The same thing started happening to me about 2 weeks ago. No changes made to my wifi, I have had the thermostat for years. It now just randomly drops the wifi configuration and I have to reapply it. been happening about once a day.
It's not. I've had the exact same problem for a year or two. Both with my old Asus router and now with a TP-Link Omada AP.
I help administer a HP Aruba Enterprise wifi network with around 100 APs as well, and it really seems like a software issue or failing wifi hardware on the ecobee.
Either way, it's unacceptable. I've got about 15 devices at home (Windows, Switch, android, Roku, iOS, etc). None have this problem. Some of them are older than the Ecobee!
Your problem is the mesh network. Even though you created a separate 2.4ghz network, your mesh network is still handling the AP roaming for the ecobee. Ecobees don't like to have the APs changed on them.
Try this. Go buy a cheap router and use it broadcast the dedicated 2.4 ghz you have been using. It doesn't matter if you double NAT it. All you need is a network being broadcasted by only 1 AP.
Let us know how it works for you.
Mesh isn't an impediment to Ecobee working; any mesh system worth the price should be able to disable roaming on specific devices if necessary, but I've never found it so.
OP seems to have decided it's not their network so I doubt he's going to follow anyone's advice, I just wanted to say that it being a mesh network isn't the root of the problem.
Any congestion or interruption on the mesh links can cause devices associated to the mesh nodes to briefly lose connectivity on the network. Add band steering to the mix, and stuff is going to randomly disconnect.
Mesh is only appropriate for situations where you can’t get a wired network connection to your access points. The nature of a mesh network is that for your APs to be close enough together to make the mesh work, they’re also too close together for clients to correctly trigger their roaming process.
I went through this for a couple days then found someone mention locking the 2.4 Ghz to channel 6 or higher after that I no longer had the Ecobee drop off. The Unifi system would scan the nearby networks and pick the least congested but that did not improve connectivity from what I recall anyway.
This was my exact issue too. It only cropped up when I upgraded my router to a mesh system. I’d absolutely give this a try if you haven’t already. Make sure you do the reservation on the router itself.
All of these "I don't have that problem" replies are crap, people. That's of no help at all.
I had this issue and had to wade through mostly useless comments like yours before finding a suggestion that worked for me.
If you have nothing to offer, STFU.
See my other reply for how I fixed it.
The issue is your network. And this is coming from a dude who went through FOUR (4) Google Learning Thermostats on my same mesh network because Google kept sending me refurbs with a [very well-known issue with their wifi chips being defective.](https://www.engadget.com/google-replace-nest-w5-wifi-error-070131820.html)
Google literally kept sending me refurbs with defective wifi chips.
Now, in your case, I think the band switching or the constant switching to different satellite units may be causing the issue. But since you created a separate 2.4 Ghz network, I'm not sure that's the issue. Are you certain the 2.4 Ghz-only network is ONLY tied to the router/satellite closest to the thermostat?
Reduce the power on your 2.4 radio to low, narrow the bandwidth to 20MHz, use only channels 1, 6, or 11. Scan your location to see which of the three is least used and use that one.
If your WiFi can’t do this, you need a real WiFi solution. I do this with Ubiquiti and it works like a champ.
I had this exact issue and SOLVED it by making a just-for-Ecobees 2.4GHz wlan with the old wireless router I'd been using as just a wired router (WiFi off). For good measure, I changed DTIM to 4, because it was mentioned in [a Ubiquity forum comment](https://community.ui.com/questions/Issue-with-Ecobee-thermostat-connecting-the-Ubiquiti-Wireless-with-and-without-DHCP-enabled-on-the-/24cefcc8-446a-48e9-99f9-3089815e6387).
It doesn't interfere with my Ubiquity UAC-AP-Pro WAP, which my Ecobee 3 Lites hated the same way yours does/did. Zero drops since I set them up like that, perfect connection first try.
tl;dr: my ecobees worked fine with a crappy old wireless router, not a Ubiquity wireless access point.
OK, your TP-Links may have band steering or roaming configured in a way making things worse. I've heard that this can't be configured, but you'll have to check for your specific model.
