NWA50AX mesh problem

TipoTimido

Hi everyone.

I installed 3 NWA50AX yesterday instead of 3 WSM20, configured with Nebula and activated the smart mesh. the 3 devices are connected with an ethernet cable made ad hoc by me, shielded cat6 etc... connected to a Zyxel GS1008HP gigabit poe switch.

As soon as I turn them on I find that 2 of the 3 show an uplink alert limited to 100mb. With the WSM20 there were no this problem. The furthest of all 3, however, is shown as full 1GB. The strange thing is that the cable is the same, it doesn't make strange bends and the length of the two devices is shorter than the full duplex one and 2 days ago with the 3 WSM20 all 3 devices were in full 1gb.

Another strange thing is that if I turn one off, the devices on site connect to one of the two left on, but after I turn the first one back on, the devices do not return to the preferential network (closer and more powerful) so the MESH is not working .As you can see, before the reboot of numebr 2 and 3, only 5 clients were connected to the first device. Now you see 22 clients becouse i rebooted the number 2 and 3. The numebr 3 bring back just only 1 clinet.

it's been like this for several hours now. Same test done yesterday and I noticed that the devices are NOT correctly routed to the closest/strongest network among the three access points after one device reboot. Yesterday the numbers of clients were very different again, so there is no a logic routing here but a … "go to the first grid and stop".

Is there anything I can do to make this "mesh" work?

Is there anything I can do to fix the 100mb limitation on the two access points?

Repeat, the cable is the same, before (since 2 days ago) I had 3 WSM20s and all 3 were at 1gb with the speed test of the Multy app which confirmed it. Same cable. I just changed the WSM20s to the NWA50AXs.

Zyxel_Nami

Hi @TipoTimido

To force the end devices to connect to a specific AP, you might consider using the SSID Tag feature. This feature allows you to assign unique SSIDs to each AP, guiding devices to connect to the desired AP by selecting the corresponding SSID. For a step-by-step guide on implementing this, please refer to this FAQ:

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/756/nebula-how-can-i-configure-to-separate-ssids-between-naps

If the issue with the two APs showing 10/100Mbps link speed persists despite trying different cables and switch ports, we suggest you initiate the RMA process.

Zyxel_Nami

Hello @TipoTimido

In setups like yours where APs are interconnected via Ethernet with Smart Mesh enabled, the APs default to using the wired connection.

Regarding your observation about device connectivity, it is related to the roaming behavior of end devices, and Mesh doesn't directly influence end-device roaming behavior.

Please see the FAQ below for more details on Roaming and Mesh:

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/19910/the-difference-between-roaming-and-mesh-in-wireless-networks

When the end devices stay connected to a farther AP instead of switching to a closer one, it could be due to satisfactory signal strength or extensive overlapping signal coverage between APs. To optimize the roaming of end devices, you may follow the below FAQ for reference:

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/17244/how-to-set-up-seamless-wireless-roaming-on-nebula

As for the 10/100M link limit alert on APs, this often points to a connection issue between AP and uplink device. Please check again the cables are plugged properly at two ends.

Additionally, you may observe the Switch port's LED indicators to verify if they show a 10/100M or 1G connection.

TipoTimido

HI.the switch has all the orange LEDs except one, obviously, which is why I say it's a strange thing, with the previous wsm20s they were all green which indicated that the ports were negotiating correctly at 1gb.

As I was saying, I have already tried removing and replacing the cable, the cable is the same one I had 2 now 3 days ago with the wsm20, it has not changed and I don't think that 2 out of 3 have suddenly degraded.

Furthermore, the two cables relating to the two APs that go 100m are very short. instead compared to the one that currently runs at 1GB which if I'm not mistaken should be almost 20m long, because it starts from the attic and arrives in the basement.

Zyxel_Nami

Hi @TipoTimido

Have you considered swapping the two APs that are showing orange status to connect to the switch port currently connecting to the normal AP (Garage AP)? This could help determine if the issue is specific to certain ports on the switch.

Additionally, please inspect the Ethernet ports on both the APs and the switch to ensure a secure and firm connection. Loose connections can often lead to inconsistent network behavior.

Looking forward to your response after these checks.

Thanks.

TipoTimido

we are talking about fixed devices, with ESP module, they do not have a roaming logic.So I think this option is unlikely.Yes I tried unplugging reconnecting etc. but these two devices only go to 100mb. The previous ones (wsm20) went at 1gb on the exact same cable.

TipoTimido

Please, tell me that with Nebula I can move one wifi connected device from one AP to another AP… like this:

Zyxel_Nami

Hi @TipoTimido

To force the end devices to connect to a specific AP, you might consider using the SSID Tag feature. This feature allows you to assign unique SSIDs to each AP, guiding devices to connect to the desired AP by selecting the corresponding SSID. For a step-by-step guide on implementing this, please refer to this FAQ:

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/756/nebula-how-can-i-configure-to-separate-ssids-between-naps

If the issue with the two APs showing 10/100Mbps link speed persists despite trying different cables and switch ports, we suggest you initiate the RMA process.

TipoTimido

wow tha ssid tag can do exactly what I need. Thanks.

For the 100mb problem I think that may I have to start a RMA right early. Yes. Thanks.