Geeni cameras scan QR codes to seamlessly pair with your device. This does sometimes have its hiccups though, as users occasionally report errors in the scanning process. But not to worry - this is a known but easily resolvable issue!
Failures in QR code scanning are normally caused by camera obstructions, dim screen settings, and occasional bugs in the Geeni app. Fortunately, there are many user-attested fixes for each issue (with the top solutions listed below!).
What’s more, the Geeni app also allows you to bypass the QR scanning process by enabling Easy Mode. As such, you have plenty of options to resolve a failed QR code scan - we will guide you through each one step-by-step!
QR codes are essentially messages encoded into a visual black-white pattern - if your Geeni camera can’t distinguish between black and white, then it won’t be able to read the code. This typically happens with dim or uniquely configured screens.
When showing the QR code to your Geeni camera, ensure that your screen is at the highest brightness. To do this, simply drag down the top of your device’s screen and move the brightness slider on the quick panel, as shown above.
Turn off dark mode and blue light filtering
Certain devices also come with a built-in dark mode and blue light filtering (aka eye care and night shift mode), both meant to reduce eye strain.
Depending on the device, they can invert colors or force low screen brightness- sure ways to cause issues with QR code scanning! For some users, these well-known culprits for QR code scan failures may be active for so long, they forget that they exist. Thankfully, both modes can be disabled very quickly by toggling them in your device’s settings for both Android and iOS devices.
One of the most common reasons a Geeni camera fails to scan a QR code is because the camera's view is partially blocked.
That said, make sure there are no objects obstructing your Geeni camera’s view. This may seem obvious, but some obstructions can be sneaky.
For instance, shadows are an often-overlooked obstruction. When scanning the QR code on your device, ensure that your Geeni camera is in a well-lit place free from shade.
Clean the camera lens
Even a little debris can prevent the camera from focusing properly during a scan, so it’s best to consider cleaning the lens. While a simple fix, you’d be surprised with how much this works!
Before initiating the scanning process, check for dust or smudges on the camera lens itself. Then, clean the lens using a microfiber cloth, preferably with screen cleaning fluid. This should clear any debris preventing your camera from scanning your QR code.
As QR mode is the default painting option for the app, it’s easy to assume that it’s the only option. However, you can totally skip the QR scanning process via the Geeni app’s Easy Mode!
With Easy Setup mode, you’ll only need to wait for the app to pair your Geeni smart camera until its status indicator blinks - no need for a QR code at all.
Enabling easy mode is much like pairing your smart camera as normal. You’ll only need to do one minor adjustment, as explained in the steps below:
Your camera should now be paired to your device without issues - all without having to use a QR code!
Here are some troubleshooting steps to try for that "Microphone modes are currently available" error on your iPhone or iPad:
If it's still not working, an appointment at the Genius Bar or an Apple-authorized service provider would be recommended. But try these troubleshooting steps first:
When trying to record or speak on apps like Instagram, Messenger, and Facetime on your iPhone or iPad, you may sometimes receive an error stating “microphone modes are currently available”, preventing you from using your microphone.
This error is quite recent and is likely caused by some faultiness in older iOS versions. Fortunately, there are a few fixes you can handily try to solve this issue:
Most minor software issues on your iPhone or iPad can be fixed by a quick restart. Try these steps when encountering the “microphone modes are currently unavailable” error:
The app permissions for the microphone may have been switched off. Here are steps to address this:
The app you’re using can have its own microphone glitches. To solve this, follow these steps:
Your iOS may need an update to resolve microphone bugs. Here’s a simple step-by-step process to update it:
Sometimes the option for initiating and renewing subscriptions with Twitch Prime won’t appear. De-linking and re-linking your account is the fastest way to solve this issue:
Once you’ve successfully re-linked your Twitch account, Twitch Prime should appear as a subscription and subscription renewal option as normal. If the above steps don’t work, try these other troubleshooting fixes:
This problem is usually reported by users who’ve recently had their free Amazon Prime trials expire, although some users who’ve paid subscriptions may sometimes experience this issue.
