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Can I set wi-fi roaming trigger level?

Linux Kernel, Network, and Services configuration.
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morse_the_horse
Posts: 66
Joined: 2013-06-29 22:07

Can I set wi-fi roaming trigger level?

#1 Post by morse_the_horse »

At my home and at our club, we use ORBI mesh system with satellites. This should allow us to move from room to room and have the devices automatically recognize that the signal from the nearest router/satellite should be used and switch to it. However, in spite of the fact that a signal from the router goes from 90% to 28% when I move to be near a satellite that I now get at 90%, no switch occurs. If I turn off wi-fi then turn it on, it, of course, picks up the new strongest signal but will not switch back if I move to the original location. My Debian system is simply not configured to recognize 28% as too low to search for a better signal. Is there any way to change that?

Ideally, I'd like to enable the feature by SSID so it could be set to move only in a system that has multiple APs like our ORBIs.

morse_the_horse
Posts: 66
Joined: 2013-06-29 22:07

Re: Can I set wi-fi roaming trigger level?

#2 Post by morse_the_horse »

Here's a recommendation from a site about changing the "aggressiveness" vs "stickiness" (the terms usually used) in general:

https://helpcenter.engeniustech.com/hc/ ... uld-we-do-

and then find this:
Set a relative Fast Handover/ RSSI Threshold value. -Some wireless client devices retain connection to a weak signal, even if there`s a stronger one available. -Set the RSSI Threshold/ Fast Handover value to -80dBm, which will force the client device to disconnect from the AP and allow it to scan and connect to a stronger signal.

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argentwolf
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Re: Can I set wi-fi roaming trigger level?

#3 Post by argentwolf »

Which ORBI mesh system (model) do you have?
Vanguard Debian, because nothing's worse than doing nothing, whimsically!
32-bit | 2 Duo T5270 @ 1.40GHz x 2 CPU | 3.9GiB RAM | NV86 117MiB GPU | 465.76GiB SSD
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morse_the_horse
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Joined: 2013-06-29 22:07

Re: Can I set wi-fi roaming trigger level?

#4 Post by morse_the_horse »

argentwolf wrote: 2022-01-14 23:32 Which ORBI mesh system (model) do you have?
RBR50.

The only recommendation I found to potentially fix the problem is to lower the output power level on the Orbi. I don't know if that will lower the power levels on the satellites (if not, it would only fix the problem if one moved from the router area to the satellite area and not vice versa).

The explanation, as I understand it, is that it is up to the device to decide if the signal it is getting is below its threshold. If it is below, that will cause the device to seek a different AP and it would then find the closest router/satellite (AP). Lowering the power will lower the signal level, hopefully causing the device to seek a new AP. I know that fixes the issue because turning off the wi-fi then immediately back on gets a reconnect to the closest AP. I've tried that with three disparate devices, my Debian Buster, my android phone and a wi-fi camera. I need a presettable trigger value. Note that there is apparently a third party program for Windoze that will poke the driver to do that.

The real fix is to have the devices increase their threshold and make a forced decision to seek a new AP.

The camera obviously won't switch but its mfgr is looking into a software option to set a higher threshold at my request. Android has a known problem with switching so someone has come out with an app that (running all the time), checks the signal level and if it is below an apparent adjustable level, it causes a wi-fi turn off/on - a kludge way to do it but apparently it works. I could implement that in Linux easily enough by reading the signal level with

Code: Select all

cat /proc/net/wireless
then do the same thing but that isn't a solution. I'd like a way to be able to set (preferably by SSID) a trigger value higher or lower than the default.

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argentwolf
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Re: Can I set wi-fi roaming trigger level?

#5 Post by argentwolf »

Are all your AP with the same SSID?
I'm not sure, 'smoth handover' means you have the ability to stream from the internet without disruption switching AP's on your device(s)...it simply means the device can switch AP smother without your intervention.
-daisy-chain topology enabled
-fast roaming enabled

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files ... _UM_EN.pdf
Vanguard Debian, because nothing's worse than doing nothing, whimsically!
32-bit | 2 Duo T5270 @ 1.40GHz x 2 CPU | 3.9GiB RAM | NV86 117MiB GPU | 465.76GiB SSD
64-bit | i7-4790 @ 3.60GHz x 8 CPU | 15.6GiB RAM | NVD9 1.9GiB GPU | 931.51GiB SSD

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