Master SSID dropping to kbs speeds on all cAP ac units

RouterOS Wireless Networking
1

UPDATE: This issue appears resolved. Please scroll down to the posts from late December 2022

Hi folks, I have four cAP ac units all managed via CAPsMAN with two SSIDs, one for the regular network and one for IoT devices. It has been this way for a couple of years with no issues whatsoever. However, it seems somewhere around ROS 7.3.1 or so, my master SSID on all APs regularly drops to between 50kbs and 1Mbs maximum throughput. This is happening what feels like every 30 minutes or so, and lasts a couple of minutes each time. My slave SSID is not affected, ever. If you change SSIDs, the speeds go back to normal.
All devices are affected. PCs, Android phones, iPads, you name it. The issue does not occur on all APs at the same time; if you roam to a different AP, it is likely the issue is not happening on that AP at that time.

Ethernet is unaffected. It is not a router issue or an issue with the VLAN.

I have tried a whole bunch of things, none of which have made a difference:

  • Messing with channels
  • Messing with channel widths
  • Messing with rates (NOTE! “Messing with rates” did not include going back to default rates)
  • Using an RB4011 (WiFi model) to see if it is related to the IPQ-4019 in the cAP ac
  • Local Forwarding vs. CAPsMAN forwarding
  • Connecting the APs directly to the router (I have an RB5009 PoE model, as well as a CRS328).
  • Downgrading to earlier ROS versions (I did not go lower than 7.2.3)
  • Upgrading to beta versions (currently on 7.6beta10)

Here is the CAPsMAN config. Feel free to pick it apart, but note that it worked for a long time with no evident issues.

/caps-man channel add band=5ghz-n/ac control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=XX frequency=5180 name=5G-CH36-Bedroom tx-power=30
/caps-man channel add band=2ghz-g/n control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=disabled frequency=2412 name=2G-CH1-Bedroom tx-power=15
/caps-man channel add band=2ghz-g/n control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=disabled frequency=2437 name=2G-CH6-Garage tx-power=13
/caps-man channel add band=2ghz-g/n control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=disabled frequency=2462 name=2G-CH11-Living tx-power=15
/caps-man channel add band=5ghz-onlyac control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=XXXX frequency=5260 name=5G-CH52-Hallway tx-power=40
/caps-man channel add band=5ghz-n/ac control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=Ce frequency=5500 name=5G-CH100-Garage tx-power=20
/caps-man channel add band=5ghz-n/ac control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=Ce frequency=5745 name=5G-CH149-Living tx-power=40
/caps-man channel add band=2ghz-g/n control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=disabled frequency=2412 name=2G-CH1-Hallway tx-power=12
/caps-man rates add basic=12Mbps comment=12Mbs+ name=2Ghz-rate supported=12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps
/caps-man rates add basic=18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps comment=18Mbs+ name=5ghz-rate supported=24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps
/caps-man security add authentication-types=wpa2-psk disable-pmkid=yes encryption=aes-ccm group-encryption=aes-ccm group-key-update=1h name=wpa2psk
/caps-man access-list add action=accept allow-signal-out-of-range=10s disabled=no interface=all signal-range=-85..120 ssid-regexp="" time=0s-1d,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
/caps-man access-list add action=reject allow-signal-out-of-range=10s comment="Kick host off AP if signal is bad" disabled=no interface=all signal-range=-120..-86 ssid-regexp="" time=0s-1d,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
/caps-man configuration add datapath.bridge=bridge .client-to-client-forwarding=yes .local-forwarding=no .vlan-id=10 .vlan-mode=use-tag name=config_IOT security=wpa2psk ssid=melonhead-iot
/caps-man configuration add datapath.bridge=bridge .client-to-client-forwarding=yes .local-forwarding=no .vlan-id=1 .vlan-mode=no-tag name=config_LAN security=wpa2psk ssid=melonhead
/caps-man interface add channel=2G-CH6-Garage configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:E2 master-interface=none name=Garage-2g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:E2 radio-name=Garage-2g rates=2Ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:E2 master-interface=Garage-2g name=Garage-2g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Garage-2g
/caps-man interface add channel=5G-CH100-Garage configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:E3 master-interface=none name=Garage-5g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:E3 radio-name=Garage-5g rates=5ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:E3 master-interface=Garage-5g name=Garage-5g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Garage-5g
/caps-man interface add channel=2G-CH1-Hallway configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:AE master-interface=none name=Hallway-2g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:AE radio-name=Hallway-2g rates=2Ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:AE master-interface=Hallway-2g name=Hallway-2g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Hallway-2g
/caps-man interface add channel=5G-CH52-Hallway configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:AF master-interface=none name=Hallway-5g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:AF radio-name=Hallway-5g rates=5ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:AF master-interface=Hallway-5g name=Hallway-5g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Hallway-5g
/caps-man interface add channel=2G-CH11-Living configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:94 master-interface=none name=Living-2g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:94 radio-name=Living-2g rates=2Ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:94 master-interface=Living-2g name=Living-2g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Living-2g
/caps-man interface add channel=5G-CH149-Living configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:95 master-interface=none name=Living-5g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:95 radio-name=Living-5g rates=5ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:95 master-interface=Living-5g name=Living-5g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Living-5g
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:42 master-interface=none name=ap-bedroom-2g radio-mac=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:42 radio-name=488F5A3BC642 rates=2Ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add channel=2G-CH1-Bedroom configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=4A:8F:5A:3B:C6:42 master-interface=ap-bedroom-2g name=ap-bedroom-2g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=4A8F5A3BC642
/caps-man interface add channel=5G-CH36-Bedroom configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:43 master-interface=none name=ap-bedroom-5g radio-mac=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:43 radio-name=bedroom-5g rates=5ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=4A:8F:5A:3B:C6:43 master-interface=ap-bedroom-5g name=ap-bedroom-5g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=4A8F5A3BC643
/caps-man manager set enabled=yes
/caps-man manager interface set [ find default=yes ] forbid=yes
/caps-man manager interface add disabled=no interface=bridge
/caps-man provisioning add action=create-enabled master-configuration=config_LAN name-format=identity slave-configurations=config_IOT

