TP Link HS100 failures

[mikeagner]

I've read a couple of comments here as to how they love their TP-Link; well , I have 2 HS100s, and they don't work with Alexa on my Echo Dot at all. Their Android app works just fine, from the little bit I have tested with them. In addition, Device Discovery only found 1 of the 2 plugs I had. I followed the FAQ at the TP Link website to the letter, and even tried rebooting my Dot - utterly worthless.

Are there some steps on that FAQ that are missing? Do I need to completely reboot my network? I'm just hoping I didn't waste good money...thanks for any advice...Mike

[mindmagic]

The Wemo FAQs say that because their switches only connect on 2.4GHz they may not connect to an Echo on 5GHz. The same will apply to TP-Link switches. As both my Echo and Dot are on 5GHz I haven't risked buying either Wemo or TP-Link.

[renegade600]

if by rebooting your network means doing a power cycle, then yes, you should do it.  doing a power cycle on your modem, your router and your echo should be one of the first things you should do when having connection problems.  unplug power from all three for a 20 count.  plug in the modem, wait for it to completely come on, then power up the router then wait for everything to connect, then power up the echo. 

how far away are your devices from your router?   if in another room, try setting them up close to the router, then once they work, move them.  I personally do not do discovery anymore.  I found that if you wait a bit, the echo will find the new device. 

[mike27oct]

@mikeagner

There is nothing wrong with your TP switches, there is nothing wrong with your Dot or Alexa, and there is probably plenty wrong with your wireless signal. 

Wireless signals in the home have a limited range; 2.4G has the greatest range and 5G has a much shorter range.  2.4G is a much slower band than 5G.  In practice, this means to set up wireless audio devices (like Alexa devices) on 2.4G for greatest range, and set up video devices capable of streaming (like, Fire TV, phones and tablets) on the faster 5G.  But, this is not all of the story; you must have a strong signal strength of both bands to have good results everywhere you want it.  In my 2-story home this is true.  I still need to use range extenders throughout the house to increase the signals higher at the farthest corners of the house.  The router must be on a top level floor and centrally located within the house; especially not in a far away basement corner.  Router must be a top quality, dual band device.  It helps to be able to measure signal strength, and there is an Android app called Wi-Fi Analyzer that does this job, and a computer app called inSSIDer, useful on laptops you can go around the house with to measure signal strength.

Your wi-fi signal is weak most every place you need it.  Fix the problem areas and your wireless gear will work better.

I have TP switches, Echos and Dots, and Fire TVs all throughout my house and do HD video streaming to many devices, (including tablets and phones), and all work perfectly because I cured any of my wi-fi issues long ago.

[mikeagner]

Everything is on 2.4Ghz (as evidenced by the fact that my Android tablet - which is on my 2.4Ghz side of the network- communicates with both plugs fine). One plug is about 6 foot from the modem, the other one is 2 foot away (no walls or corners in the way - it's a straight shot to both). Discovery only finds the closest one. Everything is in the same room. Even though Alexa reports that Discovery found 1 plug, I can't reference either - it just says that it can't find that name in My Devices in the Alexa app. They are named 'firetv' and 'livingroom'

I've attempted to turn on UPnP on my router and rebooted my Dot and switches, unfortunately nothing works so far. SSDP doesn't appear to be available on my modem (Arris TG1682G) The only thing I haven't tried yet, and I will, is to reboot the network and see what happens.

[mike27oct]

It is important to be nearby router; nearby modem is optional unless they are close to one another or combined in a single unit. Rebooting router and modem is good to do, I reboot my units monthly, just to keep them in prime condition.  If you do any video streaming, move your table to 5G. Devices on either band are both connected to the SAME network; that is the important thing.  My devices connected to 5G communicate with devices on 2.4G (or vice versa) because they ALL interact just fine.

[renegade600]

what is the router model number?   connections are limited on routers.  if older or n300 or lower, then there could be limitations issues. 

