It may happen that the Yi home camera gets stuck with a “waiting to connect” message that makes the camera unusable.
The error message shows up during the camera setup, and in some cases, you may even hear the message “Pairing had timed out” (read here how to fix the pairing issue).
When the Yi camera fails to connect or just keeps saying “waiting to connect”, the camera is not able to establish a reliable internet connection. No internet, no communication between the devices. In this short article, we will show a few methods on how to fix this issue.
How to fix Yi camera waiting to connect issue
First, let’s understand what causes this issue. Before starting the setup of your new camera, both the Yi camera and the Yi Home app need to be connected to the same local network.
In other words, they need to get the internet from the same WiFi router. If the devices are on different networks, they won’t be able to see each other.
You will see the “waiting to connect” issue when the WiFi signal is not strong enough, or when you try to connect to the wrong WiFi band (for example, you may connect to the 5GHz band, instead of 2.4GHz. If so, the pairing will fail, or it will just get stuck trying to connect).
In some other cases, the camera’s QR code that you’re supposed to scan is damaged or stained, and the device fails to scan it correctly.
If your camera is stuck on the “waiting to connect” error message, try the following tips:
Reboot your WiFi router. Sometimes rebooting the router fixes congestion errors. Just power off the unit, wait 60 seconds, and power it back on.
Ensure that the WiFi router offers the proper coverage for the camera. If the camera is too far away, the connection will drop randomly and be unstable. You may bring the camera closer to the router to test out the connection.
Additionally, you may use various apps on the smartphone to test out the WiFi coverage strength. Also, you can inspect the bars on the phone. Go to the camera’s installation spot, and check the WiFi bars on the phone. If it’s just one or two bars, the connection is not strong enough.
Start the setup process from scratch. Reset the camera and bring it to factory defaults, and then start the procedure from the beginning.
Connect the phone (where the camera’s phone app is installed) to the 2.4GHz band. If the phone is connected to 5GHz and the camera to 2.4GHz, then they can’t communicate with each other.
The picture below shows the two available bands on the WiFi router. There’s the SSID (which is the WiFi’s name), and the band. Usually, the WiFi names are different for each band, but sometimes they are exactly the same. Rename them, so you can be able to connect to the right one via the phone.
Check the QR code on the camera and ensure that it’s completely legible. If your phone’s screen is cracked, then the camera won’t be able to read the code reliably.
If that’s your case, you can take a screenshot of the QR code and forward it to another device with a good screen (another phone, laptop, or tablet). Additionally, you may print it out as well.
Also, you may try to uninstall the app from the phone and reinstall it. Ensure that the app, the phone, and the camera itself is updated to the latest software version.
Conclusion
If you have a Yi camera that is not connected to the internet, but instead it’s stuck on the “waiting to connect” message, you can fix it by rebooting the router, re-scanning the QR code, ensuring that the internet works and that the WiFi coverage is optimal.
If you still can’t make it work, you may call the Yi Technology support team for further assistance.