However, this issue may also be caused by other factors such as server-side issues on Twitch or Amazon, your Amazon Prime subscription status, and your browser cache.
Here are some tips to address this error:
Your Twitch Prime Sub may not be showing up because your Amazon Prime membership has expired.
Once you’ve renewed your Prime membership, check your Twitch sub to see if the fix worked. If not, check your linked Twitch accounts on your Prime Gaming account and ensure that your current Twitch account is linked.
Browser issues like corrupt cookies or cached data can prevent Twitch Prime subs from showing correctly.
To fully reset your browser data:
Note: This option will log you out of all sites that you’ve set to remember your account details and automatically sign you in, such as Instagram and Facebook. Use this only after you’ve ensured that you’re still subscribed to Amazon Prime and that your Twitch account is linked to Prime Gaming.
If none of the above fixes work, it may be time to get in touch with Prime Gaming’s customer support team. This is done through Twitch’s support page.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to writing a support ticket and getting a human to assist you on this issue:
Once you’re in touch with a Prime Gaming representative, be sure to be as patient and thorough as possible in explaining any required details.
Instagram calls will not appear on your phone bill. Instagram uses mobile data or Wi-Fi to transmit and receive calls through the Internet. This means Instagram calls are not directly facilitated and billed by your mobile provider/phone carrier.
However, call records in Instagram remain visible on the app itself and your phone’s Phone or Call Log app.
Your mobile service provider can also bill your data usage for calling on Instagram. Large data usage from long calls will be visible on your phone bill, which can potentially raise suspicion.
If privacy is your concern, you’ll need to know all potential ways your Instagram calls can be recorded and how to counteract them. Here’s how to hide records of your Instagram calls:
As mentioned, Instagram calls will not appear on your phone bill. Your phone carrier and mobile provider (Verizon, T-Mobile, EE, etc.) can’t see or record any details about your Instagram calls except for its data usage.
However, logs and records of your Instagram calls can still be visible to a person secretly invading your privacy through other easily accessible ways. These include:
Fortunately, you can hide or erase records of your Instagram calls on both your app and phone, as well as prevent your phone and Instagram app from logging them. Here are methods to counteract attempts to invade your privacy:
Instagram regularly keeps track of your calls. Here are the two ways the Instagram app makes your call history visible:
In both instances, you can easily hide and delete traces of your calls. Alternatively, you can also turn on Instagram’s Vanish mode for your Chats to make all seen messages disappear when you close your chat.
Here’s an in-depth guide covering how to hide and delete records of your call activity on the Instagram app and activate Vanish mode:
Some smartphones keep a record of all incoming and outgoing calls from social media apps like Instagram. This is prevalent in iOS models such as iPhones and iPads, although some Android phones may do this.
Anyone who accesses your phone in secret or with your consent can quickly see these call logs by simply going to your Phone or Call Logs app.
Here are some steps to help hide or delete Instagram call logs on both iPhone and Android devices:
On iPhone:
On Android:
Regularly clearing your call logs is a good way to protect your privacy. Be aware that completely deleted call logs cannot be recovered.
If you’re worried that a certain person can see your Instagram calls on your phone bill, chances are this same person may also be able to see your data usage on the bill.
If they can frequently hear you call over a month and then see a large spike of mobile data usage on your phone bill, they can reasonably infer that you’ve been calling on social media apps, which can include Facebook, Viber, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
To avoid this, limit your Instagram data usage. The most reliable method is to connect your phone to the Internet via Wi-Fi instead of mobile data.
This will stop your mobile provider from knowing your data usage, preventing it from appearing on your phone bill.
There are many other ways to limit your data usage while calling on Instagram. Here are some tips to limit how much data the app uses:
Being mindful of your data consumption from Instagram and limiting unnecessary usage can help avoid spikes on your phone bill.