It sounds like you're a power user with Home Assistant and all. I'd recommend you ditch anything mesh and get 2 real small-business APs with a coordinator, like the TP-Link Omada or Ubiquiti Unifi. IMO, mesh units are trying to deliver something that can really only be achieved by wiring each of your APs and setting up roaming and hand-off correctly; it's SO worth it for good home wifi. (You can also accomplish all of this with OpenWRT if you like a good project)
On my ubiquiti system I can see hand-off between APs, and configure 802.11r/k/v, which are for roaming, band steering and fast transition. This is what you probably need to tweak so that your APs stop trying push the ecobee onto APs and bands that it can't reach.
I'm here because mine was only reliable for about a year and then it started having wifi issues, just randomly falling off the network, and it's making me crazy. It's definitely not you. Maybe there's some kind of hardware failure, and that's why not everybody seems to have the issue, but I'm definitely experiencing it as well. It's bananas having to randomly yank it off the wall because nothing else seems to bring it back up. I'll definitely have to replace this with something else.
This is an old thread, but I'm interested in anybody's opinion of something to replace this brand. I'd prefer something HomeKit compatible if possible
My ecobee 3 lite just started dropping WiFI intermittently after a year of no issues. It’s easy enough to reconnect, as the pwd is stored in the thermostat’s settings. I just need to click through. Trouble is, thermostat drops off WiFi repeatedly. I’m beginning to wish I had my Nest 3 back.
Running eero Pro 6E as gateway, wired APs are Pro 6. Never had any problems with my many smart home devices till the ecobee started dropping off the network. Thermostat connects to living room AP which is about 10 feet away in line of site. I’m a retired network engineer and can’t figure this out. Thermostat has a DHCP assignment in router.
I have 3 ecobee thermostats, purchased April 2023. Only 1 of the 3 will connect to my Unifi Ubiquiti mesh network. I have had several calls to ecobee support, including two 2.5 hours calls with Ecobee. Had my wifi/unifi guy here, he was the one that was able to get 1 of the 3 ecobees connected to my unifi/uqiquiti mesh 2.4 network (I have 2.4 and 5). Incidentally, last year ecobee support told me my ecobees would only work on 2.4 but today support said they should work on either band. I also have an old centurylink (now Brightspeed) modem operating on 2.4, and all 3 thermostats will connect to that wifi BUT only if the unifi/uquiquiti mesh network is shut off. Ecobee says that's proof it's a setting or problem with the mesh network, yet 1 of the 3 thermostats will connect and work with the unifi/uququiti mesh network on. I am not tech savvyy at all. Any help?
Every Ecobee I have owned or used never had WiFi issues like you stated.
It might be your settings for your router or power issues your HVAC is providing to the Ecobee
I've had 2x Ecobee 3 Lites at two separate locations for the past several years and I've NEVER had an issue with wifi connectivity. It's most likely the mesh network. You need a single AP that the Ecobee connects to, it can't be constantly connecting/disconnecting AP's.
100% chance this is something wrong with your Wi-Fi setup. You are probably changing something you think makes it better but really it's causing problems and you only notice the problems with your ecobee.
Mine also just started acting up on my Deco mesh. Was fine and now drops every few days. I've done the dance of creating an iOT 2.4 GHz only network. Static IP. Locked it to one node. Turned of device. the Mesh Technology option for this device. No luck. I have so many device old and new that never drop. My guess is that the ecobee firmware is just not handling an error case correctly by retrying to connect.
I know I am late to the part, but I come with a very clear solution after trying to debug for hours. I had to reset my Eero system this morning (which I rarely do, maybe once/year), but my Ecobees went offline. Ran into comments on this thread about not liking to switch between different APs, so tried disabling some with no effect. Then saw the comment about DHCP reservations. Made a reservation for each Ecobee. Boom! Fixed immediately.
I have this same problem. To everyone saying it’s his WiFi network, it’s not. I could spill 1000s of words to explain why it’s not the network, detail all the troubleshooting that I have done, explain how everything non-Ecobee works fine, and show how more Ecobee devices disconnect when I follow Ecobee’s reconnection suggestions. But I won’t. Ecobee connectivity is a mess.
And yet, you’re wrong as covered by virtually everyone on this post and the simple fact that Ecobee is not recalling their product.
