New WiFi controller for Octo Varios pumps

[GT3000XX]

Just installed this brand new WiFi controller for Octo Varios pumps. I replaced my Octo Elite 150 INT controller with this one. Easy to install and offers 10 speed settings vs the original only had 5. Great new product.

 

[tzabor10]

Great to hear

 

[Peace River]

Interesting! @GT3000XX - Where did you find it?

 

[GT3000XX]

Interesting! @GT3000XX - Where did you find it?

I bought it directly from CoralVue. They just received them from Octo.

 

[Peace River]

I bought it directly from CoralVue. They just received them from Octo.

Thanks again for sharing! Hopefully CV will have details to share at RAP Orlando (looking at you @Connor At CoralVue!!!).

 

[ReefED!]

This won't connect to my 2.4ghz network no matter what I do.

No other devices have issues, but this flat out won't work.

It's a very cheap app. Very disappointed in the set of these I purchased.

 

[GT3000XX]

Mine connected without any issue. I would contact CoralVue support.

 

[ReefED!]

Reviews on the app store say they just don't work with some routers.

Mine just spins forever trying to connect to both 2.4g and 5g networks and then times out.

I have other reefing products that work on these networks without issue (like Reef Factory's PH meter which also needs a 2.4g network)

 

[iannarelli]

Reviews on the app store say they just don't work with some routers.

Mine just spins forever trying to connect to both 2.4g and 5g networks and then times out.

I have other reefing products that work on these networks without issue (like Reef Factory's PH meter which also needs a 2.4g network)

I know this is a super old post, but is there any chance you remember where you read those reviews about the controller not working with some routers? My old Asus router died, so I upgraded it with a new one and in doing so, lost the ability to connect the Octo Pulse controller. The new router is also an Asus, just a newer model. I sent the controller to CoralVue, and they send a video of it connecting immediately, so I have to assume it's an issue with my network, thought every other single smart device I own (which is a ton of both aquarium and non-aquarium devices) connect flawlessly. The CoralVue rep at RAP NY suggested using an android hotspot, but I haven't had any luck with that either. I'm at the point where I'm ready to decommission them and get something else.

 

[ReefED!]

I know this is a super old post, but is there any chance you remember where you read those reviews about the controller not working with some routers? My old Asus router died, so I upgraded it with a new one and in doing so, lost the ability to connect the Octo Pulse controller. The new router is also an Asus, just a newer model. I sent the controller to CoralVue, and they send a video of it connecting immediately, so I have to assume it's an issue with my network, thought every other single smart device I own (which is a ton of both aquarium and non-aquarium devices) connect flawlessly. The CoralVue rep at RAP NY suggested using an android hotspot, but I haven't had any luck with that either. I'm at the point where I'm ready to decommission them and get something else.

Hey,

I’m actually glad you asked this question so I can provide the update

I was never able to resolve this issue with my ATT router, nor a hotspot

What I did do was get a cheap access point and that worked like a charm - this is what I got

Haven’t had any issues since

https://a.co/d/cPrfCUB

 

[Kodski]

I know this is a super old post, but is there any chance you remember where you read those reviews about the controller not working with some routers? My old Asus router died, so I upgraded it with a new one and in doing so, lost the ability to connect the Octo Pulse controller. The new router is also an Asus, just a newer model. I sent the controller to CoralVue, and they send a video of it connecting immediately, so I have to assume it's an issue with my network, thought every other single smart device I own (which is a ton of both aquarium and non-aquarium devices) connect flawlessly. The CoralVue rep at RAP NY suggested using an android hotspot, but I haven't had any luck with that either. I'm at the point where I'm ready to decommission them and get something else.

Does your new Asus router have 1 SSID or two separate SSID's for your 2.4g and 5g networks? If only one, try seeing if you can set it to be separate SSID's. Also, does your SSID have any special characters? In particular underscores and dashes tend to be the worst culprits. Many devices have problems with reading special characters in SSID's as they see them as something different causing the device not to be able to connect to that network. You can try renaming the SSID and seeing if the alleviates your issues.

 

[Kodski]

Hey,

I’m actually glad you asked this question so I can provide the update

I was never able to resolve this issue with my ATT router, nor a hotspot

What I did do was get a cheap access point and that worked like a charm - this is what I got

Haven’t had any issues since

https://a.co/d/cPrfCUB

Did you have any special characters in your SSID? Also, ATT routers are hot garbage. I'm not surprised you had an issue.

 

[iannarelli]

I know this is a super old post, but is there any chance you remember where you read those reviews about the controller not working with some routers? My old Asus router died, so I upgraded it with a new one and in doing so, lost the ability to connect the Octo Pulse controller. The new router is also an Asus, just a newer model. I sent the controller to CoralVue, and they send a video of it connecting immediately, so I have to assume it's an issue with my network, thought every other single smart device I own (which is a ton of both aquarium and non-aquarium devices) connect flawlessly. The CoralVue rep at RAP NY suggested using an android hotspot, but I haven't had any luck with that either. I'm at the point where I'm ready to decommission them and get something else.

