Deco m4r and X60 -have to run network optimization everyday or hour
Deco m4r and X60 -have to run network optimization everyday or hour
Hi,
I have this problem where my internet connection becomes very unstable and is being caused by the deco network. When I restart the Deco it becomes stable for a very short time. When I run the "network Optimalization" it detects that it needs improvement. I can repeat this every day or even every hour. After the optimalization is done the network is stable again for like an hour.
I also sometimes detect a loopback packet being blocked. The main deco is trying to connect through the Deco on 2th floor and is trying to connect with itself again what is creating this loop. I disabled RTSP on the bridge in Mikrotik and enabled loop protect. It still creates conflict sometimes but not much as before the setting. This only happens on wireless devices where bandwidth randomly drops drastically or connection loss to the web IP which results in buffering of TV playback or games. I already have beamforming, fast roaming and mesh technology turned off (on specific devices). Deco's are in AP mode configured with static ARP and DHCP on the router. The modem is connected to router port 1 and is configured as "WAN" within Mikrotik. It's like the backhaul of the Deco doesn't work correctly with the switch. Or there is a serious interference problem with the deco units.
I also tried the same without the Mikrotik router in between with the Deco's directly connected with the modem. Same problem which is creating a loop on the modem.
I have made a diagram of my network.
So I have 3 questions.
1. How can I resolve this issue and what is best practice for this topology and settings regarding Deco AP's with Mikrotik Router or modem?
2. Is there a option to schedule run network optimalization every x minutes? This would be a great option and saves me time! Same for reboot scheduler.
3. I am right now using the guest option as a different SSID option. Will there be a feature to add more SSID's without the guest network integration?
P.s.: I already checked these threads where others have the same problem:
Deco AP's with Mikrotik Switch
Ethernet Backhaul not enabled
Google Search: "Mikrotik deco loop"
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Another example showing in the screenshot below. It is showing a loop protect warning. When I try to do a speedtest on ETH6-2th floor it just shows 0Kbps. But I noticed that the kbps speed is adding up on the ETH5-Deco-Wifi AP MAIN.
This creates a network dropout every 15 minutes. When I turned of loop protection on ether6-2th floor the network will be a bit more stable again without connection drops for like an hour. And all bandwidth also comes through this port again.
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Hi
We suspect that the unstable wired connection may cause a network loop, so it is recommended that you check the network ports and network cables of the router and Deco in sections.
Currently Deco X60 V2 only supports setting different SSID for the guest network.
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@Joseph-TP Hi Joseph, the network has been stable since yesterday afternoon when I made a small reconfiguration.
I didn't need to switch out main deco or cables. What I just did right now is just enabled loop protect on all ports except the ports for the Deco and rebooted the router.
What I think that is happening is that all devices are being routed through the routers. But I did not want that to happen. It has especially to do with RSTP protocol and functions still operating in AP mode which ensure devices are being routed back to the switch. But the modem is also getting routed back creating a loop which disrupts everything even my WAN network.
I hope that this will be the solution forever.
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@Joseph-TP Will there be a advanced SSID configuration settings? And will there also be a auto optimalization scheduler? Or reboot scheduler? These are functions that people dream of right now.
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@Joseph-TP After several trials and errors, I have finally identified the exact problem.
All wired connections through the Mikrotik router or Deco network ports remain stable and consistently connected without any network loss.
However, when I performed a speed test on the 2.4GHz band, I noticed that all devices connected through this band experience very low speeds, averaging below 4Mbps. My ISP provides a maximum speed of 100Mbps, with a local network speed of 1Gbps. On wired devices or those connected via the 5GHz band, I can achieve 100Mbps to the internet and between 300-1000Mbps locally. In contrast, the 2.4GHz band maxes out at around 3Mbps. Enabling the 5GHz band resolves these issues for most devices, but not for those that do not support 5GHz.
For instance, after switching to the 5GHz band, my Google TV now consistently reaches speeds of at least 103Mbps, compared to just 2Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. This clearly indicates that there are no cable or hardware issues within my network. The problem might be related to the Deco devices potentially a hardware issue or a bug that TP-Link has yet to resolve, as other users are facing similar issues.
When I connect devices directly to the ISP modem's SSID on either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands, the connection is always stable, and speeds reach up to 106Mbps.
Additionally, the speed test within the Deco app consistently shows 100Mbps, suggesting that the issue lies with the wireless connections to the Deco units. I have tried various troubleshooting steps, including disabling beamforming, fast roaming, and mesh technology for each device, but without success. Even resetting the home network and Deco's which is a pain in the as* to do so...
