connecting to different networks

[strayfish]

I have an old house not best suited to well-distributed wifi and so I boost that with a Devolo system. My Echo/Dot can connect to both but they don't seem to automatically select the one giving the best signal when I relocate them around the house. So far, I've had to enter Setup each time as though it's a new network, something none of my other devices require, and as far as I can see, they keep defaulting to the primary network. Saving networks also seems to be a problem, the app showing none saved even though I have. Anyone else experienced this or am I missing a trick somewhere?

[mike27oct]

Devolo?  I had to Google that one, and see it is a European powerline wi-fi system.  So, you have two completely different wi-fi signals in the same house.  It is no different than have two different routers, each with a separate SSID.  You need to have just one SSID to eliminate the issues you are having with Echo devices. 

Assuming you also have a wireless router, get one or more wi-fi range extenders that can extend your wireless signal throughout your house and pair the range extender(s) to your router so that you only have a single SSID.  You will then also need to tell your echo devices to forget the Devolo signal so the gadgets will not connect to Devolo anymore.

Although I have a newer home that is ethernet wired in four rooms, I still need to use wi-fi for many gadgets including the Echo devices, and since the home is too large for the router wi-fi to cover the house 100%, I have three range extenders in operation.  There is one R/E each for the 2.4G and 5G channels.  Both have the same SSID as the router . Only Echos and other non-video streaming devices are connected to the 2.4G signal, and the 5G signal is used exclusively for devices that can stream video; includes cell phones and tablets. 

There is a third R/E that connects to the router 5G with a different SSID (same router name with "_EXT" tacked on at the end).  I only allow two devices to connect to this 5G signal; the two devices furthest from the main router and other R/E.  The devices connected are a Fire TV stick and a Chromecast,  Being on their dedicated extender SSID, they do not affect bandwidth of other 5G devices on the router and other extender.

[strayfish]

That may well be the answer, thank you. I don't think I'd understood the difference between range extenders and what Devolo does, although I've had Devolo for several years (with upgrades) so maybe R/Es weren't so readily available when I was first looking. Whatever, it's not a problem for my PCs, iPad, iPhone, or Kindle - just this piece of kit! I'll look into it and see what might be possible.

[mike27oct]

@strayfisI h
may not understand what you exactly mean when you said you have a "Devolo system"; it appears there could be many varieties.  My quick search brought me to their home page and the Powerline system showed up prominently, and I assumed that's what you have.  It looks like there are various add-ons, too.  Basic powerline network systems enable one's home electrical wiring to be capable of carrying a network signal from a master unit (plugged into a wall socket, and fed by a router ethernet port) at one location to slave units also plugged into electric outlets.  One can create a wired home network this way.  For it to be wireless, an Access Point of some kind must be used from the powerline signal wired output.

If this is what you are set up to do, you likely have two different wi-fi signals with different names (i.e. SSIDs).
I have never done the following, but if you give the Access Point signal the same SSID (router signal's name there will be no confusion by a device of what to connect to because both are same.  (I will give this a try and report back the results later.)

A range extender on the other hand is like a repeater or relay system, meaning it wirelessly receives the router wi-fi signal say 20-30 feet away from router and rebroadcasts it so devices farther away from it can send and receive a stronger signal from the router. This is how the range extender "extends" the range of the router wireless signal.

The wikipedia definition:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_repeater

[strayfish]

Mike, I think you've got it exactly. I've just seen that Devolo make repeaters now (annoyingly, as I just bought another wifi plug for the existing system), but I'm interested in your comment about changing the SSID. I've found the access point in the Devolo cockpit (dashboard) so I'm about to experiment with changing the SSID of one of the wifi plugs. Presumably this effectively turns the plugs into repeaters. Keep your fingers crossed!

[strayfish]

Well, I changed the Devolo wifi SSID to my primary SSID and Lo! it's all connected and the Devolo option has disappeared from wifi settings on my iThings. Both Echo and Dot are working although it will take a while to see if the signal on the Dot is dropped as it was before I put the new Devolo adaptor in that room.

As a side issue - I bought a battery unit for the Echo and although it doesn't last long, being always on, it's liberated the unit so now it can follow me into the bathroom which, as any music nut will tell you, is essential to facing the day These things are rapidly usurping my radios.

[Dasym]

I have an old house not best suited to well-distributed wifi and so I boost that with a Devolo system. My Echo/Dot can connect to both but they don't seem to automatically select the one giving the best signal when I relocate them around the house. So far, I've had to enter Setup each time as though it's a new network, something none of my other devices require, and as far as I can see, they keep defaulting to the primary network. Saving networks also seems to be a problem, the app showing none saved even though I have. Anyone else experienced this or am I missing a trick somewhere?

As Mike suggests, you should be fine with the Devolo devices using the same SSID. That's the setup I've got and it works well.

As for the Echo not saving networks, I've noticed that too - a bit annoying when you add a new Dot!

[strayfish]

Looking good so far although after playing for quite some time following relabelling the SSID, Echo suddenly disconnected and had to be re-established on the 'new' network. I found I had to tell it to forget the old network (which has the name of the now integrated one) and connect to the new one using the password of the most recent wifi plug. Worth noting that both adaptors were changed when I changed the new one so that bit of cautious experimenting didn't quite work out. Dot is still playing so maybe it's automatically updated its connection - who knows!

[mike27oct]

Hey Stray,

Glad you had success with my suggestions.  Sounds like once you get it all set up, it will work fine.

As for portability, I just waited until the Amazon Tap was released in US last year, along with the Dot, and got two Taps and two Dots to keep the immobile Echo from being toted around.

[strayfish]

Yes, thank you for that, it was easier than I'd imagined. I must say setting up the new Dot had a similar feel to bringing a new cat into the house - all the other stuff had to shuffle around to accommodate, make new relationships, and try not to nick each other's resources! I've had the Red Ring of Disconnect a couple of times since with each of them, and there's been a round or two of re-establishing the network interface. In the process of this I found all my voice files on the app - now there's a reminder if I needed one to exercise language restraint when requesting actions!

There are no Taps here yet (UK) but now i can move my Echo around more freely, that's not a problem. I do find the remote handy though because when the volume is up my unit can't hear me over its own noise!