I have a MikroTik hAP ac2 as my main router and AP. I also have an ASUS router connected to it using a LAN cable. The ASUS router is running in AP mode, so it’s just an access point. Both routers broadcast WiFi networks on 2.4GHz and 5GHz, however, both SSID’s on each band have the same name (so they act as a mesh system) The ASUS router covers the living room and kitchen, and the hAP ac2 covers my bedroom and my parent’s bedroom. There’s a very thick wall between both routers so using a single AP would not be enough, as it would only cover one half of the house.
I have been using this setup for about 6+ months now and never had any issues at all. No devices had any issues at all. Until I got a new MacBook.
I usually use my MacBook on my desk, so the hAP ac2 is right above the MacBook. However, if I try to use my MacBook on my bed, the connection becomes so slow that it’s unusable, and after about a minute the MacBook loses the connection to the network and keeps reconnecting. I’m not sure why is this happening, the MacBook is still close to the hAP, as it’s in the same room and there isn’t any obstacle between them. As soon as I move to a different location in my room, everything works completely fine. Also, if I switch to the 2.4GHz network, this issue does not occur even if I’m using my MacBook on my bed.
EDIT:
These are the errors that show up when the connection is lost:
Could be some interference. When the connection starts to get wonky, connect to the router and see the “wireless registration table”. What is the signal of your connection, and the other parameters ?
First, please use WINBOX to do real debugging , or at least webfig
Second, please check the logs also on your ASUS router, maybe your macbook tries to connect to ASUS AP and shortly disconnects from the hap?
Third, never ever use 11ac only mode in WLAN2 5Ghz interface settings. Change this to “all” Wifi modes (a/n/ac).
Your Mac will still use 11ac but in bad signal situation (or interference) you keep connection.
I would think this is probably your issue!
Looks like interference or reflection. Your CCQ in registration might go to lower values, even with high signal strength. Any electronic equipment in the close neighborhood could cause problems.
Your hAP and Asus may have the same SSID name, but should be on different non overlapping frequencies. Your hAP ac2 is standing upright on it’s plexi foot, right?
You did not set the frequency yourselves, and limited the possible frequencies to the indoor set only (channel 36-64) with “installation=indoor”, set it to “installation =any” to have more choices. Ceee is 80 MHz wide, not so many options for non-overlapping frequency selection. Don’t leave it on auto. Investigate and decide what to use, and set it.
Don’t worry about ac-only. It’s a bit (10%) faster due to lesser overhead than n/ac. And the ac “VHT MCS0”, and the n “HT MCS0” and the g 6 Mbps are the same low speed.
Setting AMSDU?
We don’t know how RouterOS implemented 802.11ac.
Reducing A-MSDU size is known for 802.11n to send smaller A-MSDU packages, and we hope it uses A-MPDU to package them further. A-MPDU has block ACK for each individual A-MSDU it aggregates and each A_MSDU has it’s own checksum. So if there is data corruption, only the corrupted A-MSDU need to be resent.
But with 802.11ac the max A-MSDU size depends on the MPDU size. And there a 3 values for those. Is the AMSDU setting in RouterOS still used for 802.11ac???
From my experience (using a hAP ac2 with ROS as a home router) some clients will easily lose signal from the router if the AMSDU is too high.
Just look at how many advanced WiFi settings the OpenWRT GUI on a hAP ac2 has and compare it to ROS, in OpenWRT almost everything is handled internally by the WiFi driver as other vendors do avoiding trouble and unnecessary tuning for the end user.
