The Wi-Fi interface in the Apex A2 and Apex A3 models supports these wireless communications standards: 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n (2.4 GHz only); 5 GHz Wi-Fi protocols 802.11a and 802.11ac are not supported. Almost every wireless router offers 2.4GHz wireless service. If you have a dual-band router which supports both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, the 2.4 GHz band must be enabled.

The Apex A2 and Apex A3 models support only secure methods of Wi-Fi security widely available in consumer-grade/residential wireless networking equipment. The standard designation for this is WPA2-Personal, but network equipment manufacturers often use other terms such as WPA2/AES, WPA2/AES CCMP, WPA/AES, WPA2-Passphrase, WPA2-Pre-Shared Key, WPA2-Password, or other similar variants in the management web pages of their equipment. Apexes will also work with Wi-Fi 6 routers and access points, if WPA2/WPA3 Transitional mode is enabled. Your router or Wi-Fi access point must be configured for WPA2-Personal using AES encryption, or for WPA2/WPA3 Transitional mode, for your Apex to connect. Every wireless router or access point made after 2005 should have this capability. If your router or access point is configured for TKIP encryption instead of AES, the Apex will not connect to it.

Two additional points:

  • An Apex also will not connect to an unsecured or "open" wireless network.
  • The wireless network name (SSID) must be broadcast; the Apex will not connect to Wi-Fi which has the SSID (network name) hidden or suppressed.


If your router is currently configured for WPA, or with WPA2 with TKIP:

  • This is the most common cause of an Apex not connecting to Wi-Fi. You must change the wireless security mode of your Wi-Fi 5-compliant router or access point to be WPA2-Personal (WPA2 with AES) or if you have a newer Wi-Fi 6 or 6E-compatible wireless system, for WPA2/WPA3 Transitional mode or WPA2-Personal. Some older routers may offer a non-standard hybrid mode which supports both TKIP and AES concurrently, but this is not recommended to do because some routers do not implement this well, and some wireless devices may not connect as a result. After you change your router to use WPA2 & AES, all of your wireless devices should automatically reconnect within a few seconds.


If your Apex does not "see" your wireless network name (SSID):

  • Ensure that your router or access point has the 2.4 GHz band enabled.
  • Ensure that in the router configuration for the 2.4 GHz band that the wireless network name (SSID) has the Broadcast option enabled (or the Hide SSID option disabled)
  • Check to see if your router or access point has a feature called Band Steering (or similar). Band Steering (sometimes called Band Select or other similar names) is a feature implemented in some routers and access points which support both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHZ Wi-Fi bands. Band steering "encourages" wireless clients to connect on the 5 GHZ band instead of the 2.4 GHz because 5 GHz offers higher speeds (at the cost of reduced range) and usually has less potential interference. However, some routers & access points do this in a non-standard (and sometimes overly-aggressive) manner which incorrectly assumes that all wireless clients devices are capable of dual-band operation. This unfortunately causes connection issues with wireless devices which do not support 5 GHZ in addition to 2.4 GHz, such as the Apex and Apex EL. If your Apex cannot "see" your wireless network name, and your router has a Band Steering or Band Select feature enabled, try disabling it.


Connecting an Apex to Wi-Fi in a business or educational environment:

  • If you are installing a new Apex in a business or educational (K-12 or college/university) environment, the wireless network might primarily use one or more variants of WPA2-Enterprise security; the Apex does not support this complex security mechanism. Please confer and coordinate with your IT department, as there usually is also a WPA2-Personal wireless network available in these types of environment.