Steps to Connect LoRa Gateway to a Wi-Fi Network
- Plug in the LoRa Gateway. You’ll notice the LED begin to blink at a slow pace (one blink per second).
- Wait approximately one minute until the LED starts blinking at a faster rate (five times per second).
- Navigate to the Wi-Fi settings on your mobile device and look for a Wi-Fi network named “West Security“.
- Connect to the “West Security” network. A sign-in page will open automatically. If it doesn’t, check your mobile’s notification area. There will be a notification stating, “West Security Sign in required“. Click on it to open the new page.
- This page displays a list of available Wi-Fi networks near the LoRa Gateway. The signal strength of these networks is indicated by a “-dB” value. The lower the value, the stronger the Wi-Fi signal. For example, -90 dB is stronger than -100 dB.
- Select the desired Wi-Fi network for the LoRa Gateway, input its password, and click ‘connect‘.
- The LoRa Gateway will attempt to connect to the chosen network with the provided password. If it connects successfully, a message will appear on the screen stating, “Device is connected to the network“.
- The device will reboot automatically, and no further action is needed. Upon reboot, the LED may blink a few times. Once it connects to the given network, it will cease blinking.
FAQs
Q1. Why isn’t my Wi-Fi network showing on the sign-in page?
Ensure that the Wi-Fi network you’re seeking is within range of the LoRa Gateway device. One way to verify this is by connecting your mobile phone to the desired network and checking if you have more than three signal bars or a 70% Wi-Fi signal strength on your phone. If the signal strength is lower, move the LoRa Gateway closer to your Wi-Fi access point or router. If the signal strength exceeds 70%, try restarting the LoRa Gateway by unplugging it and plugging it back into the wall socket.
Q2. Why won’t the LoRa Gateway connect to my Wi-Fi network?
Recheck your Wi-Fi password and confirm that the network you’re trying to connect to is within the LoRa Gateway’s range. You can verify this by connecting your mobile phone to the desired network (you may need to ‘forget’ the Wi-Fi network if your password is saved automatically) and checking for a signal strength greater than 70%. If the signal strength is lower, relocate the LoRa Gateway closer to your Wi-Fi access point or router. If the signal strength is over 70%, consider restarting the LoRa Gateway by unplugging and replugging it into the power supply.
Q3. What happens if I enter the wrong Wi-Fi password?
If an incorrect password is entered, the LoRa Gateway will fail to connect. You can rectify this by entering the correct password and pressing the ‘connect or connecting‘ button again. Alternatively, you can restart the LoRa Gateway by unplugging and replugging it into the power supply.
Q4. How can I tell if the LED is blinking faster or slower?
A slow blink rate is one blink per second, while a fast rate is five blinks per second.
Q5. What do different LED behaviors signify?
If the LED is blinking slowly (one blink per second), the LoRa Gateway is trying to connect to a previously provided Wi-Fi network.
If the LED is solid, the device is connected to the Wi-Fi network.
A rapidly blinking LED (five blinks per second) indicates that the LoRa Gateway has failed to connect to the Wi-Fi network for over a minute and has switched to hotspot mode. In this mode, you can update the Wi-Fi credentials if necessary. Meanwhile, the device will continue to attempt to connect to the previous Wi-Fi network in the background.
Q6. What if the LED isn’t turning on at all?
If the LED isn’t illuminating, the LoRa Gateway likely isn’t receiving power. Check your wall socket to ensure it’s working. Check the LoRa Gateway’s wall adapter as well. You may want to try another 5V USB wall adapter.
Q7. What happens if I change my Wi-Fi password?
If you change your Wi-Fi password, the LoRa Gateway will attempt to connect using the old password and fail. The LED will start blinking rapidly (five blinks per second), indicating that the device has entered hotspot mode. In this mode, you can update your Wi-Fi credentials as necessary. Please follow steps 3 to 7 above in this case. The device will continue trying to connect to the previous Wi-Fi network in the background.