Your NeoPower all-in-one heat pump can be controlled entirely from your phone — temperature settings, timers, energy-saving modes and fault alerts, all without walking out to the unit. The connection runs through the Smart Life app (powered by the Tuya smart home platform), and setup takes about five minutes once your phone is ready.
This guide follows NeoPower’s official pairing procedure for the NeoPower All-in-One heat pump range, including the Black Shield All-in-One, plus the seven most common reasons a connection fails and how to fix each one. You can also follow along with the illustrated version: NeoPower’s How to Connect WiFi guide (PDF, with control panel photos).
Before You Start: Three Things That Prevent 90% of Problems
1. Turn on Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi. This is the step most people miss. The heat pump is discovered over Bluetooth first, and only then handed your Wi-Fi details — so if Bluetooth is off on your phone, the app will simply never find the unit, no matter how good your Wi-Fi is. Turn both on before you open the app.
2. Your heat pump only connects to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. Most modern Australian routers broadcast two networks: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Smart appliances — including your heat pump — can only join the 2.4GHz band. If your router combines both bands under one network name (called “band steering”), your phone may be on 5GHz during pairing, and the connection will fail silently.
What to do:
- Check your Wi-Fi list. If you see names like
HomeWiFiandHomeWiFi-5G, connect your phone to the one without “5G” before pairing. - If there is only one network name, log in to your router settings and temporarily separate the bands, or move far enough from the router that your phone drops to 2.4GHz.
3. Stand next to the heat pump while you pair it. Because the first handshake is over Bluetooth, your phone needs to be within a few metres of the unit — not in another room. Make sure the Wi-Fi signal reaches that spot too; you can test range afterwards.
You will also need:
- The Smart Life app (free on the App Store and Google Play)
- Your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi password
- An email address you can check straight away (the app sends a verification code)
- The heat pump powered on
Step-by-Step: Connecting Your NeoPower Heat Pump
Step 1 — Download the Smart Life app. Search for Smart Life – Smart Living on the App Store or Google Play and install it. (If you already use Tuya Smart, that app works too — both run on the same platform.)
Step 2 — Choose Sign up. Open the app and tap Sign up rather than logging in.
Step 3 — Register your email. Select Australia as your country, enter your email address, and the app will send you a verification code. Enter the code to finish creating your account.
Step 4 — Check the Wi-Fi icon on the heat pump is flashing. Look at the control panel display. The Wi-Fi symbol sits in the top-right of the digital readout, next to the temperature. If it is flashing, the unit is broadcasting and ready to pair.
If you cannot see the Wi-Fi icon at all, hold the power button (⏻) and the up arrow (∧) together for 5 seconds to restart the unit’s wireless module. There is no separate “Wi-Fi button” on the panel — it is this two-button combination. The official NeoPower PDF guide shows exactly which two buttons on a photo of the panel if you want to check before you press anything.
Step 5 — Tap Add Device. Back in Smart Life, tap Add Device (or the + icon in the top-right corner). Before you do, confirm that both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are switched on on your phone — the app says so on this screen for a reason.
Step 6 — Tap Add when the heat pump appears. The app shows “Discovering devices…” and the heat pump icon pops up within about 10–20 seconds. Tap Add next to it. You should not need the “Add Manually” category list — if the unit never appears, that points to Bluetooth being off or the panel not being in pairing mode, not to the wrong category.
Step 7 — Enter your Wi-Fi details. Select your 2.4GHz network and type the password carefully. This is the single most common failure point, because the app cannot check the password before it tries.
Step 8 — Tap Done. Once the app confirms the device has been added, tap Done. The Wi-Fi icon on the heat pump display changes from flashing to solid, and you are ready to use it. It is worth renaming the device to something like “Hot Water” at this point, which makes life easier if you add more smart devices later.
What You Can Do From the App
Once connected, the app becomes your daily control point:
- Set water temperature remotely — useful for turning it up before guests arrive
- Schedule heating times to run during off-peak electricity or midday solar generation
- Switch modes between standard, energy-saving and boost
- Receive fault alerts the moment an error code appears, instead of discovering cold water at 7am
- Check operating status while you are away on holidays
Pairing the timer function with a daytime heating schedule is one of the simplest ways to cut running costs — especially if you have rooftop solar. Our winter maintenance checklist covers more seasonal settings worth adjusting.
