**Board:** hAP ax lite LTE6 (L41G-2axD&FG621-EA), IPQ5000
**RouterOS:** 7.24rc3 (testing), build-time 2026-07-28
**wifi-qcom package:** 7.24rc3
**RouterBOOT:** 7.24rc3
Symptom
The radio serves no client as an AP. Clients see the SSID, associate at L2, then the link drops within ~6 seconds and the client retries indefinitely.
Router log (`/log print where topics~"wireless"`):
```
wireless,debug BE:76:C6:35:63:86@wifi1(_mikronet) associated, signal strength -46
wireless,debug BE:76:C6:35:63:86@wifi1(_mikronet) disassociated, connection lost, signal strength -45
wireless,debug BE:76:C6:35:63:86@wifi1(_mikronet) associated, signal strength -46
wireless,debug BE:76:C6:35:63:86@wifi1(_mikronet) disassociated, connection lost, signal strength -44
```
`registered-peers` briefly hits 1, `authorized-peers` stays 0.
Current config (tried, all produce the same result)
```
/interface wifi
set [ find default-name=wifi1 ] configuration.ssid=_mikronet .mode=ap \
security=mikronet-security \
security.authentication-types=wpa2-psk .management-protection=disabled \
.ft=no .ft-over-ds=no channel.band=2ghz-ax width=20/40mhz
/interface wifi security
add authentication-types=wpa2-psk management-protection=disabled \
ft=no ft-over-ds=no name=mikronet-security passphrase=***
```
What I verified / tried:
- Passphrase is byte-identical between router and client (checked via sha256), and `passphrase=***` set
- Security profile enabled (`disabled=no`), WPA2-PSK only, PMF **disabled**, FT **disabled**
- Native `2ghz-ax` and forced `2ghz-n`, 20 MHz, channel 6 (2437) — no change
- Fresh radio restart (disable/enable) — no change
- Clean-upgrade / factory-reset state did not help
The decisive control test
Even with **no security at all** (removed the security binding → open AP), a client **still cannot join**:
macOS client `networksetup -setairportnetwork en0 "_mikronet" ""`
→ `Failed to join network _mikronet. Error: -3925`
An open AP has no 4-way handshake to fail, so this isolates the defect to the **802.11 association path in the wifi-qcom driver**, not the PSK/PMF/FT/cipher negotiation.
Related
The same unit also fails to connect as a **station** (client) to any AP — `connect → deauth reason code 3` loop against both a Linksys mesh and an iPhone hotspot, tested on 7.23.2 and 7.24rc3. I had assumed I hit a station-mode-only regression, but the AP-side association failure on the same radio suggests the wifi-qcom association handling is broadly broken here.
Questions for the forum
- Anyone else see **AP-side association failures** on hAP ax lite LTE6 (IPQ5000) on 7.24rc3 / 7.23.x?
- Is this a known firmware/driver bug in wifi-qcom on this board, or is there a config/setting combination I have not tried?
- I tried to downgrade to stable 7.23.3 to test; RouterOS refuses (`omitting package system-7.23.3: newer package system-7.24rc3 is already installed`). What is the supported downgrade path (Netinstall?) and does anyone have a known-good RouterOS version for the **AP path** on this unit?
Environment (for completeness)
- LTE Cat 6 modem (FG621-EA), wired WAN via ether1, internal WiFi only used as AP
- Same WiFi brand was previously functional (SSID served clients) before a factory reset + reconfig; failure reproduced on both 7.23.2 and 7.24rc3 after reconfig
- Happy to provide torch captures / `wifi debug` output if useful