Sonoff L3-5M won't connect to WiFi

Some additional details which may help in resolving the issue:
LED strip goes offline regardless of internet connection status. It just happens randomly.
Here is the SSID status:


And here is the L3 firmware version:

Hello. Same problem here.

I received the led strip today and the controller will not switch to wifi in the app.


It gives me a message for an update for the flickering…

When trying to update firmware, the device appears offline because it reports not connected to wifi.

However, the wifi hotspot appears properly connected in the wifi settings

On top of this, the device appears in the client list of my wifi router.

The settings of my wifi hotspots are fine and compatible with the requirements of this device. The device connects to th 2.4 Ghz hotspot and does not disconnect until I turn it off.

I have a Wifi6 router but also tried with a Wifi5 and a Wifi4 router. Same results. I tried with an older Samsung tablet, same problem. I also tried 3 different smartphones, the device remains on bluetooth and will not switch to wifi.

I need a solution, otherwise I am planning to return this ledstrip immediately for a refund, because not switching to the wifi connection when the device connects to my router is a dealbreaker for me.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

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Everything is the same with my device, except that at the end I managed to connect it to WiFi, but it disconnects randomly where the only solution is to turn the led strip off and on again.

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The question is obviously, how did you manage? :smiley:
I have to test this if possible, mine might remain connected.
If it disconnects, I am not willing to go around the ceiling to unplug
whenever it disconnects, I would rather return for a refund and get
myself a more reliable led strip.

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I had to enable legacy 802.11 rates on my access point… If you have that option try with that.


I also have 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz WiFi in my home, several APs with separated gateway, dns and dhcp servers.
Every device until now worked without any issues.
For gateway I’m using opnSense, and for APs OpenWRT. Network is working perfectly.

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As you probably have seen in the photos, there is no “legacy mode”. However, all network protocols are enabled, b, g, n, ax. I tried with a repeater, no luck. I also tried with an older wifi router, same problem. All other wireless devices (35+ devices), including other Sonoff products work fine on my existing hotspot. I will not buy or add a dedicated wifi router for this led strip, I prefer to return it for a refund. If Sonoff wants to install an extremely old wireless protocol that is nowadays unusable in today’s led strips and wifi environment in general, I would rather buy another led strip instead of trying to find solutions and wasting my time. Sonoff not even using Wifi1, the 802.11b from 1999 but opting for legacy Wifi from 1997, is so disappointing. From the 4 already surpassed 1-4, they chose legacy wifi. This speaks for itself. Some people will not even find a wifi router this day to connect their led strips. The box says the controller is 802.11b which we now know it is not true. In fact its misleading. 802.11b is supported from all my wifi hotspots, legacy 802.11 has no letters after the 802.11.

I have to add this also. I opened a case here to get help from other users about a Sonoff TX T2 EU wifi light touch switch and they unlisted my topic that was posted in help and feedback. This action only shows they do not care so much in helping customers or receiving feedback when something goes wrong.

The link for this topic is here. If you know something about this matter, let me know please.

Thanks Undeene for your time.
Hvala puno i pozdrav iz Grcke.

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Unfortunately I can’t ask for a refund since it would be much more expensive than to order another one, and I am not planning to order anything until I get a proper reply which will at least explain what is going on here.
Regarding your other issue, I’m afraid that I cannot offer you any smart advise, I can just hope that Sonoff support staff will resolve it as soon as possible. BTW, those switches are looking awesome :slight_smile:
Hvala i tebi, i pozdrav iz BiH :slight_smile:

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I can return for a refund in GR, the purchase is local and I can return the item within 14 days if not satisfied, no questions asked. But still, this is an item that does not perform as expected and it is only 5 days in my hands. I will opt for another led strip.

I am not saying the ledstrip is bad, but the wifi protocol chosen in the controller, is ancient in wireless terms if it is a simple 802.11.
The box of the led strip says 802.11b. Legacy wifi does not need to be present with 802.11b, unless of course the 802.11b exists only in printed paper.

Some other brand led strips work great when it comes to their connectivity but the controller fails and others have a problem with the strip and the leds itself. It is very difficult to find a good and reliable led strip, whether RGB or RGBIC. Other led strips I have used were TP-Link RGB, similar to this Sonoff. I bought 4, the controller in 3 of them died in under 6 months. I find this to be a pattern so I requested a refund for all of them and managed to get my money back.

Producers need to make reliable devices. It is better than making them cheap. The long term reward is much more profitable.

