WiFi Connection Dropping Out / Unstable or Unable to Connect
There are a number of reasons why your CNC controller may fail to connect to a WiFi network and as each network setup is unique, we can’t guarantee every setup will be appropriate.
We will list a few of the most common reasons here as well as ways to fix them.
Before attempting any of the troubleshooting or fixes listed here be sure to read the "Connecting to your Nighthawk" section of the Nighthawk user manual which explains in-depth how to choose a connection type as well as how to set it up.
1: Check your WiFi Name (SSID) and password are correct.
This is often on a sticker on the bottom of your router unless it has been changed by you or by the person in charge of your network.
There are often 2 passwords listed on this sticker – one for the WiFi network, and one for admin access to the router. You will only need the WiFi network password.
2: Check that your WiFi SSID and password DO NOT contain any special characters.
Special characters are anything which is not a number or letter, some of which can cause problems with GRBL based controllers like the Nighthawk family of controllers as well as XPRO-V5, Blackbox etc.
Any SSID or password containing these characters can cause problems and should not be used:
' ! ~ ?
3: Check your WiFi’s signal strength at your controller.
You can do this by clicking the “Show WiFi list” in the "Connections/ESP32" tab of Commander and counting the bars next to your network name. Anything less than 3 bars indicates a weak signal and can cause the connection to be unreliable. Try moving the router closer to your CNC controller.
4: Check your router’s “Smart Steering” feature.
Modern routers often have a feature called “smart steering” or something similar, this function allows the router to only broadcast a single network name (SSID) for both the 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz WiFi bands and then the router decides where to “steer” each device based on what it thinks is the best band for that device.
This feature is usually enabled by default and has also been added to a number of older routers via a firmware update.
If you can only see one WiFi network when you open the list on your PC then it’s likely your router has Smart Steering enabled. If you can see two networks named “mywifi” and “mywifi-5G” or something along those lines, Smart Steering is disabled.
Your CNC controller can only see and interact with 2.4GHz networks however when the router is deciding where to send it there can be momentary dropouts as it switches WiFi bands, the router will also periodically check that each device is assigned correctly causing random short dropouts.
For most devices like phones/laptops/TVs etc this momentary gap isn’t a huge issue, but it will be for your controller as the connection between the computer and the controller will drop and Commander will lose the ability to control it.
If you’re not seeing the split WiFi networks you will need to change the settings on your WiFi router to disable Smart Steering and broadcast separate WiFi signals on the different bands.
We cannot help with disabling this feature.
You will need to refer to your router’s user manual or contact your network administrator for how to disable it.
5: Check your router’s Power Saving features
Mobile routers like Telstra’s 5G routers often have a power saving setting which turns the router off after a certain period of inactivity. The amount of data being sent between your controller and Commander while running or idle is so small that it’s possible the router isn’t seeing enough traffic to think it’s active and could be going into sleep mode.
This is another thing you will need to refer to your user manual or to your internet provider for more information.
Please note that this is not a complete list of possible WiFi connectivity issues, these are simply the most common issues we see. If these do not fix your problem and you have one of our Nighthawk controllers, please reach out to our support team via the Let's Chat button on the bottom of your screen or send us an email through our Contact Us page.