Switch to closet and stronger Orbi

[whsbuss-1]

So I have the 2 unit Orbi setup. I have one on the 2nd floor in the center of the house, the satellite on 1st floor opposite side of house. So when I open my Macbook Pro after being on 2nd floor (I determine what Orbi I am connected to in the Mac's wifi options) in the 1st floor where the Orbi satellite is (within 10 ft) it stays connected to the 2nd floor unit.

Why doesn't the Orbi force a reconnect to the closet and stronger Orbi unit? It makes a hugh difference. The only way to force my Mac to reconnect is to turn off/on wifi in the settings. Then it connects to the satellite or visa versa

[st_shaw]

OSX clients do not roam the same as phones.

Details are at the below Apple link.  The text to pay attention to is this, "OS X clients monitor and maintain the current BSSID’s connection until the RSSI crosses the -75 dBm threshold." This means your MacBook won't switch between Orbi APs unless the signal drops below -75 dBm.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206207

You might think Orbi could boot the Mac and cause it to reconnect, but that could cause an infinite loop of disconnects, so that approach is not usually used.

[whsbuss-1]

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@st_shaw wrote:

OSX clients do not roam the same as phones.

Details are at the below Apple link.  The text to pay attention to is this, "OS X clients monitor and maintain the current BSSID’s connection until the RSSI crosses the -75 dBm threshold." This means your MacBook won't switch between Orbi APs unless the signal drops below -75 dBm.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206207

You might think Orbi could boot the Mac and cause it to reconnect, but that could cause an infinite loop of disconnects, so that approach is not usually used.

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And there is no way to change that in the macOS client. And unlike a Ubiquini AP there is no option to drop clients when the RSSI drops below a user-set value. Now maybe I can find an option on the Mac to turn off wifi when the lid closes.