AIMesh node dropping.

[Rezzor]

I'm going through some of these node issues as well and gave up for a while. I'm going to give it another try but I would like to know if anyone has successfully had the aimesh working without drops/disconnects while using wireless back haul only? I just want to confirm that it's possible irl to have a steady aimesh connection without wired back haul.

 

[ecantona9]

I'm going through some of these node issues as well and gave up for a while. I'm going to give it another try but I would like to know if anyone has successfully had the aimesh working without drops/disconnects while using wireless back haul only? I just want to confirm that it's possible irl to have a steady aimesh connection without wired back haul.

I was having trouble like you. I was using the AC3100 as the main and the AC68U as the node on wireless backhaul in my basement with RSSI=-50 ish. I tried everything recommended on this site including firmware updates and changes, set channels, disabled airtime fairness etc. The AC68U would still go offline about 4 to 5 times a day. I eventually bought a new AC86U and made the AC3100 the node and I haven't had a drop in 2 weeks, so it is possible. I'm using Merlin Alpha3 as my firmware on both routers. I was very frustrated but pleased now.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I'm going through some of these node issues as well and gave up for a while. I'm going to give it another try but I would like to know if anyone has successfully had the aimesh working without drops/disconnects while using wireless back haul only? I just want to confirm that it's possible irl to have a steady aimesh connection without wired back haul.

Yes, of course. My install notes might help... not a tutorial, just a brief list of things to consider.

OE

 

[Rezzor]

Thanks to you both. I'm using the AC86U as the main router and AC68U as the node - I was getting 5-6 drops a day as well. With two of us working from home and two kids schooling from home, I was not very popular! It's good to know it is at least possible.

Ozark - I actually used your very helpful notes to initially get aimesh working, thanks! I will give it another try this weekend.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Thanks to you both. I'm using the AC86U as the main router and AC68U as the node - I was getting 5-6 drops a day as well. With two of us working from home and two kids schooling from home, I was not very popular! It's good to know it is at least possible.

Ozark - I actually used your very helpful notes to initially get aimesh working, thanks! I will give it another try this weekend.

Begin with a reset. Used different SSIDs and fixed, least congested, non-DFS channels.

Monitor the WiFi signals with a WiFi Analyzer in case a sick router is causing problems.

OE

 

[jsbeddow]

Thanks to you both. I'm using the AC86U as the main router and AC68U as the node - I was getting 5-6 drops a day as well. With two of us working from home and two kids schooling from home, I was not very popular! It's good to know it is at least possible.

Ozark - I actually used your very helpful notes to initially get aimesh working, thanks! I will give it another try this weekend.

@Rezzor Any updates on how stable your setup is now? I have a very similar setup to yours, and have always had dropouts on the node (RT-AC68P) with AiMesh v1or v2, but always have excellent results running in Media Bridge mode. It seems like something about AiMesh never quite runs perfectly (long term) on the RT-AC68 series.

 

[Rezzor]

I did a complete "nuclear" reset on both routers and set it all up again using the Ozark's notes but continued to get drops. I ended up putting the node into Repeater Mode and it has been running for days without any drops. I used the same 24 and 50 ssid on the repeater and adjusted the roaming assist so it works like I want it to. This is a much better set up for me with no drops and even in the area where I had the least reception I'm able to get full wifi speed (I have a 100Mpbs connection and am able to get that full speed on wifi which I could not get when Mesh was working or just using a standalone router).

 

[jsbeddow]

I did a complete "nuclear" reset on both routers and set it all up again using the Ozark's notes but continued to get drops. I ended up putting the node into Repeater Mode and it has been running for days without any drops. I used the same 24 and 50 ssid on the repeater and adjusted the roaming assist so it works like I want it to. This is a much better set up for me with no drops and even in the area where I had the least reception I'm able to get full wifi speed (I have a 100Mpbs connection and am able to get that full speed on wifi which I could not get when Mesh was working or just using a standalone router).

Thanks for the update, I guess I had forgotten about repeater mode. I know some users put it down based on lowered speeds, but perhaps that is more if a theoretical limitation rather than real world observation. It may come into play for max transfer speeds to/from a NAS, but less so for internet surfing.

 

[icsa]

I have 2 RT-AC68U. In AiMesh with wireless backhaul, the node was losing connection frequently and sometimes the only way to get it back to life was to power cycle it. Since changing the node to a repeater using a different SSID, the situation has improved considerably. However, the repeater still seems to lose connection temporarily to the main node, for 1 or 2 minutes once or twice a day, but it is always able to auto-recover. Sometimes the log don't show anything and sometimes it looks like the wireless service is restarting due to key expiration:

Dec 12 10:07:40 syslog: WLCEVENTD wlceventd_proc_event(466): eth2: Deauth_ind <MAC>, status: 0, reason: Group key update timeout (10)
Dec 12 10:07:40 rc_service: psta_monitor 243:notify_rc restart_wlcmode 0

Still frustrating when it happens.

 

[ecantona9]

I have 2 RT-AC68U. In AiMesh with wireless backhaul, the node was losing connection frequently and sometimes the only way to get it back to life was to power cycle it. Since changing the node to a repeater using a different SSID, the situation has improved considerably. However, the repeater still seems to lose connection temporarily to the main node, for 1 or 2 minutes once or twice a day, but it is always able to auto-recover. Sometimes the log don't show anything and sometimes it looks like the wireless service is restarting due to key expiration:

Dec 12 10:07:40 syslog: WLCEVENTD wlceventd_proc_event(466): eth2: Deauth_ind <MAC>, status: 0, reason: Group key update timeout (10)
Dec 12 10:07:40 rc_service: psta_monitor 243:notify_rc restart_wlcmode 0

Still frustrating when it happens.

I had the same probably with the RT-AC68u as an AiMesh node on wireless backhaul too. I had the RT-AC3100 as my main router. I eventually sold it on Ebay. Never could get it to work without dropping connection 5 to 6 times a day.