EasyMesh Wi-Fi backhaul is preferred over Ethernet backhaul when routers are far from eachother
EasyMesh Wi-Fi backhaul is preferred over Ethernet backhaul when routers are far from eachother
Hello. I know how the title sounds but bear with me please, I have tested this multiple times and had the same result every time. I have 4x AX10 routers connected between them with ethernet cables as shown in the picture (the black line is the cable and I also wrote the approximate distance between the routers):
#1 is the main router
#2, #3 and #4 are satellite routers
Until recently I had only routers #1, #2 and #3, all inside the house and everything was OK, they were always using ethernet backhaul for the EasyMesh. However, after adding the #4 router, the EasyMesh network started failing as follows:
- #4 is outside in the garden and is connected to #1 through a 50 meters long CAT5E cable, but when I start the #4 router it initializes using Wi-Fi backhaul directly with low signal connectivity (obviously since being very far) instead of it using Ethernet backhaul, so I get only ~50Mbps due to the Wi-Fi backhaul
- if however I move the #4 router inside the house near router #1, when router #4 starts it initializes directly using the ethernet backhaul (Wired 1000Mbps EasyMesh connectivity shown in admin page) as expected, WHILE USING THE SAME 50 meters long cable, only difference being the routers are now next to each other
- I even tried putting the #4 router next to the #2 router and connecting them using the same 50 meters cable and same thing: it uses the ethernet backhaul successfuly
- when I move the router back outside and restart it, it once again initializes using Wi-Fi backhaul
- The cable is NOT the problem, as mentioned I did multiple tests and I get ethernet backhaul with Wired 1000Mbps when the #4 router is nearby the other routers
A hack I discovered: when the #4 router is outside, far from the other routers, and I am on the Wi-Fi backhaul: if I press the WPS button on the #4 router, the #4 router switches to Ethernet backhaul successfully and shows me Wired 1000Mbps EasyMesh connectivity (this is probably due to the router Wi-Fi being shortly disconnected due to me pushing the WPS button so the Wi-Fi backhaul is cancelled ...???). However if/when the power goes out/comes back and the router restarts, it's back to Wi-Fi backhaul and have to manually press the WPS button again to get the Wired 1000Mbps.
Second problem: after adding this #4 router and doing the WPS hack to get Ethernet backhaul @ Wired 1000Mbps for the #4 router, now router #2 also started failing and switching to Wi-Fi backhaul with low signal (I can only assume it is trying to connect to router #4 - which is far away - using Wi-Fi backhaul for some unknown reason, even though it would be able to use Ethernet backhaul successfully):
If I were to guess I would say there is some logic fail somewhere in the backhaul selection in the firmware, something like "if Wi-Fi signal is low then use Wi-Fi backhaul" instead of "if Wi-Fi signal is strong then try to use Wi-Fi backhaul"...
How do I solve this problem?
Is there any way to COMPLETELY disable Wi-Fi backhaul? It's useless and just causes more problems. Some custom firmware? Or just give me the firmware source and I'll modify it myself to remove the useless Wi-Fi backhaul.
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@Marvin_S sorry for the late reply. I restarted the router, here are the requested screenshots:
It says 1000Mbps Full Duplex for port #3 but it initiates Wi-Fi backhaul with very low signal (yes, it says signal strength maximum but you can see 144Mbps max):
Once I do the WPS button hack, it switches to Ethernet backhaul with 800Mbps+ @ speedtest all good:
Ethernet status shows the same, 1000Mbps Full Duplex:
I can't see why the cable would be the problem, the cable works perfectly @ ~1000 Mbps TESTED. And I need to mention this again: if the routers are nearby it correctly initiates Ethernet backhaul directly USING THE SAME 50 meters long cable. This is just a firmware fail having something to do with the low Wi-Fi signal
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Hi, thanks for your test and update.
As you mentioned that there is nowhere to do firmware upgrade on your 3 Archer AX10 V1, right?
I am afraid that you need to communicate with your ISP and add this feature first, because the senior support engineers need to install special debug software to locate the issue.
Maybe they hide the entrance? So it is suggested to upgrade firmware to 1.3.10(same as V1.2) first on your end to check if the same issue remains.
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@Marvin_S yes, no option to upgrade the 3x routers (they're V1.20), only the 4th one (V1.0) can be upgraded. Will have to wait for TP Link to publish the 1.3.10 upgrade for V1.20 for EU https://www.tp-link.com/ro/support/download/archer-ax10/#Firmware so my ISP picks it up and installs it on my 3x routers, currently last version for V1.20 is 1.3.9 for EU as mentioned...
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Hi, your ISP can get the latest firmware version 1.3.10 for Archer AX10(EU) V1.20 from the global official website. You may help to tell them and there will be no need to wait.
It is not necessary for your situation to have to wait for firmware release update from the local official website.
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@JaniDraze Hey. I'm Facing the exact same issue. Onlyt that I have two routers. AX55 (main) v1 and AX53. AX53 keeps connecting to the main router over wifi despite having the ethernet connection with the main unit. Clicking WPS does not help in my case. It keeps the connection over wifi.
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