You can change the Wi-Fi network of your Smart Life devices in two ways:
Here’s a guide to help you decide on which option to commit, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to do them and more helpful details for efficiently changing your Smart Life device’s Wi-Fi network:
Your Smart Life devices’ linked Wi-Fi network may require changing after making any significant modifications to your home Wi-Fi. Some common examples of this include:
These situations often reset your Wi-Fi network and necessitate updating your Smart Life device’s Wi-Fi network to be in sync. Otherwise, your devices will operate sub-optimally as they need a Wi-Fi connection to properly function.
You can change your Smart Life device’s Wi-Fi network either by manually removing and adding the devices on the Smart Life app or changing your Wi-Fi’s service set identifier (SSID) to the SSID of the network linked to the devices.
Do note that these two solutions have some differences well worth considering. Here’s a quick table on how these two methods compare:
Methods |
Pros |
Cons |
Manually removing and re-adding devices |
Surest way to change Wi-Fi network |
Tedious, especially for many devices; clears automations |
Changing Wi-Fi SSID to device-linked network SSID |
Can change network for multiple devices at once |
Not guaranteed to work; risks disconnecting all devices |
Both solutions work for all Smart Life-compatible devices. Manually removing and re-adding your Smart Life devices will involve the same process, and changing your Wi-Fi’s SSID will automatically apply to all connected devices.
These solutions also work even if your Smart Life devices are connected to a home assistant such as Google Home or Alexa. However, you’ll need to reconfigure your Smart Life devices on your home assistant after changing your Wi-Fi network.
Changing the Wi-Fi SSID is the fastest way to change the Wi-Fi network of multiple Smart Life devices at the same time. It also risks disconnecting your Smart Life devices from the Wi-Fi network they remember.
This can be inconvenient if you still need your devices to function on the old Wi-Fi network while changing them to the new one. For example, you may have some important appliances or devices connected to your Smart Life-compatible sockets.
Thus, if you own multiple Smart Devices, you may be weighing the risk of accidentally disconnecting all your Smart Life devices on their remembered Wi-Fi against the tedium of manually re-adding your devices on your Smart Life app.
Here’s a good rule-of-thumb: For five or more Smart Life devices, change the Wi-Fi SSID to the device-linked network SSID as your first solution. If you have less than five devices, you’ll likely save more time removing and re-adding your devices.
Changing your Wi-Fi SSID is also a procedure that varies depending on your ISP and router, generally taking around 15-30 minutes. Usually, you’ll need to go on your web browser or the ISP’s app and reconfigure your Wi-Fi’s SSID from there. So, if you have less than five devices, you might as well manually re-add them on the Smart Life app and avoid the risk of disconnecting all your devices from your Wi-Fi.
Removing and re-adding your Smart Life devices is the only way to natively change their connected Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately, there’s currently no way to simultaneously change the Wi-Fi for multiple devices in the Smart Life app.
Removing and re-adding your Smart Life devices also erases any automation routines. You’ll need to reconfigure any routines like Tap-to-Run or routines set in Alexa or Google Home.
While an inconvenience, this is the most certain way to change your Smart Life devices’ Wi-Fi network. Be ready to enter your Wi-Fi password, as you will need to provide this multiple times for each Smart Life device.
Removing and resetting your Smart Life device
Re-adding your Smart Life device in the Smart Life app
Since there’s no way to natively change the Wi-Fi network of multiple Smart Life devices at the same time, one popular workaround is to change the Wi-Fi’s SSID to the one saved in the devices.
To break it down, your Smart Life devices “remember” the name (SSID) and password of the old Wi-Fi network. The devices automatically connect to the name and password of the SSID they remember.
Changing the new Wi-Fi network’s name (SSID) and password to the old Wi-Fi SSID and password that the Smart Life devices remember will “trick” the devices into connecting to the new network without needing to manually re-add them.
The specific steps for changing your Wi-Fi’s SSID and password depend on your router and ISP. Consider contacting your ISP or checking your router’s manual to know the proper procedure for changing your Wi-Fi SSID and password for your particular ISP and router.
The video and steps below demonstrate one of the most common ways to change your Wi-Fi SSID and password on a phone, tablet, or computer.
