Tough Time Adding New Velica Sub-node Router

VividLizard · 2023-05-24T09:27:25.805Z

I have my primary Velica setup as a mesh router… with OpenVPN/ExpressVPN and Cloudflare DNS active. So far so good… my phone and my laptop connect to it just fine and can access the internet.

I’ve powered up my second Velica, wanting it to be a sub-node part of the mesh, but my main node doesn’t see or acknowledge it. After the main didn’t see it I initialized that second router through the phone app but it’s now acting as it’s own main node (I think). Any device that connects to it cannot access the internet, although you can with the main node.

This should be so simple, but isn’t. What should I do now? Thanks.

alzhao · 2023-05-24T13:48:00.612Z

Can you check the firmware version? You can upgrade to the same version 3.216 of both nodes.

The subnode, should be reset and in uninitialized state before main node can find it.

VividLizard · 2023-05-24T18:54:52.127Z

Alzhao, thank you for getting back to me so quickly.

I’m pretty sure that the firmware is not up to date on the sub node (it is on the main node), but I don’t know how to update it if it isn’t connected to the internet.

I can try again to reset the sub node (pin in hole for 10 seconds) while power is on and see if it works this time (it didn’t before). Do I need to turn off the power on the main node while I do this?

Thank you.

VividLizard · 2023-05-24T23:17:49.934Z

I got the sub node / router working (I think, hard to tell), but I realize now that I can’t give the 5g and the 2.4g wave bands on my main router seperate SSID names. If I try to change one, the other changes, or totally messes up my ability to access. How do I give each band a seperate SSID?

What brought this up is not only that’s what I want to do, but one of my laptops close to the sub node router defaults down to 2.4G. That laptop can do 5G and did that with a clunkier little repeater. Why not this? Do the sub nodes default to 2.4G? If I could force the laptop onto 5G, I could then get those speeds, even if the signal isn’t quite as strong. The only way I know to do that is to have seperate SSID’s.

Thank you.

VividLizard · 2023-05-24T23:22:30.343Z

I just checked again and that laptop next to the sub node is connecting to the main node, not the sub node. Why? Shouldn’t it automatically connect through the more powerful and closer sub node?

alzhao · 2023-05-25T06:09:52.247Z

Actually it is the laptop choice to change nodes itself. Smartphone is better at roaming.

For laoptop if not roam, just turn off its wifi and turn it on again.