WiFi Radio issues on ONE AP

[TonyCummins]

Testing new Wi-Fi radio setup and have 2 buildings the need to work in with a parking lot separating the buildings. 

Each buildings APs and Outdoor AP all function as expected with 2 other SSIDs in place.

I start in building A and can use radios without issue, walking across parking lot and into building B. In building B the basement AP is the issue. As soon as the radios try connect to it they fail. Even restarting the radios will not get them to re associate with that AP, but of o walk to another AP in same building and try, they work. 

I just opened a ticket on Friday and am waiting for response but figured Id post here to see if I could get it sorted.

Authentication auth_mode='wpa2-psk' vlan_id='40' reason='eapol_timeout' radio='1' vap='4' channel='153' rssi='58'

So as they users roam around the buildings if their radio tries to connect to this basement AP it fails, and radio is never able to reconnect until power cycled near a different AP.

[Mloraditch]

Does the AP have the same port settings as the working AP? Have you tried factory resetting the AP? If it's an older model (MR32/MR18 gen or older) those can tend to act funky and need just a general reboot at times.

[TonyCummins]

Rebooted multiple times without any changes.

I have not factory reset it as of yet.
Port settings are identical to my other APs. We are using MR44s with C9300L switches.

[Mloraditch]

I would definitely try a factory reset, something could be just "stuck" on the local config on the device.  If everything else is the same models, switch configs, etc, odds are it's the AP in question and it's either going to be config or a hardware issue needing RMA

[michalc]

It's extremely difficult to advise not knowing your wireless environment. Mismatched bitrates between AP's or overpowered Radios could cause a bunch of issues in the Wi-Fi.
How are you radios transmit power configured?

What are the bitrates setup?

Do all access point belong to the same Radio Profile?
Are there other SSID's on the AP and can clients connect to them?

[TonyCummins]

Hi Michalc

Inherited the current settings and looks like all we are using both the default profiles with following settings: I have ONE outdoor AP MR78 and 16 Indoors MR44's.

OutDoor

INDOOR

Support has suggested I look at exactly what you mentions, power and bitrates, but I am unsure what best settings should be for those. (and i assume hard to answer as each location has many factors to be considered) but would appreciate any pointers or advice.

[michalc]

Without conducting a comprehensive WiFi survey, it's difficult to pinpoint the optimal settings for your specific deployment. However, there are some general recommendations and considerations you can keep in mind:

1. Device Compatibility:

   • Are you using very old devices on your "….RADIO" SSID? If not, you might consider increasing the minimum bitrate to 12 Mbps. This can improve network efficiency by excluding older, slower devices that may not be necessary for your environment.

2. Transmit Power Settings:

   • It seems your current transmit power is set to 30. While it might seem advantageous to set your Access Point (AP) to transmit at maximum power, doing so can lead to several issues:
     • Interference: High transmit power can cause interference with neighboring APs, leading to reduced performance and network reliability.
     • Coverage Overlap: Excessive power may cause overlapping coverage areas, leading to co-channel interference.
     • Battery Drain on Devices: Devices might need to work harder to maintain a connection, draining their batteries faster.
     • Hidden Node Problem: Not all devices will have the power to respond to the AP at maximum range, leading to communication issues.

   I'd probably recommend reverting to the default transmit power settings and allow the APs to communicate with each other to automatically determine the optimal power levels. This dynamic adjustment helps maintain a balanced and efficient network.

[TonyCummins]

Thank you, I will make some of those changes and test and report back. Makes sense reading the explanation you provided.

[TonyCummins]

           "I'd probably recommend reverting to the default transmit power settings and allow                 the APs to communicate with each other to automatically determine the optimal                      power levels. This dynamic adjustment helps maintain a balanced and efficient                        network."

How do i change to the "default" setting? Is it on the RF profile at bottom, "Restore meraki defaults"? Will that change anything other than power transmit?

[michalc]

While the "restore to defaults" option is not available on the radio profile page, you can easily create a "new profile" -> "start from scratch." This will display the default recommended values for transmit powers and bit rates, which you can then apply to your "live" profile.

Please also see our KB with Wi-Fi Best Practices
I hope this helps!

[TonyCummins]

Thank you michalc 
Made the requested changes. Did a suggested, copied settings to live profile from recommended ones.

Unfortunately, above changes didn't help. Still experiencing the no reconnect when moving from one AP to the next.

