Some seconds drop when changing AI Mesh node

[Mastiff]

At my cabin (which is shaped like an L with a technical room close to the angle, blocking most wifi signals) I have two RT-AC88U with Merlin and set up in AI Mesh with LAN backhaul, one in each end of the cabin. My problem is that when I am going from one part of the cabin to another, I get a drop, not a seamless change. That is a pain in the you-know-what when using the phone. I have to use WIFI calling out here because the signal isn't very good, while I have a fiber broadband so WIFI calling works perfectly...except for moving from one part of the cabin, that is. Is there a particular setting I should look at to fix this?

 

[L&LD]

Stop walking when you're on a call?

What is a 'technical room'? Since you know it is blocking signals, why don't you reposition the routers so that they are strongest at/near that room? Even a few feet closer may be enough to stop it from dropping the phone.

 

[OzarkEdge]

What is a 'technical room'?

It's a fourth bedroom when you're selling the house, but an unfinished crawl space when you're renewing your real estate tax assessment.

OE

 

[Mastiff]

I need to walk because I'm talking so much on the phone that I need to move a bit every now and then, like getting something to drink.

And it's a room with a large metal server cabinet, 4-5 different radio senders (IR to RF and different systems for home automation), two computers (Xeon Supermicro server and an i9 HTPC with 6 hard drives) and 8 receivers/amps. But placement doesn't really come into it. The drop happens when the phone switches between the two routers, it's not because the signal doesn't go far enough. I may have had too high expectations to this mesh system, I was under the impression that the handover was seamless. I have tried placing the router at the angle of the L, but that gave me spotty reception in one of the far ends and nothing at all outside. I need a bit of coverage in parts of the garden, and my boat needs to connect to the network as well.

 

[L&LD]

You may want to test using different channels to find ones more stable with your 'room'. It may also be your client device. Test with another brand/model phone and see if the issue is the same.

This 'handoff' is up to the client device, mostly. Is it up to date on the OS? Does restarting it help? Does 'forgetting' the SSID, rebooting both the router(s) and the client device, and then re-associating them help? How about trying a new SSID (in the Guest Network, as a test), in addition to the above?

How are your antennae orientated? How is the router orientated in relation to the long end of each 'wing'? If you're using | | | orientation now, try \ | /, or vice versa. The two routers need not be set up the same, they may need different settings.

You may also want to move/elevate your routers to at least 10' above the ground (outside) or higher, but make sure you're at least 2' below your ceiling height too.

A few inches in any 3D axis can make a significant difference. I would turn off the node and see how far you can get the main signal to go when you're walking for your favorite beverage while talking on the phone. With this optimized (including using the best Control Channel), turn on the node and see what adjustments you can make to minimize or eliminate that drop.

You may need to buy a small fridge/cooler, or you may crack this yet. Lifting my glass to your success!

 

[OzarkEdge]

Have you tried disabling Smart Connect and using different SSIDs per band?

Which band does your phone use? How far apart are your nodes? Maybe Roaming Assistant needs a RSSI threshold tweak... raise, less negative.

OE