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Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall

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Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall

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Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-04-21 17:20:49 - last edited 2021-04-21 17:29:05
Model: EAP245  
Hardware Version: V3
Firmware Version: 5.0.1

Hello, 

 

I live in a 4 story townhouse which measures 9 ft wide by 45ft long. My setup is CenturyLink Fiber to a TP-Link R605 wired router, connected to a PoE+ switch, which connects to every room in my house. I have an EAP245 on the second floor, which was meant to service the majority of the house, and an EAP235-Wall in the Bedroom on the 4th floor.

 

I've been noticing a few issues with this setup.

 

1. When I go into the 4th floor bedroom, my phone switches to the EAP235-Wall fast enough, but initial speed tests show a limited speed of about 50 mbps. After I disconnect and reconnect to wifi, I end up seeing about 400 mbps, which is what I expected. I'm not seeing the same issue on my laptop, although sometimes it takes a few seconds to get the full download speed I expect... the phone never attains the 400 mbps wireless until I disconnect/reconnect.

 

2. When I go back down to the second floor, my phone does not switch over to the EAP245. I find it peculiar that it switches well when going from EAP235-Wall to EAP245, but not the other way around. This issue does not occur with my laptop.

 

3. When I rebooted my EAP245 all my clients switched over to the EAP235-Wall (as expected), but they never switched back to the EAP245 once it was back online, despite the EAP245 obviously having a stronger signal... 

 

I know for issues 1 and 2, it seems more related to my phone than anything else, but issue 3 seems more of a setup/configuration issue? Does anyone have suggestions on how I can make my phone roam better and how I can ensure device connect to the strongest access point if one were to be rebooted?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Other notes: 

  • My phone is a OnePlus 6T running Android 10, OxygenOS 10.3.9
  • My EAP245 isn't ceiling mounted, since I couldn't run Ethernet to my ceiling. Instead it is pretty low to the ground on the second floor. However, I'm getting decent speeds off it, when I am connected to it.
  • My EAP235-Wall normally has only 2-3 clients, whereas my EAP245 normally has about 5-7 clients at a time
  • EAP235-Wall is on firmware 1.0.2 and EAP245 is on firmware 5.0.1
  • I have enabled fast roaming, and have separate SSIDs for my 5g and 2.4g wireless networks. Both the EAP245 and EAP235-Wall have the same WLAN group. I have left all other settings as the default values.
  • I'm open to changing the APs I use, if a different setup is more appropriate for my house's weird layout. I'm wondering if using an EAP235-Wall on each floor makes more sense.
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#1
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8 Reply
Re:Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-04-22 03:59:38

Dear @beepboop,

 

Does anyone have suggestions on how I can make my phone roam better and how I can ensure device connect to the strongest access point if one were to be rebooted?

 

First of all, the roaming is largely determined by the wireless clients, and different wireless clients may have different roaming thresholds, that is, the roaming behavior could be different among clients. Although we think another AP has a better signal and the client should roam to it, some clients may still think the signal is not so bad and choose to stay in connection with the current AP, while some clients may think the signal is bad and switch to the stronger signal as we expect.

 

You may configure Fast Roaming on the EAP, but it can only help to reduce the roaming time to provide a better WiFi experience.

 

  • I have enabled fast roaming, and have separate SSIDs for my 5g and 2.4g wireless networks. Both the EAP245 and EAP235-Wall have the same WLAN group. I have left all other settings as the default values.

 

Please note that the EAP Wall products don't support the 802.11k/V Fast Roaming feature since they are mainly designed for hotel scenarios with intensive rooms. If you only have one EAP245 v3 supporting fast roaming, I'm afraid that your fast roaming config doesn't actually make sense. For more details about Fast Roaming, you may read this article.

>> Omada EAP Firmware Trial Available Here << *Try filtering posts on each forum by Label of [Early Access]*
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#2
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Re:Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-04-22 07:02:10 - last edited 2021-04-22 07:14:57

@Fae thank you for your response. Will tp-link be releasing any wall units that support fast roaming? The reason I went with 2 wall units was because I wanted something that was discreet and would mount against the wall without exposing any wire. I would also like to mention that Ubiquiti has wall options that also support 802.11 k/r/v. Is supporting the roaming standards on the EAP235-wall possible through a firmware upgrade?

 

Do I understand correctly that even if I did replace my wall units with EAP 245, my phone (or any other device) might still have roaming issues?

 

Would adjusting the load balancing settings, like the RSSI threshold on the wall units help my phone connect to stronger access points?

 

Thanks again.

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#3
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Re:Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-04-23 06:07:09

Dear @beepboop,

 

beepboop wrote

Will tp-link be releasing any wall units that support fast roaming? 

 

Sorry that I have no idea. At present, only certain EAP models support fast roaming, which can be found on EAP datasheet.

 

Do I understand correctly that even if I did replace my wall units with EAP 245, my phone (or any other device) might still have roaming issues?

 

Yes.

 

Would adjusting the load balancing settings, like the RSSI threshold on the wall units help my phone connect to stronger access points?

 

Load Balance on EAP is to avoid a single EAP having overloaded clients while other EAPs are idle,

I don't think it's suitable for your situation, but you can give it a try.

>> Omada EAP Firmware Trial Available Here << *Try filtering posts on each forum by Label of [Early Access]*
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#4
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Re:Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-08-21 10:00:00
Hello @Fae, where is the fast roaming settings in Omada controller?
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#5
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Re:Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-08-21 12:01:26

@christianzappa 

 

I just replied to your other post with details on how to enable this, hopefully that helps!

 

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#6
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Re:Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-08-22 00:01:25

The announced (but not yet released) EAP 615 wall APs are listed as supporting fast roaming. I don't know when they're actually going to be available for purchase.

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#7
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Re:Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-10-19 00:07:30

@jjj42 Can you say where you saw the fast roaming support? It's not listed on the product page or any of the press releases I've seen.

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#8
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Re:Roaming issues with EAP245 and EAP235-Wall
2021-10-19 00:56:45

Dear @jjj42, @warmonk,

 

warmonk wrote

@jjj42 Can you say where you saw the fast roaming support? It's not listed on the product page or any of the press releases I've seen.

 

FYI, the EAP615-Wall will support fast roaming in the subsequent firmware release with controller v5.0.

 

Please check for the new firmware release notes for final confirmation. Thank you!

>> Omada EAP Firmware Trial Available Here << *Try filtering posts on each forum by Label of [Early Access]*
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#9
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