Smartplugs wont connect to Eero mesh wifi

[Craighew]

I have 6 (Teckin SP23) smartplugs around the house, used maily for switching various lights on and off in the garden and the house.

They were set up whist i was still FTTC.

Our new FTTP full fibre 500 setup sees these 6 and they work superbly, however it refuses to let me add any more (identical) plugs.

Suspending 5GHz channel temporarily doesnt resolve this.

Disabling my Eeros and creating a mobile hotspot (2.4GHz) with the same login credentials as the Eero gets my plugs setup, but as soon as the eeros come back on line the new plugs show as offline. The Smartlife, Eero app, nor Alexa cannot coax them online.

Has anyone successfully installed smartplugs onto an Eero mesh system?

If so, how on earth did you manage to do that?

Craig

[Divsec]

Hi @Craighew thanks for the update glad your patience and perseverance paid dividends. 

[Craighew]

Just by way of an update in case some future unfortunate soul is pulling their hair out with Teckin (or other brands of) smartplugs.

After a few days i set up another wifi hotspot on my wife's phone, using exactly the same LAN SSID and password credentials as my main Eero system.

I then easily added a few new Teckin plugs.

Once i disabled the hotspot I looked for the new plugs on the recommended smartlife app.

They showed ad "offline". ☹️

Dismayed, i just left it at that.

A few hours later i used the smartlife app to switch on another device and blow me, the new Teckins were online....!

So it would seem once added via the hotspot method, the Eero wifi takes a bit of time to see the new additions.

Anyway, a couple of weeks on now and all seems good with all 12 smartplugs performing well.

[KeithFrench]

If you use ZIGBEE ones @Craighew, although the channel numbers seem different, they do map to certain 2.4GHz channels, making WiFi channel allocation much more complex. I can provide further information on that, but it probably won't be today now. Let me know.

[Craighew]

@KeithFrench 

Appreciate the suggestions.  I have disabled most of the configurable settings: 5GHz (suspends for 10 minutes), legacy mode (turns off Wifi 6), client steering (points devices to the strongest wifi signal as you move between Eeros), Thread  support (I dont need this), all to no avail.

Don't worry I'll keep plugging away at this and if I make progress I'll post up the solution for others down the line.

I may just take the plunge and swap out my Teckin plugs for zigbee ones (but that's a whole other scenario).

thanks Keith,

Craig

[KeithFrench]

The channel selection on the Eero is not locked as such. It is just that it automatically manages the channel allocation & changes to the best channel. However, if (not in your case) all channels were congested, is it able to pick the least worst, (I do not know)? It may be that some IP traffic is being blocked by the Eero, what about disabling Amazon Secure (I think that is what it is called)?

[Craighew]

@KeithFrench 

Well, that was interesting.  Connecting the router to the ONT as suggested provided me with my "old" wifi network (same credentials exactly as the new one).

Using the recommended Smartlife App on my phone I was easily able to install 3 new plugs.

Once installed, the plugs could be switched via the app correctly.

Upon disconnecting the router and reconnecting the Eero to the ONT the 3 new plugs then revert to being "Offline" in the smartlife app.

So, much the same as when I set the moblie hotspot up.  I'm thinking that the 2.4GHz wifi provided by the Eero isn't the same as the 2.4 GHz wifi provided for by either the DG8041W or the mobile hotspot.

One quirk of the Eero is that lots of settings are effectively locked.  Wifi channel selection is such an example.  Not sure if the Smartplugs utilise a specific channel (I suspect not but what do I know?) The Eero 2.4GHz operates on channel 6.  Didn't think to check the router channel but I can do that easily.....

Craig

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Craighew 

Before commenting about bridge mode, as it depends on exactly how you plan to use the DG8041W, what about temporarily connecting the Huawei directly to the ONT in place of the complete mesh? Connect the ONT to the red WAN Ethernet port on the DG8041W. Do all of your smart plugs connect OK then or is the result just the same?

[Craighew]

Hi @KeithFrench  Keith, we've "chatted" before although probably a couple of years ago now.

Yeah, I've set up 4 Eero 6 pro's as a mesh system, it works really well apart from smartplugs clearly.

Yes I still have my (previous) DG8041W router.  I was tempted to try and fire this up to provide a stable 2.4GHz wifi network (that the smartplugs need) but as far as I'm aware it isn't compatible with my Full Fibre 500 service and will not sit on my LAN.

Please advise if this isn't the case?

I've read a little about bridged mode etc but not sure if this would work.

Can I utilise the old router in some way?

Thanks,

Craig

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Craighew 

Whilst I do not have an Eero or these smart plugs, I do have a lot of experience with Wi-Fi reception & connection issues. I have read on this forum that a number of people complain that the Eero does not have such a good Wi-Fi range as other TalkTalk routers. This is most likely because it is designed to be just one node in a mesh system, requiring you to possibly purchase at least one more. Not having an Eero myself, I cannot prove this either way.

Prior to your upgrade, which TalkTalk router did you have & do you still have it?

[Craighew]

Hello and thanks for the reply.

Yes, I've read that (and most other internet threads) one and unfortunately those plugs are nothing like mine.

Hopefully someone with an Eero system will have managed to connect a smartplug.

I don't mind purchasing a different manufacturers plug, I just need them to install and work.

although I agree it's a red kipper, thanks for taking the time to reply...

[Divsec]

Hi @Craighew I'm neither an Eero nor Teckin user. I did read the following on the eero community

"The fix involved doing a hard-reset on the plugs:

Make sure that you have the 8-digit code from the bottom of the plug written down or that you can easily see that code.

Hold down the power button. The light will flash green, flash red and green, go out and then flash green again. Release your finger.

Go to the settings on your phone and tap on WiFi. Please make sure your phone is connected to your home 2.4 WiFi network. You should see the iHome Smart Plug in the WiFi “Set Up New Device”. Tap on the plug and follow the instructions. Once WiFi says it's connected to the network, tap DONE.

Next you will go into the iHome Control app and connect the plug to the Control App by clicking on the devices tab on the bottom of the page and add device. Follow the app to connect your plug. 

Once you get the plug connected tap on the information (i) to the right and it will say edit. Then scroll to firmware to check for update. It will tell you if the plug needs an update.

The key was Step 2: If I did that in the phone WIFI settings - then the iHome app could successfully complete the configuration."

Sorry if this is a complete red herring.