Been searching, and have not seen an answer yet. I am using an ancient TP Link router, and am running out of leases for available devices. This is a bad thing, as I just received 8 new bulbs and two new cameras to set up. I thought this might happen, so I am not seriously concerned. I am planning on getting a new router and turning off the wifi in my modem. When I set up the router, will I have to setup all of my devices again? This would put me at twenty bulbs, four cameras, four TP link outlets, two motion sensors, and two contact sensors. Not afraid to do it, but I need to know what size pot of coffee to make when I get started
1 Like
If you set the new router up with the same ID and password the WYZE devices will just connect to the new one by themselves. I did this recently when I upgraded mine.
4 Likes
Confused at you running out of addresses. There should be at least 250 available, no matter how old your router is. Have you engaged some artificial limit? New routers always appreciated though, lol.
You only need to resetup your devices if your network name (SSID) and password change.
1 Like
I havenāt set any limits. When I tried logging in on my phone, (Pixel 3), the message I got was the network was locked. I donāt recall the exact words, but I had to use my guest account to connect. There may be something in the setting that TP Link has. When I bought the modem, there were very few smart devices available. It is an 8x4, so maybe there were too many things trying to connect at once? Maybe Google wants me to by an upgrade? This is the first time I have seen it, so I will probably ride it out and see what happens.
So what is a 8x4? Yes, definitely more details if you can. 250 addresses (and thus leases) should be available.
Also tell us the current mgr/model of your modem/WiFi. we may applaud the upgrade, lol.
1 Like
It is a TP Link TC-W7960 modem. I bought it reconditioned at Amazon about three years ago so I could quit paying rental fees to Cox. 8x4 refers to the number of downstream and upstream channels. It may be possible that I am overloading my bandwidth with too many devices, and the network canāt quite handle it all at once. Or so a tech at Cox told me a couple of years ago, (probably trying to sell me a higher tier of service).
Go to your routerās IP address in a desktop browser. Log in with the routerās username and password. Click on DHCP. It should tell you the number of leases available and how large the pool is. Some routers ship with these settings limiting the number of connections.
For example my router is set to allow leases on IP addresses ending in 25 through 255. This gives me 235 leases. IP addresses ending in 1 through 24 are reserved for devices that I have on static IP addresses.
However your WiFi can have a separate limit of how many devices it can support. For most consumer routers this limit can be as low as 15 devices. It all depends on how many radios the router has. In some devices, this can be controlled by SSID. So the router can limit new devices to reduce congestion. Look in your SSID settings.
8 x 4 probably refers to the number of channels a Docsis 3 modem supports and therefore its maximum bandwidths. It isnāt relevant to internal networking though.
3 Likes
The TP Link TC-W7960 supports an older standard of WiFi and low speeds. Itās max WiFi speed is 300 mbps. That will limit you as all the devices share this. An āACā class access point will give you more speed and available bandwidth.
I use the TP-Link EAP225 for my wireless access. 1700 mbps AC with both 2.4ghz and 5ghz SSIDs and it supports additional. Can usually be found on Amazon between $70 and $100. It isnāt a router though. It just provides WiFi.
I keep my modem, router, and WiFi in separate devices.
1 Like
I am considering upgrading my cable. Cox is offering gigabit service for $99 a month for twelve months. I just need to get off my wallet to get the modem. And I have already decided that I donāt want to have everything bundled in one device anymore.
Most routers canāt handle 250 connection, even Cisco routers can be hardware limited to 35 devices
Iāve bought a corporate router which is able to have upto 120 WiFi connections, 200 Lan connections (using switches) but also limited to 250 DHCP clients
My previous router (provided by ISP) maxed out at 25 DHCP clients, as it didnāt matter if devices connected via Lan, 2.4ghz, 5ghz or a combination
1 Like
Interestingly, when I look at the manual for @kevinjdoherty1ās router, I donāt see much of a limit. The manual makes it look like 245 addresses are available, with only a 60-minute lease expiration. If that is how his router is configured, then I canāt imagine it running out of addresses. I didnāt notice any other connection limits.
