Wireless channel for Aimesh Node

[macster2075]

I am pretty new to using Aimesh. So far I really like it. Is there a way to set which channel the Node transmits wifi on?
I see the main router is set to channel 11 and the Node rebroadcasts the signal on channel 6, which is great...but, can I change the channel on the Node to 1?
According to the site survey, the least congested are 11 and 1, so that's why I would like to use those if possible.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I am pretty new to using Aimesh. So far I really like it. Is there a way to set which channel the Node transmits wifi on?
I see the main router is set to channel 11 and the Node rebroadcasts the signal on channel 6, which is great...but, can I change the channel on the Node to 1?
According to the site survey, the least congested are 11 and 1, so that's why I would like to use those if possible.

AiMesh broadcasts on the same band channel on all nodes.

OE

 

[macster2075]

According to the site survey from the Asus router.. I can see the main wifi SSID on channel 11 and the same SSID right below it on channel 6.
So I am assuming that's the Node since it's the same SSID as the main router.

I thought the Main router and the Node would need to broadcast in different channels to avoid interference.

 

[macster2075]

Well.. actually let me clarify.. the SSID I am referring to is the Guest one, which is the reason it makes sense for it to be on a different channel.
Now with the new firmware, I can share the Guest 1 on Aimesh and it works great.. just wanted to know how to change the channel the guest network broadcasts on.

 

[brummygit]

Normally AiMesh uses the same channels on each node. This is known as a single channel mesh, and when using wireless backhaul it’s needed for the different nodes to communicate. There is multi channel mesh available more widely in the enterprise networking space but this relies on wired backhaul. AiMesh and most domestic mesh systems don’t support it.

I had been hoping we’d see something similar in the Ethernet Backhaul Mode in AiMesh 2.0 but there’s nothing so far.

I have seen what I believe is a bug in the radio software that causes one of my nodes to move channel (most common on 5Ghz and using DFS fixed channels) but this usually causes connectivity issues for my clients even though I have Ethernet backhaul. I’ve seen this on my RT-AX88U with RT-AX56U nodes.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Well.. actually let me clarify.. the SSID I am referring to is the Guest one, which is the reason it makes sense for it to be on a different channel.
Now with the new firmware, I can share the Guest 1 on Aimesh and it works great.. just wanted to know how to change the channel the guest network broadcasts on.

AiMesh only allows you to set the band channel for the entire AiMesh.

I have not read of anyone with your equipment experiencing different channels on nodes. I would set fixed, least congested, non-DFS channels on your AiMesh router webUI (AC68U node has no Smart Connect), and remove/add your node to reset it on your AiMesh. It should broadcast on the same channels as your router by design.

Home networks using more than a minimum number of channels would be a nuisance to neighbors, I think. I have poorly configured Orbi and Eero networks around me that appear to use more? than two channels and wide bandwidth. They are squatting all over the frequency spectrum.

OE

 

[pmosher441]

I have an AiMesh setup with RT-AC86U as router and RT-AC68U as node, wireless backhaul. It seemed to be working well, but in the spirit of "if it ain't broke, tinker with it anyway while everyone else is asleep," I decided to fine tune the wireless settings. On the 86U I turned off Smart Connect, and also set fixed channels rather than auto for both bands. I chose less congested channels, per the wireless site survey. Surprisingly, the site survey now shows the mesh node still broadcasting on the old channels for both bands, even after it was rebooted. (I haven't rebooted the main router.)

I suppose I could remove and re-add the node to the mesh to get the channels to be the same, but is this really necessary? I'm writing this post on a computer attached to the node, and it isn't having any obvious connectivity problems. Would appreciate advice, thanks. Both router and node are on latest Merlin FW, 386.1_2.

 

[pmosher441]

Never mind above question about changing AiMesh channels. It seems that the WiFi Site Survey will continue to show the old channel along with the new one until you press the SCAN button on the main display page. Doing that updates the entire page and now shows the node and the router on the same (new) channel.

 

[welim]

I am using AX86U_PRO as my AIMESH router. AX11000 as my AIMESH node.
They are setup to use wireless backhaul.
I setup the 5GHz to have control channel 157. AIMESH router is at lvl1 of the house. AIMESH node is at lvl3 of the house.
The 5GHz at lvl1 uses 157 control channel per the setup. However, the 5GHz at lvl3 uses some other channel and it is fighting with my neighbour 5GHz. I wanted to change the lvl3 5GHz to other control channel but there seem no mechanism for me to do so. Why AIMESH node has no intelligent or ability to change to other better control channels or at least allow user like us to change it? Any method?

Best Regards,
Wee-How

 

[ColinTaylor]

The 5GHz at lvl1 uses 157 control channel per the setup. However, the 5GHz at lvl3 uses some other channel

Which "other" channel? The AX86U_PRO is a dual band router and the AX11000 is a tri-band router. Therefore the AX11000 should be using channel 157 for backhaul and one of the lower channels for "normal" client access. But I don't know if/how this lower channel can be changed.

 

[welim]

Yes, AX86U_PRO is dual band but AX11000 is tri-band.
AX86U_PRO is AIMESH router
AX11000 is AIMESH node

At the AIMESH router (dualband), now I set 2.4G control ch 1 and 20MHz channel bandwidth
At the AIMESH router (dualband), now I set 5G control ch 149, 20/40/80MHz channel bandwidth
At the AIMESH node (tri-band), I set up 5GHz-2 WIFI first. So I am expecting AX11000 5GHz-2 talked to AX86U_PRO 5GHz and it uses ch 149

AIMESH router is at lvl1
AIMESH node is at lvl3

I found that 5GHz-1 control channel cannot be control. It uses the lower band of 5GHz . ie control chn 36.
I cannot control the AIMESH node 5GHz-1 control channel and it happen that this control channel is in conflict with my neighbour channel.

Are you saying I would be able to control if I've used AIMESH router and node both being tri-band ?
But because my AIMESH router being dualband, there is no way to control the AIMESH node 5GHz-1 control channel. Is it right?

Best Regards,
Wee-How