Internet and Wifi Troubleshooting
If you run into issues that the below can’t resolve, the quickest way to get a little assist is to send a text to the number listed on the Eero (white) devices in the home (OR, ONLY if you are at Night Heron or the East 11 Cottages to call the support provider, SecureVision). When texting us for all other homes, please include your name, the reservation name if different, and importantly… the home name! In most cases, the most tech savvy owner will see it and can check the network remotely in a very short period of time! But… please try the below since it is what we will have you check first if you reach out!
BUT FIRST… If you are staying at Night Heron OR East 11 Cottage A or G READ THIS:
Your home has tv, telephone and internet managed by a third-party network service provider, SecureVision. Beyond the network ID (SSID) and password we provide in the wifi and entry emails, which SHOULD be correct, you should contact SecureVision at 251-967-4455. They should also have a button to direct connect from the provided phones. We CANNOT assist with the networks at Night Heron and East 11 Cottages A and G. For everyone else, read on…
What’s my WiFi Login?
Note, this should be at the home, AND in the emails sent to you about checking in and wifi and entry codes, etc. However, generally speaking, for most of our homes, you should see an SSID that starts with BamaBeachHouses- followed by the name of the home.
FOR EXAMPLE, BamaBeachHouses-Seafoam
The Password is
Shores1!
The S is CAPITALIZED and the word Shores is followed by a ‘1’ and a ‘!’ with no spaces.
Note, this may not be the case at Night Heron and at the East 11 Cottages A & G. For those homes, they are, again, fully managed by a third party technology company, Securevision, 251-967-4455, located in Orange Beach. We have contracts with them to provide support, and their info should be in each of those locations. Please contact them if you need any television, phone or internet support at those locations!
What if I connect to the Wifi Network but can’t access the Internet?
This means the modem/router from the local internet provider is not connected.
General troubleshooting
- Find the modem and wifi router. In most homes, this will be in the kitchen on the counter or in the living room by the television. Most homes will have two devices located there. A black modem and a white Eero wifi router. At the Cottages at Romar, it (and the main Eero) are in the master bedroom, in the closet, on the main floor.
- Unplug the power from the modem AND from the white Eero router
- Wait a minute. Plug in the power to the modem. Wait for all its lights to come on and stay on. The Internet connection or DS/RS or similar light should come on and stay on. If they do not, there may be a connectivity issue in the area and outside the home. The internet one may start blinking if there is data passing back and forth.
- Once the modem/router is back up, plug the Eero in. Its light will eventually turn to white and either stay that way or turn off (off is just because we have it set to not light up so to not bother you at night). If it does not turn solid white, and if it turns RED, there is a connectivity issue either with the internet (see modem above) OR between the Eero and Modem (check/replace the ethernet cord between the Eero and modem)
PLEASE DO NOT EVER EVER RESET THE ROUTER WITH A PAPERCLIP. I will know. I will have to charge you $250 for thinking you know what you are doing. Just don’t do it. Especially on the Eeros (the white devices). You will not be able to fix it. Someone will have to come by and reset it. Don’t do it. 🙂
If you cannot get it to work, send us a note. Quickest is a text. Use our contact info from any of the emails we send you. PLEASE tell us which home and what’s up.
In most cases, we can easily check whether the modem and router are online. If they are, then it is a user issue, and perhaps you have the wrong SSID and Password (see above though, as they are fairly standard now), and we are happy to help with those too!
BUT FIRST, let’s see how you can maybe solve the most common problems yourself!
What if I don’t see the home SSID?
For all homes except Night Heron and East 11 Cottages (see above for them), the homes have a really nice Eero-based mesh network that extends coverage throughout the home. These work great!
If you do not see the SSID in these homes, it means the Eero is not on. This is a separate issue from not being able to connect, or from being unable to reach the internet. If you CANNOT see the SSID (otherwise known as the network name), then we need to make sure no one has inadvertently turned one or more of the network nodes off/unplugged them. This is surprisingly common as people look for places to plug in their charges, etc, and just yank the plug, scuttling your network.
Two things:
- Be sure you cannot see the network from ANY device, not just yours. If you are having trouble from just yours, that would be both very unusual, AND specific to your device, so you should find someone who is connected, and get their assistance. Some quick things to try, in order of ease:
- Turn off and on the wifi on your device (being sure the WiFi is actually on on your device).
- Just restart the device.
- Ensure your devices operating system and drivers and so on are all up to date. If those steps do not work, and others are connected, there is not a lot we can do, though you are welcome to send a note with the type of device, OS version, and what’s going on.
- So if you cannot see the Network Name/SSID from ANY device, then the problem is most likely a powered down Eero, usually the primary base station. This station is generally located in the kitchen or living room, though in the Cottages at Romar, it is in the main level master bedroom closet, and will be connected to the cable modem with an ethernet cord. It is a white square device. It should have a white light on it, definitely not a red light (which means no internet), and it should be connected to power. If it is not, then plug it in. If it is, you can go ahead and unplug it, and plug it back in, then wait 3-5 minutes for it to launch. It will go through a series of lights. It should end up solid white. If it turns Red it is not connected to the internet BUT at this point you should be able to see the SSID/network name. It is VERY rare to have to power cycle an Eero. The modem, certainly (and see above about no internet), but the Eeros are more likely, if not working, to simply be because someone disconnected power and or the ethernet cord.
What if the Wifi Signal is poor in part of the home
We have a mesh network at the home. This means there are multiple Eero devices located throughout the home. At least 2, often 3 depending on the size and structure of the home. The #1 cause of loss of coverage in our homes is someone deciding to unplug one of the Eeros in one of the bedrooms or other areas in the home, thus knocking out, or markedly reducing, signal to a portion of the home, and limiting the mesh network. Find the devices and make sure they are all plugged in. In a pinch, send a note, and we can check if they are all up.
BONUS: Often people will believe an outlet is not working, and will switch the Eero to the other outlet for whatever reason, and THAT outlet is possibly on a switch on the wall because a lot of our homes have switched outlets to turn lights off as you enter or leave a room. The switches usually control HALF of an outlet. This can lead to weird internet ‘outages.’ Yes, we have had someone do this at Cottages at Romar, and tell me the internet is terrible and it goes out every evening (when they turned the light off to go to bed). Moral? Please don’t unplug any devices or change where devices are plugged in!
In the end, our internet was set up to be awesome. All the homes operate over 100MB and most well over, with several exceeding gigabit speed, AND the mesh network provides coverage at that speed all over. It works great! So if you are seeing ‘terrible internet’ and there is not a known service outage, then something is unplugged, or, more rarely, has gone belly up! We can see all the nodes, and the network speed from a phone app so just send us a note!