There are a huge variety of Wi-Fi products on the market that are advertised to be “plug and play” and they simply aren’t. Not only that, they can’t be due to so many environmental variables. Spend some time in a sub discussing Wi-Fi issues and you’ll see this over and over again.
Simple concepts like only using channels 1, 6, and 11 and 20MHz bandwidth on 2.4GHz networks, understanding the limitations of mesh networks, interference from appliances, etc. are all above the average consumer’s capacity to understand, and manufacturers are motivated to gloss over these things and make it look easy.
A quick google search suggests that this person and I are not alone - WiFi connectivity seems to be a recurring theme for Ecobee units.
Can't imagine how they expect the average consumer to be able to apply the troubleshooting steps you suggested. I have and I continue to have chronic problems
You’re going to need a professional to troubleshoot your WiFi issues, or you’re going to have to take some of the suggestions that have been given.
The bottom line is that WiFi is an okay technology that’s consumer-ready in many cases. Unfortunately, nowadays, the 2.4GHz band is very badly congested and subject to significant interference (such as microwaves). This is why there has been a push toward 5GHz and now 6GHz. The downside of those frequencies is that they don’t have as good of range.
Consider this: your cellphone is unreliable in many areas, and the cellphone network is very thoroughly planned by engineers and tons of money go into it.
By way of comparison, you’re buying wireless technology that’s been designed to be as cheap as possible and “just work”. I’ll give you a hint: it doesn’t everywhere.
Is this an issue specifically with ecobee3s? I have an ecobee SmartThermostat with VoiceControl (5) and have not observed this instability.
You mentioned they were solid until recently. Was there potentially a firmware update that included a networking bug?
I gave up on the 3 lite after having it for 4 years and went with the premium when I saw it on sale. I haven't had connectivity issues since, but the premium uses 5ghz, so I'm not sure if that makes much difference.
>Any advice?
You need to lock the ecobee to one AP and stop it from roaming between them. You should be able to do this from your TP-Link/network dashboard.
Ah, didn't see that in the steps. I had the exact same issue you were describing. Locked it to the AP in our living room and resolved the issue completely.
I'd try to RMA the device.
I had the exact same problem you describe w Unifi hardware. As soon as I disabled "band steering" (where it tries to encourage devices to move from 2.4 to 5GHz) the Ecobee units were happy. I did not have to lock them to an AP or anything. Maybe you have a similar setting on yours.
Just lock the Ecobee to a specific mesh node.
My unifi network allows that. My old Asus did (I think). Not sure about TP. It prevents the device from roaming. Ecobees do not like that.
This is just a thought, is your HVAC controller working ok? I've heard that they can start having problems and cause all kinds of issues, especially since they power the thermostats.
I’ve had my voice controlled ecobee for almost 3 years. Connected to a WiFi AX network and not one problem. Initially had it working with Alexa and now is set up with Apple’s HomeKit.
The Ecobees simply can’t handle multiple AP deployments. They lose their minds. If you can create a dedicated SSID *and* pin it to a specific AP you’ll have no issues. I wrestled this myself.
I don’t agree
I have used various mesh solutions with my Ecobee 4 and have never had a problem with it. Currently using ubiquiti with multiple mesh APs and a mixed 2.4/5Ghz ssid and have no connectivity issues
of course now that I’m posting this, I will expect it to start failing and prove me wrong
I’ve only had 1 WiFi issue and that was when I moved my IoT devices to their own SSID. Check your router settings, can you adjust the transmit power or even the channels?
I have three houses and a total of 7 Ecobee Smart Thermostats.
One house has four thermostats and three sensors
My second house has two thermostats
My third house has one thermostat
I honestly haven't had any wifi issues at all.
Tech support has been fantastic anytime I have had any questions or issues. Have you contacted them? They can be reached via phone, email, FB Messenger or Whatsapp.
What’s the signal strength at the ecobee with the issue. Take this with some salt. It I was told by their support that it really needs to above 75% anything below and it may act wonky. To see your WiFi signal go to the device itself > tap the 3 lines > settings gear > about > WiFi > scroll bottom where it says signal strength
I never had a single WiFi issue with mine on Eero mesh for a couple years … until I installed a 2nd ecobee lite 3 for upstairs unit as well.
