Intermittent 2.4 GHz Connection Issues on NWA130BE

bpa

Hello Zyxel Community,

I'm experiencing a recurring issue with my new NWA130BE where the 2.4 GHz band stops functioning every 8 to 24 hours. All devices connected to this band lose their connection, while the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands continue to work flawlessly.

To temporarily resolve the issue, I access the local AP settings and make a minor change in the Radio 1 profile, such as switching the channel or adjusting the 802.11 mode. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to matter what change I make — the 2.4 GHz band becomes operational again, and all devices reconnect.

The devices affected are from various brands and support different 802.11 standards, so it doesn’t seem to be device-specific. I’ve also noticed that this issue has been present since I first connected a 2.4 GHz device to the access point.

Has anyone else encountered a similar problem or found a solution? Any guidance or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your support. 😊

Best regards,

BP

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @bpa

To address the intermittent 2.4 GHz connection issue on your NWA130BE, we recommend the following steps:

1. Update FirmwareEnsure your NWA130BE is running the latest firmware version.
   You can find the latest updates in our https://community.zyxel.com/en/categories/wlan-news-and-release section.
2. Optimize Channel SelectionTo minimize co-channel interference, set the 2.4 GHz channel selection to Dynamic Channel Selection (DCS). This allows the access point to automatically select the least congested channel in your environment.Please navigate to the AP web GUI > Configuration > Object > AP Profile > Radio > Add/Edit for the Channel Selection settings.

If the issue persists after these adjustments, we kindly ask you to collect your AP diagnostic info and share it with us via private message. This will help us analyze the problem further and provide a more tailored solution.

DougHo

This sounds like my ticket #446846 which has been open since July. Mine fixes by merely toggling the 2.4G radio 1 off then on again, and occurs less often than yours. Back when I was reporting it I noticed something in a diagnostics log around the same time like BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at mm/slab.h:565 (but now many months later I can't recall that was it).

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @DougHo

Could you please collect the diagnostic info when the issue occurs and let us know the time it started?

Additionally, if your device is managed in Nebula Cloud mode, kindly enable Zyxel Support access and share your organization and site name. This will allow us to directly check your device's setup.

Thank you!

DougHo

Kay, do you not have access to the multiple diagnostic dumps I made to Zyxel support in that ticket number, which Tier 3 had? The first one (July 21st on firmware 7.00) they were not willing to fix because they said that the log did not contain the time (but it did contain that BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at mm/slab.h:565 I mentioned). Then another on firmware V7.00(2) August 30th when the diagnostics were dumped more quickly (and had that same BUG line). Can't remember if there might have been a third time. I am unable to access that ticket anymore myself, for some reason my logon to the ticket system does not work and the reset password feature after I click through the resulting email gives an error saying The action has been completed or is no longer valid.

Since I am very dependent on dozens of smart home devices using 2.4GHz, I stopped using the access point for 2.4GHz back in October.

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @DougHo

First and foremost, please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in addressing the issue you reported several months ago.

Since the diagnostic data you provided is from an earlier firmware version (V7.00P2), and there have been several improvements made up to V7.00P3, we recommend upgrading your access point to the latest available firmware. The updates include several enhancements that could help address the issue.

If the problem persists after the update, please collect the diagnostic information again and share it with us via private msg. for further investigation.

Thank you for your cooperation!

DougHo

Sorry but I reported the problem with diagnostics in multiple firmware versions which were current at the time of bug/report, and I received confirmation that Tier 3 is working on it. While waiting, my return period for the purchase ran out. I update the firmware each time it is available but As I said, Since I need reliable 2.4GHz for my smart home devices, I have to operate the AP for just 5/6GHz until Tier 3 confirms they have fixed the 2.4GHz problem reported by me and BP.

I can only guess that BP was using latest firmware in their report one week ago (which had been out around a month at that point) since they are wise enough to know about this community and access local settings to troubleshoot a sort of temporary workaround like I did.

RadiomanSD

Hmmmm. Mine does the same thing with the latest firmware.

I did the procedure listed and seems to work now. Do I have to do this all the time now?

bpa

Since my initial report, the issue with the 2.4 GHz band has not reoccurred. For context, I was running the latest firmware (V7.00(3)) and had the access point configured in standalone mode.

When I initially reported the problem, I was using Dynamic Channel Selection. Shortly afterward, I switched to a manual configuration and set the channel to 13.

While investigating, I also reviewed the logs and noticed a device with a Tuya MAC address attempting to connect to all my SSIDs every second. This device does not belong to me, so I added it to a MAC Filtering Profile to block its connection attempts. Despite this, the device continued trying for several days before it finally disappeared from the logs.

I’m not entirely sure if switching to a manual channel, blocking the rogue device, or something else entirely resolved the issue. It’s worth mentioning that I had purchased the access point only a week before encountering the problem.

I hope this update is helpful for others who might experience similar issues. Feel free to reach out if additional details could be useful!

Best regards,
BP

Zyxel_Kay

Hi @RadiomanSD

If you’ve followed the suggested steps to optimize your device’s radio settings and it is now functioning properly, you can keep your device configuration as is.

If any issues arise in the future, please don’t hesitate to reach out, and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Hi @bpa

Thank you for your feedback. We’re glad to hear that you’ve resolved the issue.

If you need further assistance in the future, please feel free to contact us. Collecting the AP diagnostic file immediately after the issue occurs will help us pinpoint the root cause more efficiently.

DougHo

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/comment/72435#Comment_72435

When you say you did the procedure listed, do you mean Kay's DCS (which I think has nothing to do with this bug)? Or do you mean the temporary fix of mine (toggling the 2.4GHz radio off and on again) or BP (changing any minor setting of 2.4GHz radio) to bring 2.4GHz back to life? If the former then you should not have to repeat, but if mine or BP's then it would need repeating if the 2.4GHz radio fails again (in my case that was typically around two days after the router was re-started for something like a firmware upgrade).