iPhone 17 (x2) showing offline after roaming between Smart Mesh AP's

Options
Alan_Twigg1951
Alan_Twigg1951 Posts: 5
First Comment
image  Freshman Member
in Nebula

I have 2 x NWA50AX in smart mesh mode, Managed by Nebula, I have noticed that my iPhone 17 devices show as offline in Nebula after roaming between the 2 x AP's and never come back as "online".

Event log shows that roaming is taking place, but the iphone17's never show as "Online" again. The iphones are still working normally. I have 2 x SSID's and no other wifi AP, only the 2 x NWA50AX devices, firmware and ios are at the latest level for the AP's and the iPhones.

iPhones have FIXED private Wi-Fi address. Data services have been turned off during testing of this issue. Internet speed for the iPhones is unaffected, Im getting the max download speed that my broadband provider has allocated ( BT - VDSL ).

Turning off/on wifi on the iPhone devices fixes the issue for a short while.

Smart Steering is enabled, all Advanced settings are at default.

Apart from the iPhones not being displayed in the Nebula Cloud, nothing else appears affected! These are the only devices that are exhibiting this issue, I have a mix of iPad's , , smart plugs and Alexa and IOT devices.

Any help or advice appreciated.

Alan

Accepted Solution

  • Alan_Twigg1951
    Alan_Twigg1951 Posts: 5
    First Comment
    image  Freshman Member
    Answer ✓
    Options

    Dont bother pursuing this issue, if indeed you were going to, I have abandoned zyxel mesh and AP's

    not happy with them and nebula is very poor.

All Replies

  • Zyxel_Melen
    Zyxel_Melen Posts: 5,174
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Nebula Zyxel Certified Sales Associate
    image  Zyxel Employee
    edited July 13
    Options

    Hi @Alan_Twigg1951

    Since the client page information is not real-time updated, you issue could be because the connected status hasn't update to Nebula.

    Could you help to check:

    1. Current stations table to find if this iPhone is connected. You can find this feature in Device > AP > (One of your AP) > Live Tool > Current stations.
    2. Wait for 5 minutes and check the client page again to see if the connection status is updated.

    If the issue remains, please help to keep the issue and enable Zyxel support access for us to check. Also, please share your organization's name.

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


  • Alan_Twigg1951
    Alan_Twigg1951 Posts: 5
    First Comment
    image  Freshman Member
    Options

    Hi Melen, yes the problem is still occurring, I have enabled admin access for you.

    Client (iphone 17) roams from root AP to Mesh Repeater which shows in the clients event log, the current stations live tool for the root AP shows the client still connected to the root AP, after 15 mins or so the client is no longer present on the root AP, the client event log states its roamed to the repeater AP, however the client doesn't show up on the repeater AP current stations live tool, or any client list/display. It only shows as offline on the root AP, client display.

    I have the exact same issue with another iPhone 17 as well.

    Best Regards

    Alan

    Org Name: Alan_Twigg_Zyxel , iphone 17 mac: 0A:1B:A1:9E:CC:93

    Screenshot 2026-07-19 at 09.11.38.png
  • Alan_Twigg1951
    Alan_Twigg1951 Posts: 5
    First Comment
    image  Freshman Member
    Answer ✓
    Options

    Dont bother pursuing this issue, if indeed you were going to, I have abandoned zyxel mesh and AP's

    not happy with them and nebula is very poor.

  • Zyxel_Melen
    Zyxel_Melen Posts: 5,174
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Nebula Zyxel Certified Sales Associate
    image  Zyxel Employee
    Options

    Hi @Alan_Twigg1951

    Thank you for letting us know, and I'm sorry to hear that your experience with the Zyxel mesh/AP setup and Nebula didn't work out — that's valuable feedback for us.

    Even though you've moved away from the product, we'll continue investigating this issue on our end, as it may help us improve things for other users.

    Thanks again for your time and patience throughout this process.

    Zyxel Melen


  • Zyxel_Melen
    Zyxel_Melen Posts: 5,174
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Nebula Zyxel Certified Sales Associate
    image  Zyxel Employee
    Options

    Update:

    No issue during the replication. We will monitor if any other user encounter the same issue.

    Zyxel Melen


  • edomessi
    edomessi Posts: 2
    First Comment Friend Collector
    image  Freshman Member
    edited October 12
    Options

    I've the same issue. Let me collect some evidence and share it soon.

  • edomessi
    edomessi Posts: 2
    First Comment Friend Collector
    image  Freshman Member
    edited October 12
    Options

    Hi @Zyxel_Melen,

    I am chiming in on this thread because I am experiencing this exact same issue, which proves it isn't isolated. It seems the reason the previous user's iPhones showed as "offline" in Nebula is because the client actually drops the Wi-Fi connection entirely during the roaming transition over the Smart Mesh.

    In my setup, I have an NWA110BE (firmware V7.30(ACLZ.4)) and two NWA210BE access points (firmware V7.30(ACLY.3) / V7.30(ACLY.4)) running in Wireless Bridge / Smart Mesh mode.

    What is happening:
    When moving between rooms with my iPhone 17 Pro, it fails to transition smoothly between the mesh APs. Instead of roaming cleanly, the iPhone gets stuck in a constant, rapid loop switching back and forth between the cellular 5G network and the Wi-Fi 6E/7 (6 GHz) band.

    During this loop, the connection is completely broken, which perfectly explains why the device disappears or shows as offline in the Nebula client list. The only ways to stop the blinking loop are toggling Airplane mode for 10 seconds or completely disabling the 6E/7 band on the iPhone.

    My assumptions about why this is happening:

    1. Aggressive iOS 6 GHz Retention vs Reinforced Concrete: The iPhone holds onto the weak 6 GHz signal from the previous room for too long. Because my building has reinforced concrete walls, the 6 GHz signal drops off extremely sharply rather than fading gradually.
    2. Mesh Link Handshake Latency: When the signal plummets due to the concrete, the iPhone tries to roam. However, because the APs are linked via a Wireless Bridge, the slight added latency during the fast-roaming handshake triggers the iOS "Wi-Fi Assist" cellular failover feature before the AP can properly update its MAC tables and route traffic to the repeater AP.

    Seeking Guidance on Configuration Settings:
    To mitigate this harsh signal drop and heavy attenuation, I am considering trying the following settings adjustments, but I would highly appreciate your confirmation or further guidance before proceeding:

    • Smart Steering: Should I enable Smart Steering and set the optimization threshold aggressively (perhaps around -72 dBm to -75 dBm) to forcefully kick the "sticky" iPhone before the reinforced concrete cuts the 6 GHz signal completely?
    • 6 GHz Channel Width: Would dropping the 6 GHz band from 160/320 MHz down to 80 MHz improve signal stability and penetration through these dense walls, thereby reducing roaming failures?
    • Fast Roaming Protocols: Are there specific recommended configurations for 802.11k/v/r within Nebula to specifically optimize iOS 6 GHz roaming over a Smart Mesh backhaul?

    Since you were looking for another replication case, I can keep my environment active to help troubleshoot. Please let me know if these proposed settings are recommended or if you suggest a different approach given my scenario above.

    Thank you very much in advance!

  • Zyxel_Melen
    Zyxel_Melen Posts: 5,174
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Nebula Zyxel Certified Sales Associate
    image  Zyxel Employee
    Options

    Hi @edomessi

    Thanks for the details. About your symptoms, it seems like a known issue. Please help to check the private message I sent and upgrade the date code firmware first.

    Zyxel Melen


Categories

Nebula Tips & Tricks


    Read more

    Nebula Help Center

    EnglishTiếng ViệtРусскийไทย中文（台灣）