I wanted to purchase this Netatmo so that I can see the invisible fabrics in the house. However, I do miss a few functions, such as a carbon monoxide, particulate matter and volatile (hydrocarbon) dust meter. The successful design was immediately apparent when opening the packaging. So far all good, until the device had to be installed. At first I assumed that the device communicates over Bluetooth, however, this device communicates over WiFi. Normally no problem of course. A few days before this I tried to connect two Koogeek smart plugs over WiFi, but I couldn't get them connected over WiFi.
Anyway, tried to connect the Netatmo and as expected it failed attempt after attempt. Because I think it's a beautiful device and there really are no alternatives and so didn't want to return it, I didn't give up and started searching the internet for my problem. I found an article that exactly matches my problem description, which is: Homekit WiFi devices do not connect to 2.4 GHz. What turned out? A feature in your router that distributes bandwidth to devices that need more bandwidth turned out to be the culprit. This feature is called “Airtime Fairness”. So this is exactly what Homekit devices can't deal with. After turning this off under my wireless settings, I was able to connect the device effortlessly. In good hopes we also tried to connect the Koogeeks and you guessed it, that went without any problems. My luck ran out when everything worked.
After everything was installed, I could give the device a place in the house and install it further. However, a few things struck me. For example, the Homekit app contains many functions that are taken over from the Netatmo app. Only it does not contain the number of dB of noise that is produced. In addition, the number of ppm (parts per million) CO2 is not displayed at a glance and you have to press and hold the sensor in Homekit longer and then press details. The device shows clear colors for the air quality, it immediately takes a measurement when you touch the white surface on top. You will receive notifications in both Homekit and the Netatmo app. In Homekit you will receive notifications when the device exceeds a limit, such as too much CO2. You will then receive two messages in Homekit: "CO2 level abnormal" and "CO2 sensor has tripped". The Netatmo app then says that the air quality is bad, as can be seen in the attached screenshots.
You can also view historical metrics and see what happened in the past hours/days.
So, are you also having trouble configuring Homekit equipment that uses WiFi? Then turn off “Airtime Fairness” in your wireless settings below 2.4 GHz. This ensures that your Homekit device can connect to your router. It mainly concerns Asus routers, such as my RT-AC5300.
All in all, I've owned the device for a week and I'm very happy that I have more control over the air quality.
