Q: Airport - Roaming Network
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Aug 17, 2013 1:14 AMby LaPastenague,Can you test with a laptop.. I have seen other people complain that the ipad iphone.. ie iOS devices can have issues roaming properly but the later MB should work fine.
But as I transition from AC to Express, though I'm connected to the WIFI, I cannot establish internet connection.
If you turn the wireless off and back on again does it then pick up the correct unit and internet work??
If so can you give details of the difference.. ie when it swaps to the express say from the AC unit.. get the full details of the network.. IP address, subnet, gateway (router) and DNS.
When you power off and back on again .. and internet works.. please give me those same values.. IP address, subnet gateway and DNS.
How long is the dhcp lease time in the router?? As a test can you set it to 10min.
Then when you roam and the device changes to a different AP.. wait at least 10min and see if internet is restored.. even if it did not instantly change over.
There might be something we can do to help this but I want the result of this test.
Roaming is something that does have this issue that when people test it can fail.. unfortunately if it fails with the iOS products which are by nature the most mobile products it is a pain.. !
Would it help if I get another Airport Extreme AC to replace Airport Express?
I doubt it.. you should be able to use any router.. in effect there is no link between these two routers.. each is operating as a dumb AP unit.. the real work is done by the router the ISP supplied.
Another test pops into my mind.. sorry..
Put the Express into router mode and live with double NAT. It won't matter for most things.. then see if roaming improves.. I doubt it but you never know.
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Aug 17, 2013 2:25 AMby kon_sk,Can you test with a laptop.. I have seen other people complain that the ipad iphone.. ie iOS devices can have issues roaming properly but the later MB should work fine.
Just did that with a Lenovo X1 (with 3 stream wifi N)...
Start from AEAC (by default connected to 5Ghz connection - I recognise again by the macid as AEAC has a single SSID for both 2.4 & 5Ghz), I ran continuoss ping to www.yahoo.com and download a dummy 1Gb file from a local speedtest server. Started with 450mbps connection on my laptop, and gradually drop down to 54mbps as I walk from the room with the AEAC until I reach next to the AEEX. The file continue to download because the laptop REFUSED to associate with the AEEX!
If you turn the wireless off and back on again does it then pick up the correct unit and internet work??
How long is the dhcp lease time in the router?? As a test can you set it to 10min.
On IOS device, the transition (from AP to AP) did happen (macid), IP settings remain unchanged (192.168.0.xx). DHCP lease time is defaulted to 24 hours, so the IP address remain the same, with router remain pointed at 192.168.0.1, with DNS et all appear normal.
Am using Net Analyzer Lite on my IOS to monitor the BSSID (IOS generic settings only tell me the basic IP address, not which AP). With the same app, I can ping www.yahoo.com with hardly any failure, i.e. it run continuously even during the AP transition, but if I try say facebook app, or speedtest app. All doesn't move, and that's what I mean by Internet is inaccesible.
Then when you roam and the device changes to a different AP.. wait at least 10min and see if internet is restored.. even if it did not instantly change over.
The new AP internet connection does work normally after a few minutes of it not moving initially. I did not specifically time it, but 5-10mins wait feels about right that everything (on IOS device) works again. Tried off and on wifi on IOS, doesn't help. Gotta wait that 5-10 mins.
The main ISP router actually came with wifi, and similarly, trying to roam with AEAC and the router WIFI are also problematic. I had to turn it off because somehow when I try using the AEEX to extend the wireless network to the room and using the LAN port to connect to a media player, the AEEX will always connect to the router WIFI instead of AEAC when AEAC is nearer, and presumably with better signal than the WIFI which is 2 room away. Setting AEEX to join wireless network works fine, but trying to extend it is a gamble since it will try to connect to the main router wifi (despite me having the tranmission power set to just 20%). If it did connect to the main router wifi, the throughput (copying file) is like 56k modem speed! connecting to AEAC will get the throughput up to something between 2-4MB (depending if the door were closed)
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Aug 17, 2013 2:29 AMby kon_sk,Am using Net Analyzer Lite on my IOS to monitor the BSSID (IOS generic settings only tell me the basic IP address, not which AP). With the same app, I can ping www.yahoo.com with hardly any failure, i.e. it run continuously even during the AP transition, but if I try say facebook app, or speedtest app. All doesn't move, and that's what I mean by Internet is inaccesible.
