SW40J WiFi Extender not connecting from more than 1m

[beanie_again]

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

[beanie_again]

Hi

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

[Ali_A]

@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 

[Sofaslug]

Hi

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....

[mikefairgrieve]

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.

[beanie_again]

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

[JimM11]

@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!

[Sofaslug]

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. 

[JimM11]

@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....

[dragonxpress]

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!