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New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location

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New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location

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New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location
New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location
2020-08-22 18:26:17 - last edited 2020-08-31 19:51:14
Model: EAP245  
Hardware Version: V3
Firmware Version: 2.4.0

I've run two EAP245s in my home for about a year with no problems. I just bought a 3rd one to try and improve coverage in a few areas. I've spent the past week trying to get it going and have done a lot of testing and reading in that time, but it still won't work.

 

The short version is that I can plug it into the unmanaged PoE switch that is connected to my router and I can adopt it and configure it and it will stay connected with no problem (I've left it for up to 24 hours). As soon as I move it up to the 1st floor and plug it into a wall jack, it will initially connect but then permanently disconnect after about 20-30 minutes.

 

Relevant details:

  • Router: Ubiquiti EdgeRouter 4
  • Controller: v3.2.10 on Linux
  • My two other EAP245s have worked flawlessly this whole time
  • I have factory reset it countless times at this point and the light pattern indicates it works
  • I've tried several things, but after reading these forums it seems like the recommended approach is to start from factory state, plug it in, let the controller find it, then configure a static IP through the controller (not the router), so that's what I've been doing
  • I'm no expert, but I've done what I could with Wireshark. It seems that when I plug the AP into a wall jack, the router is definitely not talking to it. I see some ARP requests from the AP looking for the DNS server, but that's it.
  • I have tested the cat5e cable from the wall jacks to the router with a cable tester and it's good.
  • I had an old router functioning as an AP connected to that same wall jack for several years with no problems.
  • I use the same port on the PoE switch when I connect it directly and when I connect it through the wall jack.
  • I've run continuous pings on the wall jacks and connectivity never drops, so this definitely seems like an AP/router problem.

 

I'm out of ideas at this point. The only two things that change when I move the AP upstairs are the physical location and the extra cat5e cable. It doesn't seem like either of those things should cause the AP to permanently disconnect. Does anyone have any suggestions for me on what I might be doing wrong or what else I could try?

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Re:New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location-Solution
2020-08-24 20:50:40 - last edited 2020-08-31 19:51:14

 

Cnote wrote

Am I correct that the recommended approach is to set a static IP for the AP using the controller, setting it for something outside of the DHCP assigned pool and do NOT set a DHCP reservation on the router?

 

Yes, I do this all the time. All of my stationary devices always have a static IP. Only EAPs at a few customer sites which create a layer-3 link to a central SW controller running in the cloud use DHCP reservation b/c they require DHCP option 138 at boot to find out the controller's IP. So I need to use DHCP, but I do so with a static IP/MAC mapping in such cases.

 

Did you try the included PoE injector in the meantime? If the EAP still does not work with the injector, did you ever test one of the other two EAPs on this cable to find out whether the 3rd EAP probably has a defect?

 

What makes you sure that the cable is o.k.? Only the test with a cable tester? Cheap cable testers just check pin assignments, they do not fully test Ethernet connectivity on this cable. Test quipment which can do the latter is almost certainly not affordable for us average people.

 

But if you have working EAPs, it's pretty easy to find out whether it's the cable or the 3rd EAP which might have a defect.

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Re:New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location
2020-08-22 19:05:49 - last edited 2020-08-22 19:06:24

@Cnote,

 

what PoE switch do you use? 802.3af or 802.3at? If the former, try the PoE injector directly at the EAP in the 1st floor to verify that the cable is good. If the latter works, the loss of energy over the cable between the wall jacks is too high.

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Re:New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location
2020-08-24 18:27:46

@R1D2 Thanks for your help. I feel like I'm closer to getting it to work, thanks to your point about energy, but still not there yet.

 

Although it works flawlessly when connected directly to the PoE switch, the AP seems to power on but never send a DHCP request when it's using PoE from a wall jack.

 

I have the TP-Link TL-SG1005P 5 Port 56W 802.3af Gigabit PoE Switch. The EAP245 spec says it uses 12.3W and the only thing on the PoE switch are three of the EAP245s, so I thought 56W would be plenty. The AP on the 2nd floor is obviously a longer cable run than the 1st floor, and it works fine, but maybe adding that 3rd AP in is somehow putting too much additional demand on the switch?

 

I did get the 1st floor AP working off the wall jack with the injector, but it disconnected sometime during the night so I still need to troubleshoot why.

