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Smart Wifi Plus Discs not connecting as extenders

pst99
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor

‎30-09-2024 02:02 PM - edited ‎30-09-2024 02:02 PM

Hi, I've recently migrated to EE from BT and got all new Kit...Smart Hub Plus, 3 Smart Wifi Plus discs and Hybrid Connect.

No matter which way I add the Smart Wifi Plus discs I cannot get them to show up as extenders which means I can't manage them (i.e. turn the lights off as they are too bright at night in my bedroom) and I can't see through any interface which devices are connecting through them...

I've tried adding using a Cat5 cable, using WPS button on hub and adding through EE app. I always end up with the solid aqua light and they do appear to be working (I see the additional BSSIDs being broadcast against my SSID) but they stubbornly refuse to show up as extenders in the router admin interface or in the EE app.

Has anyone else experienced this and found a solution...or are there EE bods here that can help?

 

18 REPLIES 18
bobpullen
Scholarly Contributor
Scholarly Contributor
In response to pst99

‎30-09-2024 04:07 PM

@pst99 wrote:

@bobpullen Yes, I have DHCP turned off on the router as I use a Raspberry Pi for DHCP so I have control over DNS (again, just like I used to on my BT setup).

Aha! Wouldn't explain the observation when trying with DHCP enabled, but worth you having a read of this thread .

pst99
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor
In response to bobpullen

‎30-09-2024 04:22 PM

@bobpullen Thanks, that looks like a sensible thing for me to do anyway...so as the extenders are using EE default DNS rather than that provided by my Pi (I use Adguard Home rather than Pi Hole...but similar idea).

As I say, I did try the discs before changing the DHCP stuff...but no harm in making them use EE DNS as I expect by the way EE are removing functionality from the router interface they very rarely test anything against non-vanilla configs...so may help for future updates 😉

0 Helpful
bobpullen
Scholarly Contributor
Scholarly Contributor
In response to pst99

‎30-09-2024 04:30 PM

@pst99 - let us know how you get on.

0 Helpful
pst99
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor
In response to pst99

‎30-09-2024 04:34 PM

@bobpullen So my plan is as follows...

I have 3 discs all exhibiting the same behaviour...i.e. they appear to work but don't show up as extenders.

1 I'll leave alone...so standard DHCP client going through my Pi & Adguard (Cloudflare DNS)

2 Pi DHCP pointing it to the router for DNS. reboot but leave as is - ie already joined to the router

3 Pi DHCP pointing it to the router for DNS. Reset the disc and rejoin to the router

I'll feed back if I see anything different to what I'm seeing now..

pst99
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor

‎30-09-2024 06:01 PM - edited ‎30-09-2024 06:01 PM

So...they all now show up as Wifi Extenders...although the router is misbehaving a bit at the moment (gui hanging etc) so have rebooted everything and waiting for things to settle down

Just marking the mac addresses of the 3 extenders as except from adguard and telling the pi dhcp to point them at the router for DNS rather than at cloudflare appears to have done the trick...although this does not explain why they were not connecting properly before I'd disabled the router dhcp and connected the Pi...

Equally, one of the discs I'd reset (after exempting from adguard etc) and was still playing up until I'd rebooted it after having rejoined it to the network...

So...a few things at play here I think...but I think it's fair to say...extenders will not work if you have custom DNS/ad blockers... So whatever you use for DNS must point any extenders back at the smart hub plus (Thanks @bobpullen ) even if pointing your other clients at different DNS servers

0 Helpful
pst99
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor

‎08-10-2024 01:37 PM

I have the same issue. I have 3 extenders (as I had three discs when I migrated from BT).

The Smart Hub Plus UI shows no devices connected on any of the extenders, the EE app (when it eventually shows the extenders) shows what looks accurate as far as I can check.

Additionally, the 'positioning/connection' info appears different between the SH+ UI and the EE app... i.e. The UI (Under Wireless | Wifi Extenders) shows them all as 'Good connection' where as the EE app show one as being 'Too Close'

pst99_0-1728390489302.png

pst99_1-1728390595000.pngpst99_2-1728390622408.png

I have to say, since moving from BT to EE I have lots of teething issues, and the 'management' of my (and I do consider everything connected inside my house as MY) network is hopeless. I get that as a supplier they might be trying to dumb things down so we can't break things...but make it work first (and ideally have an advanced mode for people that want it to use the full functionality of the routers).

Historically (before digital voice) I used my own routers where I had full control of everything, but that isn't an option now...I would have to at least have the EE router plugged in for the digital voice. I'm not going to invest in an up to date mesh setup  unless I could get rid of the EE equipment entirely...i.e. If we could use 3rd party routers (that have DECT and support VOIP) with the digital voice service.

j0hnhartley1
Explorer
In response to JimM11

‎16-11-2024 08:22 AM

  1. I have exactly the same problem with the WiFi Plus extenders, but with additional problems. 
  2. When the extender is connected to the router by WiFi it shows up, but is greyed out. Devices connected through it show a low Link Speed.
  3. When connected back to the router by ethernet the extender is invisible, and devices connected through it are also invisible, BUT they do connect and have a gigabit Link Speed, as reported by the device.
  4. If I connect a second extender using ethernet the extender shows the blue connection light, but the router screws up, allocating invalid IP addresses, eg 2 devices with the same IP, or an address that is not in the subnet at all.
  5. I surmise that the router allocates an address of 192.168.168.100 to any extender connected by ethernet, hence the clash.
  6. It also allocates this out-of-range address to devices connected through it, Even if that extender is removed, DHCP treats the invalid IP as 'Static' so the only escape is to change the IP to genuinely Static at the device, and put in all the correct addresses.
  7. Final insult: The router is supposed to show down and upload volumes for each device. It does not.

Conclusion: A major software update is urgently needed. The current "Smart Plus" router is much worse than the BT one it replaces.

0 Helpful
JimM11
Brilliant Contributor
Brilliant Contributor
In response to j0hnhartley1

‎16-11-2024 02:00 PM

@j0hnhartley1 Just a user on EE like yourself, but thank you for the very concise update to what is going on with the mesh, not many look to give as much detail in the operation, and i do not use EE smart wireless, purely Asus AI mesh in operation, The app and the web interface for extenders do not appear to be making it easy in determining anything of relevance, just cannot think why the operation is so fruitless. 

Is your EE kit all just new, or have you had it for a while now?

j0hnhartley1
Explorer
In response to JimM11

‎17-11-2024 02:53 PM

All new, EE Smarthub + 3 extenders . Have booked an engineer visit for 25th Nov,  so will update IDC.

John 

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