Known Router Issues – Flair

Overview

If the Flair Gateway Puck is not connecting to your router, try these quick tips:

1. Ensure your router is capable of broadcasting a 2.4GHz network. Flair requires a 2.4GHz network connection. During Flair app setup, 5.0GHz networks will not be visible.

2. If possible, set up a 2.4GHz guest network that the Gateway Puck can connect to.

3. Simplify your network hardware.

4. If using a mesh router with an existing router, bridge mode must be enabled.

   2. Try connecting directly to the router instead of a node.

Incompatible Routers

The following routers have known issues with the chip used with Flair. Please contact support if you have one of these routers. If you have an old router that you can hook up,

• Arris D63450, D63450A
• Asus RT-AX92U
• Cisco RV160 (EOL router)
• Linksys WRT3200ACM
• Hitron Coda 4589 - this router combines 2.4 and 5.0 networks and the Puck does not stay connected
  • Turn off band steering

- OR -

• Create a guest network

Routers with Known Issues

• Asus RT-AC55U: If the router goes offline, when it comes online, Gateway Pucks are unable to re-connect to WiFi. Perform "Forget WiFi" for all Gateway Pucks, then re-add Gateway Pucks via the PLUS menu -> Add new Gateway Puck.

• Netgear Orbi:

  • The router has some Armor features that filter traffic. Check to see if this is active/on and remove/disable/turn it off.
  • Try setting up a guest network and check the box to "allow devices on my network".

• XFinity XB7

  • This router by default broadcasts the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks over the same SSID.  You need to separate the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks and give them distinct SSIDs.  The xfinity term here is "Split Bands".
  • The router may also be configured to use the WPA3 encryption protocol.  Flair Pucks do not yet support the WPA3 protocol.  The customer should change this to WPA2.
  • Open the XFinity app, tap "WiFi" on the control bar on the bottom and then tap the "WiFi details button on the left side of the screen.
  • Tap "Edit WiFi settings"
  • On the "WiFi settings" screen make sure that the security mode is WPA2.  Flair Pucks cannot use the WPA3 protocol at this time.
  • You should also toggle on the "Split bands" option.  This will cause your XB7 to broadcast the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks via separate SSIDs and will prevent the band steering that causes issues for our Flair Pucks.  This is considered by many to be a better way to operate your router.
  • You will need to change the 2.4 GHz band to a different name than what is used by the 5 GHz band.
  • Check the Security mode again to ensure it is also set to WPA2.
  • Be sure that "Broadcast WiFi name" is toggled on

• These changes should allow your Flair devices to connect to your xfinity XB7 router.

Mesh Networks

Bridge Mode

Fix double NAT issues.

• eero router: Setup eero in Bridge Mode
• TP-Link Deco: if you're using a separate router, setup Deco in Wireless Access Point Mode (bridge mode). If you're using the Deco as the router, setup Deco in Wireless Router Mode.

Single (Combined) 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Network

Some mesh routers create a single 2.4 and 5.0 network instead of two separate networks. Pucks may not be able to connect to these routers. It's a known issue in the industry:

https://staceyoniot.com/why-some-smart-home-devices-wont-connect-to-your-wi-fi-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

The best solution is to manually set up a separate low-cost 2.4GHz router that’s attached to the mesh network. This will create a separate 2.4GHz network to allow the Puck (or other smart home devices) to connect to the mesh network.

Other Mesh Network Solutions

If the above doesn't work, try the following:

• For dual band routers, make sure the 2.4 GHz network network name is unique and different from the 5.0 GHz network name.

• Alternately, turn off band steering or smart connect (for Netgear) - this disables switching between the two networks.

• Try creating a 2.4GHz guest network with a unique SSID, and see if the Gateway Puck will connect to the guest network.

• Disable the mesh access points, so only the main router is powered on, and see if the Gateway Puck will connect to the main router. If so, then power on the access points.

Starlink

Bandsteering attempts to get the Puck on the 5.0gHz network. This disconnects the Puck.

Split the network into two networks: one 5.0gHz and one 2.4gHz. Each should have a unique name. The passwords can be the same.

Arlo Security System

The Arlo hub can cause interference and result in connectivity issues with other IoT devices in the home.

This is a known issue with the Arlo system.

If you have an Arlo security system and you're experiencing issues with Smart Vents going offline frequently (cycling open/close), try this test to see if the Arlo system is creating interference:

1. Disconnect the Arlo system for a week - the Smart Vents should remain online and stop cycling open/close
2. Reconnect the Arlo system for a week - if the Smart Vents begin going offline and cycling open/close again, then the Arlo is creating interference

You may want to disconnect the Arlo system when you are home and reconnect it when you will be away for extended periods of time.

OpenWRT

Issue

OpenWrt is open-source router software. There's a bug that prevents the router from assigning an IP address to the Puck, which prevents the Puck from connecting to the internet and communicating with the Flair app.

These articles explain that OpenWrt has interoperability issues with IoT devices with ESP chip sets (Flair Puck uses the ESP-8266 chipset):

• Some IoT devices can’t connect to WiFi APs provided by the router
• ESP8266/Embedded devices unable to connect to 2.4Ghz Radio
• Enabling WMM causes issues

Solution

There are two options:

1. Disable WMM <-- may result in speed loss
2. Enable WMM but Disable LDPC

We recommend option 1. If the user can create a dedicated network used only for IoT devices, they can just disable WMM for that network.

