Another WiFi Bad Actor - SOLVED - Wink Home Control

[NewTMSMan]

Just want to let people know that I found another "bad actor" that causes Tesla WiFi to fail, Wink Home Control. Been struggling for weeks to solve the issue and finally just decided to "brute force" it and disconnect things one at a time until it worked. Wink Home control ended up being the device causing the Tesla WiFi to reinitialize constantly.

Guess I will just disconnect Wink for now when I want to get an update and I will also notify Wink of the problem.

In the meantime if you are having an issue with WiFi re-initializing on your home Wifi and you have WInk, try pulling the plug on it and testing.

Wasn't sure where to post this BTW so posted it in S forum, but solved the issue on my X as well.

 

[thecloud]

I think this was determined to be caused by the presence of DLNA devices (like Playstations) on your network. Sounds like Wink is also one of those.

Previously: WiFi and LTE Keeps Flipping

 

[tls]

This doesn't exactly sound like Wink's fault.

 

[NewTMSMan]

This doesn't exactly sound like Wink's fault.

Probably true.

 

[MurrayJimW]

I just put the Tesla on my guest network. Seemed to alleviate the issues I was having. Since there are 50+ devices on my network it was much easier than trying to figure out which ones were bothering the Tesla.

 

[brkaus]

I just put the Tesla on my guest network. Seemed to alleviate the issues I was having. Since there are 50+ devices on my network it was much easier than trying to figure out which ones were bothering the Tesla.

I did same. It's on a client isolated guest network. No "noise" to upset it.

It does sound like Tesla's problem though.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

After 51 weeks of troubleshooting, I think you have solved my problem! We've tried several routers, wifi extenders, setting up a guest network and disabling DLNA. The problem would sometimes go away for a few days but would always return. After reading your post above, I tried changing the guest network password so the my car would be the only device connected. Still no luck. I then unplugged the Wink hub and seconds later, my car connected and has been connected ever since! It makes sense now why it would work for a couple days in the past as that was when I tried changing the password and Wink wasn't on the network. I guess whenever I put Wink back on the network, it would kick the Teslas off! This is an older Wink hub. I'll try a Wink hub 2 tomorrow and see if it makes any difference.

Thanks again for reporting this discovery!

 

[NewTMSMan]

After 51 weeks of troubleshooting, I think you have solved my problem! We've tried several routers, wifi extenders, setting up a guest network and disabling DLNA. The problem would sometimes go away for a few days but would always return. After reading your post above, I tried changing the guest network password so the my car would be the only device connected. Still no luck. I then unplugged the Wink hub and seconds later, my car connected and has been connected ever since! It makes sense now why it would work for a couple days in the past as that was when I tried changing the password and Wink wasn't on the network. I guess whenever I put Wink back on the network, it would kick the Teslas off! This is an older Wink hub. I'll try a Wink hub 2 tomorrow and see if it makes any difference.

Thanks again for reporting this discovery!

Don't bother with the Wink 2, already tested that as well and causes the same issues, connected by WiFi or ethernet. Cannot be avoided with Wink on the Network.

Also, it may just be my setup (Orbi AC3000), but using a Guest Network for the Teslas where they were the only clients did not help. Might be Wink and Tesla are fighting over the same router port, or the Wink VPN somehow conflicts with the Tesla connection.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Don't bother with the Wink 2, already tested that as well and causes the same issues, connected by WiFi or ethernet. Cannot be avoided with Wink on the Network.

Also, it may just be my setup (Orbi AC3000), but using a Guest Network for the Teslas where they were the only clients did not help. Might be Wink and Tesla are fighting over the same router port, or the Wink VPN somehow conflicts with the Tesla connection.

Thanks for the info on the Wink 2 hub as well. I also have the Orbi router currently and confirm that setting up the guest network doesn't fix the issue which is odd since the Teslas should be the only devices on the network. We have tons of Wink devices around the house: lights, garage doors, blinds, smoke alarms, temperature sensors, etc. so hopefully I can figure out a way for the Wink hub and the Teslas to share the wifi. I'll try opening a ticket with Wink and see what they say.

 

[NewTMSMan]

Thanks for the info on the Wink 2 hub as well. I also have the Orbi router currently and confirm that setting up the guest network doesn't fix the issue which is odd since the Teslas should be the only devices on the network. We have tons of Wink devices around the house: lights, garage doors, blinds, smoke alarms, temperature sensors, etc. so hopefully I can figure out a way for the Wink hub and the Teslas to share the wifi. I'll try opening a ticket with Wink and see what they say.

Be good if you opened a ticket with Wink also, I have done this too.

On my home control system I am primarily using MicasaVerde Vera, and use Wink primarily as a bridge for the Lutron Caseta light switches I have been using recently. I also have a Lutron Hub I could move over to and eliminate Wink from my network, but I also like some of the Wink features and the App is more accessible for rest of the family for basic light controls.

If I can find a way for them to coexist I will post back here as well.

 

[NewTMSMan]

Ok ended up setting up a completely separate router with a separate subnet just for the Teslas and that worked.

Just took an extra router I had and connected it's WAN port to my primary router (Orbi) and set up a different subnet on the new secondary router with it's own DHCP server and now my Teslas can connect to this completely separate VLan. I am guessing Wink is multicasting something similar to DLNA and that is what is causing the issue with the Tesla WiFi. Orbi's Guest network is not really a separate VLan so I am guessing these packets are making it on to the Guest network on Orbi and that is why that is not working.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I found that if I unplug the Wink, both cars will connect and stay connected. I can then plug in the Wink and the cars still stay connected without problems. If the cars leave and come back, they can then no longer stay connected to the network since the Wink is already on the network. I may give up and install another router. Funny thing is I had a spare router for several months but recently sold it.