Kevin ā Iād do what @wayneluke suggested and log on to see if these are your settings or if you have been restricted to something smaller.
On my old R7000 router, I had more than enough addresses available, but the problem was the amount of simultaneous connected devices. The limit was supposed to be 32 devices per channel, but I started running into issues with disconnects and timeouts on my devices once I reached 28, especially on the 2.4Ghz band. I swapped out the R7000 out with an Amplifi HD (with two meshpoints), and my problems went away. 
1 Like
Most routers donāt tell you their capabilities, most domestic routers are limited to 20-35 devices
Netgear only say per channel not total
The Cisco router I looked at supports 32 wireless devices
I know both of these are examples of WiFi limit only
When I started having issues with WiFi I tried;
2.4ghz only
2.4ghz & 5ghz
2.4ghz, 5ghz & Lan x4
2.4ghz x2 (1x repeater), 5ghz & Lan x4
All of the above had issues with dropped connections, failure to connect, router crashing (connected but no data throughput), even tried the above on 3 different ISP routers, all had the same issues
Spent a month researching the issue & different routers as a replacement
I almost went for a Netgear but decided on a router from Germany due to the full spec available in the datasheet
Interesting. The Netgear help page you referenced says it applies to my R6400 router, and it specifies 32 connections per band for a total of 64 connections. Sounds like a hard limit. But then you read my manual that says āMaximum computers per wireless network: Limited by the amount of wireless network traffic generated by each node (typically 50ā70 nodes)ā. That sounds like a soft limit. Not sure what to take away from that.
Unfortunately (or fortunately!) Iām not in a position to find out if itās a hard limit or not ATM. I only have 15 devices on the 2.4 GHz band, and only 3 connected to the 5 GHz band. The other 4 devices I have are wired. So, good for now anyway.
Bandwidth is the key with the number of devices. So you may get more or less than the recommended number. The more bandwidth you have, the more devices you can support.
Then some devices like the FireTV will try to eat up as much bandwidth as possible. Mine sucks up 170 mbps.
1 Like
Thatās what mine looks like. However, it seems to still be limited. It shows 35 devices connected. I have 20 bulbs, 4 cameras, a wireless printer, four smart plugs, 2 Joules (sous vide devices), 2 phones, 2 laptops, 1 tablet, and 4 Echos. Iām thinking that when the leases expire they space is freed up for other devices when they connect. And it does seem that they differentiate between the primary network and the guest network. When I canāt connect to one, I can always connect to the other. Not really an issue except for the network function of the printer. I am curious however, as I have seen that Google states the Google Wifi will support up to 200 devices. At the rate Iām going I may need to look into something like that sooner than later.
Wish I saw this thread when I first got my Wyze cam. I also had trouble connecting with the router and using the internet, when I first got 2 Wzye cam. The cameras would connect, but if too many people were using the internetā¦which everyone always isā¦the router would disconnect from the internet. However, once I switched to a new, and more modern and expensive router, I havenāt had any issues. My old router was around 7 years old. So if anyone has issues connecting or losing internet connections, you might want to upgrade to a new and/or faster router. TP-Link has been the most reliable for me. Just trying to help.
4 Likes
I came up with a solution. I got an Asus Onhub router at Amazon for about $70. It will connect at least 100 devices, and it is a lot faster wifi than the modem that I have. I am very satisfied with it so far
This is what I have always lived by.
Donāt use a combo modem and router.
Donāt use the crap your ISP has for rent
YMMV
3 Likes
Yes, is usually takes less than a year to get your purchase money paid back by rental fees you are no longer paying. For my sister I think it was 9 months. Wasnāt very hard to talk her into buying instead of renting!
And she has better gear to boot.
2 Likes