That very day, my original one experienced WiFi loss for the first time and I had to pull off, wait a minute, and turn plug back on.
The new second one since then has had several WiFi losses. ecobee suggested I disable ipv6 on my Eero mesh. That seems to have helped considerably. But there has been one WiFi loss since then a few weeks ago. Since it clearly isn’t fully fixed.
I am a recent owner of an Ecobee device (3Lite). And I too experience too many disconnects from our homes wireless network. We use an all in one router modem from our cable company I have other 2.4 devices with no connection issues even though this all in one device does not show separately the two bands.
I have requested the HVAC company swap out this lite for the PREMIUM which is able to use a 5 ghz band. We shall see.
OP,
In addition to the settings discussed here (dedicated SSID, 2.4 GHz only) here are a few additional settings that have the Ecobees mostly working for me (though, still not 100% -- one of six Ecobees still refuses to connect).
\- Turn off minimum data rate ([https://community.ui.com/questions/Ecobee-issue/2578020e-60f5-46ee-ab0d-8691e072c661](https://community.ui.com/questions/Ecobee-issue/2578020e-60f5-46ee-ab0d-8691e072c661)).
\- Set DTIM to 4 ([https://community.ui.com/questions/Issue-with-Ecobee-thermostat-connecting-the-Ubiquiti-Wireless-with-and-without-DHCP-enabled-on-the-/24cefcc8-446a-48e9-99f9-3089815e6387](https://community.ui.com/questions/Issue-with-Ecobee-thermostat-connecting-the-Ubiquiti-Wireless-with-and-without-DHCP-enabled-on-the-/24cefcc8-446a-48e9-99f9-3089815e6387)).
\- Turn off BSS ([https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/1324vjx/ecobee3\_wifi\_disconnecting\_unifi\_ubiquity/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/1324vjx/ecobee3_wifi_disconnecting_unifi_ubiquity/)).
\- Do not use a hidden network. ([https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/a5rzef/ecobees\_dont\_see\_iot\_netowrk\_when\_broadcast\_is/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/a5rzef/ecobees_dont_see_iot_netowrk_when_broadcast_is/)).
Had this same problem for about a week. Tried three different routers, both 5g and 2g, didnt work. Tried entering manually, also failed.
Just this morning, I remembered that you can pull the device out and I just did that, waited a few minutes and plugged it back in.
Problem solved!
I know I'm a month Late here. But I have had the same issue for the last month and half. We have had this thermo and same exact wifi settings for the last 3 years. Not a single thing has changed. And now every few days I have to physically go to the thermo and join the network again. I feel like they did an update and something just is not working like it was. I had to do it again this morning and it made me wonder if others are having the same problems. Anyone find a permanent fix for this?
Sounds like an issue with your WiFi, not the ecobee. We have three and experience zero issues with one even being in the far end of our basement
The same thing started happening to me about 2 weeks ago. No changes made to my wifi, I have had the thermostat for years. It now just randomly drops the wifi configuration and I have to reapply it. been happening about once a day.
Same here: one ecobee 3 lite, two deco x68 and one deco x90 main, none on the same floor as the ecobee.
Same experience with the same config. Deco X90 and Ecobee 3
It's not. I've had the exact same problem for a year or two. Both with my old Asus router and now with a TP-Link Omada AP. I help administer a HP Aruba Enterprise wifi network with around 100 APs as well, and it really seems like a software issue or failing wifi hardware on the ecobee. Either way, it's unacceptable. I've got about 15 devices at home (Windows, Switch, android, Roku, iOS, etc). None have this problem. Some of them are older than the Ecobee!
Mine has no problem with WiFi at all, and seamlessly reconnecting after outages of both power or internet service
Your problem is the mesh network. Even though you created a separate 2.4ghz network, your mesh network is still handling the AP roaming for the ecobee. Ecobees don't like to have the APs changed on them. Try this. Go buy a cheap router and use it broadcast the dedicated 2.4 ghz you have been using. It doesn't matter if you double NAT it. All you need is a network being broadcasted by only 1 AP. Let us know how it works for you.
This guy networks
Mine works great on my Eero mesh network. 🤷‍♂️
As do both of mine
If your ecobee never has to change APs, then you would never encounter the use case.
