WiFi at last!

[tsinar]

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I had fits trying to establish the wifi connection in the app. My router has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz but I couldn't figure out how to connect to the 2.4 instead of the 5GHz. Finally found a simple solution. Turned on the hotspot on the wifes' iphone (2.4GHz only) and connect my Android to that instead of my home network. Easy peasy after that. Hopefully that might save some future newbies a little grief.

Smokin' in the Ozarks,
Tom Street

 

[ndfan6464]

Hahaha...congrats on getting your wifi up and running.

To separate your wifi signals you need to access the administrative options to your router. Usually on the router itself will be a sticker with the web address, username and password.

For example if you had a Linksys router you would do this:

Launch a web browser and enter “192.168. 1.1” in the Address bar then press [Enter].

This would then get you to the username and password. From there you'll have to find the wifi options page. Once you do, name them different names and different passwords. Save the updated settings.

Just remember after you do this all your wifi items will loose connection. You'll have to go back and sign into whatever signal you want them to use.

 

[flaminiom]

I prefer to not have separate networks and found the guest WiFi works. It’s apparently 2.4 GHz. So, that may be another option for those with automatic 2.4/5GHz networks. It’s also better idea from a network security perspective.

 

[mooncusser2k]

I prefer to not have separate networks and found the guest WiFi works. It’s apparently 2.4 GHz. So, that may be another option for those with automatic 2.4/5GHz networks. It’s also better idea from a network security perspective.

Exactly. There's no need for the grill to be part of your network. It only needs internet access.

 

[Mastertech59]

The thing about guest and public Wi-Fi like Xfinity its not secure you take your chances, every time I connect to one of them my phone explodes with warnings, I wouldn't want someone to hack your grill and burn your brisket. ? ☹

 

[mooncusser2k]

Public and guest aren't the same thing. A guest network can still require a password and have security between device and router. However you wouldn't typically setup guest to allow devices on the guest side to connect with devices/resources on the regular side.

 

[flaminiom]

The thing about guest and public Wi-Fi like Xfinity its not secure you take your chances, every time I connect to one of them my phone explodes with warnings, I wouldn't want someone to hack your grill and burn your brisket. ? ☹

Most moderate to higher end routers have the option of creating a second separate network for “guests.” It’s as secure as the main network, but separate. This allows you to share your WiFi with friends/family/dog sitters without granting access to your main network and all the sensitive devices connected to that network.

At least with my router (Velop mesh), the guest network uses 2.4 GHs, whereas the main network automatically runs 5.0 or 2.4 for the conditions. It’s best to not have two separate 5.0 and 2.4 networks and instead let the router and connected devices manage connection types to best meet the situation. 2.4 Ghz gives better service on fringes of the signal, like through walls/floors, but 5.0 is much faster when the signal is sufficient. So, this guest network is your best option for devices that can’t reliably handle a mixed network.

It’s also a good practice to put internet of things devices like a grill on a guest network. IoT devices are way more likely to have unknown/unpatched vulnerabilities than a phone/tablet or computer. This way, if someone gains access to your network through your grill, they’re limited to what they can see and do with regards to personal data.

I wouldn’t recommend using a free/open WiFi for reasons you said. And don’t get me going on Comcast where they charge you a monthly fee to rent their modem and then give away your bandwidth to others.

 

[Mlmurrah]

I have a wifi extender, and it is 2.4G only. So that is another option for those who have extenders.

 

[Cowboy57]

I know I'm probably in the minority with everything now days computer based in the electronic world we live in. I'm not a very tech smart guy and I'm totally ok with that. I can't understand why Rec Tec doesn't make their wi-fi easier to connect to.....allow it to connect to 2.8 ghz first if it's available, and if it's not, go ahead and connect to 5.0 ghz. This would avaid SO many people always having connectivity issues that I see on this forum and on Facebook. Maybe there's a good reason that I'm not aware of as to why they wouldn't do this.

