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EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question

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EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question

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EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question
EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question
2022-06-13 15:08:04
Model: EAP620 HD  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.1.0 Build 20211028 Rel. 68287

I am confused about the setup recommendation of the hardware. First the setup, I have 3 EAP 620s (and 1 outdoor EAP225) in my 2700 sq ft house and the APs are within 50 ft of each other. Wireless performance is really bad. I even ran netspot to confirm, 

 

Signal levels are ok but a lot weaker than I would expect. Everything is mediocre, even when i am sitting right next to the APs

 

The actual throughput on the APs is abissmal. I am getting 1Mbps or less, again, even when sitting next to the APs. 

 

I have done a bunch of testing with no luck. even segmenting out a dedicated 5Ghz SSID and modified my exisitng to be just 2.4Ghz. 

 

Here is my question;

TP Link documentation says to set 5GHz to 20Mhz channel width. i guess that makes sense since the channel selections seem to be only for 20MHz channel width. Are you even able to set 40 or 80 at all or are you locked into just 20MHz channel width for the EA620?

 

My Channel Selections are the following which seem to be set for 20Mhz channel widths

36

40

44

48

149

152

157

161

 

Those are just 20Mhz channels. There are no selections for 40 or 80, unless I am just not educated about configuring these. For the 40 Mhz band shouldn't I have a selection:

36

46

54

62

151

159

 

and then for 80 I should have

42

58

155

 

Is there a setting I am missing somewhere or a fundemtnal misunderstanding on how to confifure the APs?

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Re:EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question
2022-06-14 14:28:10

  @Swiftburn 

 

Ok from last to first.... 

 

Your channel lists are based on 20Mhz.  If you leave the AP on Auto, or pick a width greater than 20Mhz, it consumes the next adjacent channel (if available in your geographical location).  So for instance 20Mhz on 149, or 40Mhz on 149+153 or 80Mhz on 149+153+157+161.  Consequently 80Mhz is not really an option if your base channel is 161.  Further if you have an AP on 149 with anything other than a 20Mhz BW setting you need to make sure adjacent APs won't interfere or be interfered with.... ie don't set the AP in the next room to be on 153, or if you do, fix the unit on 149 to be 20Mhz so your frequency plan is stable and repeatable.

 

The earlier questions all require better data from you, for instance:

 

1. what are the signal levels actually?  If you are sitting beside an active AP, you should expect around -40dBm..... -85dBm or lower I would agree is pretty bad signal.  There's more than just signal level (RSSI), there's also RSRP, RSCP, Signal/Noise ratio, CIQ.... it's possible to have a blindingly strong signal that's being just as equally strongly interfered with.

2. what is your network topology.... ie what are APs connected to, what is that connected to etc.

3. are you using an Apple device for testing.... these have known issues in certain configurations.... so find a non-Apple device to do actual testing with initially

<< Paying it forward, one juicy problem at a time... >>
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#2
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Re:EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question
2022-06-16 14:04:08

  @d0ugmac1 

 

Awesome, thank you. I am troubleshooting a change in perfomance with the TP-Link WiFi. It was working previously and then it went to crap at some point, not sure when. Ping times are stable with random spikes to 200-400ms, not many dropped packets if any. Most services work, however gaming or anything real-time has issues. It is stange, for example, when playing an Xbox cloud game on a wired connection it works great. On wireless the games have micro pauses. This is the same with Nvidia cloud gaming. Also, my VR Link using WiFi is really bad. 

 

So multiple things are impacted by the poor WiFi which used to be great. Nothing has changed in my environment but my Netspot maps show that the TP Link APs don't put out a good signal. Doesn't matter what power level I set as I have used almost every power combo I can think of. I even disconnected all the APs but one, sat right next to it and got the same results. That AP was plugged directly into a TP-Link switch that is plugged directly into my TP-Link ER605 (v1.0) which is plugged into my internet. Wireless is great, WiFi I just cant get it to work. Maybe I will revert the firmware on the APs and see if that works. It used to work so maybe the latest firmware is breaking it. 

 

Running 1.1.0 Build 20211028 Rel. 68287

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#3
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Re:EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question
2022-06-16 14:48:24

  @Swiftburn 

 

What are your nominal ping times?  How do they compare to wired ping times?

What is the typical gap between extended ping times ie the gaps (seconds, minutes..... )

Can you share your Netspot heatmap...I can't believe the APs suddenly are not delivering the same radio power

 

 

I'll be honest, those sporadically long ping times speak to packet loss...since your wired connection is fine, I don't think we can blame your ISP.  It's something in the local environment...maybe your neighbour's situation has changed?

 

Any chance you have some kind of packet storm going on in your switch?  Any anomalous bandwidth or packet count stats coming off the switch or APs?  Even a bad cable somewhere could cause all sorts of retries generating a lot of extra traffic/cpu usage.

 

I don't know if it's an option, but it would be interesting to test JUST a single AP connected directly to your router (with the switch and other APs temporarily disconnected).  Test performance, and then start to re-introduce the rest of your network.

<< Paying it forward, one juicy problem at a time... >>
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#4
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Re:EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question
2022-06-17 02:46:58

  @d0ugmac1 

 

It is definitely a change with the APs. The network is solid, I even changed ISPs (cable to Fiber) recently and the issue was happening before and after the switch. I suspect a bug in the code or bad hardware of the APs (probably bad hardware). Even isolating to just 1 AP the issue persists. TP Link isnt known for expensive hardware and my APs have been in service for a little over a year now. I suspect the hardware has just gone bad or is going bad. I have the original version 1 on the APs and 605 router. I even bought TP Link switches to keep everything the same vendor. 

 

My background is IT networking (24 years) so went through all the normal items. Its not packet loss, ping times are fine outside of random, spikes, it is just low power from the APs themselves causing slow inconsistent connectivity. The only thing I could think of is that there is some wireless client(s) that are hyper chatty. My last test is to isolate 1 AP and create an new SSID and test. That will take out all the variables. If that doesnt work, I will probably look to switch to a different vendor and swap out the whole system. 

 

**I cant share the netspot maps, I get an error when I try to paste them saying links arent allowed or valid. 

 

**TP Link changed versions a few times in a short period of time. I suspect they know about the bad hardware and that is why there are newer versions out so quickly. 

 

2.4 is busy but the 5Ghz band is fine in my home. I have a lot fo home automation but almost all of it is on 5Ghz. I created two separate networks, a dedicated 2Ghz and a dedicated 5Ghz. Problem persists on the 5Ghz SSID

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Re:EAP620HD v1 5GHz Setup Question
2022-06-17 13:40:42

  @Swiftburn 

 

I can respect the 24yrs...I am the same 

 

It is possible that a bad batch of capacitors coupling the radio amp to the internal antenna have cause a significant reduction in radio power...which would cause this effect you are seeing, or similar.  1yr doesn't fit the typical bathtub failure curve though.  Have you had any big power surges or lightning strikes nearby?  That too could blow the output stage of your radios...and would be a better explanation for them all to fail.

 

I would still like to see actual measured power as shown by Netspot...a screen grab added as an image to your post works well.

<< Paying it forward, one juicy problem at a time... >>
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