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FarmLoop Help Center

FarmBoard won't connect — LED codes & network checklist

The FarmBoard needs Wi-Fi only for digital (MQTT) trigger mode and OTA settings — mechanical mode runs with no network at all. If you’re setting up MQTT mode and the board won’t connect, work through this list.

What the LED is telling you

Section titled “What the LED is telling you”
  • Two slow blinks, repeating — the board can’t join your Wi-Fi. Wrong credentials, out of range, or an unsupported network (see checklist below).
  • A burst of quick blinks after joining — the board is connecting to the printer (MQTT). If it never settles, the board is on the network but can’t reach the printer — that’s almost always the guest-network problem below.
  • Two-blink loop right after an interrupted setup or power cycle — the board is stuck in Wi-Fi/firmware initialization. This is recoverable: re-flash the latest firmware and run setup again. The board is not dead.

Network checklist

Section titled “Network checklist”

1. Same network — and not a guest network

Section titled “1. Same network — and not a guest network”

This is the number-one cause. Guest, IoT, and hotel Wi-Fi networks isolate their devices from each other — the FarmBoard can join the network perfectly and still be unable to reach the printer. Both the FarmBoard and the printer must be on the same, non-guest network.

If your router shows the board and printer with very different IP ranges, they’re on different networks.

2. Use a 2.4 GHz network

Section titled “2. Use a 2.4 GHz network”

The FarmBoard’s Wi-Fi (ESP32) connects to 2.4 GHz networks only. A 5 GHz-only SSID will never work — most routers broadcast both, but check if yours has separate names.

3. Printer in LAN + Developer mode

Section titled “3. Printer in LAN + Developer mode”

For MQTT mode, the printer itself must have LAN mode and Developer mode enabled so the FarmBoard is allowed to talk to it. Full steps: Trigger modes.

4. Re-enter credentials via OTA mode

Section titled “4. Re-enter credentials via OTA mode”

Typos in Wi-Fi credentials are silent. Use OTA mode to re-enter the network name and password, and double-check the printer’s IP/serial details while you’re there.

5. Locked-down network? Use mechanical mode

Section titled “5. Locked-down network? Use mechanical mode”

Corporate or heavily-managed networks (client isolation everywhere, MAC filtering) may never allow device-to-device traffic. Mechanical mode needs no network — the limit switch delivers every trigger — and is fully supported: Trigger modes.

Still stuck

Section titled “Still stuck”

Open a support ticket and include: the exact LED pattern you see, your router/network setup (guest network? 2.4 GHz?), your printer model, and the FarmLoop firmware version. If you can flash with a USB cable, include the flash log too — it often contains the exact connection error.

Section titled “Related”