WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices

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WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices

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WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2022-12-13 11:21:07 - last edited 2022-12-13 18:47:46
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version:

Hello TP-Link Community

 

I started having WiFi connectivity issues with iOS devices (iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro with the latest iOS Version 16.1.1) in my omada network. I have the omada controller installed on Ubuntu and i am using the version 5.7.4. I am using the following devices:

 

Device Model Firmware Version
ER605 v1.0 1.2.1
T1600G-52PS v4.0 4.0.6
EAP245(EU) v3.0 5.0.6
EAP225-Outdoor(EU) v3.0 5.0.8
EAP110(EU) v4.0 5.0.4
EAP115(EU) v4.0 5.0.5
EAP615-Wall(EU) v1.0 1.1.0
EAP225-Outdoor(EU) v3.0 5.0.8
EAP245(EU) v3.0 5.0.6

 

All of the iOS devices have been connected to the WiFi. When they loose their connection if you leave the WiFi area for example the devices don't seem to be able to reconnect to the network just showing the error "Failed to connect to the network XXX":

 

 

I was looking the the internal iOS WiFi logs they said there was an WiFi association timeout with the network.

 

 

I was looking at this thread https://community.tp-link.com/en/business/forum/topic/536480 and i enabled the advanced features of my site and set the following settings (all the same for 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz):

 

 

Sadly this didn't change anything about the problem.

 

I reinstalled the controller now several times. I also tried using it on windows but still had the same issues. At this point i really don't know what to do. I would be very happy if someone can help me with my problem. If there is any information missing about the controller, I will be happy to provide it. Right now the only solution to connect the device to the WiFi again is completly resetting the network settings on the iOS device.

 

 

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#1
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14 Reply
Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2022-12-14 05:29:44

  @Tobias16 

Try create a test 5Ghz only SSID, security choose WPA2-PSK, AES.

 

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#2
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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2022-12-17 17:59:39

  @Tobias16 I have a similar problem on a much smaller setup. I have a 225, 265HD and a EAP615-Wall . I just added the last one in the mix recently and this is when I started having problems.

We both are running mainly a WIFI 5 network with 1 WIFI 6 AP. Once devices (mainly Apple) see that Wifi6 network, they tend to hang on to it even tough they have a stronger WIFI5 signal nearby.

 

From Apple's docs: 

If multiple 5 GHz SSIDs are scored the same, iOS chooses a network based on the following criteria:

  • 802.11ax is preferred over 802.11ac

 

https://support.apple.com/en-bn/HT203068

 

Once I removed the EAP615 from my network setup, roaming started working again properly.

 

Now, I wish I could use the EAP 615 in my network,  but as far as I can tell there's no way to disable WIFI6 from the Omada controller (even tough the standalone firmware for the AP has that option)

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#3
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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2022-12-17 21:03:18

  @Somnus 

Thanks for your answer. Sadly I am having the same issues with a 5GHz network...

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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2022-12-17 21:04:20

  @andrei.cmn 

Thank you! I will remove the WiFi 6 router from my envoirment. I ll let you know if this will change my situation.

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#5
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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2022-12-23 13:06:35

  @Tobias16 Hi Tobias, I just found that the problem is related to MAC address randomization which is a feature under WiFi security/privacy settings incorporated to new iOS and Android devices.

If you just turn off MAC randomization on your device for your SSID, then your devices will get connected to your network and will work like a charm.

 

Cheers,

Mario

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#6
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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2022-12-23 14:59:43

  @Nextcomm 

Hello

Thank you for your answer. This was also one of my first thoughts. But I had disabled this function from the beginning. It is not related to that.

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#7
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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2023-01-03 09:53:05

  @Tobias16 I think I figured it out.

The issue is not WIFI ax/ac handover, rather the WPA encryption. The WIFI 6 EAP will default to using WPA3, while the others will only be able to use WPA2.

Under Settings - > Wireless Networks -> WLAN go to each network that is active on the 5Ghz band and edit it.

From there disable the 6Ghz Band and make sure security is set to WPA Personal. Then under Advanced Settings select WPA/WPA2-PSK/AES instead of WPA3.

This fixed the issue for me and now I can roam between APs without any issues (tested with a Macbook Air M1, iPhone 12 and a iPhone 12 Pro).

 

Hope this helps you too.

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#8
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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2023-01-03 15:05:48

  @andrei.cmn Hi, thanks for your reply.

I have my WLAN settings as you just described, but that didn't solve my problem. Are you running the latest controller version (5.7.6)?

 

Here's my controller information:

Controller Version: 5.7.6

Model: OC200 2.0

Firmware Version: 2.7.7 Build 20221206 Rel.58608

 

In my case the only workaround that I could find was to disable the network privacy settings on IOS and Android devices for the specific SSID on both 2.4 and 5GHz

The WPA mode that I'm using is WPA/WPA2-PSK/AES

 

Do you know if there's a latest controller version (beta) that I can test?

Thanks,

Mario 

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#9
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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2023-01-03 15:11:49

  @Tobias16 Hey, I just forgot to mention that I'm also registering tons of WPA Authentication timeout/failure as you can see in the screenshot below.

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#10
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Re:WiFi Connectivity Issues with iOS Devices
2023-01-04 07:55:00

  @Nextcomm Looks like you are still hitting WPA Auth issues.

Did you try forgetting the network from your device and inputting the password again? Or on iPhone Reset the network settings ?

Devices that already authenticated with WPA3 will keep on trying to do that until you reconfigure them.

 

My setup is similar:

 

Controller Version

5.7.6

Model

OC200 1.0

Firmware Version

1.21.7 Build 20221206 Rel.58608

 

Here's how I configured my wireless network:

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#11
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