Changing your Wi-Fi’s SSID and password to the SSID and password remembered by the Smart Life device
Note: Doing this procedure will disconnect other devices currently connected to your Wi-Fi network. You’ll need to reconnect these devices to your Wi-Fi network after changing the SSID. You’ll also need to re-enter your Wi-Fi password if you’ve changed it.
If your Geeni light bulb isn’t connecting to your Wi-Fi network, then you may be experiencing network connectivity issues due to errors in your device and/or router. Before considering a replacement, we recommend these fixes first:
These five user-tested solutions will cover the majority of connectivity issues that may prevent your Geeni bulb from linking with your home network, addressing their most likely causes in your smart bulb, mobile device, router, and smart home app.
By following the fixes below, you should be able to test all possible points of failure, resolving your Geeni light bulb’s connection problems or, at the very least, providing Geeni support with valuable diagnostic information. We’ll walk you through them!
Before attempting any other fixes below, we recommend resetting your Geeni Light Bulb first! This involves turning the light bulb on and off and reconnecting it to your device through your smart home app.
This clears any temporary glitches and restarts the connection process, erasing any undetectable errors in your network!
There are two ways to do a reset on your Geeni light bulb: Easy Mode and Access Point (AP) Mode. These modes accomplish the same outcome, although AP Mode is a bit more involved and will allow you to manually select your specific Geeni smart bulb.
We recommend Easy Mode for a fast reset procedure and AP mode if you have other active Geeni smart bulbs while fixing your malfunctioning bulb.
That said, the reset instructions below are for the Geeni app, although other smart home automation apps (like Smart Life or Tuya) also allow for resetting through the same modes.
If you use a smart home app other than Geeni, we recommend following the steps according to your app’s instructions.
Reset with Easy Mode
Easy Mode is the quick pairing set-up that automatically selects your smart bulb upon attempting to pair - a fast process for a smooth and convenient reset.
Your Geeni app will now try to connect to your smart bulb. Once finished, you have fully accomplished the reset.
Reset with Access Point (AP) Mode
AP mode is slower and will require you to choose your smart bulb from your network list - best for picking it out of multiple smart home devices. Do this method if you have multiple active Geeni light bulbs and need to single out the faulty bulb.
Your Geeni app will then process your device’s connection to the smart bulb. When this is done, you have completed the reset.
Keeping your smart home app updated is key for maintaining connectivity with your Geeni light bulb. App developers regularly release patches, fixes, and improvements that could resolve the issue of your Geeni light bulb not connecting.
Thankfully, updating your smart home app can be done in a few minutes for both Android and iOS devices!
Updating your smart home app on an iOS device
To update your smart home app on an iOS device, open the App Store, and tap your profile icon in the top right. On the next menu, under Upcoming Automatic Updates, scroll down until you see your smart home app and tap on Update next to its entry to begin updating it!
You can also opt to update all your outdated apps by tapping on Update All right under Upcoming Automatic Updates. This will cover all apps with pending updates as well as your smart home app.
Once you’ve selected either Update or Update All, the update for your smart home app will automatically be downloaded and installed. When done, select Open right next to its entry on the list of apps to confirm your updates.
After confirming your updates, reset your Geeni smart bulb following the instructions in the section above, and then reconnect it to your device as normal. Your smart bulb should now work with your updated app!
Updating your smart home app on an Android device
For Android devices, start by opening the Google Play Store and tapping on your profile picture in the top right of your screen. In the next menu, select Manage apps and device - this opens a menu where you can make changes to your apps.
Under Overview you should see two options: Update all and See details. Select See details to open a list of apps and see their update status. On that list, scroll to your smart home app and hit the Update next to it - starting the update’s download process!
Alternatively, you can select Update all instead of See details to begin updating your smart home app along with all other outdated apps on your device. This will cause them to begin downloading their app’s update packages - your smart home app included!
Once installed, open your smart home app to finalize the updates. Afterwards, reset your smart bulb using the steps explained in the previous section, and connect it to your device as usual. Your newly updated app should now clear up your connectivity issues!
