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John McDermon avatar image
John McDermon asked

Cerbo GX not connecting to WiFi

Cerbo GX Running Firmware 2.63 with GX Touch 50 Display.

I just got home from having the solar install completed. The installer connected to my Verizon MiFi without a problem and it worked for two days while learning the system and on the two days to drive home.

HOWEVER, when I got home I noticed it was no longer connected. The last time the stars updated was 17 hours ago - so it disconnected sometime around midnight. I tried reconnecting using the VictronConnect app and all I get is a "Connection to XYZ network Failed" error. This is just a reconnection attempt to the same MiFi that it was connected to for the past two days. No configuration changes to either the MiFi or the Cerbo GX.

I tried connecting to my home eero WiFi network and I get the same connection failed message. The eero WiFi system broadcasts both 2.4 and 5GHz networks under the same SSID. It has the ability to turn off the 5GHz and only broadcast 2.4GHz for 10 minutes to help with connection problems. But, that didn't help. I also tried turning off the 5GHz on the MiFi and only broadcasting 2.4GHz with no joy.

This is not a bad password issue, because I did mistype the password on one connection attempt and got an "Invalid Password" error - completely different.

It is very frustrating to have just spent all this money of a state of the art system to have it not work before it's a week old.

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

cerbo gxwifi
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saboken avatar image saboken commented ·
I'm having the same issue it seems there's a hardware issue with the Cerbo GX WiFi and The HDMI for the Cerbo display. I'm actually not happy they haven't fixed it with a update unless it's an unfixable issue? They should replace the devices affected. I spent over $15000.00 on my system I'm starting to lose confidence in Victron, because this is not the only issue I've had. Don't get me wrong the equipment is next level when it works, but little gremlins like this have no excuse long term.
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ saboken commented ·
Hi Saboken, sorry to hear you are having WiFi issues.


And we have had issues with the antenna and hdmi connection. What is the serial number of your Cerbo?

Meanwhile I’ll see if I can find the documentation of that issue, it dates back to 2021.


One effective way to solve WiFi issues is to insert a WiFi USB dongle. I know it shouldn’t be needed - but wanted to give the tip anyway.


Note that rest of issues in this thread is from 2021: with WiFi there is always some issues in some installations, unfortunately, but in general I can reassure you that its been rather solid & silent around WiFi issues lately.

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8 Answers
seb71 avatar image
seb71 answered ·

You definitively want/need 2.4GHz WiFi.


Try a a Cerbo GX reboot (from the menu).


I read some reports about the display messing with WiFi. Try disconnecting the display from Cerbo GX and see if that makes any difference.


I also experienced WiFi issues with FW 2.62 and FW 2.63, but only momentary WiFi failures (for several minutes, after which the connection resumes by itself). No issues when using FW 2.60. But your case seems different.

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John McDermon avatar image John McDermon commented ·

Logic tells me that it shouldn’t be the display, since it worked flawlessly for 3-4 days. I’ll certainly give the reboot a try. Thx.

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John McDermon avatar image John McDermon commented ·

OK - tried the reboot from the menu. The connection attempt to the MiFi that previously worked definitely took longer, but ended up in the same place, with the "Connection to XYZ network Failed" error.

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Matthias Lange - DE avatar image
Matthias Lange - DE answered ·

A few weeks ago I had a problem with a costumers WPA 3 protected Wi-Fi.
The GX device found the network but couldn't connect.
The costumer had to switch back to WPA 2.

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John McDermon avatar image John McDermon commented ·

Thanks for the tip - I did have my home networks configured to use WPA3, so I switched them back to WPA2, but still no-joy.

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syharlequin avatar image syharlequin John McDermon commented ·

Not to mention WPA2 has been broken now for some time now, it shouldn't even be an option.

https://www.fortinet.com/blog/business-and-technology/wpa2-has-been-broken-what-now

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image
mvader (Victron Energy) answered ·

Hi all, there is a wifi related hardware issue in the Cerbo GX, when having a GX Touch 50 installed. The HDMI signal disturbs (some of the) wifi channel frequencies.

Details and solutions here: https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/82877/cerbo-gx-wi-fi-issue-when-having-the-gx-touch-conn.html


My apologies for the trouble!

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usmc370 avatar image usmc370 commented ·
What about those of us who DO NOT have the touch screen and rely on just our phones or computers?
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giorgos avatar image
giorgos answered ·

I have the same problem, the cerbo loses the wifi connection from time to time and displays "failure" I found the quickest way to restore it, while looking for a permanent solution, is the unplug the power from the cerbo and after reconnecting it comes right.

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usmc370 avatar image
usmc370 answered ·

I just installed mine and I am having the same issues trying to connect to my Netgear Nighthawk. Everything else connects just fine, but half the time the cerbo cannot even find the network. They are located about 12 feet from each other

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kele-marius avatar image
kele-marius answered ·

It happened to me too today, it appeared to be disconnected from yesterday and would not reconnect to either wifi network (I have 2 of them). I couldn't find any reset button from menu so I just unplugged it from power, reconnect and all worked well, except that now I have two cerbo gx devices in devices list and I don't know how to get rid of the second one? Any ideas ? And any help for long term regarding these black-out from wifi ? Thanks

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bjwtb avatar image
bjwtb answered ·

Same issue.

Cerbo connected to the home network and connection was good. A few days ago it be slower and lost connection.

Pulled the power plug out yesterday and put it back in. Worked fine for a few hours, now it's dead again. And again.

Only change in the setup was changing from 12V supply to 48V for the Cerbo.



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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·
@BJwtb

By dead do you mean the Cerbo is not on or not connected to the WiFi?

You can set the cerbo to reboot on no contact and it will sort itself out if it is just connection.

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bjwtb avatar image
bjwtb answered ·

Rebooting instead of poweroff - poweron has done a good job so far.

I will try to find the auto-reboot on no contact feature.

Thnx @Alexandra


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Related Resources

Cerbo GX product page

GX family product range

Cerbo GX & GX Touch datasheet

Cerbo GX Manual

Venus root access document

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