Lenovo P15 Gen 2 w/Intel AX210 Doesn't Like Wifi 6 on ET12

[Dodge DeBoulet]

I don't think this is necessarily an ET12 problem, but that's the only wifi solution I have to test with.

Running Windows 10 Pro 21H2 build 19044.2251.

I have an ET12 mesh that is configured for dual-band AX (2.4/5GHz, both bands available via a single SSID). I have dozens of 2.4 and 5GHz devices that connect to this network just fine; there are both AC and AX capable devices in the mix.

The P15 Gen 2, with its Intel AX210 wifi radio, will not stay connected to the AX SSID. It will fail to connect, then a 2nd attempt will cause it to prompt for the shared key; supplying the key will cause it to connect and work for a few seconds (and as long as a few minutes) but it will then disconnect. Further attempts result in the same cycle.

The laptop will connect and stay connected to the guest network; it's dedicated to the 5GHz band only.

I've rebooted (both the router and the laptop) and updated the laptop's Intel drivers to the latest version available on the Intel driver download site (considerably more current than the drivers available through Windows Update).

I've also tried setting the adapter properties to prefer 5GHz and operate in AC (vs AX) mode with the same results.

During a connection attempt, the ET12's "general" log is showing the following for my laptop's MAC address. Adapter eth5 is the ET12's 5GHz radio; eth4 is the 2.4GHz radio:

Nov 26 08:39:21 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth5: Auth 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-49
Nov 26 08:39:21 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(556): eth5: Assoc 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-49
Nov 26 08:39:25 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:26 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:30 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth4: Auth 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Nov 26 08:39:30 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(537): eth4: ReAssoc 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-45
Nov 26 08:39:34 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth4: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-46
Nov 26 08:39:34 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth4: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-46
Nov 26 08:39:39 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth5: Auth 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-47
Nov 26 08:39:39 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(537): eth5: ReAssoc 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-47
Nov 26 08:39:43 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:44 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:44 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth5: Auth 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:44 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(537): eth5: ReAssoc 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:48 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-50
Nov 26 08:39:48 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-50
Nov 26 08:39:48 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth5: Auth 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Nov 26 08:39:48 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(537): eth5: ReAssoc 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-52
Nov 26 08:39:52 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:52 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:52 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth5: Auth 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:52 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(537): eth5: ReAssoc 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: Successful (0), rssi:-51
Nov 26 08:39:56 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: 4-way handshake timeout (f), rssi:-50
Nov 26 08:39:56 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind 2C:33:58:xx:yy:zz, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:-51

Since other Wifi6 devices work, I'm thinking this is probably not an ASUS problem. I'm posting here in the hope that someone has run into a similar issue and found a solution.

 

[Ripshod]

Are you running the latest drivers for the AX210? Latest are 22.180.0 (dated November 15th) obtained directly from Intel.
I have zero problems with wifi 6 on any router I've tested with and that's a few including the ET12 mesh.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Are you running the latest drivers for the AX210? Latest are 22.180.0 (dated November 15th) obtained directly from Intel.
I have zero problems with wifi 6 on any router I've tested with and that's a few including the ET12 mesh.

Yes, I'm running 22.180.0.

 

[Ripshod]

Yes, I'm running 22.180.0.

In that case the only other thing on my list is the bluetooth. How is the wifi 6 with the bluetooth disabled?

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

In that case the only other thing on my list is the bluetooth. How is the wifi 6 with the bluetooth disabled?

No difference. I've even removed the Poly-supplied headset specific adapter without any change in connection behavior.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

I opened a case with Lenovo support and spent some time with them repeating most of the troubleshooting steps I went through myself. Their diagnosis was that I had either a bad main board or wifi adapter. The latter is an m.2 card so I'm going to ask that it be swapped first. If that doesn't make a difference, we'll swap the main board (this will be the 4th main board in this laptop ... my faith in Lenovo is waning).

 

[Tech Junky]

When looking at the wireless status it tend to not say AX unless you have both bands enabled with the same SSID. It's a quirk of the driver or card. Not sure which is the culprit but it is what it is.

I upgraded to the AX411 and get the extra 300mbps from bonding both bands together for a total of 1.5gbps. If your laptop is ADL for the CPU this could be an option as well for about $20 through mouser.com.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Replacing the adapter made no difference, but I'm now reliably connected. The issue was that (apparently) the AX210 (or its drivers) doesn't like Wifi6 without WPA3. I changed the configuration of the 5GHz radio to use WPA2/WPA3 Personal and I've been connected since.

 

[sfx2000]

The issue was that (apparently) the AX210 (or its drivers) doesn't like Wifi6 without WPA3.

Interesting - this sounds more like a Windows thing...

As you mentioned - WPA3 is mandatory for 6e unless there is no auth needed - for testing to see if this is a 6e thing or a WPA3 issue, one could try to see if it connects to 6GHz without WPA3 being enabled (test only for a short period of time).

I haven't had any issues with WPA3 on the AX210 I have, but that over WiFi6 on 5GHz on my testing setup

 

[sfx2000]

Should also mention there is another thread with ET12, 6GHz, and a samsung handset where the issue is similar..

ZenWifi Pro ET12 Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra 6ghz connection problem on node

I set up my new mesh system ET12 and it seems to work quite nicely so far, except for one little problem. My 6E devices are all Samsung. A S21 Ultra phone, a S22 Ultra phone, and a Tab S8 Ultra. The 2 phones connect to 6E on both the home router and the Aimesh node. The Tab S8 Ultra connects...

www.snbforums.com

There, I think Asus asked him to try a test/beta build they had.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Interesting - this sounds more like a Windows thing...

As you mentioned - WPA3 is mandatory for 6e unless there is no auth needed - for testing to see if this is a 6e thing or a WPA3 issue, one could try to see if it connects to 6GHz without WPA3 being enabled (test only for a short period of time).

I haven't had any issues with WPA3 on the AX210 I have, but that over WiFi6 on 5GHz on my testing setup

The laptop in question is running Windows 10, so no 6E/6GHz for me ... just yet.

And to be clear, my comment was that Wifi6 was a problem without WPA3 enabled on the SSID. WPA2 alone would cause it to exhibit the strange behavior I initially reported.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Should also mention there is another thread with ET12, 6GHz, and a samsung handset where the issue is similar..

ZenWifi Pro ET12 Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra 6ghz connection problem on node

I set up my new mesh system ET12 and it seems to work quite nicely so far, except for one little problem. My 6E devices are all Samsung. A S21 Ultra phone, a S22 Ultra phone, and a Tab S8 Ultra. The 2 phones connect to 6E on both the home router and the Aimesh node. The Tab S8 Ultra connects...

www.snbforums.com

There, I think Asus asked him to try a test/beta build they had.

Yes, that was a different issue involving only 6E connections to ET12 "child" nodes from certain Samsung devices (Galaxy Tab 8 series and some phones). A very recent GA release of new router firmware has resolved that issue, but it did not fix the problem where my Lenovo laptop could not connect to a Wifi6 SSID that had only WPA2 Personal configured for authentication/encryption.