Right now I have a brand new RT-590 that I've tried to connect to numerous times, and it won't connect. I've went into the router settings and can't for the life of me find where I can turn off the 5.0 ghz frequency (Netgear router). I'll either have to pay someone to come help me or just live with not being able to use the app. Frustrating to say the least ! :-(

 

[charlesrshell]

I know I'm probably in the minority with everything now days computer based in the electronic world we live in. I'm not a very tech smart guy and I'm totally ok with that. I can't understand why Rec Tec doesn't make their wi-fi easier to connect to.....allow it to connect to 2.8 ghz first if it's available, and if it's not, go ahead and connect to 5.0 ghz. This would avaid SO many people always having connectivity issues that I see on this forum and on Facebook. Maybe there's a good reason that I'm not aware of as to why they wouldn't do this.

Right now I have a brand new RT-590 that I've tried to connect to numerous times, and it won't connect. I've went into the router settings and can't for the life of me find where I can turn off the 5.0 ghz frequency (Netgear router). I'll either have to pay someone to come help me or just live with not being able to use the app. Frustrating to say the least ! :-(

Rec Tec lady told me yesterday they have an IT guy. Call them tomorrow and see if he can help if no one else can figure it out today for you. I think you have a smartphone that is on 5 GHz that is the biggest issue. Have you seen this? At the bottom of the page click on the red Having Trouble button. Good luck. https://www.rectecgrills.com/wifi-setup

 

[Mlmurrah]

Right now I have a brand new RT-590 that I've tried to connect to numerous times, and it won't connect. I've went into the router settings and can't for the life of me find where I can turn off the 5.0 ghz frequency (Netgear router). I'll either have to pay someone to come help me or just live with not being able to use the app. Frustrating to say the least ! :-(

You do not turn off the 5GHz channel. Instead you split the wifi signal into separate 2.4 and 5 GHz channels. Look up the wifi user manual online. It should tell you how to do the split. Once you get the grill connected, you can recombine the signals.

Another way to do it is to buy a 2.4 GHz wifi extender like this one, and plug it in as close to the grill as possible. It will be called something like the normal name of your wifi signal plus EXT. Use that signal to set up your grill.

You might also check to see if you can set up a guest wifi account. That might operate at 2.4 GHz.

If you have a VPN on your phone, turn it off. My VPN automatically turned itself back on. So you may have to turn it off after you start the grill connect sequence like I did.

 

[charlesrshell]

You do not turn off the 5GHz channel. Instead you split the wifi signal into separate 2.4 and 5 GHz channels. Look up the wifi user manual online. It should tell you how to do the split. Once you get the grill connected, you can recombine the signals.

Another way to do it is to buy a 2.4 GHz wifi extender like this one, and plug it in as close to the grill as possible. It will be called something like the normal name of your wifi signal plus EXT. Use that signal to set up your grill.

You might also check to see if you can set up a guest wifi account. That might operate at 2.4 GHz.

If you have a VPN on your phone, turn it off. My VPN automatically turned itself back on. So you may have to turn it off after you start the grill connect sequence like I did.

I have an Orbit mesh router that cannot split the two bands and the guest account is 5GHz too.

 

[Mlmurrah]

I have an Orbit mesh router that cannot split the two bands and the guest account is 5GHz too.

ry the procedure in this video

 

[charlesrshell]

That is exactly what I am going to try Mimurrah. I saw that video yesterday. I also talked to the IT folks at Rec Tec earlier today and they said the same thing. Thanks

 

[Mlmurrah]

Do you have a VPN, firewall, or other security software on your phone? If so, disable it.

 

[charlesrshell]

No VPN.

 

[Mlmurrah]

If all else fails, borrow or buy a cheap router for your Rec Tec. You or a friend may have an old one in the garage. Once you get it set up, I think you can use your regular router. At least I can use the combined channel on mine.

 

[charlesrshell]

If all else fails, borrow or buy a cheap router for your Rec Tec. You or a friend may have an old one in the garage. Once you get it set up, I think you can use your regular router. At least I can use the combined channel on mine.

Understand. I have bunches of old routers that let me set up two different SSIDs. I will try that if needed. Thanks for the tip.