Note that I have not tried using a non-CAPsMAN configuration on any devices yet.

2

There might be something wrong with your rates:
/caps-man rates add basic=18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps comment=18Mbs+ name=5ghz-rate supported=24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps

You miss 18Mbps in your supported rate. And check your basic rate settings. Might be the best to switch them off see how it goes.

3

Those are intentional as per guidance from Ron Touw’s videos on WiFi Layer 1 tuning for Mikrotik. And that config has been in place for over 18 months without issue.
Also, as stated the secondary SSID is unaffected and it is subject to the same radio settings as it is just as Virtual AP.

4

This is the correct setting from Ron Touw guidance:
/caps-man rates add basic=12Mbps comment=12Mbs+ name=2Ghz-rate supported=12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps

Check the setting for 5Ghz rate or try to disable them and use the standard rates.

Note for BartozP => please don’t edit my posts. Thanks

5

I had a good 24 hours where the issue didn’t occur before it triggered again, but I’ve now put these settings in place to see if it improves anything.
It is still very odd that this didn’t happen for a long time and the only thing that has changed is ROS versions. Sure, I could have added additional WiFi devices into the house that I’ve forgotten about but it wouldn’t be much.

6

All APs and my router are now running ROS 7.6 stable for 4 days. So far, I have not seen this issue return. I don’t know if it was 7.6 that fixed the issue or the rate settings.

7

Out of interest, are you running v7.x on the cAP acs? I’ve got a site that’s proving quite challenging - Wi-Fi fine most of the time but occasionally it goes horrible. The router is underpowered so we’re considering replacing it with a more powerful unit - and going to v7.x at the same time.

8

Yeah, my cAP ac units are nearly always ahead of my router but everything has been running 7.X. All devices are on 7.6 (stable) now.

9

Well folks this issue came back, and hard. No changes were made aside from my RB5009 losing power recently and all the network gear rebooting. All of the cAP ac units are powered by the RB5009 (it’s the PoE model).
I have disabled CAPsMAN and gone back to individual AP configs to see if this resolves the problem. All devices are running ROS 7.6.

