lg-washer-keeps-dropping-wifi-connection-solved/

[utterances-bot]

LG Washer keeps dropping wifi connection, solved!

https://wasteofserver.com/lg-washer-keeps-dropping-wifi-connection-solved/

[frankielc]

I have the same problem as you describe for LG Washer dropping wifi connection. The dryer, however, is fine. Does that suggest the problem is with the washer wifi card or still an overflow issue?

If my suspicion is true, and there is an overflow bug with the Wi-Fi card LG fitted on its washers, it won't translate to different cards. Even the same appliance and model may be immune on different iterations. It's most likely a software issue, so I'm pretty confident that if we could update the software we'd be able to solve it or mitigate it to acceptable levels.

I have a wifi LG fridge that precedes the washer and never once dropped the connection.

[ghost]

Thank you for this post, I was going crazy trying to figure it out some time ago. Any idea if this issue has now been resolved? I've noticed a few updates as of late but have thus far not removed it from a private network to test.

[nicholashead]

I have an LG washer and dryer that both refuse to stay connected beyond a week or so. It’s insane. I haven’t tried the VLAN trick or anything, and restarting them doesn’t get them reconnected. I’ve tried putting them on their own AP name and such.

[frankielc]

@bulldozer73 unfortunately, all solutions short of new firmware, will be mitigation only. We can stretch it for some months, almost half a year on a network without traffic, but eventually the machine will overflow. It's a shame that LG doesn't release new firmware. Even if installing would void warranty.

[frankielc]

@nicholashead as soon as it overflows you're dead in the water. My guess is that there's some function writing logs to memory (non-volatile). When the memory gets exhausted, it just won't reconnect. I can see how that error could easily slip trough, but the least they could do was have a means to update the device. Maybe a USB port in the back?

[ghost]

@frankielc In the app from time to time I’m seeing an increase in firmware version, I was under the impression they were pushing them out, unless I’m misreading the incrementing numbers in that field. I was hoping one of those had fixed the issue. Might need to test.

[edorlando]

This info is infinitely more useful than corresponding with the LG tier-1 support people. Washer & dryer pair sit side by side. ThinQ dryer has never had a problem, but the washer drops off every few days. I'm going to try the washer on it's own dedicated WiFi network and see what happens. Every 10 months is better than every few days... :-)

[tsrubar]

Hey, I have same problem with my LG washer. Keeps connected for 2 days max. So, which IP is correct, first 192.168.1.80 or other two 192.179.1.80? Thanks :P

[frankielc]

@edorlando good luck! ;)

[frankielc]

@tsrubar thanks for catching that! The fall-back IP LG uses is 192.168.1.80. Fixed it in the post.

[frankielc]

@bulldozer73 that is definitely valuable information. Hadn't noticed it. Maybe they can do OTA (over the air) updates to the firmware? I know I can on my ESP32s! ;) If that is so, it's probably just a matter of wanting to fix it. Mine is currently 6.24 / clip_hna_v1.9.161_QC / SAA41059320.0146AD60.0, SAA41059218.000078E2.0. I'll monitor it for a while. Thanks!

[tsrubar]

I just want to add info that my model is F4WV909P2E, so these are suffering by same problem.

[frankielc]

Thanks @tsrubar! All info helps and is welcome.

[tsrubar]

I've played a bit during a weekend and in range of ports 1-60.000 nmap showed that none is open. However there is some secure (TLSv1.2) slight communication with mqtt broker in amazon on ip 34.250.136.253 and port 8883. So if someone feels like cracking these packets, to reveal what is actual content of these messages, go for it.

[frankielc]

Hi @tsrubar, they use AWS as a "satellite" so that you may check on your appliances, without having to punch a hole in the firewall, while outside your home network. It's pretty commonplace, TP-Link also does it with KASA.

While it would definitely be interesting to check exactly how things are secured on their end - (but check ToS and legality first as it may be considered a breach attempt!) - it's a bit beyond the point of this specific bug, as the issue is with the card losing Wi-Fi connection. It will only contact Amazon if it has connection.

[tsrubar]

I get that, it is just the only way to interact with product. Tbh, I hoped to find a way to soft reset network interface if wrong ip gets announced, by something like making local custom dns entry and redirecting communication to my own mqtt broker. Everything else seems just like workaround, even if we should not fix it instead of LG in first place.

[frankielc]

@tsrubar makes perfect sense. You were thinking way further than I was. As a side note, I've pushed on LG Customer service again. Don't think that much will come of it, but doesn't hurt to try.

[tsrubar]

I just made a same step as I found that stupid washer again disconnected, despite of having L2 isolation and broadcast filtering turned on.

