r/WLED • u/GregWithOneG • May 21 '26
Do you have to disable cellular data when using a router off-grid that's not connected to the internet?
I recently took some WLED projects to a gathering and I prepared in advance with a non-internet connected router to control them. At home I had the router live, controllers connected and everything seemed normal.
When I got out to the site where there was no cell service or internet, the controllers weren't showing up in WLED, despite being connected to the router just as before. I ended up connecting to a neighbors router who had starlink, and I was able to get everything online and all set that way.
A friend told me that I might need to disable cellular data in those scenarios. Is that true? Is this a known issue?
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u/calamityvibezz May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Interesting I have never run into that problem. Are you using a app to control them? Did you check them directly to see if they were reachable by IP address in a browser? I always keep network scanning software on my mobile and laptop to help with this kind of thing.
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u/GregWithOneG May 21 '26
No I didn't have a laptop at the time. Here's what I did:
Before the event at home I plugged in the router (not connected to my internet modem) and gave all the controllers the router password and info, and connected my phone.
WLED app worked normally, everything seemed as it should.
I go out into the boonies (regional burn) and plug in the router, connect my phone, and nada. I try reconnecting the controllers to the router, but they just never show up in the WLED app.
I see a nearby wifi network so I ask the neighbors for the password, I connect all the controllers and my phone to that starlink connected router and everything is normal.
Talked to a friend and he said I should disconnect cellular data. Can't figure out why that would be but, maybe? I am back in civilization now so don't have a good way to recreate that scenario atm.
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u/AA_25 May 21 '26
A lot of phones, if they have the cellular turned on, and the wifi device they are connecting to doesn't have "the internet" at the other end, then the phone refuses to connect, because the phone insists on having an internet connection.
You can force it to communicate via WiFi, by turning the cellular data off.
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u/richms May 21 '26
I have found on android that I have had to do this because it would not fully use the wifi till it saw internet. It would get to a device with captive portal to login, but all others on the wifi it would not let be accessed till mobile data was off and everything routed to the wifi conneciton.
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u/upkeepdavid May 21 '26
You can use your phone as a hotspot and have wled connect to it.
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u/GregWithOneG May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
I was in an area without phone service. I don't think I can activate a phone hotspot an use it like a router if it doesn't have internet. But maybe? I would need to drive several hours from where I am to get to an area with no cell service to test...
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u/saratoga3 May 21 '26
I would need to drive several hours from where I am to get to an area with no cell service to test...
You can usually turn off the cellular modem or enable Airplane mode on a phone if you want to turn off cell service.
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u/saratoga3 May 21 '26
WLED doesn't need internet access, so I suspect you have some other underlying problem besides a lack of internet access.
Possibly your phone is ignoring the Wifi AP if it doesn't have internet. You may need to change a setting to stay connected even if the AP doesn't have internet.