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Buadhai

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 15, 2018
1,121
436
Korat, Thailand
A couple of weeks ago my ISP called to say they were going to replace their Zhone Fibre Internet router with a device from Huawei. I was concerned about this because in my case the Zhone was in bridged mode and I was using a Deco 20 for all the routing tasks. In other words, the Zhone was nothing more than a media converter.

I wanted to be there when they made the swap because I knew they'd screw it up in spite of promises to put the new router in bridge mode. Unfortunately, my wife and I had a dive trip scheduled so I was unable to supervise the swap.

As expected, they screwed it up. They did not put the Huawei router in bridge mode. Instead, they gave the Huawei WiFi network the same SSID and password as was set up on the Deco. They left the Deco running and connected it to the Huawei with a Cat 5 cable.

Of course, none of the WiFi enabled devices in my house could connect to the Internet because they all joined the Deco WiFi network, as usual. The Deco was still configured as a router (not an access point) so it had no Internet connection.

It took me a day to figure out what they had (and had not done). We called them and got them to agree to put the Huawei device in bridged mode. They balked, saying the Internet wouldn't work. The real reason is that as soon as the Huawei is in bridged mode the ISP no longer has any control over it.

I insisted on bridged mode and, as expected, it worked as it worked with the Zhone device for many years. All of the WiFi devices in the house instantly connected and had Internet access one again.

EXCEPT for many of my HomeKit devices. In some cases all I had to do was unplug and replug the device. In other cases I had to factory reset the device and re-add it to the Home. But for some devices they would connect, but the connection would last from only a few minutes to a few hours and then they would drop the WiFi connection.

For example, a Logitech security camera (LogiCircleView) would connect only for a few minutes and then drop off. A Koogeek P2 nightlight and plug combo, which has worked fine for several years, would stay connected for hours and then drop off. An Offing plug wouldn't never connect, even after a factory reset, and even though it has been in use for years to control my Christmas lights.

I may have solved the LogiCircleView problem by unplugging it overnight before restoring power. But, that solution didn't work with the Koogeek P2.

Any idea what's going on here? Why is it only HomeKit devices that have the WiFi connection issues? What possible solution is there?
 

Buadhai

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 15, 2018
1,121
436
Korat, Thailand
I may have solved this. In the WiFi stumbler table below you can see that there are duplicate SSIDs. The highlighted SSIDs are from the Huawei device. When they put it in bridged mode they forgot to turn WiFi off. I'm guessing that's what caused the HomeKit devices to fail.

It turns out that when in bridged mode the Huaiwei device still runs a web server for the admin pages and a DHCP server for connected devices. I managed to connect to the Huawei device from my iPhone and access the admin web pages. (They still had the default user/password: root/admin.) I disabled WiFi on the Huawei device and changed the password.

As soon as I did that the recalcatant KooGeek P2 connected immediately. And, AFAIK, all the other HomeKit devices are still connected.

Fingers crossed.

I still don't understand why the duplicate SSID (mgn) affected only HomeKit devices and not iPhones, iPads, computers, Raspberry Pies, AppleTVs, etc.

Screenshot 2023-06-24 at 10.13.57 AM.png
 
Last edited:

jdogg836

macrumors 6502
Jul 28, 2010
299
220
Oklahoma
Based on the MAC addresses in that screen shot, it appears likely the Huawei is still broadcasting wifi and still has the SSID/Pass of your primary network. Of course, this is assuming that the network is the one called mgn. Two different networks, same wifi username and pass within the same space is problematic for a number of reasons. I'd start there.
 
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Buadhai

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 15, 2018
1,121
436
Korat, Thailand
Based on the MAC addresses in that screen shot, it appears likely the Huawei is still broadcasting wifi and still has the SSID/Pass of your primary network. Of course, this is assuming that the network is the one called mgn. Two different networks, same wifi username and pass within the same space is problematic for a number of reasons. I'd start there.
Exactly right. Looks like we posted at the same time.
 

jdogg836

macrumors 6502
Jul 28, 2010
299
220
Oklahoma
My guess: The other devices are still affected, but what you get is a quick disconnect as they bounce between the two LANs. You may not even notice this issue. However, Homekit devices require a connection to your Homekit Hub. If they are bouncing between the two different LANs within the home, they may never be able to establish communication with the hub. That hub, if hardwired, only exists on the LAN it's plugged into.

Glad to see clueless and inexperienced ISP techs is not just an American thing.
 
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