WiFi connection issues with dongle

Hello all,

I’ve had a new battery system and inverter installed. Throughout the process the dongle struggled to connect to my home WiFi.. the signal was weak in the garage where the items have been installed. The installer tried for three hours with no success

I was told a mesh WiFi system would work. I had a friend install one and the signal greatly improved however my connection issues still existed. The installer called the technical support and they said the mesh WiFi doesn’t work with the dongle.

We then disconnected from the mesh and attempted to connect back to my main network. Eventually it connected (after hanging the router out of the window). The connection is now present but with a weak signal.

Does anyone know if I can try reconnecting the mesh network? Has anyone know of issues or is anyone connecting via the mesh with no issues?

Thanks

Adam

adamjohn393 My system is in a detached garage some 40m from the house. I use a wireless point to point bridge from the house to the garage (which is also my workshop and office above). The p2p gives me a network port off which I hang a 5 port switch - one port of which has an old BT hub (router) which I use as a wifi access point. The p2p are ubiquiti nano stations - you don't need a full ubiquiti system to use them for p2p. It's been rock solid since I installed it more than a year ago. The switch is also ubiquiti - their cheap 5 port flex mini - again these will work as a simple unmanaged switch without a full ubiquiti or unifi system. If your garage is closer and it's power runs off a circuit from your main fuse box you could try an even simpler PowerLine network. These are devices that plug into your power sockets and turn your whole power rings into a network carrier. These would replace the p2p above. Plug one into a socket near your router and connect your router to it using a netowrk cable. Plug another in the garage and then plus a wifi access point into that. Any old broadband router can be turned into an access point without buying a fancy new one. Also th eolder ones will proably not throw a wobbly with the dongle. If you go the powerLine route get newer ones as they will work over noisier cicuits and longer distances.

adamjohn393 You could run an ethernet cable out to your garage and use it to plug a wifi access point located in the garage and then plug the other end of the ethernet into your home router. You can buy a dedicated Access Point, or if you have an old router, you could use that. The key thing to remember with the old router is that it needs manual configuration, which isn't difficult but does need to be right. This would probably be the most reliable way to get 2.4GHz wifi to the garage and would also give you additional ethernet ports there if needed.

cluelesscris thanks for your reply but I’m not technical and that didn’t make much sense, sorry

Are those mesh systems no good in linking up to the dongle? It’s annoying having that all set up and it’s of no use

My current WiFi is working at the min and it’s all connected but worries it could lose signal.

Thanks

Tim thanks but there isn’t a Ethernet port in the inverter to connect into

Had same issue as router and inverter were on diagonally opposite corners of house.
PV installer fitted a product by "Devolo" that plugs into router ethernet port and a mains socket. The signal is than passed through your house mains to the receiver box plugged into a socket in garage next to the inverter. This box transmits the wifi for the inverter dongle, or ethernet cable if your inverter had that port.
Not sure how much these devices cost as the installer just fitted it within the agreed costs to get it up and running.

adamjohn393 Ok so it's a gen1 inverter. The suggestion was to take an ethernet cable to the garage (or wherever) where the inverter is and then install a local wifi Access Point to provide 2.4GHz wifi next to the inverter. There are plenty of ways to solve the problem, but all need some internet research or bringing in some expertise from friends or trades. Your inverter just needs to get its 2.4GHz wifi from where it is to the house router. Mesh, as long as 2.4GHz is part of the network should work, but I guess they're saying that your house wifi isn't their problem.

DIG thanks I may have a look into this