I am exploring different and maybe better ways to connect my smart switches. All my smart switches are Wi-fi … Kindly please don’t suggest I that go Zigbee… Its too late for that and just another expense… Lets work with what I got
The current problem is that the Sonoff inching switch that controls my gate motor is several metres away from my Isp router . Most of the time , it loses connection with the router. The signal strength icon of the inching switch on the ewelink app is One bar or mostly never.
I have tried the following experiment.
I have 2 units of the TP-link Ac1200 mesh routers that I have connected to my main Isp router via a Lan cable. I have set up a different SSID and password for the mesh system . I have then set the mesh system to operate Only on the 2.4GHZ frequency . I then paired up a Sonoff Basic R2 switch with the mesh network . I have then discovered on the ewelink mobile app that the Basic R2 switch network strength icon now displays as it as “Lan connected” instead of the Wi-fi icon displaying the signal strength.
I know from my experiment that I will now be able to place a Mesh Router closer to my gate motor ( there is a garage plug point closer to the driveway gate ).
Suppose I do connect All the Smart switches to the mesh network. What are the pros and cons of doing this ?
How will I know if a Smart switch loses loses connection with the mesh router ? Will the ewelink app notify me ? Or
What if the ISP router loses connection with the internet ? … The smart switches will still remain connected with the mesh network. …However …will the ewelink app display all devices as offline ?
Would a Mesh system be a better option as a Primary link to Smart switches ? …Meaning … if I decide to change ISP routers several times ( different brands and services providers ) … this should mean … I won’t have to set the same SSID and Password to the all the time ? . … I simply have to plug in the mesh router to the Isp router …??
Also … Does a Single mesh router/node have a greater signal strength/range output( in metres ) than a standard ISP router or even that of a Sonoff ihost hub ???
And finally and very importantly …Why is that Sonoff ihost hub so Ridiculously expensive ???
No, it doesn’t. iHost is not a hub and it doesn’t act as an access point for WiFi.
To take full advantage of WiFi mesh, client devices must also support it (802.11r, 802.11k, 802.11v standards). Not every device can do this and not every device needs it. Mesh certainly makes a difference when it comes to mobile devices that you move around with within the mesh coverage area. Desktop devices will benefit from mesh to a lesser extent or not at all. In the case of Sonoff devices, none of them is mesh aware. So you cannot expect here any improvement over WiFi without mesh.
Here are the WiFi properties of NSPanel Pro:
Hi Ward … Apologies for the late reply…Thank you for your feedback.
The Deco mesh routers also send an Offline notification to my phone should a device disconnect . The Deco app has that feature , Interestingly I discovered that all Sonoff devices sometime or another disconnect from the wifi connection and then reconnects automatically ??.. and this even happens when a device is less that a metre away from the wifi router…??
I have also discovered that the Sonoff devices do in fact connect to the mesh system. How it selects a Node is a mystery as the info from the Deco app shows that at certain times a particular Sonoff device will change connection from Node 1 to Node 2 and vice versa.
Hi jam3 … Apologies for the late reply…Thank you for your Feedback…
Thank you for clearing that misunderstanding about the ihost…I was not aware that the ihost is not a wifi access point.
Here’s something of interest :
You are also correct in that the signal strength of all the routers are the same. I used a wifi analyser app on my phone to confirm this.
I know that in an RF device , you can extend the built in antenna by adding a longer piece wire…
Is there any way to improve the reception of a wifi smart device ?
Sonoff devices do not actively change access points. None of them have the capacity to take advantage of mesh capabilities. Note that IoT devices are not mobile, so actively changing the access point is not applicable here because it does not make sense. In simple terms, WiFi network coverage fluctuates and this is normal. This is probably where your impression that they choose nodes comes from. Meanwhile, something else is happening.
In mesh networks, nodes pass clients to each other, choosing the most optimal scenario. If the device is dual-band (2.4GHz + 5/6GHz) and can switch seamlessly, the ability to change bandwidth comes into play. However, the client device must support this mode of operation.
In general, mesh networks are damn complex systems and each manufacturer uses its own solutions to handle the control logic. This article is worth a read.
Despite appearances, antennas are not random pieces of wire. Their design and dimensions depend on their intended use and radio band/length. WiFi operates in the 2.4 and 5/6GHz bands, so it is a UHF signal. Radio waves are millimetres (e.g. 2.4GHz = 0.12491352m). This must also be the length of the antenna or a multiple of it. As in life, it is not only the length that matters but also the way it is crafted. Watch [this video]In my opinion, fiddling with the antennas will get you nowhere. Bringing the antenna outside the unit would make sense if the unit is mounted in radio attenuating areas (e.g. metal boxes). But it still can’t be “some piece of wire”. See how Sonoff has solved this. Exemplary!(https://youtu.be/24_SA4xm09o).
