Frustrated .....wasting time and money

I really hate to complain …I have a small business and so I know how it is to be on the other end, But tonight I have to write about this here.
Been following since the beginning …love the company …love the innovation… love the webinars…(even though I missed out of the spirograph files giveaway)
But tonight I sit here in fort of my keyboard terribly frustrated and tired.
So here’s my story…I got my GF about a month and half ago. Out of the box had issues with Constant scanning…Homing…scanning …centering… etc etc… you get the picture. 4 times out of 10 it would work with no issues.
Read up on all the tricks. Even got a new router from Verizon and two extenders plus and additional high bandwidth Router piggybacked thinking that its just my wifi connection since I am a basement. Right there I spent about $500.00…not GF fault …but just saying…

As much as I love this machine … to me its biggest drawback is using the web interface instead of a dedicated desktop app. Now I get it about the cloud based app and all…makes it easier to update software …but the downside is the whole WIFI thing for me has been totally sketchy . I’m practically crossing my fingers every time I go to use it…I bought this for my small business and I’m at a level that I know I can start making money with it…but it seems to me that the reliability changes daily. As in tonight I have finally had it. So much that I really feel like selling it. So frustrated spending countless hours rebooting restarting shutting down restarting again all to no avail. Even my IT guy asked me “where’s the ethernet port”?

I also had bought the Air filter setup…which I am kind of scratching my head about as well. It really does not do much if anything at all except stink up the shop.

Then factor in another 1500 I have spent so far in materials and your looking at almost 10K and I still don’t to have a reliable machine that I can plan my production schedule around.

The nail in the coffin is…I just had a flood in the shop and the box I was saving that it came in got trashed…

I read that I would need to buy another box for$250.00 …so lets say I need to send back… I need to drop another $250.00!!!

All this cash and I still do not have a fully reliable machine.

GF guys… please chime in here because I am at the end of my rope…

Thanks
Joe

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…also…forgot to mention it stopped recognizing Proof grade materials automatically after week 2…

Well, that really sucks. It has to be doubly frustrating for you to have to deal with all of this while seeing those of us that are super happy with our machines! I’ve noticed a pretty strong correlation between folks who are frustrated with their gf and those who have challenging internet situations. Unfortunately it can be tough to tell whether it’s the machine or not. I can say that once people get the kinks worked out, whether by fixing their WiFi or their machine, they get REALLY happy!

Any chance your insurance will cover a new box because of flood damage?

Is the wireless you are trying to connect to 2.4 ghz or 5 ghz?

I’m not sure… How can you tell?

One way to tell is to look at the name of the wifi you are connected to, normally when you get a modem/ router they will be able to produce both these days and it is usually in the name that you are connecting to. I was just wondering because the glowfroge operates on 2.4ghz and i think it is possible to have it work on 5 but it causes issues kinda like the ones you are having if i remember right from reading the forum.

You should also be able to access your router settings to see which devices are hooked up to which channels

ahh I must be tired sorry… so now that I have the new router I and extenders in place… I have three choices. One two standard at 2.4 Ghz and 1 choice 5G. Just to clarify …when you say connected to…are you asking about the initial setup when you choose a network for the GF to log onto OR the device I am using to use the web app?

My Mac is my primary device and it is currently connected to 5G

I know and I so want to be part of that crowd.

Sry just reading up on some things about it now, I havent had this issue with my machine so need to learn some things first heh. Have you ran a speed test next to the router and next to the machine on the same network the machine is on? Also it might be worth doing the setup process again and make sure you are on the 2.4 network.

No, but I will do that soon. Need to get some sleep for now. Thanks for chiming in.

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not a problem, I would actually re run the setup on the machine first and make sure you are connected to a 2.4 network with it. eliminate that first and then check speeds is there are still issues. Have a good night will poke back in here tomorrow to see if i can help

I have heard that some folks get better results by choosing a different WiFi channel than the default. It has to do with interference from neighbors’ WiFi I think.

The Glowforge doesn’t support 5GHz so this is a red herring.

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I have seen a few posts where people were able to connect with 2.4 but the router had some sort of smart switching that would force the glowforge to a 5ghz channel and cause the same issues as this user is facing. Thought it might be a similar issue.

What @deirdrebeth mentioned here.