 

[Sawyer8888]

Interesting discussion. Months ago I found a thread advising to connect to a guest network as mentioned above. That worked. I also have a Wink2 connected to the primary network on the same router. Every once in a while, I will notice the car is still on LTE instead of WiFi. So the workaround mentioned in the previous post may be something I'll try. This is more of a Tesla problem for sure = our problem.

 

[NewTMSMan]

Interesting discussion. Months ago I found a thread advising to connect to a guest network as mentioned above. That worked. I also have a Wink2 connected to the primary network on the same router. Every once in a while, I will notice the car is still on LTE instead of WiFi. So the workaround mentioned in the previous post may be something I'll try. This is more of a Tesla problem for sure = our problem.

Yeah I would agree, probably more of a poor design by Tesla, but wonder what Wink is Multicasting over the network? If it is for TCP devices maybe it can be turned off somehow if you are not using them.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

As confirmed above, to isolate any DLNA device from the Tesla requires a completely separate, isolated network. Not just it's own SSID on the wireless access point, but a different IP range and different VLAN or physical LAN.

On many wireless access points, a guest SSID places guests on their own connection to the access point, which is good for authentication purposes (they don't have to be told your main SSID password). But they still share your main network and IP range, so devices on each SSID can still see each other. This doesn't provide enough isolation to prevent DLNA traffic from interfering with the car.

 

[ahkahn]

Very interesting. I've always had my Tesla on the main network, and I know for sure I have many DLNA devices. I've never actually noticed a problem, but who knows, there very well may be one. I've created a guest network on my wifi which is a completely separate IP range, so I know it's totally untouchable. I'll see if this makes any type of difference....

 

[Shock-On-T]

I found the car would give trouble if the network address was 192.168.20.XXX.
I changed my gateway to 192.168.21.1 and let DHCP addresses follow that (192.168.21.XXX) and that worked.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

A few updates concerning the Wink conflicts:

1. As @NewTMSMan already found out, the Wink 2 Hub doesn't make any difference. I bought a Wink 2 Hub anyways since I wanted some of the new functionality and my brother was interested in my first Wink hub. I confirmed the Wink 2 hub still appears to cause interference whenever it is connected. If I use wifi or the new ethernet port, whenever Wink is plugged in, all of the cars will constantly cycle through wifi and LTE. As soon as the Wink hub is unplugged, the cars will connect to wifi and stay connected.
2. I opened a ticket with Wink and they have responded. They said that in the past, they knew about issues with the Wink Hub which caused it to "route IP address as if it were set up for DHCP leasing". That issue was resolved so they need additional information concerning my setup and the problems I'm having.
3. I bought a new AP which allows logging of the network traffic and have made some interesting discoveries. As I expected, if I unplug Wink, I can see all three cars connect at regular intervals and sometimes stay connected all night long. What I didn't expect to find was that it appears the other cars are actually connecting to the internet just fine and downloading/uploading data, even though the icon in the car constantly cycles between wifi and LTE.

We have three Teslas in the garage, all on different firmware builds.

1. From the image below, you can see that the Model S 75D (2017.48) consistently connects about once an hour for ~10 minutes at a time. Since it is a brand new build and just delivered and only has about 20 miles on it (without AP being calibrated yet), I'm not surprised to see such little traffic.
2. The Model S 90D (2017.42) also connects about every hour or so but the amount of data transferred isn't as consistent as the 75D.
3. The Model S 100D (2017.46) is plugged in every night and has power savings disabled. This is the car that can connect once and stay connected to wifi all night long (according to the AP, but not the icon in the car). Sometimes it connects for just 10 minutes at a time. Other times, it is connected for 8 hours or longer. It has been uploading the most data of the three cars so far.

So...maybe all the worry about the cycling wifi/LTE icon is about nothing. I spent $$$ on a new set of mesh routers, the new Wink 2 Hub, a new AP and countless hours researching the issue only to find that it looks like it has actually working behind the scenes all along. I will continue working with Wink on the interference it is causing on the network but won't worry about it as much since data is still being uploaded/downloaded from all three Teslas. According to the AP logs, nearly 1.5 GB has been transferred successfully in the past few days even though the wifi appears to have problems in all three cars.

 

[jdjeff88]

MOTHERF*C*R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been trying to fix this damn issue since last January!!!! I've tried every kind of router, setting, connection. I got a brand new Tesla! Nothing!!!! Freakin' Wink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I saw this I realized that the issue started happening when I installed the winks in my house to run my caseta wireless switches. Then it started happening at my other house, when I installed the same f-ing setup!!!!! DAMN YOU WINK AND THE HUNDREDS OF HOURS AND HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS I'VE SPENT TRYING TO FIX THIS!!!!!!!!!!

Whew. I feel better. Thanks for listening.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I've been trying to fix this damn issue since last January!!!! I've tried every kind of router, setting, connection. I got a brand new Tesla! Nothing!!!! Freakin' Wink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I saw this I realized that the issue started happening when I installed the winks in my house to run my caseta wireless switches. Then it started happening at my other house, when I installed the same f-ing setup!!!!! DAMN YOU WINK AND THE HUNDREDS OF HOURS AND HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS I'VE SPENT TRYING TO FIX THIS!!!!!!!!!!

Whew. I feel better. Thanks for listening.

I know what you mean. I've spent at least $600 trying various hardware and dozens of hours over the past year.

Please open another ticket with Wink. Hopefully the more complaints they get, the more incentive they will have to fix it.