WAP581 with Wireless Offline Problem

[leecoxhouse1]

I bought 2 Cisco WAP581 wireless APs.  I am having a problem with the wireless going offline after a day or two.

My Windows 10 laptop comes up and says there is no internet access after 24 hours. From the wireless laptop I cannot ping the WAP581 from the wireless side. I also have an iPad which states no internet.  The WAP581 has a DHCP IP address.  I can ping the WAP581 from a wired PC in the same network.  There are 2 SSIDs on WAP581.  If I try to connect to the other SSID my laptop will not connect stating there is no internet. I do have internet on the wired PC. If I reboot the WAP581 AP it all starts working again.  What is going on?  

I am in the USA with version WAP581-A-K9 V01. I am running firmware 1.0.2.0.

I replaced Cisco WAP371 APs with these WAP581 units and never had this problem.  The WAP581 are connected to a SG300-28 switch in L3 mode on a trunk port with 2 VLANs defined to the WAP581 AP. The 2 WAP581 AP are setup in single point mode using DHCP off the SG300-28 switch. I am using a SG300-10MPP switch to power the WAP581 APs connected to the SG300-28 using a trunk port.

PS

I did not state I am running both bands with band steering on.  If you need me to start a support case send me contact info.  If you want me try something I will be happy to as this is my home network with complete access all the time. Let's get this problem fixed.

[AlanAlexander2121]

I am new to this thread but I've been watching it for quite some time hoping for a solution.  I did noticed message below the Access Point System log.

2021-May-07, 20:23:15	info	syslog	error occured for query on path cluster.stations-aggregated.session (function: data_service, file: /olddata/sigmund.lou/wap581/ap/broadcom/src/web-ui-framework/data_service.c, line: 481)
2021-May-07, 20:23:15	info	syslog	activator.stations-aggregated.session, timed out. (function: activator_execute_buffer, file: /olddata/sigmund.lou/wap581/ap/broadcom/src/web-ui-services/activator_query.c, line: 131)

I started looking at the ethernet packets and noticed this message "(120 ICMP Destination unreachable (Port unreachable)" associated to both Access Points.  Further discovery the source port was 55940 and the destination port was 137.  I created a port forwarding rule to between the two ports.  I both Access Points have been up for 3 days and there are no more "Destination unreachable" messages in the packets.   If the problem reoccurs I will repost.  I hope this helps. 

[AlanAlexander2121]

I forgot to state that the source port changes.  So set the port forwarding accordingly.

[winni444]

Hello everyone,

i have 2 WAP581 in single point setup in use for some years. Had support cases, swapped fw, swapped from poe+ to injector, also every few hours/days the aps were freezing and i had to reboot, and so on and so on. 

Since 3 months i found a setup where now my aps won´t freeze anymore or maybe at least i do not recognize it. 

Try following:

- Disable Green Ethernet on every WAP Interface even when it´s not used (System Configuration -> LAN)

- Disable Green Ethernot on each switch port where the ap is connected to

- Disable Spectrum Analysis Mode on each Radio (Wireless -> Radio) ! 

- Split the SSID (do not use same SSID in 2.4GHz and 5Ghz Mode) !

Normally i use same SSID in 2.4GHz and 5GHz Mode.

After i splitted those (2 SSID in 5GHz named for example WLAN5G and 2 SSID in 2.4GHz named for expample WLAN24G) everything is quite smoothy and much stable. 

Until today my fw was 1.0.3.1 and with the above changes it was/is quite stable since 3 months. Today i go to 1.0.4.4.

Just for those who need 1.0.4.4 you will find it here: https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286314835/type/282463166/release/1.0.4.4?i=!pp 

Hope this helps anyone.

[flyZ]

Adding myself to this issue. After running for few months without any trouble our 2 WAP581 stopped. Wireless goes up and down and can't even access the WAP via web browser Didn't expect this from Cisco products

[Graeme (Netherlands)]

I have been battling this problem for nearly a year now (see my earlier entries). Just to make sure we’re talking about the same problem, here’s a short recap of mine:

After about a day of use, the WAP581 stops connecting wireless clients to the Internet. Wireless clients can connect to the WAP but are not connected to the Internet. The WAP is unreachable from the Ethernet/LAN-side and does not reply to pings. Disconnecting and reconnecting power to the WAP is the only way to get the WAP to reconnect clients to the Internet (for a day or so).

