Hub Wi-Fi channels

What Wi-Fi channels are support by the Hub?

@dsj @rderr

Wifi 5Ghz smart connect no good seems to say 1-14

I ask because I have been unable to have the Hub connect to a channel above 11.

I remember David or someone saying that WF will connect to any 2.4 GHZ wifi channel in the world, making the assumption that the wireless access point it is connecting to is operating on legal frequencies in that particular locale.

By not supporting 5 GHz frequencies, they avoided the international quagmire surrounding that band in various locales. Raspbian on the Pi won’t even turn the 5 GHz radio on until you configure a geographic locale for this very reason…

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It’s a little unclear whether you should expect 12-13-14 to work in the US (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels and https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html#24g - but of course use your judgement re: how authoritative those are…)

(update - it might be your hub not supporting those channels based on regulatory settings)

Yet another reason I really wish WF supported 5GHz for the hub. The 2.4 GHz spectrum is simply a mess in many locations.

Here are the channels on the RPi and no country is set.

32 channels in total; available frequencies :
Channel 01 : 2.412 GHz
Channel 02 : 2.417 GHz
Channel 03 : 2.422 GHz
Channel 04 : 2.427 GHz
Channel 05 : 2.432 GHz
Channel 06 : 2.437 GHz
Channel 07 : 2.442 GHz
Channel 08 : 2.447 GHz
Channel 09 : 2.452 GHz
Channel 10 : 2.457 GHz
Channel 11 : 2.462 GHz
Channel 12 : 2.467 GHz
Channel 13 : 2.472 GHz
Channel 36 : 5.18 GHz
Channel 40 : 5.2 GHz
Channel 44 : 5.22 GHz
Channel 48 : 5.24 GHz
Channel 52 : 5.26 GHz
Channel 56 : 5.28 GHz
Channel 60 : 5.3 GHz
Channel 64 : 5.32 GHz
Channel 100 : 5.5 GHz
Channel 104 : 5.52 GHz
Channel 108 : 5.54 GHz
Channel 112 : 5.56 GHz
Channel 116 : 5.58 GHz
Channel 120 : 5.6 GHz
Channel 124 : 5.62 GHz
Channel 128 : 5.64 GHz
Channel 132 : 5.66 GHz
Channel 136 : 5.68 GHz
Channel 140 : 5.7 GHz

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Hi Gary,

The hub support channels 1-14, but there’s a catch. Channels above 11 aren’t allowed to be used in the United States, so the hub will only use channels above 11 if the access point is configured to a higher channel. The Hub also won’t do active scans above 11 when searching for a network.

I would recommend not configuring your network gear to use anything above channel 11 if you’re in the United States because of frequency restrictions and potential interference issues with licensed systems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels#2.4_GHz_(802.11b/g/n/ax)

Thanks,
-Rob

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Thank you, Rob. That’s what I needed to know.

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I am posting here to help those who might have the same issue to find the same problem that I encountered today. My station was working fine then just stopped reporting. I rebooted the hub and my router a couple of times but looking at my router wifi users page ‘WeatherFlow’ still did not appear.
Many months ago I set my 2.4G channel to 11 to reduce overlapping channels.
It had worked fine until it stopped today.
My solution:
When I set it to channel 10 or 6 (or possibly any others except 11 but not tested) the hub reconnects without resetting it.
I wondered if I had bumped something in the process so I tried back on channel 11 and the router will not connect to anything.
I suspect that it is my router causing the problem, or someone nearby is filling/jamming that frequency.
So I mention it here in case others encounter the same problem.
I dont know if selecting channel ‘auto’ is also a solution.
cheers Ian :slight_smile:

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Today my original Sky hub stopped working and my station went offline but this time I have a new Tempest hub running for testing and it stayed online. Rather than rebooting anything all I did was changed the 2.4G wifi channel down one number I think from 8 to 7. It fixed everything without doing any resetting or rebooting or touching any of the weatherflow equipment. A very quick fix, until it does it again?
cheers Ian :slight_smile:

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Just has my Tempest installed on roof today. The installer was curious how the hub and Tempest communicate. I’m now curious and thought I’d ask :slight_smile:

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Hi Gary, thanks for information, I’m assuming the Tempest has the same radios to communicate with the hub?

Yes, the Tempest hub has the same radios. In fact, I have a Tempest linked with an old hub and a SKY linked with a new hub.

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The Tempest communicates to the hub on 915MHz or 868MHz depending on your region of the globe. I think Australia is the same as USA on 915MHz. The hub then communicates with your mobile phone using bluetooth to set everything up and then with 2.4G wifi.
The 915MHz is a longer bandwidth to enable longer distance and low power communication which passes through buildings easier. The Tempest is using a really low power to make the battery last. The ‘long distance’ extends to over 500m line of sight which is a lot further than normal wifi could.
cheers Ian :slight_smile:

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Thanks Ian. That’s a great explanation.

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Available Unlicensed Frequency Bands

Country / Region Frequency
315MHz U.S. and Asia
433MHz Europe, Asia, Australia, U.S. (limited)
868MHz Europe
915MHz U.S. and Australia
2.4GHz Worldwide
Source: https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/a-world-of-radio-frequency
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