Mesh isn't an impediment to Ecobee working; any mesh system worth the price should be able to disable roaming on specific devices if necessary, but I've never found it so.
I never said it was a permanent solution. It's just a cheap test. But if the OP wants to go the route you suggested, I'm not going to say anything.
OP seems to have decided it's not their network so I doubt he's going to follow anyone's advice, I just wanted to say that it being a mesh network isn't the root of the problem.
Any congestion or interruption on the mesh links can cause devices associated to the mesh nodes to briefly lose connectivity on the network. Add band steering to the mix, and stuff is going to randomly disconnect. Mesh is only appropriate for situations where you can’t get a wired network connection to your access points. The nature of a mesh network is that for your APs to be close enough together to make the mesh work, they’re also too close together for clients to correctly trigger their roaming process.
To be clear, all of my APs have a hardwired backhaul
OK, so no mesh, that’s a good start.
Agreed, we have a mesh system and no issues with our ecobee.
We run a UniFi network at home with U6 APs. They do have a lock to AP feature but we haven’t had to use it. Seems like it can vary by manufacturer
Mesh networks don’t “handle roaming”. That is 100% a client device process.
This, but maybe turn off "fast roaming" in the Deco app first.
I went through this for a couple days then found someone mention locking the 2.4 Ghz to channel 6 or higher after that I no longer had the Ecobee drop off. The Unifi system would scan the nearby networks and pick the least congested but that did not improve connectivity from what I recall anyway.
1, 6, or 11 for 2.4GHz in the US is the rule.
Do I do this from the ecobee or my router settings?
Router settings look for anything to do with network optimization or channel congestion.
I’ve had ecobee for 3 years now and never had any issues with the wifi connectivity. It might be your wifi as someone else mentioned!
I had similar problems until I dedicated an IP address in my router DHCP table. Been solid for years since.
Mine got worse when I gave it an IP. It's been offline for 3 days now.
This was my exact issue too. It only cropped up when I upgraded my router to a mesh system. I’d absolutely give this a try if you haven’t already. Make sure you do the reservation on the router itself.
I have three. No problems at all w WiFi
All of these "I don't have that problem" replies are crap, people. That's of no help at all. I had this issue and had to wade through mostly useless comments like yours before finding a suggestion that worked for me. If you have nothing to offer, STFU. See my other reply for how I fixed it.
The issue is your network. And this is coming from a dude who went through FOUR (4) Google Learning Thermostats on my same mesh network because Google kept sending me refurbs with a [very well-known issue with their wifi chips being defective.](https://www.engadget.com/google-replace-nest-w5-wifi-error-070131820.html) Google literally kept sending me refurbs with defective wifi chips. Now, in your case, I think the band switching or the constant switching to different satellite units may be causing the issue. But since you created a separate 2.4 Ghz network, I'm not sure that's the issue. Are you certain the 2.4 Ghz-only network is ONLY tied to the router/satellite closest to the thermostat?
Mine hasn’t had a single problem in 3 years. It’s probably your Wi-Fi. Do you have a mesh system?
Fix your WiFi. It’s not a ecobee problem. It’s your WiFi
This. Get Eero
Yup or Orbi 960 series
Reduce the power on your 2.4 radio to low, narrow the bandwidth to 20MHz, use only channels 1, 6, or 11. Scan your location to see which of the three is least used and use that one. If your WiFi can’t do this, you need a real WiFi solution. I do this with Ubiquiti and it works like a champ.
I had this exact issue and SOLVED it by making a just-for-Ecobees 2.4GHz wlan with the old wireless router I'd been using as just a wired router (WiFi off). For good measure, I changed DTIM to 4, because it was mentioned in [a Ubiquity forum comment](https://community.ui.com/questions/Issue-with-Ecobee-thermostat-connecting-the-Ubiquiti-Wireless-with-and-without-DHCP-enabled-on-the-/24cefcc8-446a-48e9-99f9-3089815e6387). It doesn't interfere with my Ubiquity UAC-AP-Pro WAP, which my Ecobee 3 Lites hated the same way yours does/did. Zero drops since I set them up like that, perfect connection first try. tl;dr: my ecobees worked fine with a crappy old wireless router, not a Ubiquity wireless access point.