Does your new Asus router have 1 SSID or two separate SSID's for your 2.4g and 5g networks? If only one, try seeing if you can set it to be separate SSID's. Also, does your SSID have any special characters? In particular underscores and dashes tend to be the worst culprits. Many devices have problems with reading special characters in SSID's as they see them as something different causing the device not to be able to connect to that network. You can try renaming the SSID and seeing if the alleviates your issues.

It's two seperate SSIDs. But the 2.4g network has a dash: Only Fins-2.4g. Its weird though because when I swapped routers I used the same network names. Its going to be a real PITA reconnecting everything else but if that works I will be thrilled!

 

[iannarelli]

I know this is a super old post, but is there any chance you remember where you read those reviews about the controller not working with some routers? My old Asus router died, so I upgraded it with a new one and in doing so, lost the ability to connect the Octo Pulse controller. The new router is also an Asus, just a newer model. I sent the controller to CoralVue, and they send a video of it connecting immediately, so I have to assume it's an issue with my network, thought every other single smart device I own (which is a ton of both aquarium and non-aquarium devices) connect flawlessly. The CoralVue rep at RAP NY suggested using an android hotspot, but I haven't had any luck with that either. I'm at the point where I'm ready to decommission them and get something else.

Hey,

I’m actually glad you asked this question so I can provide the update

I was never able to resolve this issue with my ATT router, nor a hotspot

What I did do was get a cheap access point and that worked like a charm - this is what I got

Haven’t had any issues since

https://a.co/d/cPrfCUB

Thanks! I got it working on my old phone, and was planning on getting an access point before seeing @Kodski's post about the special characters. Will definitely go this route if changing the name doesnt fix it.

 

[Kodski]

It's two seperate SSIDs. But the 2.4g network has a dash: Only Fins-2.4g. Its weird though because when I swapped routers I used the same network names. Its going to be a real PITA reconnecting everything else but if that works I will be thrilled!

A good rule of thumb for home networks is to not have any special characters in your SSID. It always ends up causing issues. I've even experienced issues over time with some devices even when they initially worked fine. I would recommend removing the dash and just putting a space to save yourself some future headache.

 

[ReefED!]

Did you have any special characters in your SSID? Also, ATT routers are hot garbage. I'm not surprised you had an issue.

Nah, nothing like that. Very basic SSID “ X two dot four”

Tried everything

Including another access point which also wouldn’t work right

But the one I linked work like a charm

Even with a complicated SSID.

It’s also right next to the tank so I’m sure that helps connectivity

 

[Kodski]

Nah, nothing like that. Very basic SSID “ X two dot four”

Tried everything

Including another access point which also wouldn’t work right

But the one I linked work like a charm

Even with a complicated SSID.

It’s also right next to the tank so I’m sure that helps connectivity

number of characters in an SSID doesn't matter, its just the special characters as many of them are used in computer code and can confuse devices. Signal strength could be an issue if you had that weak of a signal. Many people misunderstand signal strength of WiFi and don't understand when or why its causing issues.

I'm leaning towards these controllers are using ports in your router that aren't normally used. Typically cheaper routers and access points have lower levels of built in security opening more ports. It could be that the particular port on your main router and first access point is blocked but on the access point where it worked, it could be open.

Speaking of security, it could also be that you're using WPA3 security protocol and the controller does not support that protocol. Its somewhat common for devices to only be able to use WPA2 security.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Hey,

I’m actually glad you asked this question so I can provide the update

I was never able to resolve this issue with my ATT router, nor a hotspot

What I did do was get a cheap access point and that worked like a charm - this is what I got

Haven’t had any issues since

https://a.co/d/cPrfCUB

Thanks. I am not sure why I didn’t think of a 2.4g access point. Just ordered. I have an older Google mesh puck system that works fine in my high demand house. Frankly, these pucks have to be 10 years old. Most of them are still the gen 1 model too.

 

[iannarelli]

A good rule of thumb for home networks is to not have any special characters in your SSID. It always ends up causing issues. I've even experienced issues over time with some devices even when they initially worked fine. I would recommend removing the dash and just putting a space to save yourself some future headache.

Thanks for the tip, I never knew that about SSIDs!

 

[ReefED!]

number of characters in an SSID doesn't matter, its just the special characters as many of them are used in computer code and can confuse devices. Signal strength could be an issue if you had that weak of a signal. Many people misunderstand signal strength of WiFi and don't understand when or why its causing issues.

I'm leaning towards these controllers are using ports in your router that aren't normally used. Typically cheaper routers and access points have lower levels of built in security opening more ports. It could be that the particular port on your main router and first access point is blocked but on the access point where it worked, it could be open.

Speaking of security, it could also be that you're using WPA3 security protocol and the controller does not support that protocol. Its somewhat common for devices to only be able to use WPA2 security.

I’m using WPA2 and the SSID had no special characters - but the access point does and works great

Signal strength is good and my other 2.4 ghz connections worked fine

Only reef octo Wi fi controllers wouldn’t work, and they didn’t work properly with my first access point either (netgear) - even when the controller was 5 inches from the access point

I think it’s just shoddy firmware.