New c8 pro not broadcasting MyNewHubitat SSID and blinking green/red alternately

I just bought my very first Hubitat C8 Pro to set up a z-wave automatic exterior door lock so I could control it remotely. I did NOT connect the hub to my router via Ethernet because in actual use my router will be far away and I wanted to set up the c8 Pro to connect to my home WiFI. According to their documentation, it is supposed to broadcast an open (non-secure) SSID called 'MyNewHubitat' after booting and the LED should be solid green. Well, in my case, a brand new out of the box system NEVER broadcast that SSID and the LED was alternately blinking Green/Red. Tried rebooting several times and no cigar, so returned the unit.

BAD first experience with this product/company. I am so sorry!!

Welcome to the Hubitat forums! Sorry you had a bad experience, you should have asked for help here first.

Probably all you have to do is press the network reset button on the bottom of the hub.

If the hub is defective, returning it will only pass the problem onto someone else.

Why would returning a defective hub pass the problem on to someone else?

Because many vendors do not return defective hubs to Hubitat. They repackage and ship them to the next buyer. Amazon is notorious for this .....

Uhhh. So you’re buying new expecting new and you don’t get new.
I purchased mine from the Hubitat website and I believe it shipped from Amazon. So did I not get a new hub?

This is an Amazon issue. They are very famous for sending used items as new, no matter if it is Hubitat or which vendor. They don't care, they just ship whatever onto the next person.

Hubitat and other vendors have literally begged Amazon to stop this practice, but it is very persistent.

Hubitat and many other companies use Amazon to fulfil orders due to Amazon's large warehouse system and ability to ship product locally instead of from the company headquarters.

Should be illegal but in the US no one seems to care about consumer protection, it’s all about revenue.