Setup outdoor NWA55AXE without cable

Wiefie
Wiefie Posts: 4  Freshman Member
First Comment
in Wireless

I’m currently setting up an outdoor Wi-Fi solution using Zyxel access points and ran into a problem I hope someone can help with.

I have the Zyxel NWA55AXE mounted outside. I want it to wirelessly connect (as a repeater or mesh node) to an indoor NWA50AX which is already connected to the network via Ethernet. However, the NWA55AXE does not seem to pick up any signal when it's outside — it only works when connected via Ethernet.

Here's what I've tried:

The NWA55AXE is powered and configured via Nebula.

The indoor NWA50AX is functioning correctly and broadcasting Wi-Fi.

I expected the NWA55AXE to connect wirelessly to the NWA50AX, but it fails to do so.

As soon as I connect the NWA55AXE via Ethernet, it works fine.

Question: Is it even possible for the NWA55AXE to wirelessly connect to the NWA50AX as a mesh/repeater? Or is this not supported due to the NWA50AX lacking mesh capabilities?

All Replies

  • Zyxel_Melen
    Zyxel_Melen Posts: 3,306  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Nebula Zyxel Certified Sales Associate

    Hi @Wiefie,

    Is your NWA50AX also in Nebula mode and configured for smart mesh? If so, NWA50AX and NWA55AXE can connect using smart mesh. However, since NWA55AXE needs PoE to power up, you still need to connect the Ethernet cable to deliver power to NWA55AXE. Without Ethernet cable, NWA55AXE will be powered off.

    Zyxel Melen


  • Wiefie
    Wiefie Posts: 4  Freshman Member
    First Comment

    All access points are operating in Nebula mode, and the NWA55AXE is powered via PoE, so it's definitely receiving power.

    However, it still does not establish a wireless connection (Smart Mesh) with the indoor NWA50AX when there is no Ethernet uplink. Both devices appear in Nebula and are online when connected via cable, but the NWA55AXE won’t mesh wirelessly.

    Could this be because the NWA50AX does not support Smart Mesh? Or is there a setting I may have overlooked

  • Wiefie
    Wiefie Posts: 4  Freshman Member
    First Comment
    edited May 14

    I set up the NWA55AXE powered via PoE only, without a LAN connection. It received a DHCP IP and showed up online in Nebula. After I enabled Wireless Bridge, it successfully connected via Smart Mesh. Everything is now working as expected.

  • Zyxel_Melen
    Zyxel_Melen Posts: 3,306  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Nebula Zyxel Certified Sales Associate

    Hi @Wiefie

    However, it still does not establish a wireless connection (Smart Mesh) with the indoor NWA50AX when there is no Ethernet uplink. Both devices appear in Nebula and are online when connected via cable, but the NWA55AXE won’t mesh wirelessly.

    Based on your descrition, it seems like the NWA55AXE connects to a switch or PoE adapter that connects to a device that make the AP can connect to the router. In this scenario, the AP will not change to smart mesh as uplink. Wireless bridge function allows smart mesh repeater forward traffic from wireless to LAN port.

    In my lab, I just need to:

    1. Let smart mesh root AP and repeater AP online and get configuration.
    2. Move the repeater AP to the place, and ensure it cannot reach the router via the Ethernet port, and fair mesh uplink distance/signal.
    3. Wait for the repeater AP to boot up and link to smart mesh root AP.

    If the smart mesh still not link after following the correct configuration flow, please let me know and enable Zyxel support for us to check.

    https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/14234/nebula-how-to-turn-on-zyxel-support-access
    Zyxel Melen


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