Archer AX1800 - 5ghz network always missing
I recently installed an Archer AX1800 to replace a router whose 2.4ghz network would never allow me to connect to it. Now I have the opposite problem!
This router claims to be broadcasting the 5ghz network (the icon is lit on the router and the network is enabled) but the network cannot be found 80% of the time by any devices. It worked perfectly out of the box and has been increasingly unavailable with time.
I have the same problem trying to enable the 5ghz guest network - it never appears on any list of wi-fi networks on any device. The 2.4ghz guest network does appear.
I have the latest firmware, and I have rebooted and power cycled the router. I have sat right next to it with various devices and they still cannot find the network. OFDMA is enabled, TWT and Smart Connect are not. What else might be the cause of this problem? It is not an internet issue - I have working internet on the 2.4ghz nework. I will return this router for something more reliable if I cannot figure it out within the next few days.
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Please try to run a Wi-Fi analyzer on a computer to check if you can see the 5G network of the AX1800, which channel it is broadcasting? You can also try to modify the 5G wireless channel to 36/44, channel width to 40MHz, then confirm.
If the above modification does not help, please try to factory reset the AX1800 by pressing and holding the reset button as long as the LEDs go off then on, then reconfigure it from scratch to check if you can find the default 5G network on any devices.
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Nothing I did in particular fixed this problem - one day the 5ghz network randomly started working again, until the other day when I had to unplug the router.
Now, after several months of no issues and no changes to configurations or devices, the 5ghz network drops every few seconds, is unable to be connected to, or if connected there is no internet. The 2.4ghz network is unaffected.
I have tried rebooting the router, hard restarts, connecting using four different devices, rebooting the modem, changing the channel and channel width, running diagnostics. The firmware is up to date. The router has not moved locations and proximity to the router does not change the outcome.
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Have you checked my previous suggestions?
Please try to run a Wi-Fi analyzer on a computer to check if you can see the 5G network of the AX1800, which channel it is broadcasting? You can also try to modify the 5G wireless channel to 36/44, channel width to 40MHz, then confirm.
If the above modification does not help, please try to factory reset the AX1800 by pressing and holding the reset button as long as the LEDs go off then on, then reconfigure it from scratch to check if you can find the default 5G network on any devices.
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@dianay I have exactly the same problem. Anything helped?
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@alek_davis No, I gave up. I have already done all the troubleshooting - hard restart, unplug, resetting to factory settings, new network names that have no special characters, adjusting the channels, moving the physical router, running analyzers and examining the logs. There is no solution and I don't have endless time to keep factory resetting and reconfiguring all the devices that need to connect to the network.
I never had this problem with my old Motorola router that I used for five years. I bought a new Netgear router to replace this one since it seems like it is doomed to not work correctly and I cannot return it. I have a lot of problems with the Kasa app too that runs my cameras and switches - I assume tp-link just doesn't care about actually solving any of my problems.
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We do care about the experience you've reported, but the issue is not that clear, and that's why we tried to confirm it.
If you are willing to troubleshoot further, I would like to escalate the case to the support engineers, they will help further.
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Hello, can you please also provide as much info as you can if you're experiencing the same issue with the AX1800 router? What are the devices using the 5G network? Are they all encountering the same issue at the same time? Try disabling Smart Connect on the router, set a static channel such as 36/40/48, then reboot the router and reconnect to the network to monitor the connectivity.
BTW, are both the wired connection and 2.4G connection stable when the 5G had an issue?
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@Kevin_Z The 5G network are mostly used by mobile devices (iPhones, iTab, Android) and a couple of Windows laptops. At least, this was the intention, but due to instability, pretty much everyone in my family is using the 2.4G network. I am the only one who keeps messing with 5G and at this point, it's pretty much just a couple of devices: my Android phone and Android tablet. Yes, once the network becomes unstable, all devices start having issues.
I already disabled Smart Connect on the router, set a static channel to 36/4* (tried all three), but it did not help. Rebooting the router does help, but I cannot do it every time because I have a number of smart devices (thermostat, cameras, appliances) that sometimes struggle to reconnect after a reboot.
The 2.4G connection seems to still be stable when 5G is having an issue. I used to have problems with wired connection (independednt of the WiFi connections), but it looks like the last firmware took care of it, at least I di dnot experience it after I applied the firmware.
I contacted support and they sent me a firmware that I'll install to generate log info the next time it happens. I'm a bit surprised that I need custom firmware to get more logging (my current logs have no useful data rom what I see).
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@Kevin_Z Will do.
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