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

[L&LD]

@Dodge DeBoulet, did you fully reset the new units and not use any saved backup config files (and/or USB drives)?

 

[sfx2000]

Just as a reminder - WiFi6e requires WPA3-only support per standard - nodes that do WPA2 or WPA2/3 transitional could be problematic in a meshed environment.

Notable that Apple did the Wifi6e enable/disable switch in their new iPad Pro's that support 6e - there could be interop issues.

I guess the same might apply for other device vendors.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Thanks. I guess I will give up. 5ghz I very fast also.

I seem to get better performance on 5GHz than 6, but that might be related to the 6GHz radio also handling the backhaul.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

@Dodge DeBoulet, did you fully reset the new units and not use any saved backup config files (and/or USB drives)?

Yes, both the original set and the new ones. Are you having a different experience with an ET12 configuration?

What's the reference to USB drives? The ET12s don't have USB ports ...

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Just as a reminder - WiFi6e requires WPA3-only support per standard - nodes that do WPA2 or WPA2/3 transitional could be problematic in a meshed environment.

Notable that Apple did the Wifi6e enable/disable switch in their new iPad Pro's that support 6e - there could be interop issues.

I guess the same might apply for other device vendors.

I have the 6E network set up with its own SSID, so no transition from WPA2 to WPA3 (or vice versa).

 

[mlai]

Just as a reminder - WiFi6e requires WPA3-only support per standard - nodes that do WPA2 or WPA2/3 transitional could be problematic in a meshed environment.

Notable that Apple did the Wifi6e enable/disable switch in their new iPad Pro's that support 6e - there could be interop issues.

I guess the same might apply for other device vendors.

Well, the ET12 6E only support WPA3 (or enhanced open) on 6GHZ so WPA2/3 transition cannot be an issue on nodes.....

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Well, the ET12 6E only support WPA3 (or enhanced open) on 6GHZ so WPA2/3 transition cannot be an issue on nodes.....

The ET-12 supports Tri-band Smart Connect, so connecting to 2.4 or 5GHz via WPA2/WPA3-Personal and transitioning to 6E with WPA3 seems like a possibility. But I'm admittedly not an expert on this stuff.

As I mentioned previously, I have my 6GHz network configured with its own SSID so there would be no transition.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Also, an update on my ticket ... I responded with considerably snarkiness when ASUS told me to perform the exact same steps I'd already completed multiple times with two sets of ET12s. I told them to stop wasting my time and find someone @ ASUS with a Samsung Tab 8/Plus/Ultra or a Z-Fold 3 or 4 just freakin' try it themselves.

For what it's worth, they responded politely to my snark and told me that my ticket has been escalated.

 

[mlai]

The ET-12 supports Tri-band Smart Connect, so connecting to 2.4 or 5GHz via WPA2/WPA3-Personal and transitioning to 6E with WPA3 seems like a possibility. But I'm admittedly not an expert on this stuff.

As I mentioned previously, I have my 6GHz network configured with its own SSID so there would be no transition.

Smart connect on my ET12 only have settings for 2.4G/5G and 6G is excluded........ So on mine, smart connect does not work between 2.4G/5G and 6G. But it does not preclude some unfortunate souls trying to roam between 2.4G/5G/6G with a single SSID and different security hoping that will work. But then, it is not really an ET12 issue that we are talking about.....

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

My latest interactions with ASUS Support regarding this issue.

My somewhat snarky response to yet another identical list of generic troubleshooting steps:

This is the EXACT SAME LIST of things ASUS has sent me EVERY TIME. I've worked through them MULTIPLE times.

The problem is a very specific one that affects users of certain Samsung devices. It is VERY repeatable.

Can you find someone at ASUS with a Samsung Tab S8, S8 Plus, S8 Ultra, Z Fold 3 or Z Fold 4 and actually TRY IT FOR YOURSELVES and stop annoying your customers with the same rote response every time?