[tsrubar]

So first level support from 1:1 in-app customer support service didnt even understood the problem and even tried to convince me that my washing machine doesn't have network interface. Tbh I got furious, that he know less than common customer and tried to persuade me about such a nonsense. Therefore he/she/whoever said that i should provide some in-app screenshots and send details to thinq@lge.com. I did so, along with my complaint about level of support i got from that person.

[klaudenberger]

I am having the same exact issues on a unifi network.

[tsrubar]

Guys, kind of big news. After my unpleasant communication with support sooner today, this happened just while ago:

[ghost]

@tsrubar interesting! So, on mine I’ve noticed the first set of numbers increasing in its own. So the 6.24 is what I have as well, when first installed it was 3.19. Jumped into the 6.xx range right away and has been incrementing slowly since. 6.19 was the last one I saw. Is that what your update changed or was it one of the other numbers in the software list?

[tsrubar]

@bulldozer73 previously i had 6.24/........... F244.0 and after update it jumped to 6.24/........... 1863.0

[ghost]

@tsrubar oh that is very exciting then. You’ll have to let us know how it goes. I wonder if they had to enable it for you or it’s something being released more widely?

[tsrubar]

@bulldozer73 i am not going to touch my network for a while just to see if it was fixed. I even excluded unifi controller from watchtower to prevent its updates. Testing will take some time, will report on next disconnect or few weeks, what comes sooner, and i hope it will be 2nd option for sake of good for all of us

[edorlando]

@tsrubar Wow, I've never seen a prompt indicating that a new FW release is available. I wonder if there are release notes somewhere detailing what was changed/fixed. Fingers crossed!

[edorlando]

@tsrubar thanks for catching that! The fall-back IP LG uses is 192.168.1.80. Fixed it in the post.

@frankielc I gave this thing it's own WiFi network & address space (not 192.168.1.xx) and it still drops after a day. If I understand you correctly, I need to give it a dedicated 192.168.1.xx network, with a dedicated address of 192.168.1.80 ?? Thank you (or anyone else with a thought on this) for whatever insight you might have! :-) After this, I give up...

[nicholashead]

What I've done- I have a Ubiquiti wireless system and made a guest Wi-Fi network named "lgsucks" with a basic number only password. I had to completely remove the washer and dryer from the app and re-add them. I assigned the washer and dryer static DHCP IPs. My network is not 192.168 based so they get static IPs in my normal range (10.)

So far they've stayed online for a week or so. We'll see how long they last.

[edorlando]

@nicholashead thanks, that's extremely similar to what I did except for the static IP assignment (and the SSID :-)). Also a 10.x.x.x network. Meraki AP (although probably switching to Ubiquiti when my licenses expire in a couple of months). My dryer hasn't had any problems so it's still on the original WiFi with everything else. I wish they would just offer an OTA Firmware upgrade... :-( Thanks for the reply!

[frankielc]

@tsrubar that's really great news. I still don't have the update, do keep up updated! Thanks!

[frankielc]

@edorlando do notice that after the overflow you'll have to do a reset to "gain" the extra-time.

My wild guess to this odd behaviour is that the controller probably has limited memory and saves logs to disk in chunks. Each time a chunk is written, you'll have less space. When the machine tries to save the last log, there's not enough space, and it crashes.

You can reboot it, but you're starting from 90% space occupied instead of 0%.

Like said, this is just a wild guess and my fable attempt to explain why it will not last the amount of time it does normally do on a non-busy network.

To reset, simply press the wifi button for a long time.

[frankielc]

@nicholashead keep us posted! Every detail helps! ;)

[frankielc]

@klaudenberger definitely not your network but the machine... I've contacted support a couple of times now. @tsrubar also did with what looks like promising results (fingers crossed), let's hope LG can get this fixed.

[tsrubar]

so far 1 disconnect right next morning after update, but no more. if it will be holding until next week, i will test reprovisioning associated ap (unifi 6 LR) since there is its fw update in queue anyway

[edorlando]

There are so many things that are broken with LG support that I think I could write a book at this point. This is the first time in my life I've ever screamed, "I want to f-ing kill you!!" at my computer screen. I'm just glad that the only thing that doesn't work on this thing is the WiFi. Good luck to you all, I am done.

[tsrubar]

Actually, I've got email from them describing steps of how to register my washing machine using 2 cell phones. I have never said anything about problem with registering it in first place. It's clearly visible from screenshot, that I attached, that it already is registered, but in disconnected state. I honestly don't know if they have separate people for reading and understanding, but this is ridiculous.

[pete007]

FWIW, I have the same issue with my LG Washing machine Model # WM3900HBA

SW version 6.24 / clip_hna_v1.9.138_RT / SAA 40484101.0009625.0, SAA40484001.000074B9.0

Haven't had it very long and it has already fallen off WiFi once or twice, it came back online when I held the WiFi button and set it up again as a new device, but not for long. It's on a special SSID with my other IOT devices (DHCP assigned IP) and my matching dryer hasn't had any problem staying connected to the same WiFi network.

