NWA55AXE/NWA50AX mesh not working

FarmerJim

I have two APs: NWA55AXE in my office, NWA50AX in my shop.

I want them meshed together so that the NWA50AX acts as an extender. I have Smart Mesh enabled in nebula and supposedly it is enabled, but it just isn't working even when they're in the same room I cannot ping the NWA50AX and it is flashing Green/Orange.

According to everything I've read it should just be a case of enabling Smart Mesh but that isn't working. Both on latest firmware.

StefanZ

We use several NWA50AX – but not with mesh.

Mainly because the NWA50AX doesn't support mesh :-)
So I guess that's your problem too.
Correction, the NWA50AX does support SmartMesh, it just doesn't list in every support article?
Was looking at: https://support.zyxel.eu/hc/de/articles/360007264960-Nebula-Smart-Mesh-Wireless-Bridge-konfigurieren-Root-Repeater-Access-Point

But with 2 APs I don't see a real need for a Smart Mesh. Just have the clients roam into whatever AP has the best signal.

We have them on standalone config and I found that activating both "Enable U-APSD" and "802.11k/v Assisted Roaming" helps a lot with client stability, when devices are moving from room to room.

Just make sure the SSIDs on both APs match in name and password/auth and you should be ok.

On the dashboard of the devices you should see the neighbors:

When both options are active, you will also see logging that tells you when clients roam from one AP to the other – as well as the signal strength on join/leave events.

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @FarmerJim

The blinking Green/Orange LED on your NWA50AX indicates two possible conditions:

• Slow blinking (1s interval): AP setting up connection with NCC.
• Fast blinking (300ms interval): AP is booting up.

To enable the Smart Mesh function on your NWA50AX Nebula repeater and ensure a successful mesh connection, please follow these steps:

1. Connect the repeater (NWA50AX) with an Ethernet cable, let it go online at Nebula, and wait for the configuration status to update. Once updated, you can unplug the Ethernet cable and make it as a repeater again.
2. To maintain a stable mesh connection, please ensure that the repeater's uplink signal strength is within the range of -65.

You may check the status of your AP (Ex: Configuration status, Uplink signal) on NCC > Devices > Access points.

For detailed instructions on configuring the smart mesh function, please refer to this article:[Nebula] How to extend wireless coverage by configure smart mesh? — Zyxel Community

If your problem still persist after configure the smart mesh as above, please help us to enable Zyxel Support at Help >> Support request and provide us your org/site name. This will allow us to investigate your site directly.

Hi @StefanZ

Thanks for your sharing! All Zyxel APs support the Smart Mesh function. However, it's important to note that Smart Mesh can only be built using Zyxel APs within the same site.

In the other hand, if anyone are interested in creating a Smart Mesh using a wireless bridge, both the "root" and "repeater" APs should support the wireless bridge feature and have it enabled. Please keep in mind that not all Zyxel APs support the wireless bridge function. To determine which APs support this feature, you can refer to the specifications of each individual AP.

FarmerJim

@StefanZ - thanks.

with 2 APs I don't see a real need for a Smart Mesh

The plan is to add more APs later, so there will be a need for it and a seamless handover between repeaters as devices roam around the site. Also I don't have a wired connection between the buildings (otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with a mesh either.)

@Zyxel_Kay - I had a nightmare with the 50AX today, it wouldn't respond at all and I had to factory reset it and remove/re-add it to Nebula. I've enabled admin access under support for you.

Based on what you've told me, and according to the specification you're saying that the NWA50AX cannot act as a wireless repeater for an NWA55AXE because it doesn't have the wireless bridge function. Even though it shows immediately above in the specs (The NWA50AX User guide, page 13) that it can run WDS as a both a root AP and a repeater (repeater being the function I want)?

What am I missing here to get the NWA50AX to work as a wireless repeater for the NWA55AXE?

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @FarmerJim

I want to clarify that the NWA50AX doesn’t support the wireless bridge feature. However, it can still establish a mesh connection with your root AP(NWA55AXE) and function as a repeater as the function you want:

The wireless bridge function I mentioned earlier refers to a Smart Mesh feature that allows two Nebula Devices to automatically connect two network segments together over a WiFi connection. This is particularly useful when you need to extend your wired network to a new area where running cables is challenging.

For more detailed information about the Nebula Smart Mesh feature, you can refer to the link here.

it wouldn't respond at all and I had to factory reset it and remove/re-add it to Nebula.

Regarding to the issue you mentioned here, to assist you further, could you please provide us with the following details:

1. What is the topology of your network?
2. How was the NWA50AX LED status at the moment? You can refer to the LED status guide here.
3. How was your NWA50AX powered? Was it using PoE or a power adapter?

We have received your Zyxel support request. To further troubleshoot your issue, we kindly request that you bring both of your APs online on Nebula so that we can monitor and investigate them remotely.

FarmerJim

@Zyxel_Kay - thanks for that explanation. I just need the NWA50AX to be a wireless repeater between the NWA55AXE and client devices and that's all.

It looks like it's working now, I'm not sure what I can have set incorrectly as I followed the instruction in section 1.3.2 of the manual and all it said to do was enable 'smart mesh'?

I'm going to move the setup from my home to the farm and hopefully everything should work.