I have had this fight for a couple of days now. My machine will turn on but it won’t go online. The software is picking up when the lid is open and closed and every so often it will say centering but then immediately go to offline. I have went through every step of the support but still nothing. I’m waiting on an email from tech support.
Thank you for reaching out to us. I’m sorry to hear your Glowforge is having connectivity trouble.
I just took a look at the logs from your Glowforge, and reviewed some data from the last few days of use in order to investigate further. In these logs we have a record of the average signal strength the Glowforge is capturing from the network it’s connected to.
On average, this signal strength has been low over the last week, with average strength at around -80dBm as of yesterday . For more context, on networks with very good signal strength, this will often run closer to -30dBm. A signal strength at -70dBm or lower would be very difficult to stay connected to.
If you’ve already tried the troubleshooting steps here: Glowforge is “Offline” and there is no improvement, here are some additional steps to try:
- If your Wi-Fi network includes several access points, it’s possible that your Glowforge needs to re-establish its connection whenever it ‘hops’ from one access point to another. As a test, you could try creating a dedicated access point for the Glowforge to see if that helps.
- Since Glowforge only uses the 2.4GHz frequency, a connection will be harder to establish and maintain on a crowded 2.4GHz network. Other devices using 2.4GHz, like cordless phones and microwaves, can cause interference and an unstable connection. You can consult your router settings to check the performance and traffic on your 2.4GHz network.
- In your network settings, check the channel you’re using for the 2.4GHz band. Trying a different channel may provide a more consistent connection.
- Though less common, DNS or name resolution conflicts may also cause intermittent connectivity problems. If you use a custom DNS configuration on your router, you might want to try default DNS settings to see if that works better.
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:
- Turn on your Glowforge.
- Wait 30 seconds. Then hold down the button for ten seconds until it glows teal.
- 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.
- Once Wi-Fi setup is complete, go to app.glowforge.com and try a few prints.
Please let us know how it goes. Thank you.
Hey @caleb.duna,
It’s been a little while since we’ve heard from you. I just took a quick look at the logs from your Glowforge and see that your WIFI signal strength has significantly improved and you’ve been successfully printing since contacting us. That’s is great!
I’m going to go ahead and close this thread now. If you still need help with this or anything else please either start a new thread or email support@glowforge.com and we’ll be happy to help.