Gateway Puck won't Connect during WiFi Setup

1. Try doing a firmware update on your networking hardware (modem, router, etc)
2. If you have multiple routing devices in your home network, make sure devices are configured in bridge mode
3. Some routers broadcast 2.4 and 5.0 GHz networks but seem to only allow devices to connect to 5.0GHz. Once a device is connected to 5.0GHz, the router will then allow connection to 2.4GHz. This has been identified as the WiFi router rejecting new connections under 2.4GHz. Try these  specific router solutions:

• Google WiFi - Set Up Guest Network
• Archer TP-Link AX-1800 - Set Up Guest Network
• Single (Combined) 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Network
• Ubiquiti Unifi Dream Machine SE - GeoIP Blocking

Google WiFi - Set Up Guest Network

Newer Google WiFi is called the Nest WiFi.

Create a separate guest network - or follow these steps to use a guest network to connect to the main network.

1. Temporarily rename the home WiFi to "Temp 123" - do not change the password
2. Create a Guest network that uses 2.4GHz. Give it the original name for the home WiFi - and use the same password.

For example, if the original home WiFi name was "Mi Casa" and you renamed it to "Temp 123", then name the Guest network "Mi Casa". Both should use the same password. 3. Connect the Gateway Puck to the Guest network 4. Disable the Guest network 5. Rename the home WiFi network back to its original name 6. Power off the Gateway Puck, wait 60 seconds, and then power it back on 7. The Puck will reconnect to the home WiFi network

Archer TP-Link AX-1800 - Set Up Guest Network

Follow these steps to use a guest network to connect to the main network.

1. On the WiFI router
   1. Log into the router admin
   2. Wireless > [Wireless Settings] > Network Name: "Temporary"
   3. Wireless > [Guest Network] > Network Name: (what your main network name was)
   4. Wireless > [Guest Network] > Password: (same as your main network's password)
   5. Save (at the bottom)
2. In the Flair App
   1. Tap the PLUS sign
   2. Select "Add new Gateway Puck"
   3. Connect the Gateway to the Guest network
3. On the WiFi router:
   1. Wireless > [Guest Network] > uncheck 2.4GHz (to disable it)
   2. Wireless > [Wireless Settings] > Network Name (main network's name)
   3. Save (at the bottom)
4. Power-cycle the Puck, waiting 60 seconds before plugging in
5. The Puck will reconnect to the WiFi network

Ubiquiti Unifi Dream Machine SE - GeoIP Blocking

A number of countries may be GeoIP blocked as possible malware/phishing threat sources in the threat management settings.

Remove "Colombia" from the Geo IP block list. The router may be assuming the ".co" of "api.flair.co" is for the country of Colombia and mistakenly blocking access to api.flair.co.

Gateway Puck Repeatedly Disconnects from WiFi

• Is it happening frequently at the same time of day or night?

Check to see if your router is set to reboot every night (or on a schedule). This will cause all devices to disconnect from WiFi.

• Is it happening randomly?

• Check to see if your router has combined the 2.4 and 5.0 GHz networks. Once the Gateway Puck is connected to the 2.4 GHz network, the router may be forcing it to connect to the 5.0 GHz network. At that point it will disconnect because the Gateway Puck requires a 2.4GHz connection. Try the solutions in the Mesh Network section of this article.

• Check to see if the router is running out of DHCP leases and try increasing the number of devices that can connect to the router. Maybe when someone connects a phone or a laptop to WiFi the router is bumping the Gateway Puck off the Wifi. In most cases, a WiFi router has an estimated 200 leases before it cycles through the Lease Pool and stops allowing devices to connect. One solution is to assign the Gateway Puck(s) static IP address(es). This will prevent them from getting booted off the network. Note: this is a known issue with the Google Nest Pro mesh router.

Gateway Puck Won't Reconnect After a Power Outage

After power and WiFi is restored within the home, a Gateway Puck should should attempt to reconnect every 30 seconds, but in some cases, it won't reconnect.

The fastest solution is to do a "Forget WiFi" on all Gateway Pucks and go through WiFi Setup again. This is a good short-term solution to get the system up and running again. However, this will have to be done every time there's a power outage. For a long-term solution, try one of the following:

• Dedicated IP Address: Assign a dedicated IP address to each Gateway Puck. This is the best solution, especially for office environments.

• Increase DHCP Lease Time: When trying to reconnect, the Gateway Puck may show a WiFi symbol but appears offline in the Flair app. Increase the DHCP lease time from x hours to 7 days. This is okay for most homes. It allows the DHCP lease to last for a long time - longer than most outages - so when the Gateway Puck comes back online, the lease is still valid.

Additional solutions for mesh routers:

• Blacklist the MAC address of the Pucks on the main router. Whitelist the MAC address of the Pucks on the other access points.

• eero: Unplug Gateway Puck(s) so they will stop trying to reconnect. Wait 1 hour after the router is back online and then power on the Flair Puck.

Note 1: A Puck's MAC address is in the Status menu (push Puck to enter menus, rotate to the Status menu and push to select).
**Note 2: Reboot the Puck after any router changes.