Mobile device not switching between access points

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Technofreak

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#196129 20-May-2016 11:20

We have two access points in the house, one at each end of the house effectively. Both have the same SSID and password. We also have another access point with a separate SSID and password.

Some mobile devices switch seamlessly between either of the two access point with the same name but others refuse to swap over and in the case of my wifes S7 Edge will revert to Mobile Data rather than swap to the other access point. It also won't swap to the access point with the different SSID.

If you turn WiFi on the phone of and back on it will connect to the stronger signal.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how this might be fixed so that the device will switch automatically between access points?

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
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Lizard Networks

#1556094 20-May-2016 11:23

Try forgetting the network and reconnecting it.

when i was testing my roaming setup, i used the Fritzbox app to connect to a certain channel, that saved to my config to only connect to that AP.

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gareth41

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#1556147 20-May-2016 11:43

Also check the WPA settings, should be the same on both, Eg mandated to WPA2+AES preferably on both

tangerz

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#1556151 20-May-2016 11:45

I think I remember reading somewhere that this is (especially) an issue with Android devices?

Might be wrong but think I came across that when I was having the same problem.

mdooher

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#1556183 20-May-2016 12:28

AFAIK the only surefire way is to tell your access points to disconnect devices under a certain signal threshold. Mine work well set to disconnect anything below -90dBm

IF you don't have that sort of control you may be out of luck

Matthew

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#1556226 20-May-2016 13:04

tangerz:

I think I remember reading somewhere that this is (especially) an issue with Android devices?

Ive seen this on a few i-things .

2 options:
-disconnect the devices wifi & reconnect each time they move about the house.
-give ALL access points a different SSID . They connect to the SSID closest to where they are. This is the most foolproof 'fix'

timmmay

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#1556228 20-May-2016 13:08

Yep, this happens. You may be able to work around it, but that's how most Android devices work. Use Tasker or Llama to turn off mobile data when you're at home, but I'm not sure you can use either of those to select the strongest WAP. My solution was to put one WAP up high in the center of the house.

jnimmo

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#1556229 20-May-2016 13:09

Sometimes reducing the power of your APs slightly will help roam devices

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Crowdie

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#1556264 20-May-2016 13:44

For a wireless device to roam there has to be an area where the coverage cells of both access points overlap. If this overlap area is too small, or non-existent, wireless devices will not be able to roam and if this overlap area is too large then the wireless clients can become "sticky" and not want to roam.

How large is your coverage overlap?

Another setting to look at is your data rates. If you have the low data rates enabled then the wireless clients are more likely to become "sticky". As a rule I always disable the 802.11b data rates (1, 2, 5.5 and 11 Mbps), unless you have a wireless device that needs 802.11b data rates, and by increasing the lowest supported data rate you will make your wireless devices want to roam quicker.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

#1556440 20-May-2016 17:35

mdooher:

AFAIK the only surefire way is to tell your access points to disconnect devices under a certain signal threshold. Mine work well set to disconnect anything below -90dBm

IF you don't have that sort of control you may be out of luck

this. although i found this to also cause an issue of APs blocking clients that are were sitting on the threashold right when the last check was ran though.

atleast for andriod devices, i have actually gone as far as to setup another wireless for testing for me, this has roaming turned off and my M8x roams far more smoothly and without fault than any roaming protocol offered on the E400s.

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Technofreak

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#1556745 21-May-2016 11:48

Crowdie:

For a wireless device to roam there has to be an area where the coverage cells of both access points overlap. If this overlap area is too small, or non-existent, wireless devices will not be able to roam and if this overlap area is too large then the wireless clients can become "sticky" and not want to roam.

How large is your coverage overlap?

The overlap is good but not too large, I've been using a WiFi analyser to check.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
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Technofreak

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#1556746 21-May-2016 11:50

mdooher:

AFAIK the only surefire way is to tell your access points to disconnect devices under a certain signal threshold. Mine work well set to disconnect anything below -90dBm

IF you don't have that sort of control you may be out of luck

I've downloaded an app call SWIFI which allows you to set signal threshold levels. So far it seems to work.

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1eStar

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#1556817 21-May-2016 14:29

I have been trialling an app called WiFi roaming.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details%3Fid%3Dcom.heleron.wifiroamingfix

richms

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#1557185 22-May-2016 10:58

I tried some app that claimed to help with wifi roaming - cant recall which one, and it hammered my battery life and actually made me end up on cellular way more often.

Richard rich.ms

ripdog

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#1557221 22-May-2016 12:22

Not sure why people are saying Android won't do this, I have 3 android phones in my house and they all roam between my FritzBox, ASUS router and Airport fine. Verified with wifi analyzer.

richms

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#1557226 22-May-2016 12:33

My note 4 will hang onto the outdoor AP pointing at where I park with a -85dB useless signal inside instead of roaming over to the nice strong AP right above my desk. Tried same SSID (which I dont really want since the outdoor one is 2.4GHz only) and that did not help. Wont roam till it totally loses it, since its a powerful AP then it is visible to the phone when the phone is not visible particually well to the AP.

Wifi is just a horrid thing without roaming that works.

Richard rich.ms

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