There is other weirdness too, and I would like to hear from the community:

  • Now that I’m not using CAPsMAN, my WiFi speeds have picked up by about 50Mb/s and I wasn’t even using CAPsMAN forwarding; all the APs were local forwarding.
  • My secondary SSID is on VLAN 10. CAPsMAN puts the virtual WiFi interfaces (e.g. wifi3/wifi4) into the bridge as tagged interfaces. However if I do this using individual AP configs, no traffic from the VLAN can flow; the wlan3/wlan4 interfaces need to be PVID 10 and not tagged

I really am at a loss as to what the occasional speed drops to the kbs range are caused by when using CAPsMAN or even direct configs. CAPsMAN vs direct config is posted here for comparison:

/caps-man channel add band=5ghz-n/ac control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=XX frequency=5180 name=5G-CH36-Bedroom tx-power=30
/caps-man channel add band=2ghz-g/n control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=disabled frequency=2412 name=2G-CH1-Bedroom tx-power=15
/caps-man channel add band=2ghz-g/n control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=disabled frequency=2437 name=2G-CH6-Garage tx-power=15
/caps-man channel add band=2ghz-g/n control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=disabled frequency=2462 name=2G-CH11-Living tx-power=15
/caps-man channel add band=5ghz-onlyac control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=XX frequency=5260 name=5G-CH52-Hallway tx-power=40
/caps-man channel add band=5ghz-n/ac control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=Ce frequency=5500 name=5G-CH100-Garage tx-power=20
/caps-man channel add band=5ghz-n/ac control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=Ce frequency=5745 name=5G-CH149-Living tx-power=40
/caps-man channel add band=2ghz-g/n control-channel-width=20mhz extension-channel=disabled frequency=2412 name=2G-CH1-Hallway tx-power=12
/caps-man rates add basic=12Mbps comment=12Mbs+ name=2Ghz-rate supported=12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps
/caps-man rates add basic=12Mbps comment=12Mbs+ name=5ghz-rate supported=12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps
/caps-man security add authentication-types=wpa2-psk encryption=aes-ccm group-encryption=aes-ccm name=wpa2psk
/caps-man access-list add action=accept allow-signal-out-of-range=10s comment="Accep Nest Doorbell regardless of signal" disabled=no mac-address=D8:EB:46:CB:FB:79 signal-range=-120..120 ssid-regexp="" time=0s-1d,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
/caps-man access-list add action=accept allow-signal-out-of-range=10s comment="Accept Tesla Powerwall regardless of signal" disabled=no mac-address=CC:88:26:18:76:B2 signal-range=-120..120 ssid-regexp="" time=0s-1d,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
/caps-man access-list add action=accept allow-signal-out-of-range=10s comment="Allow home theatre fan regardless of signal" disabled=no mac-address=50:8A:06:82:EF:DA signal-range=-120..120 ssid-regexp="" time=0s-1d,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
/caps-man access-list add action=accept allow-signal-out-of-range=10s comment="Accept Airtouch Control Panel" disabled=no mac-address=E4:83:2A:C5:02:7E signal-range=-90..120 ssid-regexp="" time=0s-1d,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
/caps-man access-list add action=accept allow-signal-out-of-range=10s disabled=no interface=all signal-range=-83..120 ssid-regexp="" time=0s-1d,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
/caps-man access-list add action=reject allow-signal-out-of-range=10s comment="Kick host off AP if signal is bad" disabled=no interface=all signal-range=-120..-84 ssid-regexp="" time=0s-1d,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
/caps-man configuration add datapath.bridge=bridge .client-to-client-forwarding=yes .local-forwarding=yes .vlan-id=10 .vlan-mode=use-tag name=config_IOT security=wpa2psk ssid=melonhead-iot