As for the reply, I really wish you good luck. My other support topic where I was asking for help, got unlisted by an admin and the topic now has a private link. This means you cannot find it unless you know the link to it. How am I supposed to get help here? I was told to raise a ticket. I raised a ticket on 21 January 2023. I got an answer 15 days later where I was asked things I explained in detail. When I replied explaining the same things I wrote in the first place, asking support to read before answering, I got nearly the same answer, plus more of a confusion from support which sounded as if they were writing to another customer. I asked for someone who can read and write English so we can communicate properly, I even made 8 videos since words were not understood, and I have received no answer since February 10. Two weeks now waiting for some kind of “support”. So when I wrote in this help and feedback forum, they unlisted my topic making it private. They left a message asking me to raise a ticket “especially for software-related issues”, when the problem is not software but hardware. Needless to say that I have already raised a ticket as I wrote. It is more than 1 month now they cannot even understand what I am writing, not to mention they are not replying to my ticket last 2 weeks, athough I have sent 2 reminders in this time. But hey, raise a ticket and we will remove the post in the meanwhile so you can get no help at all. :rage:

So once more, good luck expecting an answer in the problem, even more good luck if you raise a ticket. :unamused:

Switches are great, this 1 bad out of a total 10 switches, really kills me though…

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Any advise? Thank you in advance.

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Is there any news about that problem?
I have two L2 strips and they worked perfectly for around 1 month. Then 1 strip disconnected from wifi and wouldn’t connect it anymore. Only bluetooth control.
I deleted it from ewelink and tried to pair it again but cant anymore. So now i can only control it with remote.
Another strip disconnected from wifi and looks like same problem. Can control with bluetooth and wont connect to wifi. Im not gonna delete it from ewelink this time, because i dont want to control it with remote only.
but bluetooth and remote connection isnt what i want with these strips.

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I have an active support ticket but no good so far.
No matter what I write or ask, I always get the same response from the Sonoff team, follow these steps…etc.etc.
Even when I answer that I followed everything and nothing worked, I get the same answer again.
The strangest thing is that even when the L3 strip is connected via WiFi, as soon as I open the device via the eWeLink app, it asks me to turn on the bluetooth connection. It doesn’t seem to recognize that it’s already connected via WiFi (besides the main issue of randomly disconnecting from WiFi).
I get the impression that everyone just reads the last comment or email, and responds based on that information.

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Well, I have the same problem here. This makes the equipment useless. Let’s wait for the support ticket, but for now, the LED strip will stay in the drawer.

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same problem here, I have 10 led strips installed, keeps disconnecting randomly. Already had sorted out the Legacy mode issue on the router, still experimenting with advanced wireless router settings, but no luck. If you guys get a response from the support ticket please let us know.

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At the end, Sonoff offered me a discount code to purchase L3 Pro and to replace L3 led strip. I can’t remember, but it was something like 20 or 25% discount.
They weren’t able to fix mu issue.

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I’m using L3-5M-P

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Same here. I bought 3 strip (L3-5M-P) and they are unable to connect to the WIFI 2.4Ghz.
After a lot of searches I think that the problem is related to the fact that this led strip supports only 2.4Ghz but with only 802.11b (other sonoff WIFI devices supports 2.4Ghz but also 802.11g or n).
802.11b is an acient standard (1990) and it is removed from modern routers (i.e. fritzbox 5530 and others).
So my question to sonoff tech support is: would be possible, with a firmware update, to support a more recent 802.11 standard within the L3-5M-P controller? Otherwise I suggest to sonoff support to clearly write this limitation in your product specification. In addition I have to throw out the strips.
I hope someone will answer.
Thanks
D

4 Likes

well,
i have the same problem with a L2 strip. I have UBNT’s UNIFI access point…
here are some strange facts…
device is connected, gets ip address, but it is not shown as connected in ewelink app.
Screenshot 2023-11-05 at 5.16.00 PM
this is a screenshot from my mikrotik router… device is connected and gets ip from dhcp server.


Screenshot 2023-11-05 at 5.16.29 PM
these are screenshots from the UNIFI controller…
the result is the same… device is not shown between others in Ewelink app…

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well, i’m sure it does not have to do with the wireless protocol.
i had an L2. Yesterday, I bought an L3-RGB and i have the same issues.
they connect to the wifi, but the are not displayed in ewelink application.
i setup a Mikrotik AP, just for the experiment, only in 802.11b, take a look…
you can see the mac addresses (D0:27:02)… connected, but nothing in Ewelink application…

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I had to try every legacy router, They won’t work anymore.

Support not support us as expectation.

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Same problems here (also in Greece just in case…). Got two L3-5M-P strips. They came with firmware version 1000.2.1060. Bluetooth only so far, no WiFi, no matter what the settings are. They do get an IP address and show on the local network, but apparently the app is unaware of the connection and, of course, they are offline in Google Home.

I also have B02-BLs, B05-BLs and DUALR3 Lites, which are fine so far and B02-Fs which fail to upgrade the firmware (for months now stuck to 1.3.2 with 1.3.5 “available”).

I’m not even sure if anyone from Sonoff is reading this.