[michalc]

Do all of the clients experience this issue (MacOS, Windows, iOS, iPadOS etc) or just specific clients (only RF readers or other legacy devices)? 

[TonyCummins]

It "seems" to be just the Radios. They are Icom IP110H wireless radios.
When I'm walking the area I have my iPhone and laptop running a Wi-Fi sweet spot app just so i can see an approx. signal strength, the Radios have the issue but not the IPhone/laptop as far as i can tell.

The below screenshot is under the AP connected with laptop. Radio would not reassociate after moving from another AP

[michalc]

Since laptop/ iPhone works, It seems like we might have a compatibility issue between your ICOM devices and SSID/Radio Settings on the AP.

Could you please check if the SSID named "… Radio" has 802.11r or 802.11w enabled? Additionally, does the Icom IP110H support these protocols?

To troubleshoot, I suggest creating a new "Test SSID" on your access point and configuring it as simply as possible (802.11w and 802.11r disabled). It seems that the radios might not support one of these protocols, which could be causing association issues.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial to reach out to the ICOM vendor for clarification on the recommended AP radio and SSID settings.

[TonyCummins]

I will do as suggested and test, last question before I go make a test SSID.

Does this need to be on or off? Layer 3 roaming

[TonyCummins]

Icomm Radio tech sheet says it supports the following:

Network

• Wireless Standards: IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Frequency Range: 2.4–2.4835 GHz, 5.15–5.35, 5.47–5.85 GHz

[michalc]

Did they mention support for 802.11r and 802.11w?

[michalc]

Please review the KB's below and decide for yourself since I do not know your setup.

SSID Modes for Client IP Assignment - Layer 3 Roaming

Wireless Layer 3 Roaming Best Practices 

[TonyCummins]

This was the response from Icon vendor:

Currently Fast Roam, and PMF are not currently supported on the devices. 

I assume this is what you were referring to by turning off .11w / 11.r? 

[michalc]

That is correct.

To disable 802.11r / 802.11w in an SSID on the Cisco Meraki Dashboard, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Meraki Dashboard:
   • Open your web browser and log in to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard using your credentials.
2. Navigate to the Wireless Settings:
   • From the left-hand menu, select Wireless > Configure > Access Control.
3. Select the SSID:
   • In the SSID dropdown menu at the top of the Access Control page, choose the SSID for which you want to disable 802.11r/w.
4. Locate the 802.11r Setting:
   • Scroll down to the Network Access section. If 802.11r is available for configuration, it will appear here. This option is only visible if the SSID is using specific authentication types (e.g., WPA2-PSK or WPA2-Enterprise) and the Client IP Assignment is set to Bridge Mode, Layer 3 roaming with a concentrator, or VPN: Tunnel data to a concentrator.
5. Disable 802.11r/w:
   • Look for the 802.11r/w dropdown menu. It typically offers three options: Disabled, Adaptive, and Enabled.
   • Select Disabled from the dropdown to turn off 802.11r for this SSID.
6. Save Changes:
   • Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes. This will apply the updated configuration to the SSID. Note that making this change may cause clients to briefly disassociate and reconnect to the network.

Please let us know if that helped!

[TonyCummins]

Appreciate the continued assistance. I turned off the settings you mentioned above and still the same issue. I just got another response from Icomm and this is what they are saying.....

"

By any chance are you using 5GHz Wifi? If so there are several channels on the 5GHz band that are not supported by the radios, and possibly your AP's are pointing the radios to those unsupported channels. Also there are channels in the 5GHz band that could be interfered with from other entities. Below I have posted a link to our document on supported channels by the WiFi radios. BTW what is the make/model of your WiFi AP's?"
 
https://icomamericasupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/35050797627540

This help identify any issue?

[michalc]

At this point I'd recommend to call in to the Meraki tech support. It would be best to have the radio ready to test in between the access points while the support engineer run packet captures and check backend logs. Based on the note from ICOM, support might also ask to create a test SSID with only 2.4GHz Radio enabled and test if the radio connects to the basement AP.

[TonyCummins · Accepted solution]

I so appreciate all the tips and troubleshooting steps you suggested.
Turning off 5G fixes the issue. I got zero help from my support ticket.

I think for the use case for these radios 2.4g will be plenty sufficient.

Again Thank you.

[michalc]

I am glad we were able to resolve the issue! 

[CarolineS]

@TonyCummins Thanks for the follow-up! Marking your reply as the Solution for the benefit of future visitors to this thread.