Have you logged into your Smart Oil Gauge app lately and gotten a 'Sensor Offline' notice? There are many potential causes for your Smart Oil Gauge to stop reporting, and we will walk through the most common culprits here.
The top three reasons a Smart Oil Gauge is not connecting are:
1) The batteries are low. If they are reading Poor or Fair, they may not have enough juice to reconnect.
2) The WiFi network needs to be updated. If you installed a new WiFi router or changed the password, you will need to update the WiFi credentials on your Smart Oil Gauge.
3) There is a WiFi issue. The could be as simple as a temporary router glitch that is solved by rebooting the router, or it could be more complicated such as a weak WiFi signal.
Low Batteries
If your Smart Oil Gauge is offline, check the battery level in the app. The battery levels are Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. If yours are reading Fair or Poor, it is time for new batteries. We have replacement batteries on our website here and a tutorial for replacing the batteries here. REMEMBER: The Smart Oil Gauge will not work with regular AA batteries.
When you replace your batteries and turn the device back on, you should immediately see a red light briefly illuminate inside the device, and it should upload a new reading. Press the refresh button in your app to look for a new reading. If you do not see the red light after changing the batteries, give them a spin and try again. With units that are several years old, it may take a few spins to get a good connection on the new batteries. ALSO: The battery reading will not always update right away when you get a new reading. After a day or so, the new battery reading of Good or Excellent should be reflected in the app.
WiFi Update
If you recently changed your WiFi password or installed a new WiFi router, you'll need to update your WiFi credentials. We have instructions to do so here.
NOTE: If it's been several months or more since your last reading, you may need to replace your batteries - even if they are reading Good or Excellent. This is because during the months since you replace the router or changed the password, the Smart Oil Gauge will have been trying to connect to the old network, all the while draining the batteries.
WiFi Issue
Sudden WiFi Issue:
If you've had no issues with your Smart Oil Gauge for many months, the battery level is Good or Excellent, but suddenly it will not reconnect, then we would recommend that you reboot your router. To reboot your router, simply unplug it for ten seconds, and plug it back in. Wait until all the lights on the router have lit up before proceeding. Once you've rebooted the router, turn the Smart Oil Gauge off. Press the black button on it once for half a second, then turn it back on. Check the app a few seconds later. If it still does not show an updated reading, press the black configure button to trigger a new reading.
Intermittent WiFi Issue:
If you occasionally see gaps in your Smart Oil Gauge history where it was unable to upload new readings for several days at a time, you may have a WiFi signal strength issue. If this is the case, it can usually be solved by installing a WiFi range extender like this one here. For approximately $20, this range extender will extend the signal coming from your main router. Once the range extender is hooked up and broadcasting WiFi, you will need to update the WiFi credentials so that the Smart Oil Gauge is connected to the extender network. Instructions for updating WiFi are here.