If connectivity issues persist even after updating your smart home app, try linking your Geeni smart bulb to a different smart home app. Your current smart home app may be bugged due to internal errors or incompatibilities with your device.
Switching to popular alternatives like Smart Life, Amazon Alexa, and Tuya Smart can provide better connectivity as they may turn out to be more compatible with your system. This frees you from any lingering software glitches in the old app.
How to switch your smart home app
To switch your smart home app, you’ll need to unlink your Geeni smart bulb from your current app. The process for doing this varies according to the smart home app, but you’ll generally just need to go to your smart bulb’s device settings and disconnect it from there.
Once you’ve accomplished that, download the new smart home app from Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
When finished downloading, open the new app and follow the on-screen pairing instructions to connect your Geeni bulb. You may need to create an account if it's your first time using the app.
Once connected, test controlling your Geeni bulb through the new app interface. If functionality is restored, you can continue using this alternative smart home platform going forward.
Switching your Wi-Fi network frequency band can help resolve connectivity issues with your Geeni light bulb.
Geeni bulbs only operate on the 2.4GHz band (which is more suited for multiple long-range connections), not the newer 5GHz band (which is more suited for high-speed, short-range connections).
If you have a dual-band Wi-Fi router that simultaneously transmits both bands, then you should be able to connect to 2.4GHz mode automatically. Doing this is easy - reset your Geeni bulb as shown earlier and connect it to your 2.4GHz network!
However, if you have a single-band router or a dual-band router that only transmits one band at a time, then you’ll have to switch it to 2.4GHz using the router’s administrator controls.
Switching from 5GHz to 2.4GHz frequency band
The procedure for accessing your router’s admin controls will depend on your router’s model and your Internet Service Provider. You can check for this by referring to your router’s manual or contacting your ISP for instructions.
In general, you’ll need to enter your network’s default gateway in your web browser (which you can identify via the command terminal on a PC) and log in to your router’s administrator page to change the band. Here’s a helpful video showing the process:
Keep in mind that switching your Wi-Fi frequency band will disconnect any devices that don’t recognize your 2.4GHz network. If the issue still persists, however, then it may be time to examine the router itself for any issues.
Problems with the router’s connection and specifications can prevent your Geeni bulb from linking with your mobile device. These issues can include disruptions to your router’s signal as well as issues within the router’s hardware itself.
For instance, outdated or low-quality routers will struggle to support more than five smart home devices at the same time - your Geeni smart bulb included.
This coupled with disruptions to its signal such as thick obstacles and other wireless devices makes it impossible for a new Geeni light bulb to connect. Here’s how to deal with them both:
Remove disruptions to the router’s signal
First, eliminate external disruptions muddying your router’s connection. The two most frequent culprits for this are signal obstructions and excessive distance between the router and the devices.
For instance, solid walls, furniture, and other wireless devices can degrade the signal’s quality, causing your Geeni light bulb not to connect.
If possible, ensure that your router is close enough to your Geeni smart bulb to support it, with the device being no more than 100-150ft away from your router indoors and 300ft away outdoors.
Likewise, keep the connection between your bulb and router clear of any walls, furniture, and active wireless devices such as Bluetooth gadgets.
By removing these disruptions to your router’s signal, you increase your Geeni smart bulb’s connection quality and prevent it from plateauing at speeds that disconnect it.
Examine the router itself
Low-performance router software and hardware may be why your Geeni light bulb fails to connect to your device. It’s reasonable to suspect this as the culprit especially if you’ve eliminated signal disruptions and have set your Wi-Fi frequency band to 2.4GHz.
At this point, it may be worth considering a direct hardware upgrade. We recommend contacting your ISP and consulting their associated network technician - they should assist you in identifying the upgrade best suited for your smart home set-up.
While a costly fix, this is a worthwhile investment if you plan to keep up a large smart home system. Hence, investing in a robust Wi-Fi foundation pays dividends for not only getting your Geeni bulb back online, but enhancing all smart home activities.