Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?

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Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?
Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?
2022-07-24 14:44:26 - last edited 2022-10-07 17:57:12
Model: HS100  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version:

I have almost 20 plugs and for various legitimate reasons I sometimes have need to change my WiFi SSID and/or password.

Indeed, changing a WiFi password on occasion is a security best practice.

 

Unfortunately, to do so would require the following:

1. Factory reset all plugs which are scattered all over our house from basement to 3rd floor, some in hard to reach places

2. One-by-one pairing and initializing of all 20 plugs with the Mobile app (takes several minutes each as multple clicks are required and the Web app is slow to pair)

3. Rename each individual plug back to its original name in the App -- again slow with multiple clicks for each plus need to thumb type on a mobile phone

4. Add back groups, schedules, timers, scenes etc. for each plug -- again multiple if not hundreds of clicks -- let alone needing to remember the schedule or timers for each

5. Similarly add back groups, devices, schedules etc. in the paired Alexa and/or Google Home apps.

 

 

This is many hours of work just to change a simple WiFi password.

It should instead be trivial to use the Kasa app to simultaneously broadcast a changed SSID and/or password to one or more devices based on checkboxes.

 

I am not the first to mention this problem.

The only response I have heard from Kasa is something like "Unfortunately you need to factory reset the device in order to change SSID or password".

Well DUH!!!! That is the problem!!!!

 

How incompetent can your software engineers be not to recognize and fix such an obvious and easy to solve shortcoming in your App software and/or device firmware?

 

Really, this is software engineering 101.

 

Thanks

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Re:Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?-Solution
2022-10-01 16:31:16 - last edited 2022-10-07 17:57:12

  @puterboy , what you arequesting is impossible to accomplish. All IoT devices, including Kasa need to be connected to a network in order to talk to the app. If the IoT device (in this case Kasa plug) doesn't know the new SSID and Password how it will connect to the network and talk to the app so you can tell it the new SSID and Password? It's simple physics or catch 20/20.

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Re:Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?
2022-07-25 01:27:20

  @puterboy 

If you change the Wi-Fi settings on router, you will need to put in the new Wi-Fi password on each device one by one, its the same for smart plugs. while the whole setup process does take tons of time when you have multiples smart device.

Here is a trick that might help a little bit, just perform a soft reset instead of factory reset, so the settings like Schedules, timers remain on the smart plug and you do not need reconfigure the existing setup for your plug.

 

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Re:Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?
2022-07-25 02:10:25

  @

Little_C wrote

  @puterboy 

If you change the Wi-Fi settings on router, you will need to put in the new Wi-Fi password on each device one by one, its the same for smart plugs. while the whole setup process does take tons of time when you have multiples smart device.

Here is a trick that might help a little bit, just perform a soft reset instead of factory reset, so the settings like Schedules, timers remain on the smart plug and you do not need reconfigure the existing setup for your plug.

 

Little_C 

 

Are you sure that a soft reset allows you to change WiFi password?

 

Even so, it's still a pain to have go around physically and soft reset each device and then have to use the App to get your phone to connect to each smart plug in AP mode and then associate a new SSID or password.

 

I truly don't understand why the Kasa firmware wouldn't allow one to change the SSID or password. There could even be a failsafe whereby if the new SSID+password failed to connect on reboot, then the original SSID+password would be restored.

 

In fact, it boggles my mind that one wouldn't design the SW to allow for remote single or batch resetting of SSID and password.

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Re:Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?
2022-07-25 03:10:07

  @puterboy 

Yes, a soft reset will allow you to change the Wi-Fi settings when goes over the setup process but keeps the other settings on your plug.

Batch setting up or simply changing password for smart device sounds good but I believe that requires a more powerful tool to discover all the smart plugs that in setup mode, and connect them all at once to the Wi-Fi network, it's just too much for an app which can just find one smart Wi-Fi SSID and connect it to the WiFi router.

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Re:Why can't Smart Devices change router SSID and/or Password?-Solution
2022-10-01 16:31:16 - last edited 2022-10-07 17:57:12

  @puterboy , what you arequesting is impossible to accomplish. All IoT devices, including Kasa need to be connected to a network in order to talk to the app. If the IoT device (in this case Kasa plug) doesn't know the new SSID and Password how it will connect to the network and talk to the app so you can tell it the new SSID and Password? It's simple physics or catch 20/20.

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