Does a WiFi 6 router have any negative impacts on current HomeKit devices? Does it connect as reliable as a WiFi 5 router? Thanks.
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HomeKit WiFi 6
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Not that I saw. I have an eero Pro mesh network and when I added the eero Pro 6, there was no change either for the better or worse. I don’t believe there are currently any HomeKit devices that support WiFi 6 so it shouldn’t make any difference in that regards.
This prominent HomeKit YouTuber just put out a whole video on routers and HomeKit. He switched to a WiFi 6 system and didn’t mention anything adversely affecting his devices either.
I have another thread going on how I wiped my HomeKit out. In past whenever I had to add accessories they always showed up when I did a search. Now only some show up. I now have a Centurylink wifi 6 router was wondering if is some type of conflict. My prior wifi was Google mesh which is wifi 5. I don’t want to have to reset all because they are syncing perfect with Alexa and Google Thank you.
Yes, I’m familiar with your other thread, MyQ, I was first to comment on it 👍. Can you elaborate on what you mean by doing a search when you add devices. Are you talking about when you add a device and tap on “ I don’t have a code or can’t scan” and it shows up there?
Correct. So when I go to add accessories only some are showing up to be added into HK. I have the codes written down so I do not have to scan the barcode. Only few of the devices showed up when I did the search. The ones that did show up some synced when I added the codes and some did not. Even scanning the code did not show up. Only about 10% of my accessories show up when I do a search. Thanks.
Ok I gotchya. I can’t see how WiFi 6 would be causing this. I’ve seen this before, even with a WiFi 5 router, but I was already committed to redoing my whole smart home so didn’t really give it a second thought. Having to redo a whole smart home is never a fun ride lol. Does your new router have an app that you can see if the devices in question are still connected to WiFi? Are you sure these devices aren’t Bluetooth devices?
“HomePass” btw. Excellent app. Even better if you have an Apple Watch.
Most of the lights are LIFX don’t know if BT or WiFi. I had used Google mesh for about 3 years and I recently updated from Cox cable internet to Centurylink fiber and their system came with a modem/router combo with WiFI 6. I figured I would give it a try. Has been working fine. Hence reason I was thinking maybe the WiFi 6 v. 5 could be issue thanks.
Looks like LifX is WiFi. Do you think maybe going from a mesh to an ISP router/modem combo (which, honestly, I would personally never use, especially for a smart home), is causing your devices in question to be out of range?
I had all kinds of issues with Verizon FiOS router/modem combo, even with GB speeds. I switched to eero and mesh is substantially better for smart homes.
I will let ya know in about an hour. I am going to re-connect the Google WiFi to see if it discovers the HK devices. ONLY reason I went with ISP provided router/modem is because is WiFi 6 and figured may be faster.
Gonna wait a few months to see what other mesh WiFi 6 options are available. Thanks.
Gonna wait a few months to see what other mesh WiFi 6 options are available. Thanks.
OK I swapped the Google WiFi from the ISP same thing. Oh well I tried. Just gonna leave the Google WiFi mesh as it has worked flawlessly for last 3 plus years. So I guess my option is reset all of my devices and start over. Don’t think I want to do that. Looks like going from a HK smart home to a Alexa smart home which also works perfect. Thanks for all your help Itinj24 appreciate it.
When you switched, did you change your WiFi SSID and or password?
is the Google WiFi app showing those clients as connected, disconnected or not showing at all?
The guy in the video I posted above actually makes mention of this now that I think of it. That some devices will come back and some won’t. Is it one manufacturer (LIFX) causing this or multiple?
Are you certain that both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSID's and passwords are the same as the old ones?
That's very weird. Most HomeKit stuff connects over old-fashioned 2.4GHz 802.11b/g. I guess you should see if the unresponsive accessories have anything in common. Perhaps only some are connecting because those are able to connect via 5GHz 802.11n. I doubt any HomeKit gear connects over 802.11ac or higher except for some of the newest wireless cameras.
My WiFi is a Google mesh system. I checked all of the devices and they are all showing up in the app. I have a feeling I will have to reset all of the devices to factory specs and start from scratch. Or the other option is I can just use Alexa which everything is connected to and working perfect. If I reset all the devices then I have to also reconnect with Alexa which would be double the work.
there is a program called discovery. It lets you see the network broadcasts that devices use to discover each other. The official name for the protocol is mDNS, Apple calls it bonjour. Basically every so often devices send a packet saying "hey there, my ip address is ______, and I can do __________" It's how other computers show up in your network shares, airplay devices find each other and a bunch of other stuff on your network.
These packets are addressed to a special IP address that is supposed to go to every device on the network. A lot of times, routers and wifi devices can stop these packets. It's usually easily fixed in configuration.
Link is for the Mac version of the app, there is an iOS version also.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id1381004916?mt=12
Once you open It you'll see a list of services available.
the one you're interested in is "_hap._tcp." that's homekit devices
the "homekit" service is for home hubs.
open that and you should see all of the devices.
if you don't google "mDNS <your router>" and see what is recommended there.
if that doesn't work try "network broadcasts <your router>"
this might also explain why stuff you configured before works, since the control packets don't depend on this. It's only for devices to find each other.
These packets are addressed to a special IP address that is supposed to go to every device on the network. A lot of times, routers and wifi devices can stop these packets. It's usually easily fixed in configuration.
Link is for the Mac version of the app, there is an iOS version also.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id1381004916?mt=12
Once you open It you'll see a list of services available.
the one you're interested in is "_hap._tcp." that's homekit devices
the "homekit" service is for home hubs.
open that and you should see all of the devices.
if you don't google "mDNS <your router>" and see what is recommended there.
if that doesn't work try "network broadcasts <your router>"
this might also explain why stuff you configured before works, since the control packets don't depend on this. It's only for devices to find each other.
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If anything it will likely improve it. We have come a long way in radio and antenna design that even Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 4 devices will usually benefit from the upgrade.