L shaped house

[riceowl94]

I have an L-shaped, two-story home where my cabling enters the house on the lower floor at the bottom right of the "L". I have an Asus AC router in that location that is connected by wire to three additional Asus routers that are set up as access points. The system is all setup on the same SSID; I have different names for the guest portion of the access points so that I can clearly tell what I am connected to.

The system generally works ok but one particular issue I have relates to migrating to the strongest point. If I come into the house and connect to one of the router/APs, a phone or tablet or other device will remain connected even if the device is very close to a much stronger connection.

Any suggestions to remedy this issue - or is there a better approach to extending wireless throughout an L-shaped house. I also use the APs as access points for AV equipment, etc. Thx

 

[stevech]

If I come into the house and connect to one of the router/APs, a phone or tablet or other device will remain connected even if the device is very close to a much stronger connection.

Any suggestions to remedy this issue - or is there a better approach to extending wireless throughout an L-shaped house. I also use the APs as access points for AV equipment, etc. Thx

This is an often discussed problem. Most consumer WiFi does not implement the fast/secure roaming option in IEEE 802.11. Some that do, require a matching client device for this to work. I think some Apple gear is in this category.

What I recommend is to semi-automate this by giving the AP(s) a different SSID than the router. One that suggests the AP's location. But the burden falls on the user to manually select the closer AP, knowing it's there.

Automated best-AP change-over (fast/secure roaming) just isn't there in consumer gear. Some client devices will pick the strongest signal / SSID for which they have the encryption key - if you switch WiFi off then on to force a quick survey. Others just pick first-heard.

 

[pete y testing]

I have an Asus AC router in that location that is connected by wire to three additional Asus routers that are set up as access points.

wowo how dam big is your house as in theory an asus per floor should be ample and you might be over saturating the wifi

The system is all setup on the same SSID; I have different names for the guest portion of the access points so that I can clearly tell what I am connected to.

as far as ether main or guest , but not which AP your actually connected to

If I come into the house and connect to one of the router/APs, a phone or tablet or other device will remain connected even if the device is very close to a much stronger connection.

thats cause as i suggest above you are over saturating the wifi environment and there will be far to much overlap

reality there should only be about a 20% overlap between access points with the mid point rssi of around 60 to 70 db

so try just running 1 ap per floor , and name the ssid main differently so you know what one you are connected to and can then change manually if needed

do your self a favour and download inSSIDer 3 and do a site survey with 1 ap on and then 2

see

there are issues esp with windows and andriod clients refusing to change ap's but if you ensure you dont have over saturation / too much overlap it will help no end

asus routers also have transmit power settings so you can have a play with it as well , they also have whats called roaming assistant which works well if you set it to -70db

 

[System Error Message]

when it comes to extending wifi using wifi i have written the proper solution in many threads. The best way is to use ethernet. You could run an ethernet cable from the modem and place the router right in the middle which would be at the bottom left.

 

[pete y testing]

The best way is to use ethernet.

i think you mis read the OP

I have an Asus AC router in that location that is connected by wire to three additional

as i assume wire means ethernet

that is unless he forgot to type wire -less

I also use the APs as access points for AV equipment,

so i assume the additional units are routers in AP mode connected back to the main via ethernet and other devices connect to the router lan ports in those locations

 

[riceowl94]

Yes, the APs are connected via Ethernet cable to the primary router. And the APs are also acting like switches at those locations using the ports on those devices.

 

[riceowl94]

What's the best way to use inSSIDer - download onto a laptop? Presume test needs to be run in different locations? Thx

 

[pete y testing]

so do as i suggest and do a site survey to make sure your not over saturating the wifi environment as like i said 4 transmissions is a lot for a standard 2 story house

 

[pete y testing]

What's the best way to use inSSIDer - download onto a laptop?

yes , hopefully one with a dual band wireless adapter in it and windows based

Presume test needs to be run in different locations? Thx

yup start with just the main router on and work out its coverage to the point where the signal drops to -70db then thats the limit of its coverage , then turn it off and do the same to each ap , draw a map of the coverage

you should then see how many ap's you really need , you can still use the ap's as switch's and disable the wifi if it ends up you have to much wifi which i think you will find is the case

 

[riceowl94]

If I want to turn off the wireless on one of the AP and have it basically operate as a switch, what settings do I need to adjust. It's an Asus rt-AC56U.

 

[stevech]

If I want to turn off the wireless on one of the AP and have it basically operate as a switch, what settings do I need to adjust. It's an Asus rt-AC56U.

http://a.b.c.d/Advanced_WAdvanced_Content.asp
where a.b.c.d is LAN address of router admin access, e.g. 192.168.1.1

Wireless -> Professional tab
For 2.4 and again for 5GHz, on that tab, choose "Enable Radio" = No.

But I'd get an $18 gigE switch.

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This thread has, IMO, wrong advise on improving coverage. For example, the range / speed constraint is the to-router direction since client devices have low power. The typical WiFi survey software tool shows only the from-router signal strength.

See SNB web site main where there are better-vetted articles on this topic.