Understanding Smart Life Devices and Internet Connections
If you have a primary home Wi-Fi network, it is unusual for devices to be offline for some time if the router is in its default configuration. It occurs due to the need for devices to renew their IP leases. When you join any device to a Wi-Fi network, the device is allocated an IP address by the network administrator. Using this IP, you can identify that device on the web and ensure that it has an unbroken connection. When the IP lease is renewed, a new IP address gets assigned to the device, and the device’s connection to the Wi-Fi network is refreshed. This procedure corrects minor connection errors/glitches and assists with other technical issues. Because it takes less than a minute for your devices to be offline while the IP lease is renewed, you will most likely not notice when this occurs. However, while your smart device will normally function 99.9 percent of the time following this procedure, it only takes a little time for things to go wrong. See, all hub-less Wi-Fi smart devices (SmartiLife and the like) depend on an internet connection to function and appear as “online” in the different applications because they rely on servers in China to store and transmit data. It is common for local devices to retain their current IP addresses even after an IP lease has been renewed if they are not unplugged from the Wi-Fi or LAN network. The router can assign a device the same IP address assigned to the device when it was last connected, regardless of whether the device in question was unplugged from the Wi-Fi or turned off during the renewal process.
Why Is My Smart Device Going Offline?
It takes a little service interruption for the devices to become inaccessible for a minute or two. When this happens, it will cause a log jam on your router, as it will be overwhelmed with all of the IP requests from allyour devices simultaneouslye, further complicating matters. The answer is to switch off your router and every other device on your network (disconnect the power). Restart your router once this is completed and wait for the Wi-Fi to reconnect. Then, one by one, power on each device and check the Smartlife app to confirm that each device has been successfully connected. Other reasons why your Smart device could be offline are:
1. Errors In Your Routers Cache
The cache refers to the portion of your router’s memory dedicated to storing different instructions. Your router’s cache might be corrupted if a mistake is unintentionally placed there, resulting in router faults and internet connection disruptions. When your router runs out of resources while attempting to strike a balance between cleaning the cache and dealing with a large number of requests from different devices simultaneously, errors are most typically retained in the cache. Suppose you never allow your router enough downtime to do background maintenance without having a device connected and interacting with the internet. In that case, your Smart Life devices will probably go offline.
2. Smart Plugs Are Renewing IP Leases
By default, the router assigns a unique IP address to each device connected to the Wi-Fi network. However, that IP address assignment is only “leased” out for a set time before being returned. After that period has expired, your device will be required to renew its lease. If you find your smart plug offline, it could be because it is renewing the IP lease. Give it a few minutes and see if it connects to the internet on its own.
3. Router Is Renewing Its LAN/WAN IP Address
When you have numerous Smart Life devices connected to a router, you will notice that your devices being offline occurs more frequently throughout the IP lease renewal process. It is especially true for routers capable of 5G band steering.
4. The Connected Device is Configured Wrong
When connecting smart plugs to a network, the most frequently encountered issue is with your phone or tablet, which is understandable. This type of device has choices that can limit the operation of your smart plug’s app and lead it to become inactive altogether. Changing the following settings will aid in the re-establishment of connection:
- Low-power mode should be turned off. Low power mode can cause problems with the operation of your app and can prohibit you from connecting to your smart outlets altogether.
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and location services should all be enabled. All of these features are required for your smart plug to perform appropriately.
- Removing any data related to the smart plug’s app is a good idea. Now and again, this issue is brought on by the application. In this scenario, clearing its cache can be sufficient to fix the problem.
5. There is Wireless Interference
Like any other Wi-Fi device, smart plugs are prone to disconnection due to interference from wireless signals. Various types of interference can present themselves in multiple ways, including sluggish reaction times and the need to constantly reconnect to the network. Multiple things contribute to the interference in your house. The materials, thickness, and several walls and other objects that wireless signals must pass through all contribute to the range restriction of your home Wi-Fi. It is possible to reduce physical interference between your modem and smart plug by establishing a direct line of sight between them. Alternatively, you can place the modem in a central location to reduce the number of barriers. If your plug is located near any of the devices listed below, consider moving it to an area with fewer electrical devices. The presence of other wireless networks and devices, such as the following, causes interference:
Cameras and motion sensors Bluetooth enabled devices Radios and scanners Infant monitors Televisions
6. Your Router Is Overloaded With Other Devices
In most cases, home routers can handle 15 to 20 devices simultaneously, and in some instances, even more, if the devices in question are tablets, laptops, or smartphones. So why would a few smart plugs cause a router to become overloaded? Because Smart Life devices are essential Internet of Things Wi-Fi devices, they are controlled by a server in China, which is a source of contention. That implies that they’re hammering your Wi-Fi router with requests, which occurs around every 10 seconds with every move they make. As a result, router overloads occur, and network optimization in the Internet of Things continues to be a significant concern. Smart devices, however, aren’t the only things that are putting a strain on your router. Packet inspection, network address translation, and DDOS threat assessments are all running in the background and placing demands on your router. When you combine all of these factors with the continual barrage of requests for Smart Life devices, it’s simple to understand why your router may not be performing as best as you’d like it to be. As a general rule, the greater the number of Smart Life devices you have, the greater the likelihood that your network will be overloaded. It is because it is easier for your router to handle a large amount of data for a few devices than to process tiny pieces of data frequently for a large number of devices.
