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Forum Discussion
EX8000 802.11k when in AP mode
I know the EX8000 supports smart roaming using the 802.11k standard, however I need to know if this only works when using the unit in extender mode or if it also applies when you are using it in AP mo...
Hi,
I have the same issue with EX8000 in AP mode. I have two EX8000 connected to my wired network as access points. The performance and the coverage is great, however my clients does not roam from one AP to the other one. I have several android clients and I'm using Wifi Analizer. It clearly shows the SSID name and the MAC addresses behind the ssid name. In my setup I can see 4 MAC addresses (2 times 2 5GHz radio). I can also see the mac for the AP where my client is connected. Even if there is very big signal strenght difference (ie 25-30dBm), my android still connects to the far end AP (instead of the closer one). In the EX8000's config page I could not see any options for smart roaming (maybe it is not available in AP mode) nor any settings related to minimum RSSI. Any idea, how can my clients roam smarter between the APs?
schferenc wrote:
Hi,
I have the same issue with EX8000 in AP mode. I have two EX8000 connected to my wired network as access points. The performance and the coverage is great, however my clients does not roam from one AP to the other one. I have several android clients and I'm using Wifi Analizer. It clearly shows the SSID name and the MAC addresses behind the ssid name. In my setup I can see 4 MAC addresses (2 times 2 5GHz radio). I can also see the mac for the AP where my client is connected. Even if there is very big signal strenght difference (ie 25-30dBm), my android still connects to the far end AP (instead of the closer one). In the EX8000's config page I could not see any options for smart roaming (maybe it is not available in AP mode) nor any settings related to minimum RSSI. Any idea, how can my clients roam smarter between the APs?
HI There is no way to push a client to pick a other AP. Turn of the fair away AP and it will connect the closer one or wait till it find it him self..(and that can take sometimes 15 min or more ).
Hi,
based on this article: https://kb.netgear.com/000059680/What-is-Smart-Roaming-and-how-does-it-work-with-my-Nighthawk-Pro-Gaming-router
I think the EX8000 supports 802.11k which means the client (if it supports too) will re-connect to the closer AP. The only question is (I'll evaluate this evening) whether it works in AP mode too (just enable the one wifi name feature and it will work in AP mode as wll), or the EX8000 should be configured as extender to allow smart roaming. I dont believe such expensive toys does not support such a great feature (smart roaming). I'll update this post later on...
Hi,
as I promised I've made some testing with my EX8000s configured as access points. One Wifi Name is enabled. So even tough that EX8000 officially supports 802.11r fast roaming feature and my tested client (Galaxy S7) also supports the fast roaming (see this article: https://support.samsungknox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013403768-Enhanced-Roaming-Algorithm), the client does not want to roam to the closer AP. This is the signal strenght diagram, you can see, that even tough the closer AP has significantly higher signal strenght, my client still linked to the fare end AP.
In some cases the client changed the AP correctly within 1-2 seconds, in other cases it sticked to the far AP for more than 15 mins. I'm still consider this AP as a great product, because the total througput is more than 550Mbit/s with single client. Even if my clients connects to the wrong (far) AP, I could get ~200Mbit/s from them, which is fine.
But still, Netgear, please correct this behavior in the coming fw updates, and enable 802.11r fast roaiming in AP mode as well!