Bad coverage in mesh combination NWA210AX and 2x NWA50AX

hanlimburg

Configuration: 1x NWA210AX and 2x NWA50AX, all 3 cabled to a router. All 3 have smart mesh enabled. All 3 are about 10m apart, in an old farmhouse (no thick walls).

The coverage of (especially) the NWA210AX wifi network is quite limited, below expectation.

Question: can these devices be used properly in a mesh and is this the optimal solution?

Zyxel_Nami

Hello @hanlimburg

Yes, the NWA210AX and NWA50AX models are fully compatible and capable of establishing a Mesh network.

You mentioned that all three devices are wired to a router and have smart mesh enabled. This means that they will prioritize the wired connection for communication with their uplink (the router). If the wired uplink between an AP and the router goes down, the device will switch to a wireless mesh connection to reach the root AP (the one with a wired uplink).

If end devices are experiencing lost WiFi or low signal strength, it could be due to the devices connecting to a more distant AP during the roaming process. To better understand and diagnose your coverage issue, we would need to review your Nebula configuration. Could you please enable Zyxel Support and PM (Private Message) us your Org/Site name for further investigation?

hanlimburg

Hi Nami - thanks - I will take your advise and open a support ticket.

Zyxel_Nami

Hello @hanlimburg

We've reviewed your Nebula Site and found that several IoT devices are connected to the NWA210AX (Voorhuis) via the Limbohome SSID. Some of these devices are experiencing poor signal strength at -82 and -83 dBm. This suggests that the devices are too far from the AP. For a stable connection, we recommend maintaining a signal strength of at least -70 dBm.

The decision to connect to a specific AP is ultimately made by the end device. In this case, the device chose not to roam to a closer AP and remained connected to Voorhuis despite the low signal strength. To mitigate this, please refer to our FAQ on configuring smart steering to optimize the wireless coverage:

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/10008/nebula-how-to-configure-smart-steering-to-optimize-the-wireless-network

Given that your environment includes IoT devices that tend to use the 2.4GHz band, we recommend creating a dedicated SSID exclusively for these 2.4GHz devices. This should help improve both coverage and performance. For more information, please refer to this FAQ:

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/17840/what-can-i-adopt-to-resolve-the-issue-of-iot-device-being-blocked-by-the-ap

Regarding to Garage AP you mentioned in the private message, we are still checking and will feedback you soon.

Zyxel_Nami

Hello @hanlimburg

Based on our conversation on private message, we noticed the abnormal logs "key handshake failed", and the issue will be addressed on the next official firmware, estimated to be released this October.

Thank you