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Devices not Roaming!!

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Devices not Roaming!!

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Devices not Roaming!!
Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-02 07:36:42
Model :

Hardware Version :

Firmware Version :

ISP :

I have 3 EAP225 all controlled by EAP 2.5.1, but for the life of me cannot get the client devices to roam seamlessly from 1 to another. Mainly android devices, one of the major reasons to go with these EAPs was to get proper hand off of devices by the EAP, since Andoid likes to hold on to its first AP for dear life.

Should the client devices disconnect and reconnect when trying to roam?

I've tried rssi and values between -55 to -80 so devices drop off and reconnect to a stronger EAP. Slowly increasing by -2 till i reached -80. They will attempt to connect/disconnect to the same EAP until after 4-5 attempts it will join the correct EAP, is this normal?

I have one EAP that all devices refuse to connect to unless they are sitting next to the EAP, I've tried replacing the EAP itself, the cables everything. I don't get why clients connect to a EAP on a different floor when a closer one is available 2ft away. I've tried placing it in a central open area, but 95% of the time it has 0 clients. It has nothing to do with signal strength as the one on a different floor clearly has a weaker signal according to many apps and the EAP itself. I just don't get whats happening, I can't decrease the rssi value of the EAP on the other floor coz that causes problems on that floor.

What is the best way to force the client to reconnect if a strong EAP is near by and possibly not cause the device to disconnect? Assumed the EAP controller would have done this by default.
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#1
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-03 18:24:40
"Roaming" aka hand-over is an intrinsic function of any 802.11 adapter, it's defined by the nature of how 802.11 handles connects. So, any AP always supports SSID-"roaming" which requires the same SSID on any AP. However, the decision when to roam is completely left up to the device except on EAPs which support band-steering or load-balancing as the EAP320/330 do. As you wrote some Android devices will stick to the original device they connected to. As far as the radio link is stable and running, I see absolutely no reason for a client device to re-connect to another AP, even if the other APs have a "stronger" signal or are physically located nearer to the device.
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#2
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-03 21:52:06
The problem is that they keep connecting to the the same EAP when the signal gets weak and only after 5 or so attempts the device will finally connect to the stronger EAP. This is inconvenient when devices are roaming more frequently between the EAP locations, setting the same channel on all EAP is a workaround that seems to be working. The EAP may not have band steering or load balancing but the controller does, I currently have band steering and load balancing disabled.
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#3
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-04 02:00:35
Usually my devices roam seamlessly if the ESSIDs of the EAPs are all the same. I even don't notice such changes except if looking for. Of course, channels of nearby APs should be different to avoid interferences.

If your client device insists to get a connection to the old AP, what should the AP do about this? How should the AP recognize that there is a stronger signal from some other AP?

It's solely the choice of your client device which AP it is going to select for an ESSID and how to do re-connects if the signal is lost.
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#4
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-15 10:10:35
I know its best practice to use different channels, but since setting the same channel the devices roam much quicker and its less of an "interruption". Throughput seems to be stable enough for my needs, 1 AP gets about 100mbps and that is the same one i thought was defective.
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#5
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-15 23:14:49

johnsnow wrote

I know its best practice to use different channels, but since setting the same channel the devices roam much quicker and its less of an "interruption". Throughput seems to be stable enough for my needs, 1 AP gets about 100mbps and that is the same one i thought was defective.


Maybe they roam faster, but you also cut bandwidth available on this channel. Remember that only one device - be it EAP or client - can allocate a radio channel for sending at the same time. A radio link is a half-duplex transport medium and all devices need to cooperate in allocating AirTime if sending on the same channel.
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#6
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-23 01:15:38
Yes indeed will try separate channels again once I've figured out the proper RSSI value.

The other issue I've been experiencing is websites just stall, sometimes everything is instant other times it takes 30 seconds to load even youtube buffers. This isn't new on my network and was hoping these APs would resolve it, as it only occurs with wireless clients never with wired clients. I don't think it's DNS otherwise wired would be affected as well.

I've already reset my router and purchased a new gigabit switch
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#7
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-23 04:21:02

johnsnow wrote

I don't think it's DNS otherwise wired would be affected as well.


That's true, but for this issue keep in mind that the "antennas" of client devices (most often just a piece of metal) play an important role, too. I remember a new iPhone model where Apple recommended to hold the phone with only two fingers between its front and back to not cover its "antenna" when they once experienced massive WiFi problems. Can't remember which model, since each iPhone model had more or less problems with WiFi, many of them which could be solved by software fixes.
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#8
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-23 23:44:58
Yeah I don't think it's the client in this instance, as it's all devices from time to time. I've already checked if it's possible interference with the way I'm holding it, I've had youtube buffer with the device sitting next to the AP without me holding it.
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#9
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Re:Devices not Roaming!!
2017-12-31 05:39:28
One of 2 possible fixes for the buffering issues or possibly
combination of both, since it's intermittent I've yet to nail down the root cause.

1. The introduction of the managed switch I recently add added to properly separate guest and main wifi.

2. Setting the vlan from 0 to 1 for my main wifi and setting the guest wifi with vlan3.
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#10
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