It went to email tho so not sure if that was the issue or how it was resolved

My guess is that this is a coincidence. Band steering only makes sense if the client is dual band. A router that disconnects 2.4GHz only clients would be pretty broken. But it’s remotely possible — there are so many obscure failure modes out there. It wouldn’t hurt to at least try turning 5GHz off if it’s quick and easy. Just don’t want to send them on a wild goose chase.

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Yeah I was grasping at straws a bit, this kind of thing is out of my wheelhouse but like you said would be a kinda easy thing to test. But probably should try and connect via the phone hotspot first to see if it is a wifi issue first off I guess.

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I’m deeply sorry to hear about the challenging start you’ve had. I want to address the issues you’ve mentioned here one by one, so that we can get you on the way to a wonderful experience with your Glowforge!

Wi-Fi Connection Trouble

After reading through the details about what you’ve tried and what others have suggested here, I pulled the recent logs from your Glowforge to give us a better idea about the connection history. I do notice a tendency for there to be multiple connections to our servers from your unit within a short period of time, along with multiple expired or timed out communication attempts during prints, calibrations, etc. This all points toward either a signal strength or a band crowding issue. @cynd11 mentioned the possibility of changing the channel on the 2.4GHz network to see if that improves the reliability of the connection - I agree that this is a great step to try next. You can make this change in your router settings.

I also see some talk about band steering being a factor. I’ve seen that happen a few times, yes, but usually with a specific type of router. If the trouble persists after other factors have been eliminated, we can check that out, but it’s doubtful.

You may also want to check for and eliminate any sources of interference near the Glowforge. Large amounts of metal, thick glass, devices that are receiving or broadcasting radio signals - any of these things might be contributing to the connection instability.

If you’re still having trouble, there’s a test you can try that will help us narrow down the problem. If possible, could you please create a Wi-Fi hotspot with a cell phone and use that network to connect your Glowforge to Wi-Fi? This is a good way to rule out signal interference, since you can set your phone right on top of your Glowforge!

You can find instructions online to help you create a Wi-Fi hotspot using a cell phone. Make sure that you set it up to be a 2.4 GHz hotspot, since that is the frequency your Glowforge uses.

Once the Wi-Fi hotspot is broadcasting, you can connect to it by following these steps:

  1. Turn on your Glowforge.
  2. Wait 30 seconds. Then hold down the button for ten seconds until it glows teal.
  3. Navigate to setup.glowforge.com and follow the instructions on-screen. When prompted to connect your Glowforge to Wi-Fi, choose the hotspot you created.
  4. Once Wi-Fi setup is complete, go to app.glowforge.com and try a few prints.

Let me know if the performance improves significantly when using the hotspot. It will definitely help us focus our troubleshooting efforts.

Your Compact Filter

When your Glowforge and Compact Filter are properly set up, you may have some harmless odor during printing which will rapidly dissipate. You may also smell something when you open the Glowforge lid after a print is complete. This is not harmful.

However, if you notice a strong, unpleasant or irritating odor when printing, or see smoke, shut off your Glowforge unit immediately. Smoke and fumes could be entering the room in excessive concentrations.

We’ve created a troubleshooting guide with illustrations. You can see it here: https://glowforge.com/support/topic/troubleshooting/print#excessive-smoke-or-fumes-during-print

If you’re still seeing or smelling excessive smoke or fumes when using Proofgrade materials, we’re here for you. Email us (or post here) and send us:

  1. The name of the material you’re using

  2. A description of where the smoke/fumes are coming from: the door, lid, or hose

  3. When you smell the fumes: during the print or after it has completed

  4. Photos of your Glowforge and your exhaust system

Proofgrade Material Recognition

I’ve investigated the logs and sensor readings from your Glowforge, and it appears that there has been some buildup of dust and residue on the camera. This has led to a cloudiness in the lid images that is affecting the ability for Proofgrade to be automatically recognized.

Could you please follow the steps located on our support page here for “Things That Need Wiping”? After thoroughly cleaning, please try again and let me know how it goes.

Your Glowforge Shipping Box

Flooding is never expected and always terrible to experience, and I’m sorry to hear that damaged your Glowforge shipping materials. We’re more than happy to work with you to obtain new box. I’ve made a note of this on your account so that if you ever need to return your Glowforge, we can work out the details to get you replacement shipping materials. If you’d like to work that out now, just let me know and we’ll follow up on it via email.

I hope that covers everything for now. Please let me know how the next steps go!

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HI Vee
Thank you for this!
My shop has many thing going on at the same time…therefore many signals flying around…
makes good sense.
I am going to do all of the above and will update.
Great information.

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