WiFi Connection Issue For HW-Q80R Soundbar

[JP11]

Just yesterday for the first time after using the same set up with my Q80 soundbar for well over one year now with no issues, my SmartThings app becomes unable to connect to the soundbar. I use the app for certain functions that are more convenient to access than having to scroll through options using the remote. Changing inputs, for instance, is much quicker through the app. 

But yesterday the app showed the soundbar as offline even though it was on and functioning normally. All functions were working when I used the remote, no audio or any other kind of issue at all except with the app connection. The only way I’ve been able to re-establish the connection is to pull the power from the soundbar and then power it back up. After a few seconds the app recognizes the bar and functions normally with it. When I first did that I thought it had been resolved. But after turning everything off last night this morning the problem was once again evident. As long as everything is left on the app and soundbar connect with no issue. But turning it off seems to kill it again. The only thing I can assume is that the connection of the soundbar to my wifi network is not reacquired when turning the bar back on, thus the app sees it as offline.

I've done this now several times and each time I pull the plug and power it back on the bar is seen by the app within a few seconds. But turn it off and then back on the connection is lost, again making me assume that the bar is losing its wifi connection when being shut off. Has anyone run into this?

[JP11]

Played around some with this tonight. While I was watching tv, a Sony not a Samsung, everything was functioning properly but the app again showed the soundbar as offline. Then when I turned everything off for the night, out of curiosity I checked the app again and this time it correctly showed the device as off, not offline but off, so it had connected and got the status of the device correct. I was able to turn the soundbar on from the app without an issue and also able to turn it back off. So it seems even more confusing, while on and working the status is shown as offline, turn it off and the app is connected again. I have no idea what to make of this. 

[Anonymous]

Have you tried re-installing the app? Have you checked for any available updates for the soundbar?

[JP11]

Yes, actually I did all that. Unplugged the soundbar, deleted and re-installed the app, rebooted my phone, etc. Plus I know the WiFi identity/number of the soundbar, I keep a list of all my devices so I can check my router to see if they're connected or not. At all times the soundbar was connected to my WiFi network and after each time that I unplugged it and then powered it back up the app showed the connection temporarily. So it was never clear where the problem was. 

Then 2 nights ago a miracle apparently happened. We were watching tv, everything was normal except the app showed the soundbar as offline. Later we shut everything off when we went to bed. Out of curiosity I checked the app again after turning everything off and it showed the bar as off, not offline, but off as it actually was. So the app had connected to it when I turned it off. 

The next morning before turning the tv or soundbar on I checked the app again. It still showed the bar as off so it still had the connection. I turned everything on and checked the app again, it showed the app correctly with the correct input displayed and all functions normal. And the connection and function has persisted ever since. The tv and soundbar have been turned off and on several times now and the app remains connected and usable. So somehow it healed itself. 

Is there any kind of connection that the app has through Samsung servers?  The only thing I can think of is some kind of back-end server issue that went down temporarily. Other than that I have no idea why this happened and why it is all back to normal now. 

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

We have discovered that there was a temporary outage on one of the authentication servers for the SmartThings services.

[JP11]

Ah, I never realized that it worked that way, I thought the connection was strictly local. But what I ran into now makes sense. It had never happened before so it was very confusing. 

[usernthia2F2XO]

What is the solution? I keep seeing the moderator say they have found the solution, but there is no information on what we need to do to correct this problem.

[JP11]

There was nothing to do. It was a temporary backend issue with their servers which they corrected. I haven’t seen any issues since then. 

[usernthia2F2XO]

Thanks. I just realized that I changed phones and when I loaded the app, it wasn't recognizing the soundbar because it was still looking for my old phone.

I had to remove the soundbar from my room and find it again. Now I can see it. Now to get it to stay connected to my wifi. lol.