Troubleshooting
First, perform the following general checks:
| Check | Remark |
|---|
| 1 | Was the correct Wi-Fi network (SSID) configured on the Digital black? |
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| 2 | Was the password entered correctly? Was the password recently changed? |
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| 3 | Make sure the Digital black is in the same network as the connected controller or smart hub (i.e. the Wi-Fi router or access point the Digital black is connected to must be part of the same LAN network as the connected controller or smart hub) |
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| 4 | Check for interference from other devices (e.g. microwaves, baby monitors, cordless phones ...) | Symptoms - The device experiences difficulty while connecting during setup
- It repeatedly disconnects and reconnects to Wi-Fi
- The device is shown as 'Offline' in the app but reconnects automatically
- The device responds slowly during reconfiguration
Also see: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9276282?%20hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid%20from%20Google%20Nest%20Help |
| 5 | Make sure the Wi-Fi signal is not blocked by other furniture or household equipment (radiators, aquariums, TVs ...) |
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If the problem hasn't been resolved, perform more advanced checks (related to the known product limitations and interoperability):
| Problem | Action |
|---|
| 1 | Not compatible with Wi-Fi 5 (5GHz) | - Do not use band steering
- Do not lock the device to 5 GHz access points
- Make sure the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network is enabled
- Make sure the SSID is applied to 2.4 GHz access points
|
| 2 | Not compatible with Wi-Fi 6 (e.g. the Proximus Internet Box) | - Contact Proximus customer services as this issue is not inherent to the Digital black
|
| 3 | Not compatible with WPA3 | - Make sure the SSID supports WPA2
- Connect to WPA2 only in case a mixed WPA2/WPA3 mode does not work
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| 4 | Not compatible with Protected Management Frames (MFP or PMF)
| - Make sure the MFP (or PMF) feature is set to 'optional' for the selected Wi-Fi network/SSID. If the problem persists, disable MFP for the selected Wi-Fi network
|
| 5 | Not compatible with WPA2 Enterprise | - Make sure the SSID supports plain WPA2
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| 6 | Not compatible with WPA3 Enterprise | - Make sure the SSID supports plain WPA2
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| 7 | Not compatible with open networks | - Make sure the SSID supports plain WPA2
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| 8 | Not compatible with WEP | - Make sure the SSID supports plain WPA2
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Links to Wi-Fi brand troubleshooting pages
Using the Digital black in a Ubiquiti/Unify network environment
Wi-Fi recommendations
- Disable automatic upgrades for your access points
- Upgrades should only be performed if the device is no longer working
- Put the TX Power setting to 'Medium', instead of 'High' or 'Auto'
- The AP-TX power level should be lowered to reduce interference, and ensure a stable connection to the network equipment
- Only use channels 1,6 and 11
- This allows you to reduce interference
- Ensure 'Band Steering' is disabled
- This way, you can access the network more easily if it does not support 5G
- Set DTIM to 'Static 1.3' and Min data rate to 'static 1Mbps'
- These fixed values allow legacy clients to easily communicate via the network
- Ensure that the DHCP range is set to above 230 addresses
- This guarantees that IP addresses are available for the network equipment
- Disable PMF
- Make sure this setting is set to 'Disabled' or 'Optional' as the Digital black does not support PMF
- Reserve IP addresses for Niko equipment
- This guarantees that IP addresses are available for the Niko equipment
- Use a USG router instead of the ISP-provided router
- This results in a more stable network
- Make sure the network strength on the Digital black is not lower than -75dBm
- Check one of the three tabs in the upper right corner of the display and click the pixel at the top right three times consecutively
Troubleshooting
| Device | Problem | Cause | Action |
|---|
| 1 | General | Side effects from access point locking | - The signal strength might vary inside homes, even for fixed (mounted) devices
| - Disable access point (AP) locking for all Wi-Fi devices
- Make sure the Wi-Fi device/client can choose the access point depending on the signal strength to guarantee redundancy
- If the installer insists on using an access point (AP) locking, at least two access point roaming options need to be foreseen for the client device. Otherwise, issues may occur when upgrading the access point software
- Check the access point lock settings
- For an UniFi access point, disable 'Lock to Access Point' in the client device settings
|
| 2 | General | Central RSSI management steering is not enabled | - Central RSSI management often pushes away devices more frequently than needed
- Client devices have the best 'view' on signal reception strength.
| - Depending on the router, disable or do not use RSSI level management
- In a UniFi network, disable 'Minimum RSSI' in the device/access point settings
|
| 3 | Digital black | Asymmetrical signal strength | Modern access points may have a high TX signal strength, making them easy to be discovered by the Digital black and resulting in a high ranking in the BSSID list, However, since the Digital black does not have a similar TX strength, the communication path between the Digital black and the access points may become disrupted. This may result in the Digital black disconnecting and looking for a potentially better access point. - The maximum radio frequency power of the Digital black is set officially set at 15.19dBm. On average, the value is lower (around 12 dBm)
| - Make sure the access point TX power matches the 'least powerful' Wi-Fi Client. Also see: https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiap/7.
0.4/fortiwifi-and-fortiap-configuration-guide/68434/signal-strength-issues - Lower the access point signal strength, so the Digital black can choose a more appropriate access point. It might take some time to determine the appropriate signal strength as it depends on the access point and the physical environment of the building
- Do not configure access points to use high output/transmission strengths, as this may result in frequent disconnections
- In a UniFi network, a similar TX strength imbalance situation may occur with a laptop as it can detect the access point, but its signal
strength might be inadequate for proper reception
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| 4 | Digital black |
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| |
| 5 | Digital black | Manual Wi-Fi settings are overwritten |
| - Wi-Fi AI should be disabled in a UniFi network
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Check the vendor's knowledge base for advice