Chateau LTE18 ax: SSID of 2.4 GHz Band not seen with my older Laptop

RouterOS Wireless Networking
1

A friendly Hello to everbody!
I’ve purchased a Chateau LTE18ax to replace my provider router (ZTE MF286R).
After making the basic setup of wifi1 and wifi2 all my newer devices (HP Laptop, Samsung Tablet, and Mobile Phones are working properly but on my older Laptop (Probook 4730s with Realtek RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n only), I can’t see the SSID of the Chateau, but WLAN on this Laptop is working fine with other Routers (I’ve 3 devices testet).
On the Chateau I’ve configured 2 SSID’s (for 5GHz and 2.4GHz separately) and tried already to set wifi2 back to Band: N and BW: to 20MHz, w/o any positiv result.
Grateful if someone could help me to the right track to solve this issue.

If config details or some more information is needed, please let me know.

Faithfully, Richard

2

Hi Richard!

The Chateau LTE18ax often defaults to WPA3 or a "Transition Mode" (WPA2/WPA3). Older cards frequently fail to scan for SSIDs that broadcast WPA3 support, even if WPA2 is available.

I would try WPA2 PSA.

If your Chateau is set to "Auto" channel selection, it might be picking Channel 12 or 13. Many older laptops configured with US-region drivers are hardcoded to only see channels 1 through 11.

You could try changing the broadcast Channel of the wifi.

this is what comes into my mind.

3

We need to see your config to provide suggestions. Forum rules - #5 by gigabyte091

4

Thank you very much for paying attention to my issue.
Please find below the required dump because new users are not allowed to upload files.