7. There’s a Bug
Bugs can cause some network issues in some cases. If you notice that your devices will randomly be offline or the internet is slow, you might be dealing with a bug in your network. To avoid bugs, do not visit dodgy websites and make sure that your apps and devices are always up to date.
8. Internet Upload and Download Speed Too Low
When your upload and download speeds are too low, your devices can disconnect from the internet. Resetting the router and ensuring that the firmware on the router is up to date will resolve the issue of sluggish upload speed. Disable any proxy settings on your computer and run a virus check on it. Additionally, try upgrading your router or internet package to provide additional bandwidth and support for numerous devices.
9. Devices Firmware Out Of Date
By updating your device firmware, you can improve the performance of your firmware or device driver, which will enhance the overall performance of your CPU. If you do not regularly update your device, it can have minor glitches and even fail to connect to the internet.
10. There’s No Signal Where Your Device Is
To be able to connect to the internet, your devices should be in a room where there is a signal. Unfortunately, not all rooms are created the same, and some rooms will have low internet connectivity compared to other rooms. If you find your device offline, it could be because it is in a room where there is no signal.
11. The Device Has Turned Off
If you check your Smart life app and notice that a device is offline, it could be because it switched off. All you need to do to connect it to the Wi-Fi is turn the device on.
How to Fix Smart Life Device Keeps Going Offline
You will notice that your Smart Life devices can be offline from time to time. To fix this problem:
1. Add a Dedicated 2.4g Wi-Fi Router for Your Smart Life Plugs
Unless you have a dedicated hub for your Smart Life devices, there is no way to prevent them from requiring an internet connection to interact with their home servers in China, located in the United States. The only other method to do this would be through extensive firmware flashing and the establishment of bespoke servers, but doing so would necessitate a significant financial and time commitment that would be counterproductive. To make things simpler and more economical, you can supplement your primary network with a 2.4G Wi-Fi router and DMZ the secondary router straight into your internet connection, bypassing the need for firewalls. Create a second Wi-Fi network (with a different name, password, and IP address) just for your Smart Life devices while leaving your hub-based devices on the old, non-DMZ Wi-Fi network. When it comes to the secondary router, you don’t want to spend too much money. It is OK to use a low-cost choice. There is a workaround if your primary router does not have a DMZ option (though it most likely does), described in detail below. Manually configure the WAN IP address of the secondary router. Additionally, manually circumvent the firewall for the secondary router to connect to the primary router via the secondary router. Turning down the firewalls on your secondary router is also a good idea because there’s no purpose in firewalling a device that’s already unsecured and sending your information to a China-based server in any case. By adding another router for your devices, you can place them on their own dedicated Wi-Fi network, reducing the strain on your primary router and saving money on your internet bill. It allows them to transmit signals to their China-based server regularly without causing your internet connection to saturate and causing everything to become unavailable.
2. Clear Routers Cache
To clear the cache on your router:
- Locate the “Reset” button on your computer. A red button on the back of most routers, which is frequently too small to push with your finger, is the most common location.
- Use a pen or any other similar-sized device to push and hold down the “Reset” button on your computer. Wait until all of the lights on the front of your router have gone dark.
- Press and hold the “Reset” button on your router. After you’ve cleared the cache on your router, try turning it back on to check if your Smart Life Devices are operating correctly again.
3. If You Have 2 Routers with the Same SSID, Change the One You’re Trying to Connect to SSID
The SSID of a wireless network is the public name used to identify the network to other devices connected to the network through Bluetooth. If you want to extend the range of your Wi-Fi network, you can use two routers with the same SSID. However, you must configure one router to handle network management and the other to function as a bridge back to the primary router. If two routers attempt to assign locations on the local area network, you will immediately run into difficulties.
- Go to the management page of your primary router and log in using your credentials. By entering the IP address into your browser’s address bar, you will be able to access the desired page.
- Log in. The SSID, security settings, and Wi-Fi channel must all be identified. Take careful note of all you’ve learned.
- The LAN settings can be found here. Change the range of accessible IP addresses to exclude the first one from the list.
- Remember to save the modified settings before turning off your primary router. It must not be simultaneously operating as you are setting the secondary network router.