Can’t Connect? The Seven Most Common Causes
1. Bluetooth is switched off on your phone. The number one cause, and the least obvious, because nothing in the app tells you this is why it failed — the heat pump just never appears in the device list. Turn Bluetooth on and start again.
2. Phone is on the 5GHz band. The classic. Force your phone onto the 2.4GHz network (see the preparation section above) and retry.
3. The panel is not in pairing mode. If the Wi-Fi icon on the display is not flashing, the unit is not broadcasting. Hold the power (⏻) and up (∧) buttons together for 5 seconds, wait for the icon to flash, then go straight back to the app — the broadcast only lasts a few minutes.
4. Wrong Wi-Fi password. The app cannot verify your password before attempting connection — it just fails at around 90%. Re-type it slowly, watching for capital letters and similar characters like O and 0.
5. Weak signal at the unit’s location. Heat pumps are often installed on external walls, behind brick and metal. If the Wi-Fi icon keeps dropping after a successful pairing, a mesh node or Wi-Fi extender near the closest internal wall usually solves it permanently.
6. Router security settings. Some routers block new devices by default (MAC filtering, “AP isolation”, or WPA3-only mode). Temporarily set security to WPA2, pair the unit, then review settings. Guest networks with device isolation will also prevent the app from finding the unit.
7. Too many devices on the router. Budget routers cap connected devices at 20–30. If you have a house full of smart gear, the heat pump may be refused a connection. Reboot the router to clear stale connections and try again.
If none of these resolve it, the fastest path is a call to NeoPower support on 1300 062 788 with your model number handy — the team can walk through pairing live.
Changed Your Router? How to Re-Pair
A new router or a new internet provider means the heat pump loses its saved network. Re-pairing is quick:
- In Smart Life, open the device, tap the pencil/edit icon, and select Remove Device.
- Hold the power (⏻) and up (∧) buttons on the heat pump together for 5 seconds, and check the Wi-Fi icon starts flashing.
- With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, run Add Device again using the new network’s details.
Tip: if you give the new router the same network name and password as the old one, most smart devices — including your heat pump — reconnect automatically with no re-pairing needed.
Sharing Access With Your Family
You do not need to share your account password. In Smart Life:
- Home sharing: create a “Home”, then invite family members by their app account email. Everyone in the Home can control the heat pump.
- Single device sharing: open the device settings and choose Share Device to give one person access to just the hot water system.
This is worth setting up before you travel — whoever is home can adjust temperature or respond to a fault alert without calling you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need Bluetooth on to connect a Wi-Fi heat pump?
Yes, for the initial pairing. Smart Life discovers the unit over Bluetooth and uses that connection to pass across your Wi-Fi name and password. Once pairing is finished the heat pump runs on Wi-Fi alone, and you can turn Bluetooth back off if you prefer.
Which button on the panel puts the heat pump into pairing mode?
There is no dedicated Wi-Fi button. Hold the power button (⏻) and the up arrow (∧) together for 5 seconds and the wireless module restarts, after which the Wi-Fi icon on the display should flash. The official NeoPower PDF guide shows both buttons marked on a photo of the control panel.
Does the heat pump still work if Wi-Fi drops out?
Yes. Wi-Fi only adds remote control. The unit keeps heating on its last settings and can always be controlled from the panel on the unit itself.
Do I need Smart Life, or can I use Tuya Smart?
Either works — they are the same platform. Use whichever you already have; the pairing steps are identical.
Will the app work when I am away from home?
Yes. Once paired, the app controls the unit over the internet from anywhere, not just on your home network.
Which NeoPower models support app control?
Current All-in-One models (210L, 260L and 315L) and the Black Shield All-in-One support Smart Life connectivity. Check your manual or call 1300 062 788 to confirm for your specific model number.
The Wi-Fi icon is solid but the app shows “offline” — what now?
Force-close and reopen the app first. If it persists, reboot your router, then power-cycle the heat pump at the isolator switch. This resolves most “ghost offline” states.
Need help with setup, or looking at a new hot water system? Keep NeoPower’s illustrated WiFi connection guide (PDF) handy, call the team on 1300 062 788, or send us a message. If you are in Victoria, check what you can claim back on a new heat pump on our Victorian rebate guide.