Hi! So, I unboxed a new and shiny hAP ax² a couple of days ago (four months after I bought it…), which will replace a hEX and a standalone AP (of another brand). And if you wonder why I’m replacing a “modular” setup with an all-in-one solution, it’s because I was so impressed by the range and performance of the ac² (which I use as a travel router) and also, with the unstable European electricity prices, I hope to save a few watts by replacing two older devices with one newer.
Anyway…
So, the idea is to pre-configure the ax², so I can just disconnect the old stuff and plug in the new router, without any other changes. I’ve exported the config from the hEX AND the ax² (to get the wireless settings) and I have then worked hard to perfect an installation script, based on the hEX export, but adapted to the ax². I think I’ve almost reached perfection and I will soon reset the ax² and load the script. But because of this approach and me not wanting to reconfigure any connecting devices, I haven’t been able to really test the ax² in advance. So this leads me to my real question:
TL;DR:
In the ac², the wireless settings are as in any other wireless router/AP, in that you can set the mode as AC only, N only, AC and N (and basically any other combination, including old G), but in the ax², I can only choose AX or N or G for 2.4 GHz and AX or AC or A/N or A for 5 GHz. There aren’t options for combinations. So, If I choose AX for the 2.4 GHz for example, will I then be able to connect older N devices? I.E. if I choose a “higher” standard, will all the “lower” ones work as well? And if so, isn’t it a bit dumb that you’re not able to disable old standards like G, for example? I have looked at the documentation, but that didn’t make me any wiser…
And bonus question: Anyone else who finds the use of bare frequencies without the inclusion of channel numbers annoying? Every time I have to set the frequency/channel on a wireless MT device, I have to resort the Wikipedia article “List of WLAN channels”…
All the best!
Q1 yes. Modes are backwards compatible and yes, it’s a pitty you can disable dinosaur modes ( like B).
Q2 been there, done that, have bookmark to same wiki page on my browser…
It might just happen that I on a whim also sent a modified version of my post to MikroTik support, just to see what they had to say about it more officially (regarding not being able to pick and choose wireless standards) and the response was quote: “Unfortunately, there is no option to explicitly forbid older standards, due to how the driver is made, while it may change in future, there are no concrete plans to do so at this time, and no guarantee that it will be possible.” I’m happy with that reply, I’ve just thought (erroneously it seems) that disabling older standards like b and g, makes the WiFi more stable and secure.
But, I also got an answer to my “bonus” question and part of that was: “That’s historically how we have done it, and frequencies map directly from drivers.” BUT, I was then pointed to /interface/wifi/channels (which I haven’t thought of before) so I have now defined my channels there. So I thought that I’d dump them here, in case it helps someone else:
/interface wifi channel add comment=Non-overlapping disabled=no frequency=2412 name="1 / 2412 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2417 name="2 / 2417 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2422 name="3 / 2422 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2427 name="4 / 2427 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2432 name="5 / 2432 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment=Non-overlapping disabled=no frequency=2437 name="6 / 2437 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2442 name="7 / 2442 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2447 name="8 / 2447 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2452 name="9 / 2452 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2457 name="10 / 2457 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment=Non-overlapping disabled=no frequency=2462 name="11 / 2462 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2467 name="12 / 2467 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add disabled=no frequency=2472 name="13 / 2472 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40/80 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5180 name="36 / 5180 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5200 name="40 / 5200 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5220 name="44 / 5220 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5240 name="48 / 5240 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40/80 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5260 name="52 / 5260 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5280 name="56 / 5280 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5300 name="60 / 5300 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5320 name="64 / 5320 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40/80 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5500 name="100 / 5500 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5520 name="104 / 5520 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5540 name="108 / 5540 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5560 name="112 / 5560 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40/80 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5580 name="116 / 5580 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5600 name="120 / 5600 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5620 name="124 / 5620 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5640 name="128 / 5640 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40/80 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5660 name="132 / 5660 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5680 name="136 / 5680 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5700 name="140 / 5700 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5720 name="144 / 5720 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40/80 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5745 name="149 / 5745 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5765 name="153 / 5765 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5785 name="157 / 5785 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5805 name="161 / 5805 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40/80 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5825 name="165 / 5825 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5845 name="169 / 5845 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20/40 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5865 name="173 / 5865 MHz"
/interface wifi channel add comment="20 MHz" disabled=no frequency=5885 name="177 / 5885 MHz"