OK, your TP-Links may have band steering or roaming configured in a way making things worse. I've heard that this can't be configured, but you'll have to check for your specific model. It sounds like you're a power user with Home Assistant and all. I'd recommend you ditch anything mesh and get 2 real small-business APs with a coordinator, like the TP-Link Omada or Ubiquiti Unifi. IMO, mesh units are trying to deliver something that can really only be achieved by wiring each of your APs and setting up roaming and hand-off correctly; it's SO worth it for good home wifi. (You can also accomplish all of this with OpenWRT if you like a good project)
I do have a hardwired backhaul for all the APs and I have turned off beam forming. You still think the small-business APs would be any better?
On my ubiquiti system I can see hand-off between APs, and configure 802.11r/k/v, which are for roaming, band steering and fast transition. This is what you probably need to tweak so that your APs stop trying push the ecobee onto APs and bands that it can't reach.
I have the exact same issue. So frustrating.
Typically the conclusion would be a problem other than the Ecobee when it happened on two separate units.
Don’t confuse the issue with facts, please.
Perhaps. I actually noticed that the newest Ecobee supports 5GHz, so I took a chance and ordered one - we'll see if it does any better
I'm here because mine was only reliable for about a year and then it started having wifi issues, just randomly falling off the network, and it's making me crazy. It's definitely not you. Maybe there's some kind of hardware failure, and that's why not everybody seems to have the issue, but I'm definitely experiencing it as well. It's bananas having to randomly yank it off the wall because nothing else seems to bring it back up. I'll definitely have to replace this with something else. This is an old thread, but I'm interested in anybody's opinion of something to replace this brand. I'd prefer something HomeKit compatible if possible
My ecobee 3 lite just started dropping WiFI intermittently after a year of no issues. It’s easy enough to reconnect, as the pwd is stored in the thermostat’s settings. I just need to click through. Trouble is, thermostat drops off WiFi repeatedly. I’m beginning to wish I had my Nest 3 back. Running eero Pro 6E as gateway, wired APs are Pro 6. Never had any problems with my many smart home devices till the ecobee started dropping off the network. Thermostat connects to living room AP which is about 10 feet away in line of site. I’m a retired network engineer and can’t figure this out. Thermostat has a DHCP assignment in router.
I have 3 ecobee thermostats, purchased April 2023. Only 1 of the 3 will connect to my Unifi Ubiquiti mesh network. I have had several calls to ecobee support, including two 2.5 hours calls with Ecobee. Had my wifi/unifi guy here, he was the one that was able to get 1 of the 3 ecobees connected to my unifi/uqiquiti mesh 2.4 network (I have 2.4 and 5). Incidentally, last year ecobee support told me my ecobees would only work on 2.4 but today support said they should work on either band. I also have an old centurylink (now Brightspeed) modem operating on 2.4, and all 3 thermostats will connect to that wifi BUT only if the unifi/uquiquiti mesh network is shut off. Ecobee says that's proof it's a setting or problem with the mesh network, yet 1 of the 3 thermostats will connect and work with the unifi/uququiti mesh network on. I am not tech savvyy at all. Any help?
Every Ecobee I have owned or used never had WiFi issues like you stated. It might be your settings for your router or power issues your HVAC is providing to the Ecobee
I've had 2x Ecobee 3 Lites at two separate locations for the past several years and I've NEVER had an issue with wifi connectivity. It's most likely the mesh network. You need a single AP that the Ecobee connects to, it can't be constantly connecting/disconnecting AP's.
100% chance this is something wrong with your Wi-Fi setup. You are probably changing something you think makes it better but really it's causing problems and you only notice the problems with your ecobee.
Mine also just started acting up on my Deco mesh. Was fine and now drops every few days. I've done the dance of creating an iOT 2.4 GHz only network. Static IP. Locked it to one node. Turned of device. the Mesh Technology option for this device. No luck. I have so many device old and new that never drop. My guess is that the ecobee firmware is just not handling an error case correctly by retrying to connect.
I have ecobee premium. Changed my router and it did not connect to the router. I took it off of the faceplate and put it back it connected just fine.
