Core problem:

I have noticed that items that I install on the VLAN 20 (SSID Manic) have a hard time connecting to the network. Some of these devices are in the very same room as one of the APs less than 6 feet apart. On some occasions it will connect no problem, other times it will take a long time to connect but will eventually connect and sometimes it won’t connect at all. Sometimes when it fails to connect, if I retry the connection, a 2nd, 3rd and/or the 4th time it will actually connect, but not always.. However if I try to connect the same object at the same location to VLAN 1 (SSID Nordic), it nearly always connects immediately with no problems whatsoever. N.B. I don’t have any issues connecting wired devices to VLAN 20, and the performance is excellent.

I have found that in some cases, if I leave only the AP in the basement running, these problems go away for devices in the basement, on the main floor and even just outside (I have a TP-Link KP400 - WiFi Outlet with 2 Sockets that will only work if I only have a single AP in the basement connected). I have tried switching the APs around, replacing them with a spare (I have two spares that I plan on using for my separate garage and my shed) and the issue persists. However, with only the AP running in the basement, I am unable to have a reliable connection on the second floor where my office is located. I have also tried running only 2 APs (1 in the basement and 1 on the second floor). Again same results. I played with the configurations, including limiting VLAN 20 (SSID Manic) to only use 2.4Ghz as most of the devices don’t need higher connectivity rates and only have 2.4Ghz antennas anyways.

 

Potential source of interference:

Also with my previous AP (older UniFi devices or which I only had 2 of them), I would lose connectivity every time someone would run the microwave. Although this does happen now, it is much less frequent. Nothing has changed in regards to the microwave, it is still the same device and in the same location.

 

My current setup

3 floor house, built on a 3 acre lot so I don’t have to worry about neighbors causing interference.. The house was built in 2004, using wood framing and wood (cedar 4 inch x 10 inch and 6 inch x 12 inch) structural beams. The walls are covered in drywall with wood studs 16 inch on center.  There are no metal conduit in the wall associated with a centralized HVAC system. The outside walls are insulated with closed-cell spray foam and plywood. The siding is made up of a wood fiber, resin and wax product called Canxel. The roof was redone last year using standard asphalt shingles.

The basement is 939 sq/ft, main floor is 975 sq/ft and the second floor is 795 sq/ft. Off the basement to the front of the house I have a large L shaped cold storage room that was built under the L shaped patio.

 

I have 3 EAP670(US) v1.0[Custom] AP all running firmware 1.6. I have 1 AP installed per floor, connected via a CAT6 cable that has been tested to support 2.5Gbps using a number of software tools (good transfer speed, low latency, and no lost packets). The APs are installed in diametrically opposed corners of the house from the one on the floor just below it/above it. Not sure why I have received [Custom] AP, spoke to TP-Link support and was told to simply ignore it.

 

I am using pFSense for my gateway/firewall.

 

2 VLANS 1, 20 (others are planned for, but want to resolve the current issue first)

VLAN 1 Management / Family Network (SSID Nordic)

VLAN 20 IoT (SSID Manic)

 

Currently I have approximately 75 wireless WiFi devices connecting to my network, and once I have this issue resolved, will most likely only ever scale to a total of 130 to 140 devices.

Other wireless devices I have include:

30 devices also in the 2.4Ghz range

- 20 x Zigbee devices (thermostats, sensors [water, motion, temperature/humidity])

- 10 x BLE (temperature/humidity sensors, plant sensors)

15 ZWave devices (thermostats, door locks, motion/lux/temperature sensors).

5 Wireless Alarm sensors (345/433Mhz range. Most of my alarm sensors are hardwired, but a few like the two of the smoke detectors and two of the motion detectors are wireless)

 

I have also tried running the AI WLAN Optimization tool, but that doesn’t seem to help. Today (May 1st) I decided to run a manual scan 1 hour after the initial scheduled scan to see what would happen and the results surprised me. The one scheduled at 3:30 AM improved the signal from 66% to 88%, the one I ran manually at approximately 4:30 AM, one hour later, the signal had dropped significantly again to 71% but was improved to 92% after the tool ran.

Here are the results.

May 01, 2023 04:28:45 am 23m 35s Manual 71%92% (+21%)

May 01, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 35s Scheduled 66%88% (+22%)

Apr 30, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 35s Scheduled 90%93% (+3%)

Apr 29, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 36s Scheduled 72%90% (+18%)

Apr 28, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 35s Scheduled 62%86% (+24%)

Apr 27, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 35s Scheduled 90%91% (+1%)

Apr 26, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 36s Scheduled 90%92% (+2%)

Apr 25, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 43s Scheduled 58%93% (+35%)

Apr 24, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 36s Scheduled 64%89% (+25%)

Apr 23, 2023 03:30:00 am 23m 36s Scheduled 63%98% (+35%)

 

I am looking for is advice on how to remediate this situation. It is quite frustrating.