Archer C6 v2 does not connect to RE305 v3 @ 5 GHz (OneMesh or otherwise)
So, I just recently picked up an Archer C6 v2, and a RE305 v3.
Both are on the latest firmware that's available.
Issue 1)
They connect to each other just fine @ 2.4 GHz, but just do not want to sync at 5 GHz at all. The RE305 cannot see the 5 GHz SSID, period.
After fiddling around a little bit, I found that the root cause is that the C6 router defaults to channel 149 @ 5 GHz, and the RE305 just does not connect to anything in that channel range. It seems to prefer the 36 - 48 band.
I changed the 5 GHz channel to 36 on the Archer C6, and the moment I do that, the RE305 connects at 5 GHz, and seems happy to be a part of the OneMesh extended network.
But, by doing this, I lose the 'Smart Connect' or Band streering function, as I need to disable 'Smart connect' in order to manually change the channel to 36.
1a) I would much prefer to have Smart connect on, and have the RE305 connect at 5 GHz as well. I'm not sure if it's just a case of enabling the RE305 firmware to use the 149+ channel band, or defaulting the Archer C6 firmware to pick a lower channel by default.
1b) Either way, I think the Archer C6 firmware needs to be fixed to allow manual changes to the 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz settings, and still allow us to enable Smart Connect using those manual changes without defaulting everything back to auto to moment you toggle Smart connect. I found a wierd way to work around this temporarily by leaving smart connect off on the Archer C6 with 5 GHz channel set to 36 so the RE305 connects, and then use the Tether app to enable smart connect back on the Archer C6, this seems to leave Smart connect on with the 5 GHz channel still at 36. But I'm not sure if this will stick all the time, or especially stick after a reboot, so this is just temporary in any case.
Issue 2)
Forget the RE305 for a moment. Assume everything on the Archer C6 is on defaults, smart connect is on, 5 GHz channel is on 149 by default. My Oneplus 7 pro is connected to the router at 5GHz at a speed of 866 Mbps within a 3 ft distance. Everything works well for a while, but after an hour or two of use, the internet just stops working on the Oneplus 7 pro. Wifi is still connected at 866 Mbps, but you just can't access internet at all. If you switch off Wifi and back on, you can browse again for a while, but it eventually goes back to the same issue.
Now, after changing the 5GHz channel to 36, I no longer have those issues. It is consistently connected at the same speed of 866 Mbps, and internet continues to work for over a day now.
Would appreciate it if this could be escalated to the firmware team(s).
Request other forum members to chime in with their thoughts and suggestions as well.
Cheers.