Problem getting Wireless IP address - Some Clients

[Freddi]

Let me start with; I'm guessing this is something silly, and I'm just 'thinking around it'. I'm just a guy, who can't put my finger on what is going on.

The Stats:

RT-AX86U Pro, running 3004.388.7. Add-ons are VN-stats, YazDHCP, connmon.

Current State:

Been running fine for quite some time. Seeming with no changes, two wireless clients cannot associate with the router, and get a IP address. They are both on 5Ghz, and previously associated with the SSID with no problems.

The 'clues', that have me in a circle:

1) the router is successfully connecting to another 20 or so wireless clents, both 2.4 and 5, with no problems.
2) I'm not close to filling up the DHCP range.
3) Oddly enough, I can connect to the Guest Network, without problems. The router gives a IP Address, with all the rest of the DHCP info.
4) When I try to reconnect to the Primary SSID, windows reports that is is connected, with no internet. It is NOT given a IP address in the correct subnet.
5) Manually forcing the IP address to the correct IP range, (with Mask and DNS setting) does not result in internet connectivity.
6) Returning back to the guest SSID, this work perfectly again.
7) I've tried rebooting the router, Reinstalling drivers on the client, Resetting network settings on the client, rebooting client. (multiple times on each.
8) Error log on router shows nothing but this, with my attempts to switch between Main SSID and Guest SSID

Jul 4 14:31:55 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl1.1: Auth DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: Successful (0), rssi:-61
Jul 4 14:31:55 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): wl1.1: Assoc DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: Successful (0), rssi:-61
Jul 4 14:32:12 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl1.1: Deauth_ind DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jul 4 14:32:12 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(662): wl1.1: Disassoc DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Jul 4 14:32:12 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl1.1: Auth DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jul 4 14:32:12 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(695): wl1.1: ReAssoc DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: Successful (0), rssi:-60
Jul 4 14:32:28 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl1.1: Deauth_ind DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jul 4 14:32:28 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(662): wl1.1: Disassoc DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Jul 4 14:32:32 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl1.1: Auth DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jul 4 14:32:32 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): wl1.1: Assoc DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: Successful (0), rssi:-62
Jul 4 14:33:36 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl1.1: Deauth_ind DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jul 4 14:33:36 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(662): wl1.1: Disassoc DC:41:A9:AD:2B:A4, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0

Again, I'm not saying this is a bug, or anything else. I posted here, instead of the router page, so that I wouldn't get the "you're running Merlin'

Just a guy that is struggling trying to figure out what the heck is going on. the fact that I can connect via the Guest network tells me that its not the client end. The fact this is only affecting two clients, tells me its not router configuration. Any advice for a guy pulling his hair out? Thanks to all for putting up with my stupidity.

 

[lgkahn]

i believe it is signal issues as evident by the rssi = 0 ... have you checked the devices themselves and see maybe with your phone what the signal is like where the devices are located?

 

[Freddi]

i believe it is signal issues as evident by the rssi = 0 ... have you checked the devices themselves and see maybe with your phone what the signal is like where the devices are located?

I'm less than 20" from the router, and don't move between switching between Guest SSID and the main SSID. I'm thinking that 0 signal is a log of when I manually disconnect to try the other SSID?

 

[bennor]

What are the devices (make/model) that cannot connect to the router's WiFi?
Have you tried changing the WiFi channel or if set to auto, manually set a WiFi channel? Some WiFi devices may not be able to see or access certain WiFi channels.
Are you using any sort of MAC filtering for clients?
Post readable screen captures of your WiFi settings so others can take a look to see if you have a settings issue.
As a last troubleshooting resort step, have you tried a hard factory reset and manual reconfiguration (not importing a saved router.cfg file)?

 

[sfx2000]

Remove the third party scripts (YazDHCP) and see if this clears things up.

IF that doesn't work, do a reset on the router, and reconfigure just AsusWRT-RMerlin without the third party stuff and see what happens.

The RSSI:0 is a red-herring, as the very next entry shows -61, -62 - which is more than good enough. The RSSI:0 is time late report from the WL driver after the client has left...

Couple of considerations - DHPC renewal requests start at half of the lease time (12 hour lease, 6 hours it starts the renewal). So if DNSMasq is working correctly, it shouldn't be an issue.

Going back to the WL layer, things can get interesting there, esp for battery powered devices, as they do tend to expect things to happen on time, otherwise they'll start the process over again - U-APSD should be left on, and a DTIM of 3 (or 4) should be ok there - there are some client radios that don't like DTIM or 1 or 2 (Apple, I'm looking at you), but the longer period does tend to help.

The WLAN layer is somewhat stateful with regards to AP/Client interaction - if the client has an action frame on the management layer, it must be acknowledged by the AP, same goes the other way with AP to client - if something times out there, the most common recourse is to bail out and start over.

 

[Freddi]

What are the devices (make/model) that cannot connect to the router's WiFi? A dell 7400 Laptop with a ax201 Card, and a HP Pavilion with a 8265 intel card.

Have you tried changing the WiFi channel or if set to auto, manually set a WiFi channel? Channel is fixed, and always has been. Please note that both clients connect to the very same router with no channel changes, if I connect via the Guest SSID. Some WiFi devices may not be able to see or access certain WiFi channels. Understood. It's channel 149, which is not restricted in my area, or with my hardware.

Are you using any sort of MAC filtering for clients? No MAC filtering for any clients. Use mac to assign the IP address for the dell, but not the HP. Again; it has worked that way for months, and still works utilizing the Guest SSID.

Post readable screen captures of your WiFi settings so others can take a look to see if you have a settings issue. - Nothing to really see. Random Hardware addresses turned off, and obtain a IP Automatically, and obtain a DNS automatically. Please note that both clients connect to the very same router with config changes to WIFI settings, if I connect via the Guest SSID.

As a last troubleshooting resort step, have you tried a hard factory reset and manual reconfiguration (not importing a saved router.cfg file)? Not yet, I'll have to wait for the family to got to bed before i bring down the network.

Thank you for your advice!

 

[Freddi]

Remove the third party scripts (YazDHCP) and see if this clears things up.

IF that doesn't work, do a reset on the router, and reconfigure just AsusWRT-RMerlin without the third party stuff and see what happens.

The RSSI:0 is a red-herring, as the very next entry shows -61, -62 - which is more than good enough. The RSSI:0 is time late report from the WL driver after the client has left...

Couple of considerations - DHPC renewal requests start at half of the lease time (12 hour lease, 6 hours it starts the renewal). So if DNSMasq is working correctly, it shouldn't be an issue.

Going back to the WL layer, things can get interesting there, esp for battery powered devices, as they do tend to expect things to happen on time, otherwise they'll start the process over again - U-APSD should be left on, and a DTIM of 3 (or 4) should be ok there - there are some client radios that don't like DTIM or 1 or 2 (Apple, I'm looking at you), but the longer period does tend to help.

The WLAN layer is somewhat stateful with regards to AP/Client interaction - if the client has an action frame on the management layer, it must be acknowledged by the AP, same goes the other way with AP to client - if something times out there, the most common recourse is to bail out and start over.

Thanks for the help! I'll have to wait for the family to got to bed before I bring down the network. I'll wipe the router, and start with just the basics, and see if I can narrow down the variables. I'll report back.

 

[lgkahn]

Could it be the devices then and the differences between your guest and other wifi. Some devices are known.to need 2.4g and have issues connecting to 5ghz and 2.4ghz combined. You could try leaving everything the same but tempor arily swapping ssids on your guest and normal.network.to test this hypothesis.