Troubleshooting

Steps to diagnose connectivity, Wi‑Fi mesh, cloud sync, and advanced issues on UNpkl routers and access points.

No internet

  1. Confirm the WAN cable is plugged into the UNpkl gateway and the LAN port on your ISP modem (or upstream switch).
  2. Check link lights on both the modem and UNpkl WAN port.
  3. Power-cycle the ISP modem, wait two minutes, then reboot the UNpkl device.
  4. Open Live data and look for blocked DNS, policy blocks, or unusual traffic that might explain a partial outage.
  5. If the router was recently reset, complete Initial setup again and register a new admin user.

See FAQ if you cannot sign in to the app or need to recover an admin password.

App and login issues

Cannot connect to the router in the app

Join a UNpkl Wi‑Fi SSID (or connect over Ethernet to the device LAN) before opening the app. Credentials are in the brochure shipped with the unit.

Certificate or login failures

An expired web certificate is the most common cause of sudden app login failures.

  1. Open the router web UI in a browser and accept the self-signed certificate warning if prompted.
  2. In Search, run upgrade to install the latest build and renewed certificates.
  3. Sign in again from the iOS or Android app.

Wi‑Fi and EasyMesh

Mesh extends coverage through a controller (main gateway) and agent nodes. When clients stick to the wrong node or speeds collapse on an agent, check signal strength first—not just “bars” on the phone.

Open Live data → Topology in the UNpkl app. Each agent and client (STA) shows RSSI in dBm (a negative number, for example -58 dBm).

Signal strength quick reference (dBm)

-30 to -50 dBm — Excellent. Ideal for streaming, gaming, and agent backhaul. -60 to -65 dBm — Good. Reliable for everyday use. -67 dBm — Common roaming threshold; many phones start looking for a closer node around here. -75 to -85 dBm — Weak. Expect packet loss, latency, and dropped calls. Below -80 dBm — Poor. Reposition agents or move the client closer before tuning software settings.

For mesh setup (backhaul SSID/PSK, turn agent on, placement), see UNpkl EasyMesh.

Devices won't roam (“sticky” clients)

Symptom: You move near another node but the phone stays on a distant one with RSSI around -80 dBm or worse.

  1. Toggle Wi‑Fi off and on on the device to force a fresh scan.
  2. In Topology, confirm the closer agent shows stronger dBm (for example -55 dBm vs -78 dBm on the current link).
  3. Reposition agents: nodes that are too close can both read -65 dBm or better, so hysteresis keeps the phone on the old node—spread them further apart.

Slow speeds on an agent

Symptom: Clients on the controller are fast; clients on an agent are slow despite “good” RSSI to the agent.

  1. In Topology, check backhaul RSSI between controller and agent—not just client-to-agent signal.
  2. If backhaul is below -70 dBm or flagged poor, move the agent closer to the controller or reduce obstacles (concrete, metal, microwave ovens).
  3. Prefer Ethernet backhaul to the agent when possible; it frees wireless bands for clients.

Drops and latency

  1. Avoid long daisy chains (Router → Agent 1 → Agent 2 → Agent 3) unless your layout requires it; prefer agents linking back toward the controller.
  2. Run Optimize network / channel scan in the app if available, or reduce interference from neighboring Wi‑Fi on the same channel.

Cloud offline

  1. Confirm the gateway has working internet (WAN checks above).
  2. Verify DNS and NTP can reach the internet—cloud registration depends on both.
  3. Open Settings → Cloud and re-enter your organization code if registration expired or the device was replaced.
  4. Check Live data on the device locally; if local admin works but cloud does not, note the cloud status shown in Settings before contacting support.

Developers and SSH

For developers familiar with OpenWrt-style tooling, you can SSH to the router using credentials from the shipped brochure (hostname is often doohickey.yhioe.lan on the LAN).

UNpkl’s main userspace process is yhioe—it handles most wireless, policy, and SAC behavior. Useful starting points:

UNpkl uses nftables (not legacy iptables) for filtering. You should see nftables kernel modules only on this platform:

The yhq / yhq6 tables are a good place to inspect IPv4/IPv6 policy state.

Custom development

If you are extending nftables policy or integrating with yhioe, send us a note—we are happy to assist with platform-specific details.

Get help

Before opening a ticket:

  1. Note your firmware version from Settings or after running upgrade in Search.
  2. Export or screenshot Live data → Topology when the issue involves mesh or signal strength—include dBm values for affected clients and agents.
  3. Collect diagnostics from Settings → Support if your build exposes that option.
  4. For password recovery or SSH reset workflows, see FAQ.