For Asus BE router users that randomly drop wifi 2.4 ghz clients

[conflictednetworks]

Not sure if this is of any use for anyone or if someone can explain WHY an Asus BE96U will randomly drop 2.4 ghz clients but here is a snippet of a log file that shows it isn't a signal level problem. I've been testing back and forth asus vs unifi wifi solutions for a long long while and landed on keeping the Unfi setup I have because of this very problem with ASUS. The devices here are reliable and not known to cause disconnects when attached to any other router. Would be helpful for someone to interpret this information and dumb it down for me as to what is triggering this. When the devices were on unifi it NEVER experienced this issue. Same channels, same devices but solid with Unifi.

Jan 9 07:54:05 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): wl0.1: Assoc xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: Successful (0), rssi:-51
Jan 9 07:54:09 kernel: WLC_SCB_DEAUTHORIZE error (-30)
Jan 9 07:54:09 kernel: WLC_SCB_DEAUTHENTICATE_FOR_REASON err -30
Jan 9 07:54:10 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(662): wl0.1: Disassoc xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Jan 9 07:54:29 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl0.1: Deauth_ind xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jan 9 07:54:29 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl0.1: Auth xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jan 9 07:55:08 kernel: SBF: dhd0: INIT [xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx] ID 65535 BFW 65535 THRSH 2048
Jan 9 07:55:08 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): wl0.1: Assoc xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: Successful (0), rssi:-50
Jan 9 07:55:12 kernel: WLC_SCB_DEAUTHORIZE error (-30)
Jan 9 07:55:12 kernel: WLC_SCB_DEAUTHENTICATE_FOR_REASON err -30
Jan 9 07:55:14 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(662): wl0.1: Disassoc xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Jan 9 07:55:31 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl0.1: Auth xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jan 9 07:55:31 kernel: SBF: dhd0: INIT [xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx] ID 65535 BFW 65535 THRSH 2048
Jan 9 07:55:31 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): wl0.1: Assoc xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: Successful (0), rssi:-50
Jan 9 07:55:38 kernel: WLC_SCB_DEAUTHORIZE error (-30)
Jan 9 07:55:38 kernel: WLC_SCB_DEAUTHENTICATE_FOR_REASON err -30
Jan 9 07:55:38 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl0.1: Deauth_ind xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-50
Jan 9 07:55:38 kernel: WLC_SCB_DEAUTHORIZE error (-30)
Jan 9 07:55:39 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl0.1: Deauth_ind xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: 0, reason: Disassociated due to inactivity (4), rssi:-50
Jan 9 07:56:12 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl0.1: Deauth_ind xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jan 9 07:56:12 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl0.1: Auth xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jan 9 07:56:52 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl0.1: Deauth_ind xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jan 9 07:56:52 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl0.1: Auth xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
status: Successful (0), rssi:0

 

[degrub]

Go back to a previous firmware version. Some seem to have success doing so as the most recent firmware exhibits this issue.

 

[conflictednetworks]

Go back to a previous firmware version. Some seem to have success doing so as the most recent firmware exhibits this issue.

interesting... I wonder if it is worth toying with since the unifi system is up and running and "just works". I tried looking up past threads on this matter but came up mostly empty handed. I was ready to bring the BE96U back to the store today as today is decision day for one over the other.

 

[Tech9]

today is decision day

The only advantage of this AIO router over your UniFi setup is the lower price. UCG-Fiber with 2x U7-Pro-Wall is superior in reliability, expandability, vendor support, configuration options, aggregate throughput, coverage area and number of active clients support. Seems like you are not interested in the better system, but trying desperately to save few hundred bucks. If this is the case - keep the ASUS and it is what it is. No one is going to miraculously fix it for you in next 12h, deal with the issues later.

 

[conflictednetworks]

well technically the decision was made on the unifi system a few days back as the setup in the home has slightly better coverage but the scalability is what I like b/c the rest of the home that isn't developed including a large shed that it out on the property would need an outdoor AP one day. The more appropriate thing I should've written is "Today is store policy return date". Doesn't really change my decision. Unifi is still the better system. The Asus is an impressive kit for what it is but like all things tech, I still like to toy with things to better understand why product x outperforms product y. Since I have the asus up until today that I figured why not give it a final go to see where it lacks performance wise and the 2.4 ghz issue is persistent. My UCG-Fiber and my 2 u7 pro walls are here to stay and while the price is indeed steeper that to your point, the superior reliability and scalability is what you're paying for.

