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Forum Discussion
EX6120) - AC1200 Keeps dropping connection to pool controller 2.4g
I have used the EX6120) - AC1200 range extender since 2019 for use in my backyard pool area. For my own personal use I use the 5g band, but I have a pool controller about 40 feet from the house that requires the 2.4g. The pool controller was installed in 2024 and the extender worked great all that year. In 2025 it kept losing connection to the Aqualink controller unless the extender was freshly restarted. (5g would be ok but 2.4g would be one really poor until a reboot). Then it would work fine for a day, or maybe only a few hours. I figured it was getting old and bought a new one around Sept 2025 and things were good again. Now the new one is doing pretty much the same thing. It will lose connection to the pool controller and when I test it the 2.4 is barely working but 5g is ok. The aqualink will show a red dot. I'll restart the extender and it's good again...for a random amount of time.
Any ideas as to what can be causing this need for frequent reboots? My netgear nighthawk router has been great. No issues.
3 Replies
It will lose connection to the pool controller and when I test it the 2.4 is barely working but 5g is ok.
Can you check the wifi signal strength (RSSI) at the controller location using a wifi analyzer app on your phone?
Note - if you have an iPhone, the only free analyzer app I know of is the old Apple Airport utility. Lots of options for Android.
This sounds like a classic 2.4GHz stability/interference issue rather than a hardware failure, especially since both units behave similarly. Since 5GHz stays stable but 2.4GHz drops until a reboot, I’d look at channel congestion, interference (pool equipment, pumps, controllers can be noisy electrically), or the extender locking onto a bad 2.4GHz channel over time.
A couple of things worth trying: manually setting a fixed 2.4GHz channel on the main router, reducing channel width to 20MHz, and disabling auto channel switching on the extender if possible. Also check if the extender is overheating or being pushed at its edge of range—40ft outdoors can still be tricky depending on walls and interference sources.
Frequent reboots “fixing” it usually points more to unstable RF conditions than a true connectivity fault.
WiFi is really sensitive to material in the direct line of sight between units. Has anything changed since 2024 that might impact the radio link?