# 2026-05-07 12:12:23 by RouterOS 7.22.2
# software id = HC7Z-QS88
#
# model = S53UG+5HaxD2HaxD&EG18-EA
# serial number = HE...BDNF
/interface bridge
add admin-mac=48:xx:xx:xx:xx:55 auto-mac=no comment=defconf name=bridge
/interface wifi
set [ find default-name=wifi1 ] configuration.country=Austria .mode=ap .ssid=\
    iKTL5 disabled=no security.authentication-types=wpa2-psk .ft=yes \
    .ft-over-ds=yes
set [ find default-name=wifi2 ] channel.band=2ghz-n .frequency=2300-7300 \
    .width=20mhz configuration.country=Austria .mode=ap .ssid=iKTL2 disabled=\
    no security.authentication-types=wpa2-psk .ft=yes .ft-over-ds=yes
/interface ethernet
set [ find default-name=ether3 ] comment=DMZ rx-flow-control=auto \
    tx-flow-control=auto
/interface lte
set [ find default-name=lte1 ] allow-roaming=no band=""
/interface ethernet switch
set 0 cpu-flow-control=yes
/interface list
add comment=defconf name=WAN
add comment=defconf name=LAN
add name=DMZ
/ip pool
add name=dhcp ranges=192.168.18.100-192.168.18.199
/queue type
add fq-codel-ecn=no kind=fq-codel name=fq-codel-ethernet-default
/queue interface
set ether1 queue=fq-codel-ethernet-default
set ether2 queue=fq-codel-ethernet-default
set ether3 queue=fq-codel-ethernet-default
set ether4 queue=fq-codel-ethernet-default
set ether5 queue=fq-codel-ethernet-default
/system script
add comment=defconf dont-require-permissions=no name=dark-mode owner=*sys \
    policy=ftp,reboot,read,write,policy,test,password,sniff,sensitive,romon \
    source="\r\
    \n   :if ([system leds settings get all-leds-off] = \"never\") do={\r\
    \n     /system leds settings set all-leds-off=immediate \r\
    \n   } else={\r\
    \n     /system leds settings set all-leds-off=never \r\
    \n   }\r\
    \n "
add comment=defconf dont-require-permissions=no name=wps-accept owner=*sys \
    policy=ftp,reboot,read,write,policy,test,password,sniff,sensitive,romon \
    source="\r\
    \n   :foreach iface in=[/interface/wifi find where (configuration.mode=\"a\
    p\" && disabled=no)] do={\r\
    \n     /interface/wifi wps-push-button \$iface;}\r\
    \n "
/disk settings
set auto-media-interface=bridge auto-media-sharing=yes auto-smb-sharing=yes
/ip smb
set enabled=no
/interface bridge port
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=ether1
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=ether2
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=ether4
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=ether5
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=wifi1
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=wifi2
/ip neighbor discovery-settings
set discover-interface-list=LAN
/interface list member
add comment=defconf interface=bridge list=LAN
add comment=defconf interface=lte1 list=WAN
add interface=ether3 list=DMZ
/ip address
add address=192.168.18.1/23 comment=defconf interface=bridge network=\
    192.168.18.0
add address=192.168.18.0/23 comment=DMZ interface=bridge network=192.168.18.0
/ip dhcp-server
add address-pool=dhcp disabled=yes interface=bridge name=defconf
/ip dhcp-server network
add address=192.168.18.0/23 comment=defconf dns-server=192.168.18.1 domain=\
    iktl.local gateway=192.168.18.1 netmask=23 ntp-none=yes
/ip dns
set allow-remote-requests=yes
/ip dns static
add address=192.168.18.1 comment=defconf name=router.lan type=A
/ip firewall address-list
add address=142.132.214.112 comment="AWiT - Srv - de-fsn-1" list=AWiT
add address=83.65.162.160/28 comment="AWiT HQ NLF" list=AWiT
add address=5.132.191.179 comment="AWiT - Srv - at-vie-1" list=AWiT
add address=62.240.155.212 comment="AWiT - Mobile - FP4" list=AWiT
add address=41.66.93.217 comment="AWiT - Mobile - SA7" list=AWiT
add address=83.65.162.160/28 comment="AWiT HQ NLF" list="AWiT - Testing"
add address=192.168.18.0/23 comment="IKTL - local" list="iktl - local"
add address=192.168.18.1 comment="IKTL - GW" list="iktl - local"
/ip firewall filter
add action=accept chain=input comment=\
    "defconf: accept established,related,untracked" connection-state=\
    established,related,untracked
add action=drop chain=input comment="defconf: drop invalid" connection-state=\
    invalid
add action=drop chain=forward comment="custom: Block DMZ to LAN" \
    in-interface-list=DMZ out-interface-list=LAN
add action=accept chain=input comment="defconf: accept ICMP" protocol=icmp
add action=accept chain=input comment=\
    "defconf: accept to local loopback (for CAPsMAN)" dst-address=127.0.0.1
add action=accept chain=forward comment=\
    "custom: accept _ AWiT - SSH, http(s)" dst-port=80,443,10422,10522 \
    in-interface-list=WAN out-interface-list=LAN port="" protocol=tcp \
    src-address-list=AWiT
add action=accept chain=forward comment="custom: accept _ AWiT - https quick" \
    dst-port=443 in-interface-list=WAN out-interface-list=LAN port="" \
    protocol=udp src-address-list=AWiT
add action=accept chain=forward comment=\
    "custom: accept _ AWiT - SSH FP4 (Test)" disabled=yes dst-port=\
    80,443,10422,10522 in-interface-list=WAN out-interface-list=LAN port="" \
    protocol=tcp src-address-list="AWiT - Testing"
add action=accept chain=forward comment="custom: LAN admin to DMZ" \
    in-interface-list=LAN out-interface-list=DMZ
add action=drop chain=input comment="defconf: drop all not coming from LAN" \
    in-interface-list=!LAN
add action=accept chain=forward comment="defconf: accept in ipsec policy" \
    ipsec-policy=in,ipsec
add action=accept chain=forward comment="defconf: accept out ipsec policy" \
