No connection? Definitely a problem

Sometimes "no connection" is a one-device problem but it sometimes is a real network problem. Typical first steps are to check if there is an outage in the customer's area and also to figure out if it is affecting all devices or just some. A router reboot also tends to be a safe bet right away, too!

Physical setup - No connection to every device

If multiple devices have no connection, a reboot didn't help, and there are no reported outages in the area there are a few more steps. If you work for an ISP you usually have tools available to see if internet is being delivered to the home (and if you work for a smart home company usually you will have the customer call their ISP if no device can connect).

Physical inspection can be done verbally by asking the customer questions, but if you have a live video tool that is better as customers can't inadvertently give you the wrong information. Make sure to check the WELP of the situation:

W - Wires (make sure the customer has not plugged in their cables wrong)

E - Environment (Check for surrounding sources of interference, etc.)

L - Lights (See if the router lights are indicating an error or problem)

P - Power (is it even on?)

Why WELP? Because when you find out the problem is because the customer plugged it in wrong you go like this:

Specific devices or services/apps can't be set up or have no connection?

When a specific app or device can't get a connection there are some standard culprits:

✓ Firewalls

✓ Parental controls

✓ VPNs for work or security

✓ Captive portals (e.g. school or hotel WiFi you need to sign devices into)

If a customer can't get connected always make sure to ask to see if they have any of these implemented or if they are using WiFi that is not a standard home network (to see if there is a login issue). If the problem is in one of these services, have them call the provider for help!

Network encryption

Encryption is a term for the security protocol that a network uses to protect information over WiFi. Many smart devices will not work with older encryption methods, or if there is no encryption. This can be changed inside router settings.

Typically you want the encryption to be set to WPA2 to work with a majority of smarthome devices.

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Conversely, most devices DO NOT work with the encryptions called WEP or OPEN (meaning no password needed). Make sure your customers networks have a password set!

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Bridge Mode/Double Nat

This setup is becoming more rare, but some systems such as XBox live still have issues in this case.

Double NAT is the name for when a customer plugs a second router into the "main" router which connects to the internet. It causes an addressing problem where other devices around the world (i.e. other people's XBoxes) can't get the address of your XBox because of the two routers.

To fix this issue you just set the "main" router to "bridge mode" in its settings. This effectively turns the secondary router into the main router and it can share its address properly. Note: If only one router is present and you set it to Bridge mode, WEIRD THINGS HAPPEN! One router must not be set to bridge.

When you receive RouteThis access, RouteThis can help to identify Double NAT and also has live video and photo features to inspect WELP.