- Connect to the secondary router by entering the IP address into your web browser.
- The IP address of the secondary router should be changed to match the one that was previously made available on the primary router.
- The DHCP server on the secondary router should be turned off. The computer you’re using shouldn’t be assigning IP addresses on your network. If this occurs, it will result in complications.
- Change your secondary router’s SSID and security settings to match those on your primary router.
- Change the wireless channel to distinguish it from the channel you use for your primary connection. It is the region of the radio spectrum that the router uses for broadcasting its signals. You can decrease interference on your network by utilizing a separate channel on the secondary and primary routers, respectively.
- Keep the settings on your backup router for future use.
- The Ethernet connection from one of the LAN ports on your secondary router to one of the LAN ports on your primary router must be connected.
- Start by turning on your primary router. Both routers are broadcasting the same SSID at this point.
4. Wait For The Problem to Fix Itself
If your devices are offline, you can give them a few minutes and see if the issue solves itself. Sometimes your internet can drop and quickly restore itself without you doing anything. When your devices go offline, give them a few minutes before you start resetting modems and see if the problem fixes itself. Once you realize that nothing changes, you can try other fixes.
5. Turn On The Device If It Turned Off
Your device could be offline because it switched off. Check to see if it is switched on before you start blaming the Wi-Fi connection. If you discover that your device is turned off, turn it on and wait for it to be online.
6. Use the Device In An Area With Strong Signal
The range and strength of your wireless network might be limited by various factors, even though wireless routers have continually increased in range. There are easy solutions that you can implement, many of which are fortunately free of charge. For all of their advantages, wireless networks have substantial drawbacks owing to the way they are designed to operate. All wireless signals and networks rely on radio frequency broadcasts to function correctly. To get your device back online, all you could need to do is move to an area with a strong signal. Some places have low signal strength, and if it’s too low, your device will be offline.
7. Increase Internet Speeds
The speed of devices connected to your network might vary depending on their configuration. The number of devices you connect to Wi-Fi, their age, how you use them, and the intensity of the Wi-Fi signal can all impact the speed. You can boost your speed by doing the following:
- Adjust your router’s antennas– An internal antenna is built into a router or wireless gateway; this means that it cannot be adjusted and must remain in place. If this is the case for you, you can skip this section. However, if your router does have adjustable antennae, you should experiment with altering them. As a rule, router antennae are omnidirectional, which means that signals are sent in all directions perpendicular to the antennae unless otherwise specified. For example, a vertical antenna transmits Wi-Fi signals horizontally, whereas a horizontal antenna transmits signals vertically.
- Move your router to a better location- Wi-Fi signals can only go so far before they are disrupted or obstructed by objects such as walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, appliances, and, in general, any major physical item in the way. Other devices, such as cordless phones and Bluetooth speakers, can cause these signals to be disrupted by radio waves from their transmitters. You can experience problems with Wi-Fi at the other end of your home if you position your router at the edge of your home’s space. The optimal position for your router is in a central, elevated area that is close to where you use the internet the most frequently.
8. Update the Devices Firmware
We all tend to put off software upgrades in favor of just getting on with our job. Sadly, continual software upgrade cycles make it more probable that the performance of older devices will decrease; as a result, making it even more challenging to stay up with the latest technology. By ensuring that your devices are maintained up to date, you can ensure that they perform at their peak performance.
9. Use a Phone Hotspot to Check Whether It’s The Networks Problem
If you are not sure if the device is with your device or your internet connection, use a phone and hotspot the machines to check if you are having network problems. If your devices pick up the hotspot and function correctly, then the issue is with your Wi-Fi. You can then take steps to reboot your router and fix the internet.
10. Replace Smart Device
11. Repair Smart Device
Before you decide to replace your smart device, you need to know if it can be fixed. You can do a quick search online to see if there are people in your area who can look at your smart device and fix it. Sometimes repairing a device can be more expensive than replacing it, so weigh your options.
12. Contact Manufacturer
If you encounter any problems with your smart life devices, contact the manufacturer. Describe the issue you have in detail so that the customer support can suggest troubleshooting options for you. You can visit the official social media pages of the manufacturer to get their contact details.
The Conclusion
Connecting your Smart Life devices to a new Wi-Fi network is as simple as pie. A smart outlet is a fantastic technology that allows customers to control their appliances since it is connected to the internet. The purpose of an innovative outlet is often to assist the user in conserving more energy while also being able to regulate the appliance’s status remotely. Many consumers have reported problems with their smart plug’s connectivity. The problem, they claim, is that their Smart Life outlet is not connecting. If you are also experiencing a similar issue, there is no need to worry about it. For your Smart life devices to work, you need to be connected to the internet. If there is an interruption with your internet connection, your Smart life devices will not function the way they should.
