2.4Ghz iPhone connection to setup smart devices

TL;DR

Make sure you are on a 2.4Ghz wifi signal when setting up wifi smart devices that only support 2.4Ghz.

Recently my Meross smart light strip - which I really like - stopped working. After a little troubleshooting I determined it was the power supply so I ordered a cheap one that matched the specs I needed (12v).

Setup frustrations

The light strip would turn on but it was red a flashes 3 times. I tried to figure out what this means but it was super hard to determine what this meant as the docs weren't specific on the flashing. I thought maybe the logic board was fried.

iPhone app setup

I went through the setup process in the Meross app but it just could never connect. I was racking my brain as to what was the issue.

I finally read a line in the setup documentation that said I needed to connect to a 2.4Ghz wifi network. I have a Unifi setup where the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz signals are broadcasted under the same SSID. Then the device can pick which one is stronger.

I first tried to figure out which band my iPhone was connecting at but it doesn't seem like the iPhone gives you that information.

So I guess I needed to do some trial by error. I disabled the 5Ghz wifi connection on my Unifi access point so that I could be sure my iPhone was connecting at 2.4Ghz. I reran the Meross device setup process and voila, connected instantly!