/caps-man configuration add datapath.bridge=bridge .client-to-client-forwarding=yes .local-forwarding=yes name=config_LAN security=wpa2psk ssid=melonhead
/caps-man interface add channel=2G-CH6-Garage configuration=config_LAN disabled=no mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:E2 master-interface=none name=Garage-2g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:E2 radio-name=Garage-2g rates=2Ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:E2 master-interface=Garage-2g name=Garage-2g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Garage-2g
/caps-man interface add channel=5G-CH100-Garage configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:E3 master-interface=none name=Garage-5g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:E3 radio-name=Garage-5g rates=5ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:E3 master-interface=Garage-5g name=Garage-5g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Garage-5g
/caps-man interface add channel=2G-CH1-Hallway configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:AE master-interface=none name=Hallway-2g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:AE radio-name=Hallway-2g rates=2Ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:AE master-interface=Hallway-2g name=Hallway-2g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Hallway-2g
/caps-man interface add channel=5G-CH52-Hallway configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:AF master-interface=none mtu=0 name=Hallway-5g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:AF radio-name=Hallway-5g rates=5ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:AF master-interface=Hallway-5g name=Hallway-5g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Hallway-5g
/caps-man interface add channel=2G-CH11-Living configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:94 master-interface=none name=Living-2g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:94 radio-name=Living-2g rates=2Ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:94 master-interface=Living-2g name=Living-2g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Living-2g
/caps-man interface add channel=5G-CH149-Living configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=08:55:31:02:66:95 master-interface=none mtu=0 name=Living-5g radio-mac=08:55:31:02:66:95 radio-name=Living-5g rates=5ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=0A:55:31:02:66:95 master-interface=Living-5g name=Living-5g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=Living-5g
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:42 master-interface=none name=ap-bedroom-2g radio-mac=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:42 radio-name=488F5A3BC642 rates=2Ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add channel=2G-CH1-Bedroom configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=4A:8F:5A:3B:C6:42 master-interface=ap-bedroom-2g name=ap-bedroom-2g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=4A8F5A3BC642
/caps-man interface add channel=5G-CH36-Bedroom configuration=config_LAN disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:43 master-interface=none mtu=0 name=ap-bedroom-5g radio-mac=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:43 radio-name=bedroom-5g rates=5ghz-rate
/caps-man interface add configuration=config_IOT disabled=no l2mtu=1600 mac-address=4A:8F:5A:3B:C6:43 master-interface=ap-bedroom-5g name=ap-bedroom-5g-iot radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 radio-name=4A8F5A3BC643
/caps-man manager set ca-certificate=auto certificate=auto enabled=yes package-path=/ upgrade-policy=suggest-same-version
/caps-man manager interface set [ find default=yes ] forbid=yes
/caps-man manager interface add disabled=no interface=bridge
/caps-man provisioning add action=create-enabled master-configuration=config_LAN name-format=identity slave-configurations=config_IOT

