topic Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP in Wireless

WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 13:56:41 GMT

Testing new Wi-Fi radio setup and have 2 buildings the need to work in with a parking lot separating the buildings.

Each buildings APs and Outdoor AP all function as expected with 2 other SSIDs in place.

I start in building A and can use radios without issue, walking across parking lot and into building B. In building B the basement AP is the issue. As soon as the radios try connect to it they fail. Even restarting the radios will not get them to re associate with that AP, but of o walk to another AP in same building and try, they work.

I just opened a ticket on Friday and am waiting for response but figured Id post here to see if I could get it sorted.

Authentication auth_mode='wpa2-psk' vlan_id='40' reason='eapol_timeout' radio='1' vap='4' channel='153' rssi='58'

So as they users roam around the buildings if their radio tries to connect to this basement AP it fails, and radio is never able to reconnect until power cycled near a different AP.

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

mloraditch — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 14:13:10 GMT

Does the AP have the same port settings as the working AP? Have you tried factory resetting the AP? If it's an older model (MR32/MR18 gen or older) those can tend to act funky and need just a general reboot at times.

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 14:30:37 GMT

Rebooted multiple times without any changes.

I have not factory reset it as of yet.
Port settings are identical to my other APs. We are using MR44s with C9300L switches.

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

mloraditch — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 14:40:38 GMT

I would definitely try a factory reset, something could be just "stuck" on the local config on the device. If everything else is the same models, switch configs, etc, odds are it's the AP in question and it's either going to be config or a hardware issue needing RMA

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

michalc1 — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 14:50:13 GMT

It's extremely difficult to advise not knowing your wireless environment. Mismatched bitrates between AP's or overpowered Radios could cause a bunch of issues in the Wi-Fi.
How are you radios transmit power configured?

What are the bitrates setup?

Do all access point belong to the same Radio Profile?
Are there other SSID's on the AP and can clients connect to them?

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 15:49:35 GMT

Hi Michalc

Inherited the current settings and looks like all we are using both the default profiles with following settings: I have ONE outdoor AP MR78 and 16 Indoors MR44's.

OutDoor

INDOOR

Support has suggested I look at exactly what you mentions, power and bitrates, but I am unsure what best settings should be for those. (and i assume hard to answer as each location has many factors to be considered) but would appreciate any pointers or advice.

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

michalc1 — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 15:58:27 GMT

Without conducting a comprehensive WiFi survey, it's difficult to pinpoint the optimal settings for your specific deployment. However, there are some general recommendations and considerations you can keep in mind:

Device Compatibility:
- Are you using very old devices on your "….RADIO" SSID? If not, you might consider increasing the minimum bitrate to 12 Mbps. This can improve network efficiency by excluding older, slower devices that may not be necessary for your environment.
Transmit Power Settings:
- It seems your current transmit power is set to 30. While it might seem advantageous to set your Access Point (AP) to transmit at maximum power, doing so can lead to several issues:
  - Interference: High transmit power can cause interference with neighboring APs, leading to reduced performance and network reliability.
  - Coverage Overlap: Excessive power may cause overlapping coverage areas, leading to co-channel interference.
  - Battery Drain on Devices: Devices might need to work harder to maintain a connection, draining their batteries faster.
  - Hidden Node Problem: Not all devices will have the power to respond to the AP at maximum range, leading to communication issues.
I'd probably recommend reverting to the default transmit power settings and allow the APs to communicate with each other to automatically determine the optimal power levels. This dynamic adjustment helps maintain a balanced and efficient network.

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:11:55 GMT

Thank you, I will make some of those changes and test and report back. Makes sense reading the explanation you provided.

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:15:24 GMT

"I'd probably recommend reverting to the default transmit power settings and allow the APs to communicate with each other to automatically determine the optimal power levels. This dynamic adjustment helps maintain a balanced and efficient network."

How do i change to the "default" setting? Is it on the RF profile at bottom, "Restore meraki defaults"? Will that change anything other than power transmit?

