SSID range weakens when the captive portal is enabled

BriosqueInformatique

Hello everyone,

I’d like to share an issue I’m encountering across several sites where I’ve installed multiple Wi-Fi access points (NWA50AX, NWA90AX, NWA50AX PRO, NWA110AX). Everything works perfectly with a basic configuration. However, as soon as I activate the captive portal (e.g., click to continue, Nebula Cloud Authentication, etc.), the SSID signal becomes extremely weak… and this doesn’t necessarily affect all access points.

I’ve tried many settings such as walled garden (adding Zyxel’s domain and IP), NAT mode, and other advanced configurations, but none of the solutions work. What worries me is that I’m seeing the same issue across different sites — it’s really strange.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Best regards.

Zyxel_Melen

Hi @BriosqueInformatique

I did a local test but the SSID signal strength are both great/high. My SSID settings are both the same, the difference is just the Guest WiFi.

In addition, NWA50AX and NWA50AX PRO models do not natively support the captive portal feature. Which could cause these AP won't broadcast this SSID. This could be the root cause of your issue, since the AP that broadcast this SSID is not near the PC you testing. You can use the cmd command "NetSh WLAN Show All" to check the BSSID of this SSID is from which AP.

Zyxel_Melen

Hi @BriosqueInformatique

Will this option work with the NWA50AX and NWA50AX PRO models if we add additional licenses?

No, this is the device spec. You will need to choose another AP that supports the captive portal function.

Additionally, you can check the Device function table on Nebula to know which function are supported on which model.

Zyxel_Melen

Hi @BriosqueInformatique

I did a local test but the SSID signal strength are both great/high. My SSID settings are both the same, the difference is just the Guest WiFi.

In addition, NWA50AX and NWA50AX PRO models do not natively support the captive portal feature. Which could cause these AP won't broadcast this SSID. This could be the root cause of your issue, since the AP that broadcast this SSID is not near the PC you testing. You can use the cmd command "NetSh WLAN Show All" to check the BSSID of this SSID is from which AP.

BriosqueInformatique

Hello Zyxel Melen!

Many thanks for your quick reply and for this interesting response. I will work on this lead.

Will this option work with the NWA50AX and NWA50AX PRO models if we add additional licenses?

Or should we have chosen access points compatible with a "captive portal" from the start?

Thanks again.

Best regards.

Zyxel_Melen

Hi @BriosqueInformatique

Will this option work with the NWA50AX and NWA50AX PRO models if we add additional licenses?

No, this is the device spec. You will need to choose another AP that supports the captive portal function.

Additionally, you can check the Device function table on Nebula to know which function are supported on which model.

BriosqueInformatique

Hi Zyxel Melen,

"Thank you again for your responsiveness and for this very interesting additional information. Noted — I’ll have everything I need for my upcoming installations.

Best regards."