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Keyhive Help

How to connect the Hive to Wi-Fi

In short: Tap the Wi-Fi icon in the top right of the Hive, pick your network from the list and enter its password.

When you’d do this: A new Hive has arrived, a unit has moved to a different desk or site, your Wi-Fi password has changed, or the Hive is showing a connection message and won’t let anyone hand keys over.

Before you start

Have the Wi-Fi password to hand. You type it on the Hive itself. This is your network’s password, not a Keyhive login.

The Hive connects to 2.4 GHz networks only. Most networks broadcast on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz under the same name, so this usually makes no difference at all. It only matters at sites that run 5 GHz on its own, covered in If your network isn’t in the list below.

1. Open the Wi-Fi settings

Tap the Wi-Fi icon in the top right. It sits on the sign-in screen and on the home screen, so you can reach it whether or not the unit is signed in.

The tablet’s own Wi-Fi panel opens over Keyhive.

2. Pick your network and enter the password

Choose your network from the list and enter its password.

Networks that ask for a username as well as a password work too. The Hive opens the standard Android Wi-Fi settings so that those extra fields are available.

3. Go back to Keyhive

Close the Wi-Fi panel. The Hive picks the connection up on its own and any connection message clears by itself, so there’s nothing to restart.

If your network isn’t in the list

Wi-Fi networks run on two different frequencies, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The Hive uses 2.4 GHz. Nearly every network broadcasts on both under one name, which is why this rarely comes up, but a network set to 5 GHz only won’t appear on the Hive at all.

If your network is missing from the list while phones and laptops nearby connect to it fine, that’s the likely reason. Two ways round it:

  • Ask your IT team to switch 2.4 GHz on for the network the Hive uses, or to add a second network name that runs on 2.4 GHz. This is a small change on almost all business Wi-Fi equipment.
  • Use a wired connection. The Hive treats a network cable exactly the same as Wi-Fi. Get in touch and we’ll confirm what your units need.

Also worth checking: the Hive has to be in range. It’s a tabletop unit that often sits behind a desk or in a key room, which can put it further from the nearest access point than it looks.

If it connects but Keyhive says there’s no internet

The Hive tells these two situations apart, and the message on screen says which one you have.

“No internet connection” means the unit isn’t on a network at all. Connect it using the steps above. If you’re on a cable rather than Wi-Fi, check the cable is seated at both ends.

“Connected, but no internet” means the Hive has joined the network but can’t reach Keyhive. The usual causes are:

  • The network needs an extra sign-in step. Guest Wi-Fi often opens a sign-in page in a browser before it lets anything through. A Hive can’t complete that sort of sign-in, so it needs a network that doesn’t ask for one.
  • A firewall or web filter is blocking it. Common on managed office networks.
  • The building’s internet is down. Worth ruling out before anything else.

Either way, the Hive keeps checking and comes back on its own once the connection returns. Nothing is lost, and no handover is left half recorded.

What to ask your IT team

If a Hive still won’t connect, these are the things worth putting to whoever looks after the network. They’re the questions we’d ask.

  1. Is 2.4 GHz enabled on this network? The Hive can’t see 5 GHz networks. This is the single most common cause.
  2. Does this network use a sign-in page? Guest and visitor networks often do, and the Hive can’t get past one. It needs a network that connects straight through.
  3. Can you try WPA2 security on this network? Where sites run a mix of the newer WPA3 security alongside WPA2, we’ve seen Hives struggle to join, and setting the network to WPA2 has fixed it. Many access points also have a compatibility option for older devices that does the same job without changing the network for everyone else.
  4. Does the Hive need to be allowed onto the network? Some networks only admit devices that have been added to a list first. Your IT team will ask for the unit’s MAC address, which the tablet’s Wi-Fi settings show under the connected network’s details.
  5. Is anything blocking outbound traffic? The Hive needs to reach Keyhive over the internet. If a firewall or web filter is in the way, ask for it to be allowed through.

Still stuck after all that? Contact support@keyhive.io and tell us which of the above you’ve tried, and which message the Hive is showing.

Good to know

  • Connect first, sign in second. A Hive can’t sign in without a network, so Wi-Fi comes before the Hive username and password. See How to sign a Hive in.
  • You only do this once per unit. A Hive remembers its network and rejoins by itself after a power cut or a restart.
  • Each unit connects on its own. Wi-Fi is set on the tablet, so a site with several Hives needs each one connected, even though they all share one Hive username and password.
  • A dropped connection doesn’t lose anything. The Hive covers the screen until it’s back and won’t let a handover be recorded halfway.
  • Moving a Hive to another site means new Wi-Fi. Connect it to the network there, then check its key store is still right under the gear icon.