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

michalc1 — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:28:46 GMT

While the "restore to defaults" option is not available on the radio profile page, you can easily create a "new profile" -> "start from scratch." This will display the default recommended values for transmit powers and bit rates, which you can then apply to your "live" profile.

Please also see our KB with Wi-Fi Best Practices
I hope this helps!

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 17:39:57 GMT

Thank you michalc
Made the requested changes. Did a suggested, copied settings to live profile from recommended ones.

Unfortunately, above changes didn't help. Still experiencing the no reconnect when moving from one AP to the next.

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

michalc1 — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 18:14:54 GMT

Do all of the clients experience this issue (MacOS, Windows, iOS, iPadOS etc) or just specific clients (only RF readers or other legacy devices)?

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 19:53:17 GMT

It "seems" to be just the Radios. They are Icom IP110H wireless radios.
When I'm walking the area I have my iPhone and laptop running a Wi-Fi sweet spot app just so i can see an approx. signal strength, the Radios have the issue but not the IPhone/laptop as far as i can tell.

The below screenshot is under the AP connected with laptop. Radio would not reassociate after moving from another AP

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

michalc1 — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 20:12:33 GMT

Since laptop/ iPhone works, It seems like we might have a compatibility issue between your ICOM devices and SSID/Radio Settings on the AP.

Could you please check if the SSID named "… Radio" has 802.11r or 802.11w enabled? Additionally, does the Icom IP110H support these protocols?

To troubleshoot, I suggest creating a new "Test SSID" on your access point and configuring it as simply as possible (802.11w and 802.11r disabled). It seems that the radios might not support one of these protocols, which could be causing association issues.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial to reach out to the ICOM vendor for clarification on the recommended AP radio and SSID settings.

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:00:38 GMT

I will do as suggested and test, last question before I go make a test SSID.

Does this need to be on or off? Layer 3 roaming

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:11:35 GMT

Icomm Radio tech sheet says it supports the following:

Network

Wireless Standards: IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Frequency Range: 2.4–2.4835 GHz, 5.15–5.35, 5.47–5.85 GHz

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

michalc1 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 13:50:45 GMT

Please review the KB's below and decide for yourself since I do not know your setup.

SSID Modes for Client IP Assignment - Layer 3 Roaming

Wireless Layer 3 Roaming Best Practices

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

michalc1 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 13:51:14 GMT

Did they mention support for 802.11r and 802.11w?

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

TonyCummins — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:11:10 GMT

This was the response from Icon vendor:

Currently Fast Roam, and PMF are not currently supported on the devices.

I assume this is what you were referring to by turning off .11w / 11.r?

Re: WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

michalc1 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:25:23 GMT

That is correct.

To disable 802.11r / 802.11w in an SSID on the Cisco Meraki Dashboard, follow these steps:

Log in to the Meraki Dashboard:
- Open your web browser and log in to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard using your credentials.
Navigate to the Wireless Settings:
- From the left-hand menu, select Wireless > Configure > Access Control.
Select the SSID:
- In the SSID dropdown menu at the top of the Access Control page, choose the SSID for which you want to disable 802.11r/w.
Locate the 802.11r Setting:
- Scroll down to the Network Access section. If 802.11r is available for configuration, it will appear here. This option is only visible if the SSID is using specific authentication types (e.g., WPA2-PSK or WPA2-Enterprise) and the Client IP Assignment is set to Bridge Mode, Layer 3 roaming with a concentrator, or VPN: Tunnel data to a concentrator.
Disable 802.11r/w:
- Look for the 802.11r/w dropdown menu. It typically offers three options: Disabled, Adaptive, and Enabled.
- Select Disabled from the dropdown to turn off 802.11r for this SSID.
Save Changes:
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes. This will apply the updated configuration to the SSID. Note that making this change may cause clients to briefly disassociate and reconnect to the network.

Please let us know if that helped!