What I have discovered is that disabling the 5GHz radio solves this problem, but of course it also diminishes the functionality of WAP considerably (disabling the 2.4GHz instead of disabling the 5GHz does not solve the problem).

I have taken this up with Cisco. Cisco have provided me with a replacement WAP581, but it too is showing the same erroneous behaviour. We are now continuing the search for a remedy.

I too am somewhat disappointed that Cisco has not solved this yet, especially given that so many customers have this not so insignificant problem. It’s hard to imagine there are customers without this problem.

I will continue to update this post upon any new developments.

[Graeme (Netherlands)]

Dear All,

An update...

I have been trying out new beta firmware for the WAP581 which should resolve the problem of the WAP not connecting clients to the Internet and not being accessible through the web UI (see my earlier posts). I received the firmware because of the ongoing support case I have with the Cisco Technical Assistance Center. 

The beta firmware I'm testing goes by the name WAP581_1.0.4.5f.tar, and I it seems to have solved the problem (for me)!

I'm giving it another couple of weeks just to be sure, but I'm confident this works. I will then report this to Cisco and I hope a firmware update will be available on their website as soon as possible.

[itanalyst]

Thank you, Graeme for the hopeful post.
We have had the same issue for several years with no solution so far. I have been waiting for new posts or updates, and here you are!
Could you please share the beta firmware? We are at a critical point evaluating the possibility of migrating to another brand, but I am confident Cisco can handle this, and this beta firmware will work.
nardila@miamivineyard.com

Thank you kindly,

I will keep you all updated.

[dropshadow]

where are we on this? has it held up over time?

any idea when fw available to public? possible to post beta fw somewhere? 

[Graeme (Netherlands)]

Hi,

Unfortunately, my WAP started failed again a few weeks later, showing the same symptoms. The only reason I can think of is the connection of Apple iPhones. In the period when I had no failures, there were no iPhone clients connected. Within 1 day of only having one iPhone connected, the WAP started failing again. I have passed this information on to Cisco, but have not received a reply yet. I am back to using only the 2.5 GHz band as a workaround, until Cisco provides new firmware.

Sorry for the disappointing news.

[nardila@miamivineyard.com]

Unfortunately, Cisco requires payment to access those possible solutions, including beta firmware releases (even when this is a hardware failure design). We have been only using 2.4GHz and a separate network for 5.0GHz (separate access points), rebooting manually many times a day. This is very time-consuming, expensive, and significant pain for our IT department.

We are still trusting and waiting for a solution from this well-known brand.

[Aleksandra Dargiel]

Dear itanalyst,

Cisco can share beta image on individual basis so please go ahead and open Cisco TAC case, mentioning thus post and we will be happy to share with you.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/small-business/support-resources.html

Aleksandra

[nardila@miamivineyard.com]

Thank you, Aleksandra, we followed your advice, but we couldn't get the beta image or assistance because a recurrent paid subscription was required for it. We tried through the Cisco support phone line and email technical support.
We are hopefully waiting for a definitive solution to this issue. Anything else you could help us with is genuinely appreciated.

Thank you kindly.

[Henry Unger]

I have also been suffering with the same problem since I bought three WAP581 devices when they were first released. In my case the WAPs are usually still accessible via the Ethernet interface but no wireless traffic is routed through the Ethernet interface. Sometimes they work for weeks without failing while other times they fail within a few days. I use a different SSID for each band. They are powered using the 60W ports on a Cisco SG350-28P switch.

[gmarani01]

Firmware 1.0.5.0 is out. While Cisco was still unable to explicitly address this problem, a new tab with scheduled reboot was added:

Although does not solve the problem, it allows to leave the unit unattended. I hat to set it daily given the absurd frequency of freezes (every 2-3 days). At least I can reuse the unit for some lowest priority subnetworks (e.g. guests, unsecured networks, etc.).

[nbutlev]

Hi there,

My name is Nikola and I'm a Cisco Small Business Devices Team member

First you should check if the Radio is on:

Select Wireless > Radio.

Radio Interface:

Radio 1 (5G) — Support 5G Radio with a 4x4 MIMO mode.

Radio 2 (2.4 G) — Support 2.4G Radio with a 3x3 MIMO mode.

In the radio setting per interface area, select the radio interface to which the configuration parameters will be applied.

In the Basic Settings area, configure these parameters for the selected radio interface:

Note 

Local regulations may prohibit the use of certain radio modes. Not all modes are available in all countries.

Radio — Check Enable to enable the radio interface