I purchased 4 RT-BE96U routers to create a widely available mesh for our residence, replacing the Orbi WiFi 6 ZenWiFi system that kept disconnecting frequently. Being a previous Asus customer with the WiFi 6 mesh platform, I thought I'd be in better shape with the new devices, but cannot figure out how to resolve the issues I'm having and not receiving any support from Asus despite several attempts via email, shared logs, etc. Hoping to obtain some guidance here that can help me confirm it's the firmware vs my configuration issues.
Current setup:
I have a primary RT-BE96U router connected to my AT&T BGW320 modem in my office which is upstairs in our residence in a closed area. I then have 3 other RT-BE96U devices setup as mesh nodes in separate locations throughout the residence to provide ample coverage. Initial setup had the main router connected to the AT&T modem via WAN port on the router and then wired connection to a Cisco unmanaged switch. The switch then connects out to all the rooms and locations throughout the residence where wired ports are installed in each location. As you'll see the final setup ended up requiring me to ditch the switch (which has worked fine in the past) and only have the router connected to the modem, connecting to all the mesh nodes using wireless backhaul as I couldn't get the wired backhaul to work.
Issues:
I can't figure this out. Reading the logs with the main error I see repeating over and over again is “Deauthenticated because sending station is leaving (or has left) IBSS or ESS (3)” or “Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8)”. I also noticed even though the router admin site is saying each device has the latest firmware, the firmware on the router seems to be a later version than the nodes. All ethernet cables have been checked with 2 separate line testers (and they have just worked in the past). I just can't tell if this is a firmware issue or something I'm just doing wrong somehow.
Thanks in advance for any insight as I contacted Asus over a month ago for support and all that has happened was an ask to fill out a wireless feeback form which I submitted on November 8th. Since then I have received 4 email responses from different agents stating I will receive a response within 24/48 hours, without any actual response.
Screenshots:
Current setup:
I have a primary RT-BE96U router connected to my AT&T BGW320 modem in my office which is upstairs in our residence in a closed area. I then have 3 other RT-BE96U devices setup as mesh nodes in separate locations throughout the residence to provide ample coverage. Initial setup had the main router connected to the AT&T modem via WAN port on the router and then wired connection to a Cisco unmanaged switch. The switch then connects out to all the rooms and locations throughout the residence where wired ports are installed in each location. As you'll see the final setup ended up requiring me to ditch the switch (which has worked fine in the past) and only have the router connected to the modem, connecting to all the mesh nodes using wireless backhaul as I couldn't get the wired backhaul to work.
Issues:
- At first, I tried wired backhaul only connecting the ethernet in each mesh node's room to the WAN port on the mesh node, but for some reason the primary router would not locate 2 of the devices even after resetting all devices and adding these two devices back to the mesh network. In each case, the node appeared as disconnected in the node hierarchy / map with 0 devices connected. The one node that did not disconnect completely kept disconnecting frequently. Attaching screenshot of log when this happens.
- After this situation, I switched to wireless backhaul only. When doing so, only one mesh node continued to show as disconnected with 0 clients while the other 2 would continue to disconnect from the main router at sporadic times (it seems).
- In some cases with the network running, speeds go from 2-3MB per sec to 300-500MB per sec throughout the day with dramatic increases in ping response (600+ ms). See additional screenshot.
I can't figure this out. Reading the logs with the main error I see repeating over and over again is “Deauthenticated because sending station is leaving (or has left) IBSS or ESS (3)” or “Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8)”. I also noticed even though the router admin site is saying each device has the latest firmware, the firmware on the router seems to be a later version than the nodes. All ethernet cables have been checked with 2 separate line testers (and they have just worked in the past). I just can't tell if this is a firmware issue or something I'm just doing wrong somehow.
Thanks in advance for any insight as I contacted Asus over a month ago for support and all that has happened was an ask to fill out a wireless feeback form which I submitted on November 8th. Since then I have received 4 email responses from different agents stating I will receive a response within 24/48 hours, without any actual response.
Screenshots:
