Unable to get started: New GlowForge Pro & Hotspot

The lack of attainable customer support is rather startling. I am unable to get my new Pro online using an iPhone Hotspot. Yes, I have read the thread (from 2018). My setup: iOS 15.1.1; MacOS 12.0.1; MacBook Pro M1.

I can successfully connect to the GlowForge Pro broadcast signal… yet, then unable to connect to the internet via the HotSpot. The HotSpot is not listed, so I use ‘Connect to Other’ button and type in the name of the Hotspot plus the correct pw. Nothing. I have rebooted both the computer and the GlowForge… multiple times.

NOTE: I have tried contacting phone support 3 times (2 times today). Each time, I am on hold for 21 mins… then prompted to leave name, email, phone… then I get promptly disconnected (i.e. unable to leave any information). I am pretty shocked at this level of customer support/service. 0 stars, for sure.

If your iphone is a 12 or later… iPhone 12 and later default to 5ghz for the hotspot feature. You can go into the phone settings and check maximize compatibility to enable 2.4ghz broadcasting.

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As @jbmanning5 said … the glowforge only works on 2.4 ghz.

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OK. Good thought… thanks. Will try now. Thanks!

I’m connected! Yay!!! Thanks guys. So that I understand… is the Forum really the preferred way to obtain support? It really appears the home office is not properly staffed. If this forum is the ‘point’… I’m good (to a point). :wink:

As covered in the forum description, you can get help from the community by posting here.

Support can often take a few days to respond to email or posts here. Either way opens a ticket in their system.

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Good deal.

Phone new support is a really new thing. Just launched officially last week, perhaps? They ran a chat beta program for a while. Now it’s phone beta. So trying to figure out how to help the most people, the fastest, it would seem. Email is also an option.

The forum is generally pretty good as far as collective knowledge goes and can fix most user-error issues (which are pretty prevalent) but can’t really diagnose major system issues since access to the info is limited.

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Roger that. Well, successfully made my first Gift of Good Measure… so, we are off!

Thank you for the swift assistance.

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Hi @scott.twoa I’m sorry to hear that we were unable to reach us by phone earlier to get help with the connection setup for your Glowforge Pro. We are currently expanding our phone support team to help with incoming phone support, and appreciate you following up through email and this Community thread. It looks like you were able to get some great advice to adjust the broadcast settings to the 2.4 GHz bandwidth from your hotspot. I wanted to make sure you’re not running into any further trouble, so I’ll leave this thread open to confirm that. Feel free to let me know, and I’ll be happy to help with any continued troubleshooting.

Also, to avoid any confusion, I will go ahead and close out your email ticket to keep the technical troubleshooting in this thread. Thank you!

Thanks Brandon. I just now saw your msg. Perhaps you could tell me how to get a few other things addressed:

  1. My shipment did not contain any goggles. I thought they were included?
  2. My shipment contained a lt blue plastic cylinder. What is that for?
  3. I would like to get the Sales Tax on all my purchases eliminated (and refunded). How do I go about doing that?

NOTE: I have sent emails regarding the above… but have had no response.

Thanks!!

Hi Scott -

This is Angie, stepping in for Brandon today. I see that you have a separate email thread and I’m going to respond to your questions there shortly and help get you taken care of!

Thank you so much for your patience in the meantime!

Best,