Here is a checklist of ways to ensure your home's Wi-Fi is optimized for Sense and other IoT products you likely use. Apologies for the length of this discussion, but it is intended to offer as many options as possible.
NOTE: If you are not sure how to address these Wi-Fi essentials, please contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for additional guidance.
1. Signal strength - (Essential)
Signal strength between Sense and your router is best between -35 dBm (strongest) to -65 dBm (weakest).
- If the signal strength is poor, it may require you to install a Wi-Fi booster or to re-locate your router closer to Sense.
- If your Sense system is a monitor in your electrical panel, your antenna must be located on the exterior of the electrical panel(or adapted for a recessed panel). You may need to extend the antenna with a coaxial cable to a more reliable location. (You can also move the antenna around a bit, like an old fashioned TV antenna, as that sometimes helps.)
2. Encryption settings - (Essential)
Ensure that WPA2 encryption is selected for your network. Sense is not compatible with WPA2 / WPA3 or WPA3 encryption standards.
3. Dedicated 2.4 GHz band - (Essential)**
Place all legacy smart devices onto a dedicated 2.4 GHz band with a unique network name (SSID). If you have a single Wi-Fi network with both 2.4 and 5gHz bands, split them into separate dedicated networks and connect all IoT devices to the 2.5gHz band network.
- Also, disable band steering functionality if your router has this enabled.
- Never configure a 2.4 GHz channel other than 1,6, or 11 as doing so is counterproductive.
- If your router supports auto-channel selection, that would be helpful to enable, as auto-channel selection will make sure your router uses the best 2.4 GHz channel (1, 6, 11) based on how crowded these are.
** Note ** Many Wi-Fi routers let you join both bands (the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz) under the same SSID. This may simplify connecting new products and allow devices on each band to talk to each other, but it presents problems for IoT products (like Sense) that need to work steadily on one band.
4. Access Points - (for homes with multiple access points)
If you have multiple Access Points (AP), make sure each AP uses a different Wi-Fi channel so they do not interfere with each other. Also, verify Sense is connected to the AP closest to it and is not roaming to different APs.
If your system meets these essential requirements, try unplugging your router and waiting 10 seconds, then plug it back in to reset the configuration and clear up any spotty behavior.
If your trouble persists, we need to verify the issue via a copy of the error log in the Sense mobile app. You can get a copy of that log in two steps:
(1) Reboot the monitor (go to your electrical panel and turn the Sense breaker OFF, wait 5 seconds, then turn it back ON).
(2) Then, return to the Sense mobile app and try the connection setup again. You will receive an error screen message that will invite you to tap “Help and Support” > “Contact Support”. From there, it will populate the log in an email window and allow you to send it to support@sense.com.
Finally, to ensure your data remains secure, we also ask that you explicitly grant permission for us to look into your home's data. I apologize if we may have asked you this already, but it is important we are absolutely sure permission to look into your data is granted.
Let us know, of course, if your problem persists.