StellarMate HotSpot is only active when StellarMate is not connected to any WiFi network. By default, the StellarMate Hotspot operates at 5Ghz WiFi (not 2.4Ghz). Therefore, your phone/tablet/PC must support 5Ghz WiFi. It is possible to switch StellarMate WiFi to 2.4Ghz but you need to use SM App to switch and you need a 5Ghz WiFi capable device first to connect to it.

Common Issues

1. Insufficient power: You must use a reliable power supply that can deliver 5 volts at 3 (for RPI4) and 5 (for RPI 5) Amperes. If powered via battery, make sure it can consistently deliver 3A to StellarMate.

2. Failure to boot: Check if StellarMate is booting. For Raspberry PI, the green LED should NOT be solid green all the time. If it is solid green, this indicates an SD problem and you should probably try another SD card and verify the SM OS image checksum. To know the exact failure, connect StellarMate to an external monitor with HDMI. If you see KStars on the monitor, then this indicates boot was successful and the hotspot problem is not boot-related. However, if you see a black boot screen with messages, then capture an image of the monitor with your phone and send it to support in a ticket.

3. Noisy WiFi Environment: In case you have a very active and noisy WiFi environment (many WiFi network), it can overwhelm the WiFi controller in StellarMate and it cannot generate a proper hotspot. Try to get away from very noisy WiFi environments to have a successfully HotSpot.

4. Metal Enclosures: If using StellarMate OS with your own Raspberry PI with a metal case, then it can lead to attentuation of WiFi signals. Try to use a plastic enclosure.

5. Close Promixity to other electronic devices: Some users reported HotSpot signal loss when StellarMate is stacked with other devices like monitors or USB hubs. Try to maintain at least 15 cm away from any other electronic device that can cause interferance with the HotSpot Signal.

6. USB 3.0: There is a known issue with USB 3.0 ports causing significant interfaces with 2.4Ghz signals. If an active USB 3.0 port is used by any peripheral, it may lead to signal degradation. There are two methods to resolve this issue:
6.1 Connect USB 3.0 peripherals to the StellarMate USB 2.0 port
6.2 Switch StellarMate OS WiFi HotSpot Frequency to 5Ghz range which is immune to this interference from USB 3.0.

7. HDMI Resolution: If you connect StellarMate to an external display using an HDMI cable, then high resolution is known to cause interference with WiFi. Try to lower the HDMI resolution to improve the situation.

If you have trouble connecting StellarMate to your router via WiFi, please access your router and clear all cache and any entries for StellarMate.