OctoPrint’s WiFi connectivity issues can frustrate even the most seasoned 3D printing enthusiasts, especially if you don’t know the main cause. I have written this guide to provide some of the best ways to fix this issue.
To fix OctoPrint not connecting to WiFi, reboot your router, change the WiFi’s name and password, and move the Raspberry Pi closer to the router. You can also try to use a power line adapter and change the network connection from public to private.
This is just a basic explanation. In this article, I will provide more details, so stick around to find out more.
How to Fix OctoPrint Not Connecting to WiFi
Here are some of the best methods to fix OctoPrint not connecting to WiFi.
Move the pi closer to the router
Reboot the router
Broadcast WiFi signals with different bandwidths separately
Change the WiFi SSID and password
Use a Powerline Adapter
Download a new version of OctoPrint and reinstall it
Run the “raspi-config” tool
1. Move the Raspberry Pi Closer to the Router
One simple fix you should try is moving the Raspberry Pi closer to the router. Placing the Raspberry Pi farther away from your router weakens the WiFi signals.
To improve the signal strength, find a spot for your Raspberry Pi nearer to your router while still being convenient for your printer setup. This will also reduce the chances of disruption in communication.
One user with a Raspberry Pi4 running OctoPi said it wasn’t getting a good wireless connection. It worked most of the time but stopped connecting for no apparent reason. However, moving the Pi closer to the router helped to fix the problem.
2. Reboot the Router
If moving the Raspberry Pi closer to the router fails to fix your WiFi connectivity issues, you can try rebooting the router. Sometimes, routers can encounter temporary hiccups or memory buildup affecting connectivity.
Carefully unplug the power supply from the router and leave it for a few seconds. Reconnect the power supply and wait for the router to reboot fully. After that, test if OctoPrint can connect to your WiFi.
One user mentioned that he had a strange problem where OctoPrint Pi could not connect to the router yet the Pi’s IP appeared on the router status page.
However, after rebooting the router and it came online, it instantly connected to the OctoPrint server. He, therefore, advised users to always reboot their router first whenever they had a problem with their OctoPrint that they needed to get rid of.
3. Broadcast WiFi Signals with Different Bandwidths Separately
Some routers usually broadcast WiFi signals with different bandwidths (2.4GHz and 5GHz) as one, using the same SSID (network name). However, some Raspberry Pi models may struggle to connect to such networks since they operate with a specific bandwidth (normally 2.4GHz)
To fix this, look for an option to broadcast the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks from your router separately. After that, choose the most suitable network for your Raspberry Pi.
Check out this video by Codephile that explains how to change the WiFi band of any router.
One user said that the solution to OctoPrint not connecting to WiFi would be to go to the router settings and change the credentials to show the 2.4 bandwidth and 5 bandwidth as separate networks.
This is because the router bands the 2.4GHz and 5GHz together under the same credential, making it difficult for the Raspberry Pi to see the WiFi network it could connect to (2.4GHz since it can’t read the 5GHz).
After changing his home router, another user said he had trouble maintaining a WiFi connection. It turned out that the new router had a feature called “Smart Connect”, which assigned the exact SSID to both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
This made it difficult for the Raspberry Pi to connect. He advised users in the same situation to ensure this feature was disabled on their router.
4. Change the WiFi SSID and Password
An effective way to fix OctoPrint not connecting to WiFi is to enter the correct WiFi credentials. Entering the wrong WiFi network name (SSID) or password will make it difficult for OctoPrint to establish a connection with your router.
Check out this video demonstrating how to change the NETGEAR WiFi router’s name and password.
One user whose OctoPrint couldn’t connect to a network realized that the issue was that his password had “?”, and “/” in it. He made a new SSID and password with numbers and letters only, which worked fine.
Another user said that if you are experiencing OctoPrint connectivity issues, you could take the SD card and put it on a PC. After that, open up the WPA_SUPPLICANT.CONF file and change the SSID and password from there to fix it.
A user said that OctoPi struggled to connect to his WiFi router after updating it. Someone recommended that he start with a new WiFi network name and update whatever he was running OctoPrint on to connect to the new WiFi network.
5. Use a Powerline Adapter
A powerline adapter can be a helpful solution when fixing OctoPrint not connecting to WiFi issues, especially if the Raspberry Pi is far from the router.
What the powerline adapter does is extend your network connection through your home’s electrical wiring, providing a wired connection to the Raspberry Pi if it is struggling with WiFi connectivity. Powerline adapters rarely lose signal leading to a more stable and faster connection.
One user whose OctoPrint wasn’t connecting to WiFi said that he got some inexpensive powerline adapters from Amazon, and everything worked perfectly. He could access OctoPrint from his computer and phone while on his local network.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
6. Download a New Version of OctoPrint and Reinstall It
Downloading and reinstalling the latest version of OctoPrint will replace any potentially corrupted files or configurations that might be causing the connectivity issues.
It also ensures that you’re working with the most up-to-date and stable software, reducing the chances of encountering bugs or issues that might cause OctoPrint not to connect to WiFi.
Chris Riley gives a great video tutorial on how to install OctoPrint in 5 minutes.
A user with a Raspberry Pi 3+ problem said that he had to delete everything from his computer, re-download new versions, and reinstall everything.
After that, he read the WiFi config file carefully, ensuring he uncommented everything appropriately and there were no extra characters or missing characters. It turned out that he had extra characters somewhere that hindered him from connecting to WiFi normally.
Running the “raspi-config” tool will allow you to configure various settings on your Raspberry Pi, including the network settings. By adjusting these settings, you can ensure that the Raspberry Pi is configured to connect to your WiFi network correctly, thus fixing your connectivity problems.
This video shows how to run the “sudo raspi-config” on the Raspberry Pi to access the main settings menu.
One user couldn’t get Octopi to connect to WiFi. He used a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and Notepad ++ to add the network name and password. Someone who had a similar issue told him to type in Sudo Raspi-config, which would bring up a menu that allows you to go into the network settings.
After doing this, he found that his SSID and password were not there. But, as soon as he put them in there, it connected.
Another user who got a new router said that his OctoPi wouldn’t connect to WiFi even though it had the same SSID and password. He ended up running “raspi-config” to set it again, and it finally started working. This fix worked for another user who loaded OctoPrint correctly after connecting.
Michael Dwamena is the founder of 3D Printerly, a platform dedicated to simplifying 3D printing for hobbyists and professionals alike. Owns over 20 3D printers (filament and resin) and has plenty experience 3D printing. Michael has authored over 900 articles, helping millions navigate the exciting world of 3D printing.
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