    ipsec-policy=out,ipsec
add action=fasttrack-connection chain=forward comment="defconf: fasttrack" \
    connection-state=established,related
add action=accept chain=forward comment=\
    "defconf: accept established,related, untracked" connection-state=\
    established,related,untracked
add action=drop chain=forward comment="defconf: drop invalid" \
    connection-state=invalid
add action=drop chain=forward comment=\
    "defconf: drop all from WAN not DSTNATed" connection-nat-state=!dstnat \
    connection-state=new in-interface-list=WAN
/ip firewall nat
add action=masquerade chain=srcnat comment="defconf: masquerade" \
    ipsec-policy=out,none out-interface-list=WAN
add action=redirect chain=dstnat comment=\
    "custom: GW - Redirect HTTP to HTTPS for admin net" dst-address=\
    192.168.18.1 dst-port=80 fragment=yes protocol=tcp src-address=0.0.0.0 \
    to-ports=443
add action=dst-nat chain=dstnat comment="custom: RPi4 - http" dst-port=80 \
    in-interface-list=WAN protocol=tcp to-addresses=192.168.18.11 to-ports=80
add action=dst-nat chain=dstnat comment="custom: RPi4 - https" dst-port=443 \
    in-interface-list=WAN protocol=tcp to-addresses=192.168.18.11 to-ports=\
    443
add action=dst-nat chain=dstnat comment="custom: RPi4 - https quick" \
    dst-port=443 in-interface-list=WAN protocol=udp to-addresses=\
    192.168.18.11 to-ports=443
add action=dst-nat chain=dstnat comment="custom: RPi4 - Remote SSH Access" \
    dst-port=10422 in-interface-list=WAN protocol=tcp to-addresses=\
    192.168.18.11 to-ports=10422
add action=dst-nat chain=dstnat comment="custom: RPi5 - Remote SSH Access" \
    dst-port=10522 in-interface-list=WAN protocol=tcp to-addresses=\
    192.168.18.65 to-ports=10522
/ip service
set ftp disabled=yes
set telnet disabled=yes
set www disabled=yes
set www-ssl certificate="IKTL.local GW" disabled=no
set winbox disabled=yes
set api disabled=yes
set api-ssl disabled=yes
/ip service webserver
set acme-plain=no
/ip ssh
set host-key-type=ed25519 strong-crypto=yes
/ipv6 firewall address-list
add address=::/128 comment="defconf: unspecified address" list=bad_ipv6
add address=::1/128 comment="defconf: lo" list=bad_ipv6
add address=fec0::/10 comment="defconf: site-local" list=bad_ipv6
add address=::ffff:0.0.0.0/96 comment="defconf: ipv4-mapped" list=bad_ipv6
add address=::/96 comment="defconf: ipv4 compat" list=bad_ipv6
add address=100::/64 comment="defconf: discard only " list=bad_ipv6
add address=2001:db8::/32 comment="defconf: documentation" list=bad_ipv6
add address=2001:10::/28 comment="defconf: ORCHID" list=bad_ipv6
add address=3ffe::/16 comment="defconf: 6bone" list=bad_ipv6
/ipv6 firewall filter
add action=accept chain=input comment=\
    "defconf: accept established,related,untracked" connection-state=\
    established,related,untracked
add action=drop chain=input comment="defconf: drop invalid" connection-state=\
    invalid
add action=accept chain=input comment="defconf: accept ICMPv6" protocol=\
    icmpv6
add action=accept chain=input comment="defconf: accept UDP traceroute" \
    dst-port=33434-33534 protocol=udp
add action=accept chain=input comment=\
    "defconf: accept DHCPv6-Client prefix delegation." dst-port=546 protocol=\
    udp src-address=fe80::/10
add action=accept chain=input comment="defconf: accept IKE" dst-port=500,4500 \
    protocol=udp
add action=accept chain=input comment="defconf: accept ipsec AH" protocol=\
    ipsec-ah
add action=accept chain=input comment="defconf: accept ipsec ESP" protocol=\
    ipsec-esp
add action=accept chain=input comment=\
    "defconf: accept all that matches ipsec policy" ipsec-policy=in,ipsec
add action=drop chain=input comment=\
    "defconf: drop everything else not coming from LAN" in-interface-list=\
    !LAN
add action=fasttrack-connection chain=forward comment="defconf: fasttrack6" \
    connection-state=established,related
add action=accept chain=forward comment=\
    "defconf: accept established,related,untracked" connection-state=\
    established,related,untracked
add action=drop chain=forward comment="defconf: drop invalid" \
    connection-state=invalid
add action=drop chain=forward comment=\
    "defconf: drop packets with bad src ipv6" src-address-list=bad_ipv6
add action=drop chain=forward comment=\
    "defconf: drop packets with bad dst ipv6" dst-address-list=bad_ipv6
add action=drop chain=forward comment="defconf: rfc4890 drop hop-limit=1" \
    hop-limit=equal:1 protocol=icmpv6
add action=accept chain=forward comment="defconf: accept ICMPv6" protocol=\
    icmpv6
add action=accept chain=forward comment="defconf: accept HIP" protocol=139
add action=accept chain=forward comment="defconf: accept IKE" dst-port=\
    500,4500 protocol=udp
add action=accept chain=forward comment="defconf: accept ipsec AH" protocol=\
    ipsec-ah
add action=accept chain=forward comment="defconf: accept ipsec ESP" protocol=\
    ipsec-esp
add action=accept chain=forward comment=\
    "defconf: accept all that matches ipsec policy" ipsec-policy=in,ipsec
add action=drop chain=forward comment=\
    "defconf: drop everything else not coming from LAN" in-interface-list=\
    !LAN
/ipv6 nd
set [ find default=yes ] advertise-dns=yes
/system clock
set time-zone-name=Europe/Vienna
/system routerboard mode-button
set enabled=yes on-event=dark-mode
/system routerboard wps-button
set enabled=yes on-event=wps-accept
/tool mac-server
set allowed-interface-list=LAN
/tool mac-server mac-winbox
set allowed-interface-list=LAN
5

