NWA210AX - Secondary SSID - WPA2 PSK - intermittently fails auth

saqib_s

Name: NWA210AX
Firmware: V6.45(ABTD.0) (Latest)

My secondary network (guest) which is 2.4ghz only, and set to vlan 999 goes through periods of not authenticating clients with the pre shared key. I see my clients go offline and when trying to re-authenticate i get password incorrect. 

Via Nebula I've tired to change the name of the SSID / Pre shared key, but no joy same problem password incorrect, i see the network name change but the password is not accepted. 

My primary SSID which is 2.4ghz and 5ghz, has no issues whatsoever. 

This usually lasts for about 30mins and it just starts working again. 

Any ideas?

Zyxel_Jay

Hi @saqib_s,

I'm glad to hear that your issue has been resolved. We have now set the DCS to skip channels 1 and 2, so the AP will not change to those channels. You can keep this configuration, or if you find the noise-generating device in the future, you can adjust the DCS setting again

Jay

Zyxel_Jay

Hi @ saqib_s

Let us clarify the situation. Your guest used your guest’s SSID for a while. And your clients go offline. When trying to re-authenticate, you got the password incorrect. 

Because your SSIDs are different from 2.4G only and 2.4G&5G, could you share with us why you only want to let the guest use 2.4G?

And if you don't mind, please help us enable the 5G and test the issue if it still happens.

And please help us adjust the radio setting. 

1. Adjust the 2.4G output power to 15dBm. This is used to let the station hear 5G first. Since the station will try to roam if the signal gap is over 5dBm. So jsut reduce the 2.4G output power to ensure the station can hear 5G signal first.

2. Adjust the channel width as 20MHz for each radio. This is used to reduce the co-channel interference.

3. (Optional) To ensure the AP can have the best channel for the day, we suggest to

   a. enable DCS schedule to let AP choose better channel for the day 

   b. disable "DCS client aware" to let the AP jump to the better channel when the DCS works

   c. disable "Avoid 5G DFS channel" to let the AP have more options.

You can refer to this article.

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/10150

About the station,do all of your guests’ stations have this issue or does only one model station has this issue like an iPhone?

1. Check if new driver is available for the station and install the latest version.

2. Fine-tune the deployment of AP's location. The client connects the signal recommended –70dBm or above.

If it still can’t solve the issue by adjusting the radio setting and AP deployment

Could you share one of the device mac addresses that the guest can’t access the authentication? And please help us activate the Zyxel Support in the below path.(Help>Support Request). We can observe the log afer that.

Thanks

Jay

saqib_s

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the help, I made these changes and it did not seem to help. 

Last night the issue occurred again and did not resolve until I rebooted the AP. All 2.4ghz connectivity was lost, regardless of the SSID. 2.4ghz devices when trying to connect show an unable to access message. 

I've activated support from Help -? Request support

See event log below. 

Zyxel_Jay

saqib_s

 

We saw that the 2.4G utilization was too high on 12/09.

It could affect your 2.4G device usage.

We suggest that you can adjust the 2.4 GHz channel deployment to “All available channels”

 

And if you have the same problem in the future, please don’t reboot the AP at the first time. Please help us collect the AP diaginfo at AP web GUI. Please use your browser to https://AP IP(for example: https:172.22.xx.x).

Login in GUI.

User    : admin

Password: (site-wide password)

 

Follow the path below to verify your site-wide admin-password:

Website Left sidebar > Site-wide > Configure > General settings > Device configuration > Local credentials > Password

And go to Maintenance > diagnostics > collect now

Thanks

Jay

saqib_s

Hi Jay,

I made the change to all channels, not sure this has helped. this issue has occurred again just now, at 09:09 am EST.   (UTC +5) 

I've collected the diagnostic logs and will send you a message on here with the file. 

Zyxel_Jay

Hi @saqib_s

Thanks for your feedback. We've noticed that channels 1 and 2 are still experiencing noise issues. Can you let us know where your access points are currently located? We suggest placing them in the middle of the ceiling in areas where you often use 2.4 GHz devices. This will improve the performance of your wireless network. Furthermore, we can help you block channels 1 and 2 to optimize your 2.4 GHz usage.

Jay

saqib_s

Thanks Jay, the AP is located on the ceiling mounted in the middle so not susceptible to much noise. 

How do i block channel 1 & 2 ?

Zyxel_Jay

Hi @saqib_s

We help us set up the manual DCS and skip channels 1 and 2. 
We saw that your AP was on channel 8 yesterday.
Please help us check if 2.4G devices have the same issue.

On the other hand, channel 1 and channel 2 have a lot of noise, you can check if there is a microwave near the 2.4G devices or some interruptions on the floor.

Thanks
Jay

saqib_s

There aren't any regular devcies, we have a microwave but its far away from the AP and devices. 

I've had not issues over the last 2-3 days, so perhaps using channel 8/9 might be better, should I change this for the AP?

Zyxel_Jay

Hi @saqib_s,

I'm glad to hear that your issue has been resolved. We have now set the DCS to skip channels 1 and 2, so the AP will not change to those channels. You can keep this configuration, or if you find the noise-generating device in the future, you can adjust the DCS setting again

Jay