+ Where should I place my pods?
When it comes to getting the best performance out of your Plume network, pod placement is everything! While every home has a unique size, shape, and Wi-Fi environment, here are some guidelines for maximizing your speeds.
We recommend one SuperPod or PowerPod for every two rooms. Pods should be spread evenly around the home, especially in rooms and open spaces where is more common to use Wi-Fi. Typically, SuperPods should be placed about 30-40 feet apart through walls and 60-80 feet apart for large open spaces (like a large living room). Pods should be placed 15-20 feet apart through walls and 30-40 feet apart in the open. PowerPod range is around 21-30 feet through walls and 42- 59 feet in open spaces.
Be sure to position pods in central locations along interior walls of your home to take advantage of the pods' omnidirectional radios!
Additional Tips to Improve Coverage & Performance
Turn Off Additional Wi-Fi Networks
Parallel networks from an upstream or additional router increase interference, dramatically decreasing your Plume network's performance
If your secondary network shared an SSID and Password with your Plume network, devices will often become confused and hop between the two networks, hurting their connectivity
Steer Clear of Furniture
Dense padding and metal/wood framing in furniture can inhibit your Wi-Fi performance. Try placing your pod in an open, exposed area to improve signal and show off your new hardware!
Similarly to how mirrors reflect light, they also reflect Wi-Fi signal, decreasing signal strength. Try to position pods to connect around large mirrors and windows, rather than through.
Avoid Appliances
TVs, refrigerators, subwoofers, and metals doors are Wi-Fi killers. Avoid placing pods too close to or behind these appliances.
Devices like microwaves, baby monitors, and cordless phones often share the same frequency as your Wi-Fi networks, creating additional interference when placed too close together.
Work Around Your Home's Construction
Just like mirrors, energy-efficient windows can negatively impact your Wi-Fi signal.
Metallic blinds/shades can also prevent your network from reaching balconies, terraces, or gardens.
Foil-backed underfloor insulation can prevent Wi-Fi signals from passing between floors in your home. Try placing pods near stairs where they might have a more direct line of sight.
+ Why are my pods offline?
If only those pods could talk! There are many possible reasons why one or more of your pods would appear disconnected or offline.
Entire Plume Network is Offline
If you have received an alert stating your network is offline, follow these steps to bring it back up.
Unplug the modem from power for at least 30 seconds.
Unplug the Gateway pod from power and unplug anything connected to it by Ethernet.
Plug the Ethernet cables back into Gateway pod and into the modem.
Plug the Gateway pod back into power.
Plug the modem back into power and wait until the modem is fully restarted and its LEDs indicate there is an internet connection.
Wait at least 2 minutes until Gateway pod's LED stops blinking
If the Gateway pod's LED continues blinking and does not come back online, please contact 1Tennessee support.
Single or a few Pods are offline
The Pod is unplugged or is not receiving any power.
Check if the outlet has power by plugging in another Pod or any other appliance to confirm. When pods are first plugged in, the LED should always turn on solid briefly and then start to slowly pulse as it is trying to connect to the cloud. Once connected it will then turn off.
If the outlet is switched, make sure no one else is turning it off by accident. If the outlet is okay and the pod's LED does not come on at all when it is first plugged in, this indicates there is likely something wrong with the pod. Please contact !Tennessee Support.
The pod is too far away from any other connected pod.
When offline, the LED will be slowly pulsing as it tries to connect to the cloud, and will continue to do so if it cannot connect.
Move the pod closer to another pod or in the same location as a known working pod. The pod should connect and the LED will turn off.
Use the pod health indicator to check signal quality. Poor signal is often a reason for pods intermittently going offline.
If it is a range issue add another pod to your Plume network.
There may be an unusual issue preventing your pod from connecting to the rest of the network. Contact 1Tennessee support for assistance.
+ What do the lights mean?
No LED
When initially plugging in any pod into an outlet, the light should always turn solid for a moment, and then the LED will slowly pulse while it is trying to connect to the cloud. Once connected to our cloud, the LED will then turn off.
If there is no light at all when first plugging in the pod, check your outlet with another appliance or device to ensure it has power. If the outlet is okay, there may be something wrong with the pod and you should Contact Support for assistance. Even if this behavior only happens intermittently, you should still contact support.
Blinking LED on Pod or PowerPod (white) or SuperPod (green)
This could mean either of the following:
Quick, repeating Double blinks - Pod is waiting for optimization to finish: You will also see “Optimizing your network” message in the app as well. Optimizations usually take a 2-3 minutes, depending on how many pods are connected. Optimizations can be triggered by a change in your environment such as high levels of interference, but will also happen overnight and immediately after initial setup.
Quick Double blinks - Pod is being named by scanning the pod.
Slow continuous pulse/breathing (dim to bright) - Pod and PowerPod (White) or SuperPod (Green) is trying to connect with the cloud and depending on the circumstances could mean the following:
This is normal before adding the pod to your account, the slow pulse will continue until the pod is added to the account and establishes a connection to the cloud. The pod has lost connection to the rest of your network, which could be a result of extremely poor signal to other pods, especially if the other pods are still online and you have not received an a lost internet connectivity notification.
Internet connectivity is lost. This is supposed to be followed by a "Network is offline” notification. Follow the Check internet connectivity article for troubleshooting.
If you can’t see all the pods being claimed in your Plume app and if you see the slow LED pulsing on the pod at the same time, the pod is most likely claimed by another household. Contact Support for assistance.
Continuous rapid blinking on Pod or PowerPod (white) or SuperPod (red) - there may be an issue with the onboard software. Contact support for assistance.
Rapid continuous white blinking (PowerPod) or red blinking (SuperPod) - Possible fan failure. Contact Support for assistance.
