[WNAP210] fail to access after a while

So no updates... looks like the WNAP210 is based on OpenWRT where this has been a common problem although supposedly recently fixed..
https://dev.openwrt.org/ticket/8830
https://dev.openwrt.org/changeset/26251

I'd love to know what I can do from here.. sounds like nobody has had any joy going directly to Netgear?

WNAP210 isn't based on OpenWrt (it contains no routing functionality, for instance), but most of these utilize the same applications and drivers (madwifi, Busybox, etc.).

Netgear has some "proprietary" pages on the WNAP210 that aren't part of their OSS distribution, but these pages are easily viewable from SSH.

I had to reset the AP again today, it is not really a stable AP since i have to reset the AP once in a while...

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to autorestart the AP every night?

When i use a simple linksys router wireless is always working, why is this a problem with a netgear AP wich is more expensive?

Hope someone can help me on this issue.

I have decided to change the WPA210 access point at my customer site to another AP of another brand.

It just not seem to work the way as it should and have to reboot the AP every week.

I tried to supply all my costumers with netgear products but i think i have to change my policy about this.

regards.

I am also having to reboot my WNAP210 every 1-2 days. The logs before the reboot look like this:

Aug 23 19:44:50 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA e8:3e:b6:a4:2a:30 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Aug 23 19:46:20 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA e8:3e:b6:a4:2a:30 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Aug 23 19:46:35 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 38:59:f9:74:41:5c IEEE 802.11: disassociated

So as bramschats asks - any more news on this topic?

Hi all

I'm having the same problem with my WNAP210. I'm running firmware version 2.0.27, which isn't the latest, I know. I had other problems with the latest version 2.1.1 (very slow, unusable response on web control panel) and found 2.0.27 to be more stable.

The AP has been up for quite a few months with no problem, using only 2 or 3wireless devices. Over the last while there've been more wireless clients using to the device, which seems to have exacerbated the problem of not being able to get access sometimes. The symptom is that everything works fine for a few days, the suddenly people can't connect - usually an "authentication failure". A reboot solves the problem for a few more days, but it recurs.

A look at the system logs reveals a pattern like the following :

Apr 24 11:54:38 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: associated
Apr 24 11:54:41 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to local deauth request
Apr 24 11:54:41 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Apr 24 11:54:56 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: associated
Apr 24 11:54:59 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to local deauth request
Apr 24 11:54:59 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Apr 24 11:55:51 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: associated
Apr 24 11:55:54 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to local deauth request
Apr 24 11:55:54 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Apr 24 11:56:12 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: associated
Apr 24 11:56:15 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to local deauth request
Apr 24 11:56:15 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Apr 24 11:57:36 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: associated
Apr 24 11:57:39 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to local deauth request
Apr 24 11:57:39 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 68:ed:43:12:21:f2 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Apr 24 11:57:59 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: associated
Apr 24 11:58:02 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to local deauth request
Apr 24 11:58:02 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Apr 24 11:58:11 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: associated
Apr 24 11:58:14 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to local deauth request
Apr 24 11:58:14 SDK daemon.info hostapd: wifi0vap0: STA 1c:69:a5:f0:fc:90 IEEE 802.11: disassociated

I've tried restricting the authentication method to WPA2 (as opposed to WPA/WPA2) - no apparent improvement.

Did anyone else manage to get aroudn this problem ?

Thanks

I too have a WNAP210 and it was working fine for 8 or 9 months. I too have been using firmware 2.0.27 as 2.1.1 has a problem with web pages.
Then - after a power outage - I found all Windows clients were saying "Attempting to authenticate". The device is PoE powered, and the LAN switch was not damaged by the outage, and neither were any other electrical items in the house.
Simply rebooting the device did not clear the problem.
I then did a factory reset (which was hard - you have to hold the button in for nearly a minute - not the 5 seconds the user manual suggests), then reconfigured it from scratch, after which it worked fine.
Until we had another outage - the same symptoms have reappeared.
I've tried changing the authentication method, including changing the passphrase (in case that was somehow corrupted in memory) - no luck.
Just upgraded to 2.1.1. I made sure there was a valid DNS configured, and this seems to have sped up the config web pages. And the unit is now talking to clients again.
Given that this unit is supposedl "top end", it still seems very buggy.

Thanks for your contribution, boatbodger!

I never did manage to get my WNAP210 sorted. After making contact with Netgear support, their recommendation was to first upgrade to firmware to v2.1.1 (no surprises there), even though there's actually very little difference between v2.0.27 and v2.1.1 (see the release notes).

At one point I remember seeing another post which suggested that the slow response of the v2.1.1 firmware was to do with unit trying to make contact with the Netgear site to perform an initial registration after upgrade - this is mentioned in the v2.1.1 release notes. I remember seeing something like that happen when previously trying the v2.1.1 firmware. If for some reason that contact can't be made, the unit may appear sluggish due to repeated contact attempts and failures.
Once you're past that registration, access is normal.

I tried to perform the upgrade to v2.1.1 several times with numerous confirmed factory resets inbetween, but my unit steadfastly refused to work properly with any firmware above v2.0.27. The unit booted but had broken web pages everywhere on the config screens and just didn't work. Going back to v2.0.27 always worked fine.

Thinking it was browser-related (I use IE9), I tried both Google Chrome and Firefox with the same result. Eventually Netgear recommended a replacement - extreme perhaps, but there you are.

My conclusion : something seems to go wrong with the firmware build on these units when you upgrade firmware.

It's perhaps relevant that there were at least two hardware versions of this unit - WNAP210v1 and v2. I had all these problems with a v1 box.

The replacement unit offered to me by the Netgear local agent was also a v1 box. I elected to change horses and went with another brand instead - an Orinoco AP-8000 dual-band WAP from Proxim.

The Proxim is so reliable it's almost boring by comparison to the WNAP210. I've never yet had to reboot it in 6+ months of operation. But being dual-band, it's also a lot more expensive, not that the WNAP210 is cheap.

Bottom line : I guess every manufacturer typically has some lemons in its portfolio. The WNAP210 seems to be one of Netgear's. Hopefully other users have better luck than me. Possibly the v1 boxes are better - YMMV!