There are some unusual settings. But I'll focus on the wifi part:

.frequency=2300-7300

Don't use that. And don't explicitly set channel.band

/interface wifi unset value-name=channel.band [ find default-name=wifi2 ]
/interface wifi unset value-name=frequency [ find default-name=wifi2 ]

If this not already helps, disable ft just to see if this makes your probook connect.

/interface wifi set ft=no [ find ]
6

I would say that 2300 is a low value, while 7300 is an extremely high value in the 2.4 GHz range ...

Channel Frequency
1 2412
2 2417
3 2422
4 2427
5 2432
6 2437
7 2442
8 2447
9 2452
10 2457
11 2462
12 2467
13 2472
14 2484

Possibly try with 2412,2437,2462.

Also, using the following scheme (from the Mikrotik help documentation):

# Creating a security profile, which will be common for both interfaces
/interface wifi security
add name=common-auth authentication-types=wpa2-psk,wpa3-psk passphrase="diceware makes good passwords" wps=disable
# Creating a common configuration profile and linking the security profile to it
/interface wifi configuration
add name=common-conf ssid=MikroTik country=Latvia security=common-auth
# Creating separate channel configurations for each band
/interface wifi channel
add name=ch-2ghz frequency=2412,2437,2472 width=20mhz
add name=ch-5ghz frequency=5180,5260,5500 width=20/40/80mhz
# Assigning to each interface the common profile as well as band-specific channel profile, in case of "no supported channels" message on interfaces, make sure that correct (channel) configuration is applied to each.
/interface wifi
set wifi1 channel=ch-5ghz configuration=common-conf disabled=no
set wifi2 channel=ch-2ghz configuration=common-conf disabled=no

comes out as being more readable.

7

Thank you very much for these hints. I have changed my settings accordingly but unfortunately it does not remedy the problem.

8

Hi Richard, maybe a dumb question: Can you even see other wireless networks?

9

just my 2 cents

I never understood why from the beginning users applies a lot of cutomization in the wifi settings. The user should just set SSID+passkey and in the security settings maybe check the WPA2-PSK only to allow older devices to connect. Then only later just add customization.

1 Like
10

According to him: yes.