Polaris 8642 iQ - Bluetooth OK, WiFi Not OK Using iAquaLink

[Aquanaut]

I have searched for a few days with different terms but cannot find a solution for my specific situation. TFP seems like the best place for me to ask since I've tried out some things I found here. I have reached out to Polaris/Zodiac/Fluidra support for the cleaner and the iAquaLink app but am not getting any help. The summary is Bluetooth pairing seems to work but it doesn't matter since I am forced to attempt to connect over WiFi and at that point the BT pairing drops and adding the device to iAquaLink fails.

The robotic cleaner itself works fine, I purchased it after renting a non-Bluetooth/WiFi model. My install of iAquaLink is up-to-date, v6.4.2 at time of writing. My phone is a Pixel 6 Pro running Android 13 (play store states the app version is compatible with my phone). My home network is a simple dual band setup, no mesh/repeaters (Synology RT2600ac). I have tried a 2.4GHz guest network and running only 5GHz or 2.4GHz WiFi (disabling one band even though they have separate SSIDs). None of these WiFi tricks seem to come in to play however since after successfully pairing with Bluetooth I am forced to attempt to connect to WiFi and after a few seconds the Bluetooth pairing drops (light goes from solid blue illumination to dark). I am then prompted to ensure the system is still in pairing mode and the fun starts all over.

I have power cycled my phone, the control box, I even went so far as to go ahead and put the cleaner in the pool and start it up since technically the manual says to have the cleaner submerged before trying iAquaLink. Not knowing how the software is designed/behaviors are gated, it was the last thing I hadn't tried. I first tried with just powering the control box, about 15 feet from the router, before trying it with the cleaner connected and in the pool not much further away. I had strong WiFi signal in both situations (almost line of sight with the router). I have had a number of IoT/smart devices, PCs, etc. and none have had an issue with my home network before but this is my first use of iAquaLink.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[PoolGate]

Both your phone and the robot are on the same wifi network right? Usually when there is a WiFi issue it's a cypher that's not supported. For testing go back to a basic cypher. Once connected your robot will communicate over the Internet and your phone doesn't need WiFi to be on anymore.

 

[Aquanaut]

To close this out I was able to successfully use the cleaner on my Pixel but I had to use a different device to do the first time set up. I eventually got through to Fluidra and their customer service rep said the last thing I could try was a different device, and if that didn't work then I would need a new control box (under warranty). Using an older phone I was able to pair the Bluetooth and the system immediately saw my 2.4GHz network and was able to be connected without issue. After that, I was able to see and control the cleaner using my newer Pixel without issue. Hopefully this thread helps out anyone else that encounters this issue.

 

[JMPool99]

I have Aqualink 3.0 (previously 2.0) and have nothing but problems. It's completely randomly unreliable. I've contacted Fluidra dozens of times. Like you, I have dozens of other devices and none have issues but my Aqualink system will go offline randomly -- it's total garbage and very disappointing considering the price paid. I asked them to escalate to their developers but they simply don't care. Good luck... Fluidra stinks.