ASUS RT-AX88U Range Improvements...

[thecheapseats]

<snip>This is not the case as some areas are optimised for speed, others for client density, and others for range. There is also a mix of hardware<snip>... The common aspects are SSID and Security.<snip>

which implies a design-threshold class of wireless clients that aren't consumer toys with 'questionably' implemented network stacks that impact network stability as they sleep/wake/assert, sleep/wake/assert - and repeat that process over and over...

it'll make you nuts if you let it and few have the time, equipment or skills to run the issue to ground... not efficient but certainly more effective, is to cut your losses early and walk away from offending device(s)...

but continual SSID changes are an anecdotal myth assuming the router itself isn't at fault which is another issue altogether... and then, mister trash can is the only sane solution...

 

[brummygit]

I'm sure there are some badly designed WiFi client implementations coded by lazy developers who haven't read the IEEE 802.11 standards - that's inevitable, and those clients should head straight for the bin.

What I see however, is that most of the discussions are usually around people trying to squeeze more performance out of their higher-end home devices (laptops etc) rather than IOT and older kit which I would expect to have poorer WiFi implementations. The 60,000 device network uses mainly Microsoft Surface Pro devices which are just a typical Windows device with a questionable WiFi chipset, and I've worked on many different large networks - some of the worst in hospitals where there are all sorts of adhoc devices that get installed by many different parties. Yet haven't come across any specific example of configuration data being proven to be stored on the clients. If I'm honest, my money would be on Apple as iPhones seem to cache strange things and often need a "Reset Network Settings" to get connected again, whilst Apple try their best to keep end users well away from the configuration data they do store.

The subject genuinely intrigues me as the anecdotal evidence is all around improving speed & reliability rather than a fundamental inability to connect, yet connection negotiation and speed changes are at the heart of WiFi design.

 

[thecheapseats]

A large wireless eco-system as you describe is best compared to a zoo with no cages - ad hoc survival of the fit and the diseased... not pretty, almost impossible to control and there's no such thing as a cold boot, ever...

without getting lost in the weeds, $43 bucks worth of parts before assembly, labor and burden-overhead, sold as a router isn't a network device, it's a hobby... and there's no such thing as a high-performance lego...

if people want to stick their left thumb in their right ear, twirl around three times, and wiggle the device because it 'feels good' - fine... but it isn't sysadmin... it's a fool's dance and a waste of time... but hobbies are good...