And here is the direct (not CAPsMAN) config for one of the APs. All APs are the same except for frequencies and that I don’t do any of the basic rate edits.

/interface bridge add admin-mac=48:8F:5A:3B:C6:41 auto-mac=no comment=defconf ingress-filtering=no name=bridge vlan-filtering=yes
/interface bridge port add bridge=bridge ingress-filtering=no interface=ether2
/interface bridge port add bridge=bridge ingress-filtering=no interface=wlan1
/interface bridge port add bridge=bridge ingress-filtering=no interface=wlan2
/interface bridge port add bridge=bridge ingress-filtering=no interface=ether1
/interface bridge port add bridge=bridge interface=wlan3 pvid=10
/interface bridge port add bridge=bridge interface=wlan4 pvid=10
/interface bridge vlan add bridge=bridge tagged=bridge,ether1 vlan-ids=10

interface wireless channels add band=2ghz-g/n frequency=2412 list=2G-List name=2G-CH1 width=20
/interface wireless channels add band=5ghz-n/ac extension-channel=Ce frequency=5180 list=5G-List name=5G-CH36 width=20

/interface wireless security-profiles add authentication-types=wpa2-psk mode=dynamic-keys name=LAN 
/interface wireless security-profiles add authentication-types=wpa2-psk mode=dynamic-keys name=IOT 
/interface wireless set [ find default-name=wlan1 ] band=2ghz-g/n disabled=no frequency=2G-CH1 installation=indoor mode=ap-bridge security-profile=LAN ssid=melonhead wps-mode=disabled
/interface wireless set [ find default-name=wlan2 ] band=5ghz-n/ac channel-width=20/40mhz-Ce disabled=no distance=indoors frequency=5G-CH36 installation=indoor mode=ap-bridge security-profile=LAN ssid=melonhead wireless-protocol=802.11 wps-mode=disabled
/interface wireless add disabled=no mac-address=4A:8F:5A:3B:C6:42 master-interface=wlan1 name=wlan3 security-profile=IOT ssid=melonhead-iot vlan-id=10 wds-default-bridge=bridge wps-mode=disabled
/interface wireless add disabled=no mac-address=4A:8F:5A:3B:C6:43 master-interface=wlan2 name=wlan4 security-profile=IOT ssid=melonhead-iot vlan-id=10 wds-default-bridge=bridge wps-mode=disabled
10

The site I mentioned is still using CAPsMAN on v6. I was about to switch the four cAP ac access points to direct configuration, but the client has reported that it’s been okay since we implemented a nightly reboot of the entire system (not ideal!).

I had switched one access point over to direct with what sounds like a similar configuration except not using VLAN on the main network, just for the guest network. I’m rushing out now so will get the detailed configuration later. Pretty sure it’s using tagging.

11

Well, scratch my good news. I had yet another dropout, even on the direct config.

Once again, the same behaviour:

  • Only happens on the Master SSID, not the Slave SSID (Virtual interface)
  • Lasts for a minute or two and them comes back

I’ve done so many different things which haven’t worked. So frustrating.

12

I never used capsman and never had issues. :slight_smile:

13

Is it prohibited to the 5GHz radio, or does it also happen on the 2.4GHz radio?
Do all accesspoints have the same behaviour?
Does the logging give you any clue?

Sure the VLAN section is correct? I’m missing the frame-types=admit-only-untagged-and-priority-tagged on the /interface brdige port.
But my knowledge on VLAN is very limited (though I know I prefer using VLAN’s for all networks).

Perhaps (also) have a look at this great topic:
http://forum.mikrotik.com/t/using-routeros-to-vlan-your-network/126489/1

14

You spend so much time dealing with the problem of low data rate through the radio channel and never once!!! scanned the airwaves.
The search for problems with data transmission over the air has to start with the radio!
The beacons of the main access point and the virtual one are shifted in time. If there is an interfering station on the same channel, the beacons periodically coincide.

15

Hold on chum, just because I haven’t specifically stated that, doesn’t mean I didn’t do it. This radio environment has channels carefully selected so that there are either no other radios on the same channel, or those radios have a seen signal of lower than -92dB.

16

Righto, I might be onto something here. Yesterday before the issue occurred again I had re-entered the cusom rates on all APs.
I have now set all APs to the default rates, so let’s see how stable this is.

The one remaining additional edit is access lists which boot hosts off an AP if the signal is -83dB or worse.

17

Are all your AP’s the cAP AC units? I had similar random 5Ghz drop-outs using very similar CAPsMan deployment for a restaurant. I believe the cAP AC was faulty / flaky – 5Ghz was not stable. I ended up replacing the cAP AC unit with another brand [tp-link]. as the MikroTik cAP XL AC [larger AC, higher gain] was back-ordered.

I’ve had better performance and feel the XL AC units are more reliable.

I recall seeing a few RouterOS notes about “fix 5Ghz stability on AC”. I’d have to find the releases where MikroTik noted it.

18

The venue I’m struggling with is a busy bar and "“fix 5Ghz stability on AC” resonates with me. What appears to happen is that 5GHz stops working (took me a while to twig) and devices are falling back to the very heavily congested 2.4GHz band. So, speed plumets from a respectable 200-300Mbps to around 20Mbps. We’re now rebooting the access points each night which appears to help.

19

In my case the clients don’t leave the 5Ghz band. And, it’s only on the master SSID on that band - the secondary SSID is still fast. Speeds are anywhere from 15Kb/s to 250Kb/s but no more.

20

They are, but I also replaced one with an RB4011 (in CAPsMAN, so its radio config was identical) and it still happened.

Anyway I’m waiting to see if the issue is resolved now that I’ve removed the alterations to the supported Basic Rates.