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EE WiFi7 Router Pro device power usage in compatible mode

tnj
Skilled Contributor
Skilled Contributor

‎04-04-2026 09:24 AM

I noticed that whenever I was using compatible mode with battery powered devices the batteries ran out quicker than when using other WiFi access points. I really noticed this with the Ring doorbell when I changed its WiFi from my old BT Hub to the Router Pro WiFi7 Compatible Mode  in mid February and the battery life halved. When I switched to the TP link access point in March the battery life extended again. I captured this in the graph below. The signal strength was just under -60dbm in both cases.

Battery use.jpg

4 REPLIES 4
XRaySpeX
EE Community Star
EE Community Star

‎04-04-2026 11:42 AM

Could it be diff Security levels, WPAn? More crypto, more power usage?

Where do you get that graph? Is it part of the Ring app? I don't see it.

If you think I helped please feel free to hit the "Thumbs Up" button below.

To phone EE CS: Dial Freephone +44 800 079 8586 - Option 1 for Home Broadband & Home Phone or Option 2 for Mobile Phone & Mobile Broadband

ISPs: 1999: Freeserve 48K Dial-Up > 2005: Wanadoo 1 Meg BB > 2007: Orange 2 Meg BB > 2008: Orange 8 Meg LLU > 2010: Orange 16 Meg LLU > 2011: Orange 20 Meg WBC > 2014: EE 20 Meg WBC > 2020: EE 40 Meg FTTC > 2022:EE 80 Meg FTTC SoGEA > 2025 EE 150 Meg FTTP
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bobpullen
Star Contributor
Star Contributor
In response to XRaySpeX

‎08-04-2026 06:37 PM

@XRaySpeX - looks like Home Assistant.

@tnj - interesting observation. I wonder if Compatible WiFi is missing some of the power saving attributes the other access points you tried are using 🤔

Were you forced to use the Compatible WiFi feature with the Ring doorbell or was it a choice? Would be interesting to see how things compare with the main SSID.

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XRaySpeX
EE Community Star
EE Community Star
In response to bobpullen

‎08-04-2026 07:27 PM

@bobpullen : What's Home Assistant? Linky please.

If you think I helped please feel free to hit the "Thumbs Up" button below.

To phone EE CS: Dial Freephone +44 800 079 8586 - Option 1 for Home Broadband & Home Phone or Option 2 for Mobile Phone & Mobile Broadband

ISPs: 1999: Freeserve 48K Dial-Up > 2005: Wanadoo 1 Meg BB > 2007: Orange 2 Meg BB > 2008: Orange 8 Meg LLU > 2010: Orange 16 Meg LLU > 2011: Orange 20 Meg WBC > 2014: EE 20 Meg WBC > 2020: EE 40 Meg FTTC > 2022:EE 80 Meg FTTC SoGEA > 2025 EE 150 Meg FTTP
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tnj
Skilled Contributor
Skilled Contributor
In response to bobpullen

‎09-04-2026 04:40 PM

Home Assistant details can be found at: https://www.home-assistant.io/ 

I tried the Ring Doorbell with Compatible WiFi as I am not running the standard 2.4Ghz band on my Pro router and extenders as it will not cope with my 90+ devices. I have a set of older TP-Link basic access points connected via Ethernet to my EE Pro Hub to cope with most of my IoT devices.

I am using the Dnsmasq-DHCP server on my Home Assistant rather than the Pro's DHCP. 

The security on the TP-Link is very basic and is very vulnerable to deauthentication tools and I thought the Compatible WiFi might be more resilient for the one or two security devices I have. I gave up as the battery consumption on the Ring Doorbell was too high.

My guess is that devices on the Compatible network keeps losing internet connection and keep reauthenticating as whenever I connect to it using a mobile I keep having a WiFi connection but losing internet access. (connected but internet not available warning).

My 5Ghz & 6Ghz work well on the Pro router and extenders but this could be as there are never more than five devices connected to WiFi on these bands.

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