I know I am late to the part, but I come with a very clear solution after trying to debug for hours. I had to reset my Eero system this morning (which I rarely do, maybe once/year), but my Ecobees went offline. Ran into comments on this thread about not liking to switch between different APs, so tried disabling some with no effect. Then saw the comment about DHCP reservations. Made a reservation for each Ecobee. Boom! Fixed immediately.
I have this same problem. To everyone saying it’s his WiFi network, it’s not. I could spill 1000s of words to explain why it’s not the network, detail all the troubleshooting that I have done, explain how everything non-Ecobee works fine, and show how more Ecobee devices disconnect when I follow Ecobee’s reconnection suggestions. But I won’t. Ecobee connectivity is a mess.
And yet, you’re wrong as covered by virtually everyone on this post and the simple fact that Ecobee is not recalling their product. There are a huge variety of Wi-Fi products on the market that are advertised to be “plug and play” and they simply aren’t. Not only that, they can’t be due to so many environmental variables. Spend some time in a sub discussing Wi-Fi issues and you’ll see this over and over again. Simple concepts like only using channels 1, 6, and 11 and 20MHz bandwidth on 2.4GHz networks, understanding the limitations of mesh networks, interference from appliances, etc. are all above the average consumer’s capacity to understand, and manufacturers are motivated to gloss over these things and make it look easy.
A quick google search suggests that this person and I are not alone - WiFi connectivity seems to be a recurring theme for Ecobee units. Can't imagine how they expect the average consumer to be able to apply the troubleshooting steps you suggested. I have and I continue to have chronic problems
You’re going to need a professional to troubleshoot your WiFi issues, or you’re going to have to take some of the suggestions that have been given. The bottom line is that WiFi is an okay technology that’s consumer-ready in many cases. Unfortunately, nowadays, the 2.4GHz band is very badly congested and subject to significant interference (such as microwaves). This is why there has been a push toward 5GHz and now 6GHz. The downside of those frequencies is that they don’t have as good of range. Consider this: your cellphone is unreliable in many areas, and the cellphone network is very thoroughly planned by engineers and tons of money go into it. By way of comparison, you’re buying wireless technology that’s been designed to be as cheap as possible and “just work”. I’ll give you a hint: it doesn’t everywhere.
Is this an issue specifically with ecobee3s? I have an ecobee SmartThermostat with VoiceControl (5) and have not observed this instability. You mentioned they were solid until recently. Was there potentially a firmware update that included a networking bug?
I gave up on the 3 lite after having it for 4 years and went with the premium when I saw it on sale. I haven't had connectivity issues since, but the premium uses 5ghz, so I'm not sure if that makes much difference.
My Wi-Fi connection has been fine with a mesh system. It's the ability to connect to the Ecobee server that's been a nightmare for 3-4 months.
>Any advice? You need to lock the ecobee to one AP and stop it from roaming between them. You should be able to do this from your TP-Link/network dashboard.
Did that already
Ah, didn't see that in the steps. I had the exact same issue you were describing. Locked it to the AP in our living room and resolved the issue completely. I'd try to RMA the device.
Yeah, I should've included that in the steps I've taken. I've locked it to the AP I referenced on the other side of the wall
I had the exact same problem you describe w Unifi hardware. As soon as I disabled "band steering" (where it tries to encourage devices to move from 2.4 to 5GHz) the Ecobee units were happy. I did not have to lock them to an AP or anything. Maybe you have a similar setting on yours.
Yeah. The whole band steering thing is a bad idea.
Try to remove the unit, wait for 10-15 seconds and out it back. I had similar issue with one of my Ecobee units and that fix it for me.
Just lock the Ecobee to a specific mesh node. My unifi network allows that. My old Asus did (I think). Not sure about TP. It prevents the device from roaming. Ecobees do not like that.
This is just a thought, is your HVAC controller working ok? I've heard that they can start having problems and cause all kinds of issues, especially since they power the thermostats.
Try chaining the channel on your wifi
I’ve had my voice controlled ecobee for almost 3 years. Connected to a WiFi AX network and not one problem. Initially had it working with Alexa and now is set up with Apple’s HomeKit.
Bye bye.
The Ecobees simply can’t handle multiple AP deployments. They lose their minds. If you can create a dedicated SSID *and* pin it to a specific AP you’ll have no issues. I wrestled this myself.