I also observed that when Mesh technology is disabled, a device connected to a specific node will lose network connectivity until that node becomes available again. Enabling Mesh technology immediately reconnects the device to a new node and get's internet access. I even attempted star network backhauling by connecting the second Deco directly to the main unit, as well as connecting both Deco units directly to a switch port or modem port, but none of these attempts were successful.
I continue to experience occasional connection losses with the Deco's wireless network, particularly with devices like Homey, Tuya, Google Nest products, and other IoT devices. Restarting or optimizing the network provides only a temporary fix.
Even without the Mikrotik router, when connecting directly to the ISP modem without Deco backhaul, the problem persists. This leads me to conclude that the issue is related to the Deco routers, though the exact cause remains unclear.
As evidence, you can see the frequent ping timeouts and unstable pings when connecting the Homey device to the 2.4GHz/5GHz network. Stability only returns after several attempts, and this instability occurs frequently.
Ping test to a wired device connected to the second deco Ethernet port which is again connected to the main Deco router which is connected to Mikrotik switch (STAR method). No connection loss at all with a very stable ping:
Last test to a device connected on only 5GHz network band. In this last test I noticed 1 connection dropout. Usually 5Ghz has no connection drop-out at all. So this is new for me. Ping isn't also very stable but good enough:
I encountered issues with the main Deco router's web UI, where I kept getting logged off every 5 seconds. one click on a link = disconnection from Web UI, making it difficult to troubleshoot the error message. Interestingly, this problem doesn't occur with the web UIs of the other Deco units.
This seems to be a specific issue with the Deco system itself, though I'm not sure if it's related to its internal protocols or something else. Even when connected directly to the ISP modem, the system doesn't function as intended. The only indication of what's wrong is found in the Deco device logs. The issue persists whether the Deco is in Router mode or AP mode; I've currently switched back to AP mode.
P.S. After encountering some errors, I was unable to post my message due to illegal external link warnings. It took me an entire day to resolve this issue. The rules and support for posting are very frustrating. Additionally, I couldn’t upload the log files directly, so I had to find an alternative method. Since I've started using TP-Link products, it's been one problem after another. I've attached the logs as a zip file as a workaround.
I hope to hear for a solution.
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I still am figuring out what is exactly causing this fallouts on wireless connection level on the deco's. With a SSID scanner everything looks good. I did a network optimize but not working, it says there is no further optimization needed. And the software is very limited, it is driving me insane. I am thinking to replace TP-Link with other brands if there is no any other solution. Would recommend it to everyone if these problems exist.
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I hope this will be the one of the final updates. I managed to keep the network stable for an entire day. Let's hope in the future aswell.
First of all, in my previous attempt, I enabled 5GHz on the guest SSID, which significantly improved the bandwidth. However, the ping remained unstable and I even experienced a dropout.
Later in the afternoon, I noticed a slight latency in the network. I immediately used an advanced SSID scanner and found that all the 2.4GHz channels were congested, with no available empty channels. I conducted individual bandwidth tests for each SSID, focusing specifically on the signals from each node. Through this analysis, I concluded that CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access) is being overruled not only within the Deco routers but also among neighboring networks, which results in latencies. This affects the 5GHz channel as well, although it has more available channels. When the channel is busy, manual optimization shifts the 5GHz channel to an empty one, which I initially thought was a temporary fix.
To address this issue, I had to turn off the 2.4GHz band, save the network settings, and reboot the entire system. After rebooting, I checked again and found that 20% more space was available on the channels, leaving two channels free. I am talking about 12 - 2,4Ghz SSID beams with the 6 Deco's.
There are two key scenarios affecting the 2.4GHz compatibility:
1. Significant data traffic on the same channels, with many data through frequenties in the samen channels within the neighborhood, leads to latencies due to the CSMA overrrule.
2. The Deco routers struggle to handle multiple devices within their 2.4GHz beam structure by multiple devices, I mean 50+ wireless devices.
It's worth noting that Deco is the only brand that allows manual optimization and channel changes if something is not right, while other routers in the neighborhood rely on automatic configurations, channel/frequency switch. This is why the 2.4GHz band on my ISP's modem performs better; its auto function handles traffic more efficiently than the Deco routers.
There is still room for improvement, as the ping for devices like my Homey varies between 2ms and 40ms, occasionally spiking to 600ms (without dropouts). After network optimization, the ping stabilizes to between 2ms and 5ms, which is ideal, but not the best temporary fix.
