EX6400 sometimes shows not connected when it is!

[SAG1]

Most of the time my Extender shows that it is connected to my wifi router, but occationally, like today, the Green light showing connection to the router is off and yet when I run a WiFi test with my phone it shows a very strong signal coming from the extender.

How is that possible?  I thought that either the extender is connected in which case, it will broadcast or it isn't connected and shouldn't be broadcasting.  See picture.

Is this normal behavior or is there some issue I need to address?

[plemans]

You phone connection is just that, the connection between the extender and your phone.

the link light is for the connection between the router and the extender. 

Does the internet work when the router link light connection down. 

[SAG1]

I'm assuming the internet is working when the Router Link LED is off (like in the picture). I say I assume, because if I run my Wifi Analyzer , app on my phone while next to the extender, it shows my SSID signal as very strong in that location even when the Link Led light is off.

That's why I was confused...I would have thought that if the Link LED light is off, it means that the extender is not connected to the router and thus no signal boost is coming from the extender.

How is it possible that the extender is still broadcasting the wifi signal when it says there is no link between router and extender...unless the extender light has nothing to do with whether it can broadcast the SSID signal.

[plemans]

The extender will broadcast and can be connected to regardless of if its connected back to the router. Your devices will connect but not have internet. 

The router link led signifies if its connecting to the router. This is key. Its why they have both router link and device link led's on the extender. 

[SAG1]

Thanks for your help but I'd like to clarify what you meant what you said so I can better understand what is and is not happening with my extender.

You said...."The extender will broadcast and can be connected to regardless of if its connected back to the router. "

Are you saying that my extender can still broadcast my SSID signal even if it is NOT connected to the router?  If so then I guess I really don't understand how mesh extenders work or how the extender could broadcast any signal if it isn't connected to the router.

You also said...

"Your devices will connect but not have internet."

Are you saying that the device (in this case an outdoor security camera) will still connect to the extender but not be connected to the internet? If I understand that correctly then I'm having a hard time understanding why the camera is working at all since it has a feature that will alert me on my phone, when it has lost its internet connection. I used to get those connection alerts all the time before the installation of the extender, but not any more.

As a test, I looked at my Wifi analyzer app as I unplugged the extender. The signal strength went from a strong -57 to basically 0 meaning no signal at all.

Then I plugged the extender back in and waited till it fully booted back up. The Link light came on and my signal strength went to a really strong -35. Even better than when the link light was off.  So does this info tell us anything? I seem to be getting a good signal strength when the light is off (which should have indicated no connection to the router) and a great signal strenght when the link light is on?

All this is obviously well past the zenith of my understanding of this extender so it all seems very odd that it appears to be working when it apparently isn't.

Any clarification appreciated and is helpful to me in understanging what is happening.

[plemans]

You could plug the extender in in the middle of a field and it would broadcast wifi. It doesn't mean the wifi is connected to the internet. 

If the link light isn't on but your internet is working, maybe somethings broken like the led. 

If its working though, is there a problem? 

[SAG1]

I thought that the Link light was broken as well, but as I mentioned, when I unplugged and plugged the extender back in the link light did come back on at boot up.

The issue I've seen is that when the link light is not on, the security camera takes up to 30 seconds to notify me of a motion detection event. When the link light is on, the security camera only takes up to 7 seconds to notify me of a motion detection event.

Either way, the camera is receiving a Wifi signal and sending video of a motion event or allowing me to view live feeds, but one signal is substantially better and thus the faster notification times.

So I guess, either way, the wifi is working...but one is much better than the other in turns of notifications.

I still don't understand how my extender could broadcast a wifi signal if there is no connection to a wifi router. Seems counter intuitive.