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Wi-Fi and connection issuesUpdated 3 months ago

Common issues with connecting to Wi-Fi

If your player is unable to connect to Wi-Fi or hasn't been set up yet, you will see the white face icon on the display. 

Wi-Fi issues

VPN

Turn off VPN software on your setup phone during the setup process.

Password

Ensure your network password doesn't contain special characters (such as an apostrophe, for example).

Signal strength
Your player needs a decent Wi-Fi signal to function properly, especially during setup. If you have been having issues connecting during set up, try moving the player closer to your router

Wi-Fi band (2.4GHz vs. 5GHz)
Your player requires a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band to operate. This is the standard and common band that all routers support. Make sure your router hasn't been configured to use 5Ghz band only, as this will prevent the player connecting.

Disable Protected Management Frames (PMF):
  • Access your router’s settings via a web browser (usually found at 192.168.1.1 or similar).
  • Log in with your credentials.
  • Navigate to the Wi-Fi settings and look for PMF or Protected Management Frames.
  • Ensure PMF is set to 'Disabled' or 'Optional'.
Ensure Router is Using Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) or Legacy Mode:
  • In the router’s Wi-Fi settings, if available, please ensure it is set to use Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) or a legacy mode compatible with older devices. 
  • Save the settings and reboot the router if necessary.

Wi-Fi channel
Sometimes Wi-Fi channels can become congested. A router reboot will free up channels, so try a router reboot before anything else. If you are still having connection issues, try changing the Wi-Fi channel that your router operates on (see your router instructions on how to do this).

Connection to the internet
It is possible for your player to connect to your Wi-Fi router, but not to the internet. In this case, the player will display a green face icon. If this happens, check your internet connection and try restarting your router.

Tip: For our Players, as with many other electronic devices, some problems can be resolved by turning the player off and turning it on again.

If the app loses connection to the player during setup

If the app loses connection to the player (after it connects to the player over the Yoto_xxx network) you may see no Wi-Fi networks returned to select from or a red cross on the player. In this instance, you can try setup again, but this time connect via your phone settings as follows:

When you get to the screen asking to join the Yoto_xxx network, don't tap anything, instead go to phone settings → Wi-Fi and connect to the network there. Wait 5–10 seconds until confirmed connected (and the letters go green on the player) then return to the app. Again, don't tap anything, wait until the phone automatically progresses to the next screen where you can choose your network and complete setup.

For iOS users, during setup you will be prompted to allow the app to 'find and connect to devices on your local network'. Please choose 'Allow'. You will only be prompted once so if you've chosen 'Don't Allow' you will need to open your phone settings, find the Yoto app and ensure that "Local Networks" is enabled.               

There's a setting in Android that will make the phone leave any joined network that has no internet connection and fall back to the cell signal. It differs from phone to phone, but it's usually worded something like "Switch to mobile data" (Use mobile data whenever your Wi-Fi internet connection is slow or unstable). This setting should be switched to off.

Setup error codes in the app

If you see an error code in the setup process, usually a 4-letter code (see below), you can troubleshoot as follows. If there is no error code or your error code is not one of these, get in touch with us.

AUTH

There are 5 possible reasons for the AUTH error code:

  • The Wi-Fi password supplied in setup is incorrect
  • The router does not support 2.4ghz
  • The router supports 2.4ghz and 5ghz, but both bands have the same SSID (name). Try disabling 5ghz until setup is complete
  • The router needs a reboot
  • On older routers, check and enable 'Allow DHCP special characters'
  • If the network is set to WPA2/WPA3, try changing it to WPA2 only  

FTES

Please check these:

  • Make sure you are not running VPN software on your phone during setup
  • The router does not support 2.4ghz
  • The router supports 2.4ghz and 5ghz, but both bands have the same SSID (name). Try disabling 5ghz until setup is complete
  • The router needs a reboot

Then try setup again but this time when you get to the screen asking to 'Join Yoto hotspot to continue', connect to the Yoto_xxx hotspot via your phone Wi-Fi settings, wait for the letters to go green on the player and the phone confirms connected, then return to the app, don’t tap anything, wait for the app to advance to the screen where you can choose your network.

DNON

This often points to a network connectivity issue. Typically, the player has completed setup successfully but is unable, at the end of the process, to connect to our servers to register itself. This could be a one-off and it's ok on the next attempt, or it could be pointed to a lack of internet connectivity or our URLs are blocked by your ISP or by parental filters on your router. On older routers check and enable 'Allow DHCP special characters'.

If you do need to contact us with setup issues

If you do need to contact us with setup issues, please give us as much information as possible so that we can investigate.

1) time when you started the setup
2) the 6-letter code displayed on your Player
3) any behavior of the player or mobile app that is not corresponding to the step-by-step instructions
4) at which step the set-up fails
5) what error message do you hear on your Player and what is shown on the player's display
6) what error message (including any error code) do you see in the app


Using your phone's hotspot to connect

If you are having issues with getting your Player set up on your home Wi-Fi network, you can use your phone’s hotspot to connect. This will not only get you up and running, but it will help you to figure out if there is a problem with your player or your router/network. See our guide to using your phone's hotspot to connect, here.


Public networks

Public Wi-Fi are often password protected, and require you to use a browser to sign-up. This is incompatible with the Yoto Player and Mini. 
To circumvent the issue, for example to use your Yoto in a school setting, the network engineers that control that connection can allow list the Player or Mini to not have to go through the sign-up process.
They will need the MAC address, which can be found in the Yoto App > Player settings, after the set-up process is completed (this process can be done via a different private Wi-Fi or your phone hotspot connection).
They will also need to allow / whitelist the following URLs:

In order to play Yoto Radio, it may also be needed to whitelist additional URLs. These changes over time, so please let us know if you require them.


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