I should also add, during the period when Internet is inaccessible, i.e. right after the AP transition, using the Net Analyzer Lite app, I could not see my "external IP", when this can't be "reload"-ed it shows N/A, otherwise it always show my real external IP. I was also always able to see every other devices in the LAN, it has a LAN-scan to ping/probe every single IP in my LAN range from 1 to 254. So LAN is always working (i can also see all my AP using IOS airport utility), but internet got to wait
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Aug 17, 2013 4:10 AMby LaPastenague,HelpfulJust did that with a Lenovo X1 (with 3 stream wifi N)...
Unfortunately that is not surprising .. it is a PC laptop and probably got Intel wireless card.. it will never work properly.. the Mac laptops are the best for roaming and handle it very well. PC laptops .. well if you kick it .. they might connect and then again they might not. But to roam is a bridge too far.
Interesting .. that Apple use Intel chips.. Intel bridges.. basically the whole Intel box and dice. .but they never ever use Intel wireless cards.
I could not see my "external IP", when this can't be "reload"-ed it shows N/A, otherwise it always show my real external IP. I was also always able to see every other devices in the LAN, it has a LAN-scan to ping/probe every single IP in my LAN range from 1 to 254.
This suggests the issue is routing .. it is not able to actually cleanly switch over. If you have local lan access but not internet it strongly suggests to me the gateway has failed in some way.
I want you to try the last test.. put the express into router and ignore the double NAT.. tell me what happens then.
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Aug 17, 2013 5:38 AMby kon_sk,This suggests the issue is routing .. it is not able to actually cleanly switch over. If you have local lan access but not internet it strongly suggests to me the gateway has failed
in some way.
I want you to try the last test.. put the express into router and ignore the double NAT.. tell me what happens then.
Thanks! I will try this tomorrow afternoon (have appointment late morning to get my phone line converted to dual phone & fast ethernet use. I can try the data port as well in another isolated room far away from the existing point . Frankly, I only need the roaming to work on mobile devices, i rarely move around the room with laptop, of course there is no harm for everything to work as they should.
Not sure if the objective of doing the 'router' mode test is what I thought it is, but if the problem are indeed routing/router related, I can in theory have a AEAC serve as the main router (by connecting to the ISP router) and allow it to double NAT there, and all other connection coming out from the AEAC.. that would solve the routing problem?
As a matter of fact, I bought the AEAC to replace my aging linksys WRT350N because the roaming also failed (at least the AEEX/AEAC allow me to connect 5-10 mins later), with the old router, I ended up having to reboot the IOS device! Seeing how the AEAC has stand up to my abuse, I'm tempted to get another one to permanently put this problem to a good rest!
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Aug 17, 2013 6:54 AMby Bob Timmons,Frankly, I only need the roaming to work on mobile devices,
Frankly, moble devices do not usually work very well on roaming networks. An iPhone, iPad, etc tends to hold on to the signal from the first router with which it connects......even if you move the mobile device closer to another wireless access point.
If you want the mobile device to pick up the signal from another access point, you usually have to turn off the wireless on the device....or power it down....then turn the wireless back on or power it back up. Then, it will usually pick up the signal from the closer wireless access point.
The reason.....the iOS operating system is not nearly as sophisticated as the OS X system as far as picking the right wireless signal when there are multiple access points to choose from.
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Aug 18, 2013 2:15 AMby kon_sk,I'm happy to announce my problem is fixed (mysteriously!!!), I'm now able to roam seamlessly on my IOS device between the AEAC & AEEX!
The only 'variable' that changed from my test yesterday was HOMEPLUG!
In the past, the AEAC was wired to the main router via homeplug, and the AEXP was direct LAN to main router. A friend pop by this morning to help convert all my voice port to fast ethernet port and now both the AEAC & AEXP is connected to the same switch (an old Linksys router).
I was literally running a speedtest on the IOS device, and walk from room to room now and the speedtest kept going without interruption. The test did slowed down a fair bit as the AP transition happen (20+mbps drop to <5mbps, but the speed went up again)... it slowed, but never actually disconnect and I could continue surfing thereafter without any wait time...
Woohoo! I'm a happy bunny now. Lesson learnt... to get roaming, the base station must be on the same switch!
Homeplug bad!
THANKS ALL FOR CHIPPING IN!!!