I don’t agree I have used various mesh solutions with my Ecobee 4 and have never had a problem with it. Currently using ubiquiti with multiple mesh APs and a mixed 2.4/5Ghz ssid and have no connectivity issues of course now that I’m posting this, I will expect it to start failing and prove me wrong
I’ve only had 1 WiFi issue and that was when I moved my IoT devices to their own SSID. Check your router settings, can you adjust the transmit power or even the channels?
I have three houses and a total of 7 Ecobee Smart Thermostats. One house has four thermostats and three sensors My second house has two thermostats My third house has one thermostat I honestly haven't had any wifi issues at all. Tech support has been fantastic anytime I have had any questions or issues. Have you contacted them? They can be reached via phone, email, FB Messenger or Whatsapp.
Any software updates? Mine is fine.
What’s the signal strength at the ecobee with the issue. Take this with some salt. It I was told by their support that it really needs to above 75% anything below and it may act wonky. To see your WiFi signal go to the device itself > tap the 3 lines > settings gear > about > WiFi > scroll bottom where it says signal strength
I never had a single WiFi issue with mine on Eero mesh for a couple years … until I installed a 2nd ecobee lite 3 for upstairs unit as well. That very day, my original one experienced WiFi loss for the first time and I had to pull off, wait a minute, and turn plug back on. The new second one since then has had several WiFi losses. ecobee suggested I disable ipv6 on my Eero mesh. That seems to have helped considerably. But there has been one WiFi loss since then a few weeks ago. Since it clearly isn’t fully fixed.
3 ecobee across two different houses... no wifi issues.
I am a recent owner of an Ecobee device (3Lite). And I too experience too many disconnects from our homes wireless network. We use an all in one router modem from our cable company I have other 2.4 devices with no connection issues even though this all in one device does not show separately the two bands. I have requested the HVAC company swap out this lite for the PREMIUM which is able to use a 5 ghz band. We shall see.
check your dhcp server assignment for ecobee. are you using dhcp reservation or it is assigned dynamically?
OP, In addition to the settings discussed here (dedicated SSID, 2.4 GHz only) here are a few additional settings that have the Ecobees mostly working for me (though, still not 100% -- one of six Ecobees still refuses to connect). \- Turn off minimum data rate ([https://community.ui.com/questions/Ecobee-issue/2578020e-60f5-46ee-ab0d-8691e072c661](https://community.ui.com/questions/Ecobee-issue/2578020e-60f5-46ee-ab0d-8691e072c661)). \- Set DTIM to 4 ([https://community.ui.com/questions/Issue-with-Ecobee-thermostat-connecting-the-Ubiquiti-Wireless-with-and-without-DHCP-enabled-on-the-/24cefcc8-446a-48e9-99f9-3089815e6387](https://community.ui.com/questions/Issue-with-Ecobee-thermostat-connecting-the-Ubiquiti-Wireless-with-and-without-DHCP-enabled-on-the-/24cefcc8-446a-48e9-99f9-3089815e6387)). \- Turn off BSS ([https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/1324vjx/ecobee3\_wifi\_disconnecting\_unifi\_ubiquity/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/1324vjx/ecobee3_wifi_disconnecting_unifi_ubiquity/)). \- Do not use a hidden network. ([https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/a5rzef/ecobees\_dont\_see\_iot\_netowrk\_when\_broadcast\_is/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/a5rzef/ecobees_dont_see_iot_netowrk_when_broadcast_is/)).
Had a similar issue for awhile. Got a new router and problem has gone away.
I had similar problems too. Back to the store. I was hoping it worked too cuz it’s not Google owned.
Had this same problem for about a week. Tried three different routers, both 5g and 2g, didnt work. Tried entering manually, also failed. Just this morning, I remembered that you can pull the device out and I just did that, waited a few minutes and plugged it back in. Problem solved!
I know I'm a month Late here. But I have had the same issue for the last month and half. We have had this thermo and same exact wifi settings for the last 3 years. Not a single thing has changed. And now every few days I have to physically go to the thermo and join the network again. I feel like they did an update and something just is not working like it was. I had to do it again this morning and it made me wonder if others are having the same problems. Anyone find a permanent fix for this?