hapax3_config.rsc (32.9 KB) RB5009_config.rsc (40.4 KB)
I am getting intermittent, but fairly frequent, connection drops between a Windows 11 laptop and my hapax3 access point. My wife experiences this with her Win 11 laptop perhaps 5 or 6 times per day; it occurs on my laptop much less frequently, but it has occurred. We have not noticed it with other WiFi devices in the house (Android phones, Roku streaming boxes, etc.).
My network topology is pretty simple: we get Internet through a Verizon FiOS ONT, which is connected via cat 6 Ethernet to the SFP+ port on the RB5009; the hAPax3 is connected via cat 6 to its ether1 port, and provides WiFi connectivity to the house. I’ve attached the exported configuration for both the RB5009 and the hAPax3.
I’m looking for advice on how to troubleshoot this issue, in particular how to tell whether the hAPax3 (or the way that I have configured it) is at fault. Any advice that anyone can provide will be much appreciated.
Wow … you’re still running factory release ROS on that AX3 ? RB5009 is not much better …
First you may want to consider upgrading that AX3 to latest stable.
That will probably go in 2 steps since between 7.12 and 7.13 some internal changes have been made rearranging wireless/wifi packages. So you will first have to go to 7.12, then move to latest stable.
Then … 7.20b4 (BETA version !) has same long-awaited for fixes w.r.t. wifi disconnects.
So either use that one already or wait for it to become stable (might still be some weeks).
While you are at it, that RB5009 may also be moved to latest stable.
I did not look yet at the rest of your config but the version was already the first major remark.
In my experience 7.8 was not really good. 7.9 was better but didn’t have CAPs mode (which is not applicable here but I need it quite a bit). So 7.10 was for me (again: in my experience) the most stable at the time.
Having said that… all those disconnects some are complaining about… I don’t see them. Not at all.
Not on stand-alone devices, not on capsman devices.
So for me 7.19.1 is the version I put APs on which are under my control (actually, I do have quite a bunch which need to be upgraded, going to do that over the weekend when businesses are closed).
Let’s also take into account while there are quite a few complaints about those disconnects over here, there is a huge amount we do not know about who are not complaining.
But I also have hopes for everyone (including myself) 7.20 is going to fix all that.
I have an intel PC with AX200 on a pcie card which disconnects when it sleeps, I had to make it not sleep of course and lock when the screen sleeps. Apart from that mine are all ok.
None of my AX200 range cards drop with the latest intel drivers anyway.
Yes, the WiFi adapter is an Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz (though I am pretty sure that it’s not a “WiFi card” but Intel silicon integral to the Lenovo motherboard.
Why do you ask? Is Intel WiFi hardware susceptible to this sort of drop?
First of all - welcome to the club of happy hap ax3 users:
As for the second - 7.14.3 is working ok, 7.19.2 is unconfirmed and may fix your wi-fi issues or not, and 7.21 alpha “fix majority of AX related wireless issues” as MT staff said but can fubar your router in a beautiful way because it’s, u know, alpha.
7.19.2 fixed my wireless issues with hap ax3. I have the exact same set up as the original poster. Router board firmware also updated, as this keeps my OCD in check!
Per the advice from holvoetn & erlinden, I have upgraded RouterOS to the latest stable, 7.19.2 (first from 7.8 to 7.12 and then to 7.19.2, followed by a firmware upgrade as recommended by the Mikrotik docs).
Also I noticed in the logs that the disconnects were happening more frequently when the laptop was connected to the hAPax3’s 5 gHz band. As an experiment I tried configuring the laptop to connect to the 2.4 gHz band only.
Limiting to the 2.4 gHz band only had no discernible effect. After the RouterOS upgrade to 7.19.2 the drops are less frequent but still happening daily.
I followed up on m4rk3J’s inquiry about whether it’s an Intel NIC. A search of the Internet turned up a ton of complaints of WiFi drops with the Intel AX201 160 gHz NIC that is used in my wife’s laptop, along with a number of suggestions for fixes or workarounds. The most common (and seemingly most effective) was to disable 802.11ax support in the WiFi chip’s device driver. I have not tried this yet, but if it’s effective it might be worth giving up the incremental performance improvement of ax in exchange for stability.
It seems the choice of a way forward is between disabling 802.11ax support on the Intel chip; trying the RouterOS 7.21 alpha software; or buying a high quality WiFi 6 dongle and abandoning the Intel silicon on the laptop motherboard. I am not sure which way I will go; if anyone has any opinion on this, I am all ears.
Thanks to all for the analysis and suggestions on this thread. Very helpful.
I have Intel AX201 card in my laptop, connected to 5GHz radio with 160Mhz channel (towards wAP AX, capsman controlled) and I have zero drops (at least none which causes disconnects on the applications I use and one of them is Azure Remote Desktop which can be a REAL pain when it comes to network stability and how it reacts to it).
Before I had AX radio in a laptop, I used an USB3 dongle from TP Link (Archer TP20U Plus) connected to AX3.
Also worked reliably and stable.
So it seems I am the exception to the so-called rule ?
Am I weird now ?
I am still convinced though there are far more people NOT having problems then those who make themselves heard.
And they should be heard, make no mistake.
However, they are not the majority (in my view).
My first attempt at this point if I were you was to try 7.21alpha. Just to see if it solves your issue.
If it does, you can opt to stay on that version or move back to stable and sit it out until 7.21 becomes stable (or driver gets backported to 7.19/7.20).