If not, bump the issue up to Engineering/Development so that someone actually pays attention to it?

ASUS' Response:

My name is Jasper S.. First and foremost, thank you for your patience while we completed our review and research of this issue. We apologize for the delay, and are grateful for the opportunity to continue to assist you.

With the escalation that was made for this concern, here is the response from our higher team.

Please be advised that our RD team verified the issue in the lab and it seem the problem could be related to the android version on the 3rd party device, it is recommended that you report this issue to Samsung and check for possible firmware update.

Please keep in mind that we are available for any future questions or concerns, so please reach out to our technical support team here: Chat with Us . This will allow us to gather more details on the description of the issue you are experiencing directly, especially on more complex and targeted situations.

And my followup:

Sounds like they're passing the buck. I have a few problems with this response:

• I had no issues connecting my tablet @ 6GHz to my previous 6E mesh solution, a NetGear Orbi RBKE963. I could connect to both the router and its satellites and roam between them. The Orbi had other issues that made it an unsatisfactory solution, so I returned it and replaced it with your ET12 mesh system.
• My tablet connects successfully every time to the ET12 parent node, regardless of which unit is operating as the parent. It fails consistently on the child node, again, regardless of which is operating as the child. I verified this with two separate pairs of ET12s.
• My tablet and phone are on the same version of Android and are running the latest version available. While there may be a hardware difference in the radios, it's not one that other vendors appear to be incompatible with.
• If your engineers are convinced that Samsung is doing something wrong, it would be helpful if they would work with Samsung directly to find a solution, rather than make your customers do all the work. Or at the very least, provide some technical detail as to what is different in the child node's "handshake" that might cause the Samsung tablet to fail. They're obviously not exactly the same and would give us some ammunition for working with Samsung if ASUS is not willing to do it themselves.

The saga continues ...

 

[sfx2000]

My somewhat snarky response to yet another identical list of generic troubleshooting steps:

Being Snarky will likely not lead to success - just makes the tech support person's day that much worse

Be nice, and empower them - most are driven to close out a ticket with a good solution

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Being Snarky will likely not lead to success - just makes the tech support person not care at the end of the day...

I have half a dozen emails from ASUS on this topic preceding the two I just posted. The snarky one was the only one to get a remotely useful response.

I'll also be updating my review on Amazon. That's often resulted in attention from the manufacturer in the past ...

 

[sfx2000]

I'll also be updating my review on Amazon. That's often resulted in attention from the manufacturer in the past ...

Just make sure it's the right vendor - could be Samsung there, not Asus.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Just make sure it's the right vendor - could be Samsung there, not Asus.

I don't believe it's strictly a Samsung issue, and explained why in post #30.

 

[ousoonerchase]

Just chiming in that I'm having the same issue. I tested each combination of an axe11000, axe16000, and et12 as parent or child aimesh node. No matter what device is child, my Samsung zfold4/zfold3 will not connect to 6ghz on the child. My wife's s22u doesn't have the issue

 

[deerhound]

The new firmware released for the ET 12 today 11/28/22 seems to have fixed the connection problem. My Tab S8 Ultra is signed in to the Mesh node on the 6ghz band. Thanks to everyone who worked on getting this solved.
3.0.0.4.388_21739.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Being Snarky will likely not lead to success - just makes the tech support person's day that much worse

Be nice, and empower them - most are driven to close out a ticket with a good solution

So I guess a little snark pays off once in a while ...

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

The new firmware released for the ET 12 today 11/28/22 seems to have fixed the connection problem. My Tab S8 Ultra is signed in to the Mesh node on the 6ghz band. Thanks to everyone who worked on getting this solved.
3.0.0.4.388_21739.

Ditto. Saw your post on Samsung Members too

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

This evening I received another response from ASUS regarding my open case on the 6GHz issue. It contained a link to a beta firmware that they claimed would address the problem.

The beta definitely appears to be an earlier release than the GA version released yesterday.

The right hand knoweth not what the left hand is doing ...