It does seem like some type of firmware problem, I haven't received any updates for my unit yet.

[pete007]

When in this state, powering on/off the unit or fully unplugged and re-plugging in does not seem to re-attach to WiFi, only way I could get WiFi to reconnect way to hold the WiFi button and start from scratch in the app (by connecting to the units WiFi), like it is a new unit.

[edorlando]

@pete007 , based on input from @nicholashead, I put my washer on it's own dedicated network. It had been dropping about every day or so, but at this moment I'm going on day #4 without a drop. Might be worth a try.

[tsrubar]

Hi guys, it is me again. So after almost 2 weeks, disconnects are somehow better, but still occur from time to time. If I count it, it happened 3 times since update so far, so I would not call it solved.

[frankielc]

@tsrubar the front people to tech support are definitely not prepared to deal with someone with tech experience. It also makes sense from a targeted point of view. Just look at the people around you and count the number who would actually benefit from tech-support with a deep understanding of the issue. Most likely, communication would be unintelligible to the majority of people.

That said, it's a petty that it didn't work out. On my end, things keep as they were. I get about 3 months of usage and then a drop. Full-reset, Another 3 months or so.

[frankielc]

@edorlando :) don't get worked over it. Not worth your time or patience... ;)

[frankielc]

It's on a special SSID with my other IOT devices

As long as it has more devices on the same network, it will overflow quickly. How many devices do you have on the IoT network?

[nuc4and20]

Finally setup an SSID and VLAN for the !@#$% washer. It was ridiculously easy on my Ubiquiti Edgerouter X and Cloudkey: added a subnet and vlan to the Switch0 interface on the router. Added a new "VLAN-Only" network and a new SSID (WasherFi) on that network. No messing with tagged or trunk ports or anything. Unplugged the D-Link wireless router that I've been using for six months. Fingers crossed.

[frankielc]

@nuc4and20 let us know when it crashes. Just to keep a baseline.

One thing's for sure, the washer is definitely giving everyone some experience in network isolation! 😄

[edorlando]

@frankielc & @nuc4and20 , I'm going 17 days without a drop, which is 16 days more than what it was doing when it was sharing the network that all the other devices use. It's on a class- a 10.x.x.x network. Gateway address is 128. Dedicated network, no other devices. So far, so good...

[frankielc]

Great news @edorlando! It will eventually fail. Mine generally lasts from between 4 months to the very maximum of 10 months. I honestly don't have any other reasonable explanation for the wild delta between maximum and minimum uptime but thinking it probably is related to the usage of the machine - which also fluctuates a lot.

[nuc4and20]

I am also still puzzling over why the link fails. It reminds me of a problem we had at a paper mill with first generation Sun workstations - They dropped off the network every few days without explanation. A few error messages pointed to the MAC address table as a memory leak. Our network was growing fast at that point with several subnets on the same VLAN(!!!). One of our unix guys 'solved' the problem by creating a chron job that unloaded-and-reloaded the network card driver once a day. It took a few seconds and we never had any real issues with that 'fix'. @edorlando & @frankielc, how many client devices do you have on your washer WLAN? My washer and dryer are the only client devices on the "WasherFi" WLAN and the washer has been behaving itself for over two weeks now. The LG-specified method for reconnecting to WiFi involves rebooting the washer. But I've noticed that if I turn off my D-Link SSID and turn on my Ubiquiti SSID with the same name and key, the washer finds the 'new' network and connects with no problem. Might this work to 'flush' the MAC table? Maybe scheduling an SSID down-up would have a similar effect? I'll let you know when/if the network crashes and then maybe I'll try the down-up 'fix'.

[edorlando]

@nuc4and20 As of 25 days ago, I have a dedicated network for my washer (the dryer never had a problem). No other devices. As of this moment, it hasn't dropped once, whereas it was dropping pretty much every day when it was on a shared network with over a dozen other clients. Although it may eventually fail, there is no doubt in my mind that it's behavior is better than it was. If this thing actually was a "Smart Device" as LG calls it, they'd be able to push a FW upgrade, or provide users and repair people a way to do it themselves. Having major appliances from LG, Samsung and (formerly) GE, I've come to the conclusion that they get the bottom of the barrel when it comes to SW engineers. They all suck.

[weirdwanda]

Reading through this, I'm not sure I have the same problem. The WiFi light is not on and I do not receive notifications of the cycle finishing. However, I am able to remote start, pause, set options and get status for the entire time. So it appears the WiFi is working but the light is not lit. Anyone else have that problem?