It’s all about the network.
The backbone of your Remo+ device’s functionality is your home WiFi network. To work effectively, it requires a stable and reliable internet connection and a specific network environment. The WiFi environment is defined on your router.
Remo+ devices require:
- Radio Frequency: 2.4 GHz (WiFi Network)
- Encryption: WPA2
- Wireless Mode: 801.11 b/g or 802.11 b/g/n
The router manages internet traffic, connects multiple devices, and provides wireless access (WiFi). Most routers are completely compatible with Remo+ devices with default settings and will require little or no configuration. And while a 2.4 GHz network is required, your Remo+ device can work perfectly well on a dual-band WiFi network (using both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) if band steering is not being used.
Band steering is a technology used in dual-band WiFi routers (those that operate on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands). It automatically steers devices to the most appropriate frequency band, usually pushing compatible devices to the faster and less congested 5 GHz band, while leaving others on the 2.4 GHz band. This is meant to optimize network performance and reduce interference. But sometimes, if the band steering is too aggressive, it can prevent your Remo+ and other 2.4 GHz IoT devices from being able to connect, or stay connected to your WiFi network.
This is a problem that can easily be overcome by configuring your router. If you own your router, you can configure it any way you see fit. However, if your ISP (Internet Service Provider) owns the router, you may or may not be able to configure it.
If your ISP is Spectrum, Cox, Frontier, Xfinity, or Verizon you are likely to run into some issues as these providers implement band steering on the routers they deploy and many times, depending which ISP and which router, they disallow configuration of their routers by their customers.
In this situation, the options available are:
- Change the configuration of the router if possible (we can help with this).
- Call the ISP and ask them to configure the router from their end (we can help with this).
- Purchase an inexpensive router like the TP-Link N300 for $19 and connect it to the ISPs router to create your own 2.4 GHz subnet (we can help with this).
- Replace the ISPs router with your own router (we can help with this).