MR46s and Intel Wifi Cards - disconnects - any settings we should explore from a Meraki POV?

[JimBean112]

Hi all,

We’re running a ~200 person office with an average daily headcount of around 120. Nearly all users have company provided Dell laptops with Intel AX211 WiFi cards (95%+), and we're seeing ongoing WiFi instability across the board.

The issue:
Users frequently report momentary WiFi dropouts – disconnects lasting a few seconds before reconnecting. In Event Viewer, this typically shows a burst of events, then everything appears to recover on its own.

Key context:

• All laptops are company-provided and Intune-managed.

• Driver version across the fleet is Intel 23.131.0.

• OS mix: Mostly Windows 11, with a few Windows 10.

• Our SSID is 5GHz-only (we removed 2.4GHz recently, but the issue existed before that too). 

  PSK (WPA3-SAE Transition Mode) 

  802.11r Enabled

  802.11w Enabled 

  MRs are on latest firmware 

• Non-company devices (eg when users BYOD) do not have this issue, suggesting it's specific to the build or hardware config.

• Common recurring Event IDs:

  • 7021 (most frequent)

  • 6062

• Some have suggested tweaking Device Manager > Advanced Settings (e.g. disabling power saving, LRO, lowering roaming aggressiveness), but we've not seen definitive improvement yet.

•  

Has anyone seen similar behavior with Intel AX211 or AX2xx series cards and meraki equipment?

Some Meraki Screenshots and event IDs 

I know it looks like the event IDs signify driver / firmware issues - but they are on the latest release n-1 

Thanks in advance!

[RaphaelL]

Hi ,

What Authentification are you using ? WPA2-PSK ? WPA2-Enterprise ? 

[JimBean112]

PSK (WPA3-SAE Transition Mode) 

802.11r Enabled

802.11w Enabled 

[PhilipDAth]

Don't use WPA3-SAE.  It works poorly.

[JimBean112]

Hello ,

That is interesting , So we have a requirement to be on WPA3 , however i have not tried setting it to WPA3 only without SAE.

i presume just WPA3 will be ok ?  - eg below?

I cant recall us setting SAE explicitly , but perhaps it was auto enabled when we set it to WPA3-Transition mode.

[PhilipDAth]

WPA3 works fine, but you need all Wi-Fi 6 clients. 

[cmr]

As @PhilipDAth said WPA3-transition mode is a bag of spanners.  WPA3 only does work, but for me it is reliable on HP/Dell Windows 10/11 laptops and Macs, but not so much on Samsung phones.  With the Samsung phone you have to turn off Wi-Fi and then back on every few days...

[JimBean112]

Thansk CMR,

the phones we can live with , its more so getting the Laptops as stable as we can .

If possible could you send a screenshot of a example config of WPA3 you have that is working reliably with your HP/Dells?

[JimBean112]

Hello

So i wasnt able to set it to WPA3 without selecting SAE or SAE-EXT as it needs a specified AKM suite.

Wifi 6 clients is fine , all our corp devices are compatible.

would you have a screenshot of the settings where its just WPA3 without SAE ? as i dont think its possible in the release im on

or did i miss understand and it was to use WPA3-SAE rather than WPA3 Transition SAE? 

thanks!

[PhilipDAth]

Sorry, I meant don't use WPA3 Transition Mode.

Interestingly, I don't get as many options as you.

[JimBean112]

Thanks

Just a update for all, 

Created a new test SSID - Set it to WPA2 Only , Setting Client side config to low aggressiveness, setting wireless mode on client to 802.11ax ,  and ensuring LRO / Throughput / u-apsd is disabled 

= Stable on devices , including users who are testing that frequently had issues.

I am waiting when i  can test again with WPA3-SAE rather than WPA3-SAE-Transition mode.

but so far we seem to be on the right track, at least with WPA2 with client side optimisation it is behaving correctly. 

[alemabrahao]

There are multiple reports of WiFi instability with Intel AX211 cards in environments using Meraki access points. You can try disabling 802.11r, Client Balancing, 802.11w and force 5GHz band in the NIC settings, set roaming aggressiveness to low, disable LRO (Large Receive Offload) in the NIC advanced settings.

[JimBean112]

Thanks

Currently we have 

802.11r Enabled

802.11w Enabled 

Client balancing has been disabled for a long time , we had so many problems with that when we used to have a mixed 2.4/5ghz environment. 

I see a option to Disable 802.11r , but for 802.11w i can only Set it to Enabled or required?

Yes will look at roaming aggressiveness and Disabling LRO in the Windows - Intel Driver NIC Settings

was hoping someone has had this exact same problem before and had a nice script for Client side tweaking 😄

[PhilipDAth]

Don't use the Dell-provided driver.  Go directly to Intel and download the driver from there.

[JimBean112]

Yes we are using Intel provided drivers , the Dell OEM ones are very slow to be released .

[BaskaranGanesan]

I am facing a similar issue due to bad client roaming between the AP and the Radio. Can you check the Client page --> roaming --> Bad Roaming to see how long it took to roam between the APs?  

The window driver settings

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005585/wireless/legacy-intel-wireless-pr...

Latest driver download. 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/204837/intel-wifi-6e-ax211-gig/downloads.html

[JimBean112]

Hello 

roaming  between APs for us is OK , average less than 40ms

[HumbleNetworkGu]

Hi, i have similar issue currently using Lenovo ThinkPad with Inter Wi-Fi 6E 2X211 160Mz WiFi card.

Wifi keep jumping here and there, what is your solution on this ?

As i have made alot of changes includeing power, rf channel, disable 2.4. Even im sitting at one place, device connectivity jumping here and there.

[PhilipDAth]

If your NIC properties on your machine, adjust the "Roaming Agressiveness" setting.

[HumbleNetworkGu]

I already tried from Low to High. My device still keep roaming here and there. There is one point it connecting to the farthest AP in my office 🤣 .

[BaskaranGanesan]

Can you check the interference level of APs?  What is the channel width (Auto or manual)? How is roaming occurring between the APs or between the same radio on the same AP?   

[HumbleNetworkGu]

Hi, sorry for the late reply. All APs are set Auto.

[BaskaranGanesan]

Still having issues?

[HumbleNetworkGu]

I think the issue is not on the Meraki itself, but our device. We tested variety of device such as HP, Mac, Dell and Lenovo. We are using Lenova Thinkpad T16 with AX211 WiFi card, all device not jumping here and there, only Lenovo having this issue. We have contact our local Lenova support, they said "well known issue" but there is no solution for this.