Problem Solved: Connecting Rachio 2nd Generation to ASUS RT-AC66U

[plastic101]

FYI. After spending more hours than I’d like to admit trying to connect my Rachio 2nd Generation to my ASUS RT-AC66U router, I finally succeeded - albeit with an out of the box solution.

What didn’t work:

• Following instructions.
• Opening port 31314.
• Changing my 2.4 GHz band to Legacy, or enabling B/G protection.

What I refused to do:

• Disable my firewall.

What did work:

• I set up a spoofed WIFI network via the hotspot functionality on my phone to pair the device with Rachio servers.
• Then I turned it off and reconnected to my ASUS router.
• Magically, all four lights lit up!

How to do it:

• Make note of your router’s SSID and password (pre-shared key).
• Turn your router off.
• Grab a hotspot or enable the hotspot functionality on your phone.
• Configure the hotspot with the same SSID and password as your router (that you turned off).
• Pair a second phone or tablet with your hotspot.
• Setup the Rachio via the second phone/tablet, entering the SSID/password for your hotspot.
• Follow the prompts until all 4 lights light up.
• Disable the hotspot.
• Turn your ASUS router back on.
• It should then connect perfectly - all 4 lights.
• Finish wiring and complete configuration if needed.

_For the record, the firmware of my ASUS RT-AC66U at the time of this post was: 3.0.0.4.378_9533.

I’m guessing that this method would likely work when struggling with any other Apple WAC or Electric Imp BlinkUp device, but I don’t have any others.

Enjoy.

[franz]

Thanks for sharing. Sorry you had to go through this, I haven’t heard of any issues with ASUS routers, that is usually our power house (I have one at home and we used to run everything on one at work ASUS RT-N66U).

For anyone reading this, these are not normal steps, but using a hotspot is a creative solution.

• Opening port 31314.

This is only for Gen 1

• Disable my firewall.

For only pairing this might help…

I’m guessing that this method would likely work with any other Electric Imp BlinkUp device, but I don’t have any others.

Were you using a Gen 1 or Gen 2 device? Gen 1 is blinkup, Gen 2 is the Apple WAC process.

[plastic101]

There is definitely an issue - at least with this Asus model/firmware. I spent probably about two hours on with tech support, not to mention the other hours (plural) I spent reading message boards and trying different things. It was horrible. And it was Rachio support that suggested opening the port.

Just goes to show you how determined I was to get this thing running - because I’m excited about it!

It’s 2nd generation, I’ll update the note.

Thanks.

[franz]

Thanks again for sharing.

Just curious, were you running a dual band or dedicated network that you were pairing to?

Also, I’ll PM you some Rachio swag, no one should have to spend that much time…most connections only take a minute or less.

[plastic101]

Dual band, with unique names for both bands.

[franz]

So one dedicated 2.4g and one dedicated 5g?

[plastic101]

Yep.

[franz]

Ok, very strange. Well glad you are part of the community.

[plastic101]

MAC filtering disabled, I even gave it a static IP to keep it from squirming around on me.

[plastic101]

Agreed, and thanks, I’m glad I made it to the other side. It should be worth it. I’m already happy with it. I did discover a broken pipe on the maiden voyage though. : (