The older firmware has a WiFi disable button. Please bring it back with the new firmware. “Must be within 10ft and clear line of site” renders it nearly useless. To say the 1F even has WiFi almost qualifies as false advertising. It doesn’t matter that the WiFi adapter is inside a metal enclosure and this is why the range is so short. 2.4GHz wifi is supposed to have 150 ft of indoor range. Any person looking into the 1F to buy, sees WiFi as a feature, would reasonably expect to have typical device-to-access point range.
Also, since the on-board “WiFi” is so limited, consider offering a WiFi to ethernet adapter as an option when ordering the 1F.
Might need to edit the file as shown in this post to get it to work properly.
I did the external antenna mod shown here and it seems to have improved my signal strength. It is fairly difficult to solder the tiny antenna lead though.
I use a TP-Link WiFi-to-ethernet adapter, model TL-WR902AC for my 1F since day 1. I’ve never used the on-board WiFi because I’d rather spend my time making things vs fussing with weak connectivity problems. The configuration process is very simple for it and once done, connect it via ethernet, connect the USB power supply, and bam… strong, solid reception, as good as any other WiFi enabled device. The other benefit vs a USB WiFi dongle, you avoid drawing power from the Raspi-based controller, which has a very limited USB power output. I trust it to support the wireless joystick pendant and a 720p webcam, but nothing additional.
My shop is behind 7” thick walls located about 75 feet from the base station in the garage. I get a good signal using this Panda Wireless USB to network adapter. So far on the new version 1.1.1 from OneFinity that connection is now faster and better. It is cheap and if it doesn’t work just send it back to Amazon. It is also plug and play. Be blessed!
I have not upgraded yet, but it will be very disappointing if I can’t disable WIFI. Mine worked really well for a while, then started dropping on a regular basis. Super weird since the controller is about 15ft from an access point. Now I just have it plugged into ethernet and I never have problems. Maybe I will hold off on upgrading? Or disable WIFI from the command line instead.
Can you give some more detail? I got lost in your description.
Do you connect 1F to TPLink with ethernet cable. get power to TPLink , and TPLink gets signal from your home wifi? Is it in client mode or what?
Trying to understand how this works and I am not fully understanding these connections.
Thanks
I think I posted in wrong place??
I connect the 1F controller to the TP Link adapter via the short ethernet cable that came with the adapter, but you could use a 50 meter cable instead if it was necessary. Power to the adapter is via the provided USB power supply. The TP Link is in client mode and connects to my home wifi like any other device does.
Does the 1F’s onboard wifi cause any problems since it can no longer be disabled? Unlikely. Seems to me though, that 10 feet of range is of so little use that it should be disabled and not even part of the menu.
Could be that I’m misinterpreting the WiFi screen, but mine still shows access points to connect to despite having an active ethernet connection. “Need” a WiFi disable button is probably not the best word choice. I would prefer there to be a WiFi disable button. Better yet, have the on-board WiFi disabled and not even have a presence in the menu since it has such a limited use-case, and I’ll elaborate on why.
Since WiFi access points/router and devices have been a thing we use and take for granted since a couple of decades, there’s an established expectation of usable range and bandwidth. If you place your router/access point in a central location of a 2500 sq/ft house, your handheld device can reach it from most anywhere in that house and have enough bandwidth to stream HD video content, assuming typical construction methods. 150 feet is a commonly accepted usable range for 2.4GHz recent era WiFi standards.
10 feet of range is a joke, and should not even be mentioned as a feature despite the presence of the hardware. Asking for the return of the WiFi disable button is probably better worded as a “feature unrequest.”
Interesting viewpoint. Personally since I don’t live in a monster sized house, I’m good with much less than 150ft range on 2.4ghz wifi (5 is much more affected by things like walls so that range is typically much smaller than 2.4 range). My whole house is 75ft long and 40ft wide with 2 levels. If I place the wifi AP in the middle as you suggest, I never need to go more than 50ft. Too much range is a problem with potential neighborhood hackers or pranksters running 2.4ghz jamming as well. Today’s wifi solution of choice for multi-level multi-room use is mesh networking anyway (to help alleviate the problem with 5ghz signal loss through walls).
As for “10 feet of range”, my 1F is in my garage and my router & AP is in the mudroom off the garage. There’s 30 ft between the 1F and the AP. There’s also fire-rated wallboard and a steel door in between as well. I have no wifi issues with the 1F. My 1F control box is located inside a 1/2" plywood cabinet although I sometimes leave the door to the control box flipped open while I work.
Although the controller’s metal enclosure does create a faraday cage, it’s not attenuating the signal so much in my situation as to make it only a “10 foot range joke”. It may be that the wifi equipment used in the home is more of an issue than the peripheral in this case.
Worst case it’s a $20 fix - an in-shop plug-in AP extender works wonders. I had to do that for my laser cutter and haven’t had any issues in over 5 years with that.
Today’s wifi solution of choice for multi-level multi-room use is mesh networking anyway (to help alleviate the problem with 5ghz signal loss through walls).
Absolutely agreed. I use an eero-pro mesh system at my 3-level house, works great.
I’m only quoting 1F with regard to the range being 10 feet. Seems an oddly specific short range and I’d guess they’re just being overly conservative about what they’re willing to support.
I’m right there with you on that. Makes Support a bit easier. Wifi problems are a PITA to diagnose & resolve remotely.