Why Won’t My Shark Robot Connect to WiFi? – Fix Guide

If you’re asking why won’t my Shark Robot connect to WiFi? You’re in the right place.

With over 14 million users of robot vacuums, connectivity issues are surely at the top of the list of concerns.

By going through these solutions, you should be able to find the steps to connect your Shark vacuum to your WiFi.

Continue reading to find out!

One of the most common reasons your Shark Robot won’t connect to your WiFi is bugs and glitches. Luckily, this can be easily fixed by rebooting the cleaning unit. Power it down completely and wait for a couple of minutes before powering it back up. If this doesn’t work, refresh your network connection.

Before we move on to the troubleshooting steps, let us discuss the possible reasons your Shark Robot won’t connect to WiFi.

It will help you come up with the best solution.

Why Shark Robot Won’t Connect to WiFi

Most of the time, the issues with the Shark Robot vacuum are pretty standard and easy to fix.

There may be something wrong with your router, or your device is in the dead zones. Also, check your network settings.

1. Connectivity Issues with Your Router

If you entered the correct password but are still unable to connect to your WiFi, other devices in your home may be interfering with the WiFi signal.

Or, you may be dealing with a temporary network issue.

2. Using Only 5G WiFi

Shark Robot vacuums can only connect to 2.4GHz. If your cleaning unit won’t connect to your WiFi, your router may not be dual band and only has the 5GHz frequency.

3. Coverage area Dead Zones

The location of your router has a huge impact on how your robot vacuums connect.

The connection may not be strong enough in the area, or your cleaning unit is in a dead zone.

4. Network Settings

Your router’s firewall settings may be blocking certain ports.

Mac filtering can also block your device from accessing your WiFi network and keep it from connecting.

Now you know why your Shark Robot vacuum won’t connect to your WiFi. Let us now proceed to the troubleshooting methods.

How to Fix Why Won’t My Shark Robot Connect to WiFi

Since you already know the answer to your question, “Why won’t my Shark Robot connect to WiFi” let us talk about the solutions in detail.

But first, let’s start with the simplest yet most effective method.

Before you move on to more advanced solutions, try rebooting your cleaning unit first.

Turn off the power switch on the side of the robot vacuum and wait for at least 10 seconds.

Turn it back on and see if it fixes the issue.

You may also try the following:

• Close the app on your phone and relaunch it to reset the bugs causing the issue.
• Move closer to the router for a stronger signal.
• Restart your phone.

If you tried all of the above but still cannot connect your Shark Robot to your WiFi, proceed to the solutions below.

Solution #1: Power Cycle Your Router to Refresh the Connection

If your Shark robot vacuum does not respond after restarting, you want to take a closer look at your networking hardware.

You want to refresh the connection between your vacuum and your router.

The most effective way to do it would be to perform a power cycle. This will force both devices to reconnect and request new networking settings.

Here’s how to power cycle your network devices:

1. Turn off both your modem and router.
2. Unplug both devices from the wall outlet.
3. Leave them unplugged for at least 5 minutes.
4. Plug in your modem first, and turn it on.
5. Plug in and turn on your router after your modem has connected.

Note: The startup process for your modem and router can take a while after performing a power cycle.

Solution #2: Charge Your Shark Robot Vacuum Overnight

Your Shark robot vacuum should connect to your WiFi as soon as it detects it’s available.

However, power issues can prevent your vacuum from optimum performance. Malfunctions like your vacuum being unable to connect to your WiFi network can occur.

You want to ensure that your vacuum is fully charged while troubleshooting it.

Here are the steps to ensure that your Shark vacuum is charged up:

1. Switch the Power button of your Shark vacuum on.
2. Press the dock button to start the charging process.
3. If you have a cleaning schedule for the night, turn it off.
4. Ensure the charge LED is lit to confirm your vacuum is charging.

Note: If your Shark robot vacuum does not return to the charging dock, you can position it manually to start the process.

Solution #3: Make Sure You Activate Your Router’s 2.4 GHz WiFi

The Shark robot vacuum can easily connect to your WiFi network. It does a few limitations where it only supports the older 2.4 GHz WiFi signal.

Newer routers and devices can connect to the improved 5 GHz frequency. However, your Shark vacuum does not.

For your vacuum to successfully connect to your WiFi, you want to make sure that the 2.4 GHz frequency is available.

Here’s how to make sure that your router is using the 2.4 GHz frequency:

1. Log in to your router’s web interface using a web browser.
2. Go to your router’s Advanced Settings.
3. Select Wireless or Network Settings.
4. Look for the 2.4 GHz band or radio.
5. Set it to Enable.

Note: For dual-band routers, you make sure that the dual-band feature is enabled so your Shark robot vacuum can connect to the 2.4 GHz frequency.

Solution #4: Whitelist Your Shark Robot’s MAC Address

Securing your home WiFi is certainly something you need to do regularly. However, it can cause problems, especially if you introduce a brand new device to the network.

Monitoring your connections means that you’ll need to allow your Shark vacuum to your network

You want to make sure you’re whitelisting all devices you want to connect to your network.

The best way to do that would be to use MAC address filtering, so you know which devices are allowed to access your network.

Here’s how to use your router’s MAC address filtering feature:

1. Find your vacuums MAC address at the back of the device.
2. Access your router’s web interface.
3. Go to your router’s Wireless or Security tab.
4. Click on MAC Filtering.
5. Add your vacuum’s MAC address to the list.

Note: Depending on your router, MAC Filtering can also be named MAC Address Control or MAC Authentication.

Solution #5: Change Your Firewall Settings

Your Firewall settings can also mess up your WiFi connections. It can block certain links and even devices.

If your Shark vacuum suffers from connectivity issues, you want to check your Firewall settings and make the necessary changes.

Doing this should get your vacuum connected to your network.

Here’s how to change your Firewall settings:

1. Access your router’s web interface and log in.
2. Go to Advanced Settings, then Firewall.
3. Select Port Forwarding.
4. Whitelist or open ports 80, 443, 53, 55055, and 55056.

Tip: Opening these ports should allow your Shark robot vacuum access to your network for optimum performance.

Solution #6: Get a WiFi Extender for Better Coverage

Your Shark robot vacuum will constantly be on the move as it cleans your home. If you have limited networking hardware, there are going to be dead spots around your home.

If this happens, it can get disconnected whenever your vacuum strays too far from your router.

You want to make sure that your home has full WiFi coverage.

A WiFi extender or a mesh network setup is the best way to improve your home’s WiFi coverage.

Here’s how to use a WiFi extender for your Shark vacuum:

1. Plug in your WiFi extender near your router.
2. Press the WPS button on your router first, then your extender.
3. Wait for the extender to complete the connection process.
4. Connect your Shark vacuum to your WiFi extender.
5. Plug in your WiFi extender to its new location.

Note: You can also reposition your router so your Shark robot vacuum can connect to it whenever it’s cleaning.

If none of these steps work and restore the connection of your vacuum, you can also try updating your vacuum’s firmware.

You can also contact Shark customer support to know if your hardware needs replacement or repair.

Read Next: Does Cox Throttle Internet Speed?

Bottom Line

Now that you know the answer to why won’t my Shark robot connect to WiFi, you can now look for the best solution on the list.

You can now get your vacuum connected and have the best cleaning experience throughout your home.

If you’re looking for the best WiFi extender to increase your home’s WiFi coverage, consider the TP-Link AC1750.

It offers an easy setup process and excellent performance that’s perfect for your Shark Robot Vacuum.