Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)

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Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)
Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)
2020-11-29 04:36:42
Model: Archer AX6000  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.1.1

I just tried to chat with support and they seemed more worried about my internet company to deal with the problem between a device refusing to connect to the router so hopefully support here is a bit more helpful. 

 

Temperamental Device: Archer AX6000 Firmware 1.1.1 Build 20200714

 

Problem:

I connect a device and it works great for a few days. One day I go to use the device and it cant connect to the network. The network is found and allows me to attempt to connect but it fails. If I'm on the Guest network with that device, it will have no problem connecting to the main network and if it's on the main network it has no problem connecting to the Guest network. For whatever reason it WONT connect to the network I want it on. A day later or so it can connect again. A few days later, a new device has this problem on my network. 

 

Solutions I've tried:

Restarting the router (sometimes works but usually doesn't)

Trying over and over multiple times over a few hours (hasn't worked yet. I figured it may be a lease problem and those last for about 2 hours usually. Disappointed I cant revoke a lease from the routers software. I thought this was standard until this router)

Limiting to just 2.4ghz network (still has this problem)

Smart Connect on/off (both have problems)

 

Things I seem to have learned:

Selecting WPA2/WPA3 doesn't work with some devices so stay away from this setting for now

Disabling "Connect Automatically" seems to have fixed this for the first device I ever ran into this on. I just connect manually every time on my main computer.

Setting network connection info manually allowed a device to connect that was being denied (I just entered the IP of the router, the subnet, and the IP I wanted the device to have and it connected without problems instantly. This was after trying the connect multiple times on the device and it being denied.)

 

As you can see I have been fighting with this problem that TP-Link thinks is fixed. I'm trying to avoid returning this and buying another brand so any help on this is appreciated since I just want a router I can setup and works with 802.11ax(Wifi 6)

 

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Re:Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)
2020-11-29 13:05:25
I assume other devices are working when you are encountering issues with specific devices. I do not like Smart Connect as it seems to cause more issues than it solves. Mostly it puts devices on a different band than the most desired band for a device. Use different SSIDs for each network and not the default ones. On the devices with the issue, delete (forget) the network settings and then reestablish the connection. This is often an issue when the same SSID was used on different routers or bands. Ensure there are no other bands running with the same SSID such as a Gateway or another router. May also want to try specific WIFI channels and widths.
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Re:Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)
2020-11-30 17:46:40

@ArcherC8 that is correct, all other devices work when this happens. I turned off smart connect and still had this happen to one of my devices so it's currently back on. I have 3 different SSIDs (Guest, Main2 and Main5). I've also tried to forget networks when a device is having problems (This doesnt help get them connected). I have no other routers or gateways setup. I'm only using the Archer AX6000. I also have issues with devices connecting on the Guest network that is forced to 2.4ghz only(this is 1 SSID with 1 band so it cant get confused right?). 

 

Can you give an example of setting up a channel for each and widths that you would setup? I don't think this is going to fix the denying a connection to the router but I can see it improving my already great coverage from this router. 

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Re:Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)
2020-11-30 21:38:13
For channel number it is best to review what channels are being used in your area as if everyone is using the same channel, then there will be a bottleneck. On the 5 GHz network there is a thing called DFS channels but using them can cause issues. Not all devices can support them, and if you use one, under certain conditions, the router will revert to a different channel. Keep that in mind if you try using one. See this for more info https://www.cbtnuggets.com/blog/certifications/cisco/when-to-use-20mhz-vs-40mhz-vs-80mhz
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Re:Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)
2020-11-30 22:10:06

@Xenthyk 

 

I may be totally off-base here. Are these devices iOS 14 based?

 

I ran into what I think is/was a problem due to a new feature that is on by default. Private Address in the Network settings.

 

What that does is change the devices MAC Address every 24 hours. (https://wifinowglobal.com/news-and-blog/new-private-wi-fi-address-iphone-feature-could-severely-impact-the-wi-fi-industry-expert-says/).

 

What this caused for me is the names of my devices (iPad's only) would not show on some router GUI pages as I had set them. I assume some pages show them by IP Address, some by MAC Address?

 

Of course, if one uses DHCP Reserved IP Address, this usually goes by the MAC Address, so having the setting on will cause problems. I'll assume Access Control would also have a problem.

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Re:Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)
2020-11-30 22:23:40

ArcherC8 - Thanks, I'll look into this but this is talking about the 5GHz network and that doesnt explain my issue on the Guest network that's exclusivly 2.4GHz

 

IrvSp - They are not iOS 14 devices mainly. I had an issue with 1 iOS 14 device, the others were (A windows 10 Desktop computer, A Roku TV an iPhone, and an Apple TV) I'm not sure what OS the apple tv is using but it may be on iOS 14 also. I' think the apple TV issue was due to me swapping over to WPA3 and this caused most of my devices to be shut off from connecting to the network. I couldnt get the apple TV to reconnect after swapping back like I could with other devices so I'm just waiting to see if it runs into a problem again after swapping networks. 

 

 

What would cause my desktop and Roku to do this if we put aside the Apple products?

 

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Re:Archer AX6000 refuses to connect with devices (what seems to be at random)
2021-11-13 15:44:41

@Xenthyk  I'm actually having this issue at my home. 99% of the time it's my wife's phone but it has done it to my prior phone and to my laptop as well. I disabled private address on our phones and the PC and this morning did it again to my wife's phone. 
 

I limited my IP address range and iim wondering if a device comes online and is conflicting with it as I don't have dhcp reservations in use. A forget and reconnecting to the network resolves the issue. Luckily on ios devices it's easier to do with the share password option.   If anyone has any more details or options I'm very interested. 

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