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Unable to select control channel for 160mhz 5GHZ - AX86u

josh3003

Regular Contributor
Not sure if this has already been discussed. I have an AX86u with 2x XD4S setup as AIMesh Nodes.

Every so often I note the connection drops to 80mhz and sticks to that. I've set 160mhz as the Channel Bandwidth but cannot manually configure a control channel? Wondering if this would change things. How can I monitor to see if it is being impacted by radar signal? I am quite remote so I do not think there should be any interference.
1737433796028.png


Is this by design? other screenshots I can see looks like it can be manually set.
1737433851790.png
 
Its that way for me...
1737434241568.png


But check Site Survey, under Network tools and check someting isn't on the same channel before settling on one. I just did, and now I got to go hunt for an empty channel
1737434511945.png


Found one...
1737434805573.png


I also run a script that kicks off every 30 minutes and if the channel changes if it drops to 80Mhz, rare but it happens particularly on PD helicopter fly bys

Run this script on the router every 30 minutes (cron 30 * * * *), if it restarts WiFi, the nodes get reset as well. Another Addon to look at is ChannelHog much fancier. I pulled this from another post somewhere and I can't find where/who to credit the person. Simplified but it works for me...

#!/bin/sh

logger -t "channel_check" "Checking..."

ifname="$(nvram get wl1_ifname)"
targchanspec="$(nvram get wl1_chanspec)"
targchan=${targchanspec%/*}
currchanspec="$(wl -i $ifname chanspec | awk '{print $1}')"
currchan=${currchanspec%/*}

if [ "$targchan" != "0" ] && [ "$currchan" != "$targchan" ]; then
logger -t "channel_check" "Channel has changed from ${targchan} to ${currchan}. Restarting WiFi."
service restart_wireless
fi

logger -t "channel_check" "Done."
 
Does channel 124 @ 16MHz work? It's weather radar and it's common not to be affected by that. Worth a try.
 
According to the product information on ASUS's official website, the 5GHz band of the ASUS ZenWiFi XD4S does not explicitly support 160MHz bandwidth. It is speculated that the system might automatically downgrade the overall bandwidth to 80MHz to ensure stability. Could inconsistent bandwidth settings between the main router and the nodes potentially result in delays or suboptimal roaming experiences for clients?
 
According to the product information on ASUS's official website, the 5GHz band of the ASUS ZenWiFi XD4S does not explicitly support 160MHz bandwidth. It is speculated that the system might automatically downgrade the overall bandwidth to 80MHz to ensure stability. Could inconsistent bandwidth settings between the main router and the nodes potentially result in delays or suboptimal roaming experiences for clients?
This is correct. The AiMesh nodes will limit the channels and bandwidth of the router. Pushing 160 MHz can be a problem. Use 80 MHz and enjoy better range and a more stable connection.
 
The AiMesh nodes will limit the channels and bandwidth of the router.

This may be device specific because I remember testing RT-AX86U main with 160MHz channel enabled to RT-AC86U node with no 160MHz channel support and clients could connect at 160MHz to the AX and at 80MHz to the AC. DFS channels are unstable in my area and can't tell how long this configuration will work, but in my experience it's possible. And this was a test with shared wireless backhaul.
 
Until the expansion of the local docks (inc Heliport), my GT-AX6000 and the RP-AX58 AiMesh node would quite happily pick and mix 80MHz and 160MHz. But I think my days of 160MHz on 5GHz are in the past
 

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