Maestro B doesn"t see my in-house wifi6 router!

PAUL GUSSOW

Has anyone encountered this problem??

Please contact me for discussion. Thanks! de Paul NJ6U

RFord

I believe you will need to go into settings and put your router into Legacy mode. This should allow your Maestro to see your wifi.

Curt_AC9HO

Yes the Maestro B has an older WiFi version (I do not know what it is) that will not connect to the newer WiFi version (don't know what that is either 😊). This is the reason among others I upgraded to the Maestro C. As the reply says above you need to put the router into legacy mode in order for the router to see the Maestro B. I ran it like that for a year with no issues with my EERO router.

Mike-VA3MW

Are there any special characters in your SSID name?

PAUL GUSSOW

Mike-VA3MW: No, just upper and lower-case letters.

PAUL GUSSOW

Curt_AC9HO: I tried to find "Legacy Mode" but failed. I'm using an Archer AX10000 wifi6 router.

My thanks to you and Mike VA3MW for responding! 73 de Paul NJ6U

Mike-VA3MW

Paul, you might wish to open a support ticket. It sounds like your router is not seeing the typical WiFi modes (802.11bgnAC)

PAUL GUSSOW

That's probably the best idea! As I've never done that before, could you please point me in the proper direction? Thanks, Paul NJ6U

Lee - N2LEE

Good Luck. I sent my Maestro B to Flex and they simply told me it was working fine.

No Help, no troubleshooting, nothing. I received a Maestro B that is worthless because it will not connect to a single wifi router. I even tried setting up iPhone as a hotspot and no luck.

Mike-VA3MW

It sounds like your WiFi does not support the same modes as the Maestro B. You do want to make sure that your Routers have some sort compatibility mode turned out. You can check this by logging into your router.

Feel free to share to share router / AP model and we can help further.

Lee - N2LEE

Mike, that makes NO sense. It would be more accurate to say that "the Maestro B has a major bug that does not support standard wifi."

OK, here is my problem, and sorry to sound angry, but this issue pisses me off. This is NOT the way Flex supports its products.

1. NO Solution
   I have read answers such as. yours over and over, but not a single "here are the steps to fix this issue".
2. It's a Flex Radio problem, NOT a wifi issue!
   This is NOT a wifi or router issue. This is a Flex issue, and I am very disappointed in their lack of interest in resolving this issue. How can EVERY device I own work with my network but not a Maestro B? Even my old, outdated Maestro A works perfectly. But the wifi screen on the B is blank?
3. Boat Anchor
   I have $1000 boat anchor that is not right, and everything I read says it's my fault. What the **** is up with that? No solutions, no recommendations. Just Dead Air!
4. Losing Faith
   I have been a Flex customer for a long time and currently own 3 Flex radios. (6300, 6600, 8600, Maestro A and Maestro B). But now I am questioning my commitment to the company. I wish I had realized this before spending almost $6000 on a new 8600. The 8600 does nothing any better than the 6600 I own. But I purchased the 8600 based on faith that in the future it will offer more capability. Faith in Flex's ability to do more with this new platform. But if they can't even acknowledge there is a bug in the Maestro B, how do I have faith they will make good on future products?
5. I Just Want a working radio
   I do not think it is too much to ask to have a working unit that can connect to a wifi signal. To suggest it is a router, wifi or some other issue is ridiculous. This would be tell a user, "oh sorry, I know it says it works on 12 vdc but it actually only works on 11 vdc and you have to BUY a XYZ brand converter to make it work.
6. Trouble Ticket
   When I run into an issue such as this I prefer to open a trouble ticket, not ask **** questions on some forum. I opened a ticket, went round and round with support. Sent photos showing the A next the B with the A working properly. I ended up sending the unit in. They charged for trouble shooting and for an audio board problem. Which I never experienced and they did explain what problem it fixed. But I had them do it anyway.
   
   So after almost $400 later I received my Maestro B in the same situation. A pretty BRICK that is not is worthless. My plan was to send this unit back and get it fixed and sell my Maestro A. But now I am not sure what to do.
7. Bottom LIne
   In my opinion, Flex needs to man up and admit there is a defect in the B. Then do one of these to fix this issue …
   a. Offer a replacement wifi board or whatever hardware is needed to fix this issue.
   b. Release a software update for the Maestro to fix this issue.
   
   It is one thing to repair or replace your home network to fix this issue. But we do not have control over a public network. This is just another reason why I claim this is a FLEX issue not a wifi issue.
   
