I would power off the Smart wireless device, leave it for 10 mins, power it up and let it workout what to do with the mesh, system will try to smart wireless detect and set itself for the best operation.

Seems that the web manager does not show good connection as software interface to the device, but the app if you have it working does a far better job when looking at the device.

Will take a look at your posted image when it is cleared for viewing. Mesh is not easy, and EE make a real mess of showing what is going on, that's for sure!

As a rule of thumb i use 30-40 foot as the operation between devices, just to be sure that the wi-fi signal can overlap connection wise between both devices.

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

beanie_again — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 14:36:42 GMT

So just a quick update...I reset and switched off the hub and extender for about 2 hours, then reset and switched on the hub and extender. I find the app is quite laggy, with what I see being delayed somewhat, but I did get both set up and connected when about 2m apart on wireless.

Connection is somewhat sporadic, with flashing aqua happening every hour or two - but I have given it a few days to "settle" and hopefully update. Appeared happily in the admin panel:

The app has changes from not appearing at all, to "Strong signal" and today it was "Too Close" so I have moved it further away, but currently flashing amber.

I will try connecting it again...

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

beanie_again — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:51:11 GMT

Extender is not appearing in the browser or app management since moving further away - flashing orange.

Distance is around 6m / 20ft with clear line of sight, no walls between, no microwaves or other devices causing interference in between.

Was previously complaining that it was too close:

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

Leanne_T — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 11:33:53 GMT

Hi @beanie_again

Thanks for coming to the community.

If you give us a call, the team will get this looked into for you and see what they can suggest to help get this sorted 🙂

Leanne.

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

KyleH686 — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 07:49:47 GMT

Morning Beanie,

Did you get anywhere with this? I'm in a similar boat to you. When I first received the extender and new hub it took about 2 hours to get it connected and working. Then yesterday the internet on my work laptop kept dropping out, which I assigned to the VPN we use being rubbish. Then in the evening noticed the extender was flashing orange.

Done the usual, on/ off, reset, EE app extender setup, browser extender setup, nothing seems to work. I had it pop up, similar to yours, when connected via ethernet but as soon as I move it to where it has been for the last two months the connection drops and back to orange flashing.

Thanks

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

Sofaslug — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 19:51:27 GMT

A few things to try...

Sign out of EE app. Delete app from phone. Re-Install.

Connect your extenders to hub via ethernet. Wait. Sometimes the aqua circles appear to be solid. Wait a bit longer. Be patient. Prob 10 mins is a safe bet. If you see it go solid aqua, then flash, solid aqua. Then flash, then sold aqua, you've probably been successful.

Place your extender where you want it. Wait.

Hope that works for you.

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

beanie_again — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 16:03:40 GMT

Apologies for the delay in my response, it does appear that you just need to be VERY patient with these devices - as I reset both, reinstalled the EE app, reconnected the devices, and just left them alone for a couple of days. The extender successfully connected, although every evening it seems to flash aqua.

Was happy to leave it at that, but the extender wasn't serving connected clients very well (poor to no Internet connection), and today it has been poor a couple of times on my laptop - to a point where I have just had to switch off the extender (which was solid aqua) just to get connected to the Internet (reconnecting the WiFi was showing that DHCP was not providing me an IP address, no matter how many times I tried to reconnect).

Extender is flashing orange again now, so I accept defeat and get in touch with EE support (if I am able to find a chat / phone number!).

Paul

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

Ali_A — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:40:41 GMT

@beanie_again

It's great that you have tried the extender, but it does sound like it may be faulty.

You can find the Customer Service team on our Contact Us | EE page , where a guide will go through the steps with you.

Ali

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

Sofaslug — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:45:17 GMT

I tend to agree with the concept that you have to sometimes be patient with these extenders and provide them time to "settle".

However, even after this I've found the extender can either suddenly flash orange then reconnect, or just flash aqua. If it flashes orange it tends to re-connect quite quickly, if you've had a previous successful connection. If flashing aqua it seems to take a bit longer to reconnect.

I've also experienced the router downloading software via the ee app. That was after resetting the ONT (via the button on the side). Also hard resetting the router at the same time.

I'm currently experiencing drops in WiFi calls on an s23 ultra. Have 1.6gb speed connection, woth a hub pro. It doesn't make any sense....

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

mikefairgrieve — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 13:55:14 GMT

Not much help however mines has worked perfectly since setup. The Hub Pro is in the cupboard under the stairs (ONT installed there) and the extender in the loft and we have great coverage and connection throughout. Kids devices in bedrooms consistantly connect to the extender and there have been no moans about lags with gaming / streaming etc. Speedtest on the extender via ethernet i was getting 900mbs+ and wifi was around 650mbs. Strangely ethernet devices connected to the extender show as connected via 6Ghz wifi lol

The EE App is rubbish though dont use it to see what the signal is like as its constantly wrong, fluctuates like crazy however i find the browser hub manager page more consistant.

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

beanie_again — Wed, 14 May 2025 10:52:45 GMT

Just reporting in as I had a couple of weeks of consistant connection (it was flashing orange every evening) - but it appeared to be stable and fixed, with 400Mbps+ connection speed when connected to the extender.

Something happened at the weekend, and it just stopped connecting in any way / shape / form.

Today I reset the hub and the extender again, and eventually they did pair - not sure if I can be bothered with this tempremental solution if its going to be like this every month, I like to "permanently install" hardware.

I did try getting in touch with EE, but it was an automated service - where options for extenders were not available (I ended up agreeing to a line check, even though I know the line is good!).

Paul

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

JimM11 — Wed, 14 May 2025 11:10:51 GMT

@beanie_again Do you just have the one extender on the system, use the web manager and have a look at how it reports the backhaul to the extender especially the signal strength! If a wired backhaul no need for that!

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

Sofaslug — Wed, 14 May 2025 14:04:07 GMT

I had this similar issue as well. Try re-setting your ONT. However, hard re-set your hub first, and hard re-set your extender.

Log out of your EE app, uninstall the EE App. Then re-load it to your phone.

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

JimM11 — Wed, 14 May 2025 14:27:27 GMT

@Sofaslug NO hard reset's unless you wish to mention anyone with a DV Landline connected will lose every contact that is stored in the router and has to be put in by hand....

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

dragonxpress — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 21:50:01 GMT

Did you ever get this resolved? Mine connected for a week or so then flashed orange. EE helpdesk were as helpful as a chocolate fireguard - didn't wan to know because I bought off somebody else instead of paying rip off £10 extra each month. Got SW40J changed - worked for another few days before flashing orange - seriously thinking of junking this crap and buying an ASUS router again - only sad that I sold y ASUS router as I thought this crap would do the job better - how wrong was I!

Re: SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

beanie_again — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 14:40:51 GMT

Just as an update to this thread...I managed to get in touch with EE back in June, and the advisor was really helpful - said the device must be faulty, and sent out a new one.

New one was brilliant, connected first time without any issues and ran great for a month or two.

One weekend I was greeted with the "Flashing orange LED of doom" - and I haven't been able to get it connected since. It will connect and present a Cyan LED if I connect it via a network cable, but this is not ideal in my scenario. I have tried all the normal resets / restarts / reinstalls to no avail. I nearly killed the main hub (which has been faultless to date) with all the resets yesterday, so I am awaiting a callback from EE to get the extender taken away before I stamp on it repeatedly 😧