NBK752 band steering problem

[MPP55]

My system: NBK752, one router and three satellites connected via wired backhaul.

Until now very few problems, an old one and a new one.

The old one: once or twice in a month the router (despite its UPS…) resets (?) and, being online before the satellites can accept wifi clients, collects the most of the devices.

It takes a long time for the single client to re-connect to the closest satellite that offers the best signal. I guess it depends on the client itself but, if I want to force them, I have to unplug-plug them again while the whole network is active and not only the router.

The new one: there is a room in the house with a strong signal but weaker than in the rest of the house.

My iPad shows continuous switching from 2,4 to 5 GHz, loosing the WiFi signal.

Other devices show the same problem but less frequently.

And only  in that room…

I cannot disable the router band steering nor assign different SSIDs for the two bands.

For the moment I have solved the problem adding a Netgear extender: it works with all its options activated and, just in case of any problem in the future, I could disable its band steering and/or separate/disable its 2,4 or 5 GHz band.

What a pity that the NBK752 does not offer such features…

[CrimpOn]

Frustration with where devices choose to connect is one of the most common discussions on the Community Forum.  I am not aware of any residential mesh WiFi system which provides a method to force devices to connect only to a specific access point. (Amazon eero, Asus, Google Mesh, Netgear Orbi, Linksys, TP-Link, etc.)

Many WiFi devices connect to the router and then change to a different access point when it comes on line. (My phone, for example, connects to an access point in the garage at 2.4G when I drive up.  After walking into the house, it reconnects at 5G inside the house to a different access point.)  If the device connects to the router and then never switches to a different access point, this is very frustrating for users.  Keeping the network on line with UPS power is the only practical solution.  No idea what would cause this LTE router to reboot. My cable modem Orbi router remains on line for months until the electric utility favors us with a power outage which totally drains the UPS.

Four WiFi access points in a single house may be enough that you could experiment with modifying Transmit Power Level.  There is an Advanced setting to change the Transmit Power Level for user facing WiFi to less than 100%.  It affects every access point, including the router.  (The backhaul WiFi link power is not affected.)  That room that currently has a strong signal where the iPad "flips" might be more consistent if the 5G power level was reduced.

Since adding the WiFi Extender appears to have 'solved' that room issue, messing around may not be productive.