[mindmagic]

Wireless signals in the home have a limited range; 2.4G has the greatest range and 5G has a much shorter range.  2.4G is a much slower band than 5G.  In practice, this means to set up wireless audio devices (like Alexa devices) on 2.4G for greatest range, and set up video devices capable of streaming (like, Fire TV, phones and tablets) on the faster 5G.  But, this is not all of the story; you must have a strong signal strength of both bands to have good results everywhere you want it.  In my 2-story home this is true.  I still need to use range extenders throughout the house to increase the signals higher at the farthest corners of the house.  The router must be on a top level floor and centrally located within the house; especially not in a far away basement corner.  Router must be a top quality, dual band device.  It helps to be able to measure signal strength, and there is an Android app called Wi-Fi Analyzer that does this job, and a computer app called inSSIDer, useful on laptops you can go around the house with to measure signal strength.

I use 5GHz for all devices that support it, including my Echo and Dot, because there is a LOT of interference from my neighbours on the 2.4GHz band, across all channels. (I couldn't connect my Echo at all on 2.4GHz.) I second the recommendation for a check using Wi-Fi Analyser. I don't think InSSIDer is still free, but there are alternatives for a PC. You may find changing your wifi channel may help if you have neighbour interference.

[mike27oct]

I do not want to use 5G for low bandwidth using devices because of short range issues, AND I want to use 5G exclusively for video devices and file transfers if needed.  Also, I currently have over 35 devices connected to my network, so I found a clear 2.4G channel I can use by using Wi-Fi Analyzer to help.  I live in a suburb, so not as crowded with wi-fi as an apartment, etc.  I know my next door neighbors were on CH 1 and CH 11, and CH 6 had connections on it, too, but they were so weak they didn't matter.  I have been on CH 6 for a few years with no issues.  I was on both CH 1 and 11 at times in the past.

[mikeagner]

I have an Arris TG1682G Telephone Modem. Where can I look up the number of max connections? 

[mike27oct]

How about googling for Arris TG1682G ?

[mikeagner]

Such a nice, friendly response - really makes a newcomer feel welcome

Anyhow I found my modem on DSLReports, an it says there are 8 upstream and 32 downstream channels available. Just for winks I unplugged a couple of my other devices (internet radio and Android TV), rebooted the modem and let the plugs get reacquired, then reset Dot. Nada - then I went and deleted my device in the Alexa app, then manually started the Discovery. This time it found both devices - it will control my living room light, but still won't find the FireTV

Progress!

 

[mike27oct]

>>>  Such a nice, friendly response - really makes a newcomer feel welcome

Good grief, what did you expect; for someone to google it for you?  If people need to know about their router or modem, they go to the manufacture's website or google for it if they are clueless about where to begin.

I also think you really want to know about the number of devices you can connect, and not the channels of a modem. You likely have a combo router/modem if it is rented from your ISP  Sounds like your modem has a DOCSIS 3 type modem, and these kinds of modems have several channels (also called pipes) for bringing in the internet data from the ISP (the more pipes, the better).  It tells nothing about how many available IP addresses for connecting devices one can connect to the router.  Short answer is: more than most people will need. Anytime a new device is added to the router, the router assigns it a unique IP address and continues creating now IPs as each new device is added, so each has it's own unique IP address.  Actually, the number of available IP addresses that can be allotted is quite high. (My router supports up to 253 IP addresses for the local network.)  I have a houseful of devices connected to router; number today is somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 devices.  I doubt any of us will ever run out of IP addresses to be assigned.  Most of us don't need to know about the IP address unless we are having IP conflicts.

[mikeagner]

Well it looks like the issue has been fixed, thanks to the support folks at TP Link. It seems Alexa doesn't like certain words (like product names) associated with a smart device. I had it named 'firetv' (as that's what it was controlling); I changed it to 'streamer', then rebooted my network, restarted my Dot, and there it was   

I don't know of anywhere where these 'unusable' (for lack of a better term) words are listed, but it sure would have been handy. Would've saved a lot of grumbling

Case closed, I guess....Mike

[mike27oct]

Hmm, I can turn on my TP smart plug by saying Alexa, turn on smart plug.  Maybe firetv is unpronounceable (to a gadget), but "fire t v" likely is pronounceable and understandable.