 

To make sure I'm doing this right, am I correct that the recommended approach is to set a static IP for the AP using the controller, setting it for something outside of the DHCP assigned pool and do NOT set a DHCP reservation on the router? I have static IPs set on my two original APs and have those static IPs reserved through the router and that has worked fine, but it seems to cause this new AP to disconnect.

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Re:New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location
2020-08-24 19:06:53 - last edited 2020-08-24 19:20:26

 

Cnote wrote

I have the TP-Link TL-SG1005P 5 Port 56W 802.3af Gigabit PoE Switch. The EAP245 spec says it uses 12.3W and the only thing on the PoE switch are three of the EAP245s, so I thought 56W would be plenty.

 

According to the specs, 802.3af supplys up to 15.4W per device, but only 12.95W is assured to be available at the powered device as some power is dissipated in the cable. The 56W is the total PoE budget, not per device, suitable for 3 powered devices which consume 15.4W each (cable power loss included, remaining 9.8W left as headroom/reserve).

 

I remeber that specs for EAP245 V1 once required 802.3at PoE, not af. That's the reason we did recommend our customers to buy EAP225 instead EAP245 in last four years. To be honest, just last week I bought my first EAP245 V3 to play with. But when finally deploying the EAP245 – either at my home or at a customer site, not yet decided whether I'll replace my EAP225 by an EAP245 – I will definitely use the included PoE injector or an 802.3at switch, not 802.3af.

 

I know that specs changed for EAP245 V3 now claiming that 802.3af would work, too (and it works for a short cable run with an idle EAP245), but IMHO the EAP245 runs hard on the limit if the power loss is high due to a long or weak cable and many clients using the EAP245 simultaneously.

 

For a 12.3W powered device I would always use an 802.3at switch no matter what the specs say about 802.af compatibility of EAP245.

This way I'm always on the safe side.

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Re:New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location
2020-08-24 19:52:28

@R1D2 Thanks again for your help. Seems like I need to look at returning my af switch and getting an at switch.

 

Can you confirm if my understanding is correct on this: Am I correct that the recommended approach is to set a static IP for the AP using the controller, setting it for something outside of the DHCP assigned pool and do NOT set a DHCP reservation on the router? I have static IPs set on my two original APs and have those static IPs reserved through the router and that has worked fine, but it seems to cause this new AP to disconnect.

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Re:New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location-Solution
2020-08-24 20:50:40 - last edited 2020-08-31 19:51:14

 

Cnote wrote

Am I correct that the recommended approach is to set a static IP for the AP using the controller, setting it for something outside of the DHCP assigned pool and do NOT set a DHCP reservation on the router?

 

Yes, I do this all the time. All of my stationary devices always have a static IP. Only EAPs at a few customer sites which create a layer-3 link to a central SW controller running in the cloud use DHCP reservation b/c they require DHCP option 138 at boot to find out the controller's IP. So I need to use DHCP, but I do so with a static IP/MAC mapping in such cases.

 

Did you try the included PoE injector in the meantime? If the EAP still does not work with the injector, did you ever test one of the other two EAPs on this cable to find out whether the 3rd EAP probably has a defect?

 

What makes you sure that the cable is o.k.? Only the test with a cable tester? Cheap cable testers just check pin assignments, they do not fully test Ethernet connectivity on this cable. Test quipment which can do the latter is almost certainly not affordable for us average people.

 

But if you have working EAPs, it's pretty easy to find out whether it's the cable or the 3rd EAP which might have a defect.

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Re:New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location
2020-08-31 19:49:29 - last edited 2020-08-31 19:51:01

@R1D2 Thank you again for all your help. Just to close this out, currently things seem to be working. It seems like my previous issues may have been related to one or more of the following:

 

  • 802.3af PoE swtich not properly powering the AP
  • Possibly a faulty patch cable
  • Setting a DHCP reservation for the AP in my router (although this has not been a problem for my other two APs
  • Lack of patience

 

The last time I set the AP up in its permanent location (with the PoE injector) I just left it. It disconnected after about 3 hours, but eventually reconnected on its own and has stayed up ever since.

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Re:New EAP245 always disconnects when moved to its permanent location
2020-08-31 20:39:11

@Cnote, great that it works now.

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