Connection of MacBook with 5ghz SSID fails

PimK82

Hello,

My MacBook randomly loses the connection with the 5ghz SSID when I come into the office. When I to connect to the 2,4ghz SSID it works normally. I need to reset both AP's to make a connection again with the 5ghz SSID.

I have the latest MacBook OS; MacOS ventura 13.3
The AP's are NWA50AX (2x) with firmware V6.29(ABYW.1)

AP's are seperated from eachother about 13 metres. Setup of the SSID is as follows:
WPA2 security,
Sign-in method disabled,
Forwarding mode local bridge,
Band 5ghz, 6ghz,
Assisted roaming enabled.

Radio settings are as follows:
Deployment selection is low density (2-5 AP's),
Max. output power 2,4ghz 20dbm, 5ghz 30dbm and 6ghz 30dbm,
Channel width 2,4ghz 20mhz, 5ghz 80mhz and 6ghz 160mhz,
DCS schedule weekdays at 7:30am and Avoid 5G DFS channel enabled,
Smart steering enabled with standard setup for all bands,
802.11d enabled,
WLAN Rate Control Setting all bands setup at the lowest density.

I don't know why I randomly lose the connection and need to reset the AP's to be able to connect again to the 5ghz SSID. Does someone know what it could be?

mMontana

Only making some guess… are MacBook and NWA50AX set for the correct country/ radio emissions regulations?

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @PimK82 

 

After investigating your site, we found that one of your MacBook devices is showing a "blocked by key handshake fail" log.

This indicates that the authentication process is incomplete. In most cases, this can occur due to interferences in the network environment. 

Please fine tune the wireless environment first by: 

• Disable Avoid 5G DFS channel to prevent channel interference at Access point > Configure > Radio settings > DCS setting 
  
   
• Increase your WLAN rate control for 2.4GHz to 5.5Mbps, while 5Ghz to 12Mbps, refer to this FAQ 

Please tell us if the issue persists after you change the configuration. 

 

Kay 

PimK82

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/comment/50414#Comment_50414

Hi @mMontana,

Thanks for you feedback. Yes, everything is set to Netherlands for the regions on all devices.

PimK82

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/comment/50434#Comment_50434

Hi @Zyxel_Kay,

Thanks for your help. I've just changed the settings as you proposed and will test the coming days. I will post my findings in the end of next week.

Have a nice weekend!

PimK82

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/comment/50436#Comment_50436

This morning a colleague reported that he couldn't see the 5ghz network in his list, last Friday there was no issue. I can't see anything strange in the logging. Any idea what it could be?

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @PimK82

 

Thank you for providing an update. 

Regarding your question, we would like to know if your MacBook's connection has been stable after applying the configuration we recommended. 

To better understand your colleague's device connection problem, we suggest checking the following information: 

1. What is the device’s NIC model and specification? 
2. What is the wireless mode setting of his wireless NIC?  
   
3. As we noticed that there is an SSID schedule on your site, is the device connecting within the scheduled time? 
   You may check the schedule at NCC >> Access point >> Configure >> SSID availability 

Moreover, we would like to know if any other devices are also unable to discover the 5GHz SSID. 

 

Kay 

PimK82

Hi Kay,

The MacBook's are now almost 14 days problem free when connecting to the network. It looks like disabling the setting worked.

As for the other issue with the Windows 11 laptops, on that day I wasn't in the office. What I noticed is that only the printer was connected, nothing else. After I rebooted the access points, the problem was solved and everyone could connect again. There were only laptops with Windows 11 in the office at that moment. I will check your first two questions when my colleague is in the office tomorrow.
For question 3 it's easy, no, this was during the opening hours of the SSID.

Sorry for my delay in answering, I was a few days off.

PimK82

So today the printer lost connection again and I needed to reboot the AP's to get it online (also powercycled the printer, but that did not fix it). Is there an easy way to schedule a reboot of the AP's weekly for instance?

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @PimK82

 

Our AP currently doesn’t support a reboot schedule feature. However, we recognize that this functionality could be useful for many users, and we would like to propose it as an idea for evaluation. 

You can find the link to the idea section below, where you can track its progress: 
AP Reboot Schedule feature — Zyxel Community 

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions to help us improve our product. 

 

Kay 

PimK82

The other issues (with workstations) have not returned. All seams to be stable for the workstations now. Thanks for the help.