Additionally, I made a small change to the network topology, which also resolved the packet loopback issue, where already STP and RSTP were disabled on the router. I now have the second Deco operating independently with an unmanaged switch in between, to which one of the PCs is also connected. The setup no longer involves a star method or direct device link to the second Deco. Although I'm not certain of the exact cause, I suspect the router might manage packets more accurately speaking with the unmanaged switch in between. But the unmanaged switch doesn't talk much. Or is it because that is also a TP-link brand and that's why it works by coincidence??? The exact reason still remains unclear.
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This is the last update I am giving. Today the network was unstable again. But I noticed only during after midday untill late evening and the channels where full again. In the night untill morning it works pretty much stable. Doing optimization during the day fixed the problem temporary as usual.
Can someone help me with this problem or is this a case I'll need to send to support mail of TP-Link?
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Hi, Thanks for your time and patience.
When I reviewed your TP-Link ID, it appears that you have been using the Deco Mesh system for quite some time. Did the current issue start a few weeks ago?
The Deco Ethernet backhaul feature is based on the standard IEEE 1905.1 protocol and automatically takes effect when the satellite Deco finally receives the Backhaul Packets. Prior to the establishment of the Ethernet Backhaul, there was a brief time frame (approximately 1-2 seconds) when the WiFi Backhaul was activated and the Deco units were connected by cable. In this way, if the DHCP router "detects and manages packets more accurately/frequently" than the unmanaged switch, it is more likely to warn a network loop exists.
The Deco units under the same Mesh system use the same wireless channel. In other words, all the six Deco units would broadcast a 2.4GHz SSID on the same channel. The 2.4GHz WiFi also easily interfered with other wireless signals operating on the same frequency, particularly in environments with numerous Bluetooth or Zigbee smart devices. Increasing the number of satellite Mesh units and smart IoT devices will inevitably lead to greater congestion on the 2.4 GHz band.
You are excellent at troubleshooting and have diligently followed nearly all the available troubleshooting suggestions we can provide. Nevertheless, the firmware upgrade for Deco X60_V2 and Deco M4 would take longer than anticipated. If possible, you could try to simply the current network topology first, by removing the three satellite Deco M4 from the Mesh system to test whether it could improve the overall network performance:
If It did help, we could try to create a new Mesh system with the 3*Deco M4 units(How to Create a New Network in the Deco App). If the Mesh system is mainly for smart IOT Devices, you could set the Deco X60 to 5GHz only, then the Deco M4 Mesh works on 2.4GHz only.
Thank you very much and best regards.
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@David-TP
Thanks for the message and feedback on my troubleshooting. I was hoping to use all Deco's in 1 network because of the wider mesh network. And I don't have the possible to reconnect the cables as mentioned in your screenshot. Because the devices are on other locations and it's a little bit more advanced then the drawing. But I understand the idea of the supported protocol of handling the packets by the TP-Link switch. But not user friendly as how it stands.
But I managed to get further in the issue, almost completely fixed. I think even 100% fix is out of my scope, Initially, I had fixed the problem of network loop packets and disconnections on certain wired devices. I also improved bandwidth speed by enabling 5GHz on the guest network.
However, after a few days, I noticed that about half of my wireless devices were still experiencing disconnections, while the other half, along with the wired devices, remained connected. I grouped these devices and observed that they were connected to the guest SSID network.
I then moved all the devices 1 by 1 from the guest network to the main network, which stabilized the connection. Which was a pain in the bottoms to do because the main SSID was firstly refusing the connections of specific devices I had disconnected, while DHCP and ARP already has reserved adress based on Mac-telnet. Maybe cache problems of Deco?
Either way all this raises alot of questions: What exactly is the guest network doing in the background? Does it have a VLAN, or is it attempting to pass through directly to the internet? Or does it have QoS rule because it is guest? Do the Main- and Guest SSID overrule each other? I don't know. I have local access enabled for the guest network.
Using a torch tool, I discovered that there were indeed devices trying to get IP lease from the DHCP server of the WAN modem and bypassing the Mikrotik DHCP server.
Additionally, I used auto ARP and found out that the specific devices that use DHCP discovery, are trying to get a lease from the WAN modem, which Mikrotik registers as a ARP table IP but not for same subnet. The Deco's shows the correct IP, Gateway and subnet within the Deco App leased by Mikrotik router. Is this behavior intentional by design, or is there something else at play?
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