WIFI says unable to obtain IP address with Tesla Gen 3 wall connector

[Mike13433]

I continue to ty new ways to connect to wifi in my garage where I have the Tesla Wallconnector Gen 3. I get an error message that says, "unable to obtain IP address. Please check DHCP server settings. I have the TP-Link AXE300 router which is a tricky band and supposed to reach the entire house. I seen someone said to create a guest access for the car only... doesn't work. I want to be able to do any software updates and/or firmware updates but cannot until issue is fixed.

 

[father_of_6]

Do you have DHCP enabled in the router? I would assume so, but perhaps it's worth asking.

If you're using access controls (e.g. MAC address whitelist), turn that off so that anyone with the password can connect, then try again.

Connecting the Model 3 to WiFi shouldn't be any different than connecting your phone to WiFi. Just choose the network and type in the password.

 

[rpiotro]

Are you using WPA3? I had to remove that as an option. It seems the charger has trouble if that option is even available. I don't know if that is true for all WAPs but it was for both my Apple AirPort Extreme and my Ubiquiti WAPs. And now also with my T-Mobile Home Internet modem/router/WAP.

Configuring them to use WPA/WPA2 worked just fine. That charger is pretty much the only device I've had that problem with.

 

[cmy4x4]

I believe the specs also indicate wall connector supports 2.4GHz ONLY.

 

[rpiotro]

I believe the specs also indicate wall connector supports 2.4GHz ONLY.

True, but that should not be an issue with most WAPs

I did once have a weather station that required that I disable the 5.0 radio to get it connected. Once it was set up I reenabled the 5.0 and it was all good. Definitely a one-off.

 

[cmy4x4]

True, but that should not be an issue with most WAPs

I did once have a weather station that required that I disable the 5.0 radio to get it connected. Once it was set up I reenabled the 5.0 and it was all good. Definitely a one-off.

That was my point exactly. I have numerous ioT devices in my house (cameras, light switches, etc.) and some are 2.4 only. I had to disable the 5ghz temporarily, connect them and then reenable the 5. All worked well after that. On some specific items such as the car and wall connector, I also reserved the IP address on the router so that those items would ALWAYS connect to the SAME address. Not really necessary but allows me to connect directly to a device without having to check the router and see what IP address it was given.

 

[ucmndd]

Turn off WPA3. That’s almost certainly the problem.

 

[nstig8]

I lose all connection if I have only WPA3 enabled. However, if you connect via WPA2 and then get the latest firmware you should be able to reconnect with WPA2/WPA3 transitional mode. At least I can with my Ubiquiti network.

 

[Randy-12]

What phone are you using to make the connection?

If it is an iPhone it may be Private Relay is the problem. Make sure that you have toggles off Private Relay (under iCloud settings). Once the connection is made you can toggle it back on.

 

[Gasaraki]

That was my point exactly. I have numerous ioT devices in my house (cameras, light switches, etc.) and some are 2.4 only. I had to disable the 5ghz temporarily, connect them and then reenable the 5. All worked well after that. On some specific items such as the car and wall connector, I also reserved the IP address on the router so that those items would ALWAYS connect to the SAME address. Not really necessary but allows me to connect directly to a device without having to check the router and see what IP address it was given.

It because people use the same SSID for both their 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The proper way is to have 2 separate SSIDs, one for the 2.4 and one for the 5. When you have both 2.4 and 5 using the same SSID, the router will try to put everything on the 5GHz band. It doesn't know that the device can't communicate on that.

I'm an IT Infrastructure Engineer.

 

[ucmndd]

It because people use the same SSID for both their 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The proper way is to have 2 separate SSIDs, one for the 2.4 and one for the 5. When you have both 2.4 and 5 using the same SSID, the router will try to put everything on the 5GHz band. It doesn't know that the device can't communicate on that.

Clients choose their band based on signal strength or other preferences baked into their firmware, not the router. Even routers with band steering enabled will never try to force a device onto a band it can’t communicate on (because it DOES know and can clearly see what the client’s capabilities are based on the original connection and session negotiation. That isn’t to say that some crappy client implementations, often in embedded devices, don’t occasionally get tripped up when the router tries to move them to another frequency via band steering, but it’s not really for the reasons you describe.

The “proper way” you describe above hasn’t really been necessary in ages. There’s near zero need to separate different bands into different SSIDs. Band steering works very well on modern routers and any semi-modern endpoint and does a good job of protecting the performance of both bands. 2.4-only devices, of course, will never even see the “duplicate” 5ghz SSID at all.

I'm an IT Infrastructure Engineer.

Not a wireless engineer I assume. Neither am I, strictly speaking, but I am responsible for a network with almost 3,000 access points and 30k endpoints on a busy day.

 

[rpiotro]

It because people use the same SSID for both their 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The proper way is to have 2 separate SSIDs, one for the 2.4 and one for the 5. When you have both 2.4 and 5 using the same SSID, the router will try to put everything on the 5GHz band. It doesn't know that the device can't communicate on that.

I'm an IT Infrastructure Engineer.

That's another way to do it. My son has even gone so far as to set up VLANs. He doesn't want the slow devices on the same network as the fast ones.

However, that is no the problem here. It is the WPA2 vs WPA3 issue. Very surprising that the Tesla EVSE would have that issue.

 

[zknobody]

I have the same problem with my gen3 wall connector, it does not like my up to date ASUS router with dual bands enabled.

Since I have multiple access points I just ended up having the wall connecter join a older Apple access point

My suggestion is the same as the above posters, try to separate 2 SSIDs, one for the 2.4 and one for the 5.

I was surprised that his was an issue because I have zero issues dozens of IoT devices in my home! lol

 

[terranx]

However, that is no the problem here. It is the WPA2 vs WPA3 issue. Very surprising that the Tesla EVSE would have that issue.

Especially since the instruciton manual claims its WPA3 capable

 

[Gasaraki]

Especially since the instruciton manual claims its WPA3 capable

The security and bands are totally different. The wall connector is a 2.4GHz device. Just because it supports WPA3 security doesn't mean it can't be a 2.4GHz band device...

 

[rpiotro]

The security and bands are totally different. The wall connector is a 2.4GHz device. Just because it supports WPA3 security doesn't mean it can't be a 2.4GHz band device...

Yes but, the OP says it is connected but not getting an address. That tells me that it is connecting to the WAP but not authenticating. Not a radio issue but a WPA issue.