My brother is adamant the asus is sufficient as his ax6000 has been solid for his application and he's constantly reminding me to not overbuild my network beyond my realistic use case. What gets me is the asus after more than 2 years of being on the market still has bugs that are not resolved. It's mind boggling that one of the biggest names in consumer electronics can't quite seem to get this right. My UI setup started out rough when I was using the U7 Pro ceiling mount APs and its performance issues but since making the switch to the U7 Pro walls + dialling in the power levels that it works perfectly.

 

[Tech9]

My brother is adamant the asus is sufficient as his ax6000 has been solid

This model (if we're talking about GT-AX6000) is different. You can see me recommending it for Wi-Fi 6 class best price/performance ASUS unit when on sale. Can't recommend anything in Wi-Fi 7 class though.

he's constantly reminding me to not overbuild my network beyond my realistic use case

Your brother is a smart guy. He'll probably keep his Wi-Fi 6 gear until EoL because it works.

 

[conflictednetworks]

Indeed his AX6000 is solid and suits his needs (though even he wishes his AIO solution would cover his entire home but falls just a tad short of full WiFi coverage). He was scratching his head when I told him about the Asus BE series router issues. It was a bit of a shock for him hear that after being on the market for so long, that the BE series routers continues to have teething pains. Oh well, it was a fun endeavour to still play and try things out.

 

[Tech9]

Keep in mind most of connectivity issues actually come upstream from Broadcom. UniFi also had issues with Wi-Fi 7 at introduction, but Qualcomm was faster to react. If you purchase TP-Link BE-class Qualcomm based hardware it will also be more stable. Some people get surprised, but this is the reality.

 

[conflictednetworks]

interesting. Being so detached from wifi/networking gear for years and then jumping back into it has been quite the interesting find. That's good to know that Qualcomm is more responsive (I mean iPhones up until recently only used Qualcomm chipsets for their 5G cellular modems) so this doesn't shock me at all.

 

[jksmurf]

I’m not in a position to comment on other systems as I don’t have one, and I am not sure what your IoT Setup looks like, whether you have VLANs or use AiMesh, whether you have separate bands or use smart connect.

What I can say is, based on quite a few hours of tweaking is that I think there’s literally hundreds or even thousands of even simple permutations for connectivity, especially if you fiddle with channel selection and use smart connect and while it’s incredibly difficult to satisfy everyone, ASUS has done no one any favours by not aiming at simple “it just works” setups, in favour of having incredibly powerful but far too complex options for average users.

Smart connect (and other clever mechanisms to keep devices connected) seems to be trying to steer and trigger its way into oblivion sometimes, so I think devices just don’t quite satisfy criteria well and get dropped.

This is my personal opinion, based on my trials over the linked and quite a few other threads. Everyone’s setup and environment is different. I have two independent networks and see differences between them.

If you follow that linked thread one of the biggest improvements was fixing settings on the IoT devices themselves, but this only works well in my environment due to sufficient nodes. My 2c.

 

[jzchen]

Do any Unifi products offer USB ports? I mean beyond power port use? One major source of noise has been USB (3.0 specifically) storage devices. I noticed that microSD seems to be the preferred offering over in the Unifi realm. Smart choice in my opinion....

@conflictednetworks I would have jumped in on this if you had mentioned a USB storage device was connected to a USB 3 port.....

 

[Tech9]

Do any Unifi products offer USB ports?

No, for LTE backup and NAS they offer corresponding devices with Ethernet ports.

I noticed that microSD seems to be the preferred

MicroSD option is available only on AIO products UDR6 and UDR7. It's used for Protect devices and all other Gateways running Protect have SSD or HDD storage options. You can't use this storage for own purposes.

 

[Tech9]

aiming at simple “it just works” setups

About 2.4GHz issues... isn't there something like this in current 3006 Asuswrt?

I remember someone mentioned IoT setting. In UniFi the 3x options come default on Auto with option for Manual for whoever wants changes. Auto in IoT profile is separate SSID on 2.4GHz only, WPA2, no PMF, all AX/BE features disabled, etc. Similar to what we usually recommend for troubleshooting. It's one button in UniFi UI, but reproduceable in Asuswrt. ASUS has IoT compatibility FAQ. Now... if someone wants AX/BE on 2.4GHz band with Smart Connect, MLO, etc. and it doesn't work - I don't know.