   I wonder how many of you would buy a $1000 iPhone or Android phone that only worked on one wift network from one vendor, only at home?

Russ Ravella

Hi Lee,

I totally get your frustration. This issue has been reported often. I had it myself with my Maestro B at our vacation home. After reporting it, I was fortunate to receive an honest, competent response from one of the competent engineers at Flex, Anna McDermond about this time last year. Here's what she said:

"There is a bug in the Intel driver for the WiFi chipset used in Maestro B.  It causes it not to be able to scan 802.11ax networks properly.  That chipset was released before the debut of 802.11ax.  There is supposedly an updated driver available, but we’d have to do some work to deploy it to the OS in a reliable manner.  It’s sounds like it’d be easy on the surface, but there’s a difference between double clicking something on your personal PC and designing a mechanism to deploy the driver to thousands of devices while simultaneously not breaking them in spectacular and undesired ways.  There’s a SMART- ticket for this, but I don’t know where it is in the long list of priorities we have in Software Engineering.

— Anna, NH6Z"

In my own case I've found my Maestro B was able to connect to most WiFi routers despite this but not all. The one at my vacation home is a modern, hi-end model that works with every single oddball thing in that house except the Maestro B. And if I had to pick one router not to work with, that wouldn't have been it. As an aside, my Maestro C doesn't have this problem.

But there is a pretty simple and not-too-expensive solution that I and others have successfully used. There are very inexpensive "travel routers" you can buy on Amazon and elsewhere the Maestro B will see and work with. Mine was a GL.iNet ~$36 model similar to those at this amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=travel+router&crid=3HSB1T7BI3XVP&sprefix=travel+router%2Caps%2C240&ref=nb_sb_noss_1. . I'd give you my exact model but we're not at the vacation house at the moment. My guess is that any of these will work because several others have addressed this issue successfully using various models. I haven't heard of anyone who wasn't successful. You connect it with the included CAT5E to an open Ethernet port on the existing router, plug it in and turn it on. Mine worked perfectly first time with default settings and I've been using it ever since without a hitch.

I'm not saying this isn't frustrating - it definitely is - but at least this provides an honest response to your post.

GL Russ KR6W

Ken Wells

Maestro B's WIFI Radio is not compatible with the WIFI 6 Protocol (802.11AX)

It's WiFi radio was designed before the WiFi 6 protocol was released.

It is only compatible with 802.11AC and Below

You will need to put your router into "Compatibility" mode or assign it to use 802.11AC Protocol (disabling WIFI 6 protocol)

Another option would be to connect an inexpensive WIFI Access Point or inexpensive router, operating as an "Access Point" to your WIFI 6 router. Configure it with a different WIFI SSID and have it operate on a different WIFI Channel than your regular system. This will allow your Maestro B to connect to your network using the alternative WIFI path.

Russ Ravella

Hi Lee,

Just to be clear most WiFi 6 routers are totally backward compatible with WiFi 5 right out of the box so this is very unlikely to be the actual problem. Mine at the vacation house is and it worked fine with a ton of WiFi 5 devices there. Same with all the other cases that were reported that I know of.

Try the travel router. It’s tiny, cheap and just solves the problem. It’s working for a lot of folks with your problem.

GL Russ KR6W

Lee - N2LEE

Russ, thank you for your reply. This is a lot more info than I have seen anywhere else.

I might be wrong, but I believe the Maestro A used a Dell Tablet, but the B uses a single board developed by Flex. Again, this might not be true. Regardless, I wouldn't even mind if Flex issued a "use at your own risk" document that showed how to open the B up and install a new driver. Or if I sent it in for repair, they would offer this service.

It is not an issue of cost because it would be worth it, knowing I had a working Maestro.

The other complaint is that no one seems to explain the REAL issue. Ok, I get there is a driver problem. But is the real issue a protocol problem with Wifi 6 802.11AX, and if my wifi is set up using Wifi 5 802.11 AC will that work? No one understands the issue or is not willing to admit there is a bug.

If the Maestro B is not compatible with Wifi 6, just tell us that. Most wifi systems will let us select the protocol. Example: most doorbell cams only work on 2.4g. As long as I know that its not a problem.

But right now we are chasing our tails because no one can explain the problem. I even set up a basic, 2.4g no password, IOT (internet of things) router and the Maestro didn't see that either.

Russ, I get the suggestion of the ethernet to wifi router. But that seems like a giant bandaid and not a real solution. I have ethernet all over the house so I can use the B that way but again, the real value is its portable wifi capability.

Thanks again for the details, it is much more info than Flex has shared.