Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system
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I've been running pfsense for a couple years now, and it's been pretty much fire-and-forget. My home wifi setup was a TP-Link Deco M5, and everything worked well.
Last night, I upgraded the mesh to a Deco X55, which is pretty similar, except that it supports wifi6, and is supposed to have better range.
All I did was unplug the M5s, install the X55s, and plug them (the main one, I mean) into the same port on the pfsense box that I've been using all along. The only "configuration" I did on the Deco side was to switch it to AP mode, which I had to do on the M5 as well, so that the pfsense can continue to be the router, and let the Deco handle wifi duties only.
Well, everything seems to work...slowly. My wireless cameras lag and drop the connections, my wife's laptop loads web pages slowly or not at all, and her iPad either refuses to load pages, or gets timeout errors. Our smart TV seems to be working okay, but nearly all our media is streamed over the local network from my server, so I can't say what would happen if I tried something like Netflix.
Any idea what could have changed to cause this?
I know VERY little about pfsense diagnostics or troubleshooting, so anything you ask me to do, please know that you'll likely have to walk me through it, sorry. :)
I have checked the Status > Interfaces page, and there are no errors or collisions reported. I read that in another thread here.
Any ideas? I'm really discouraged at this "upgrade". I'm not sure what I did to break things, but I'm hoping you kind folks can help me get it sorted out. -
@elmojo said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
Any idea what could have changed to cause this?
Yes...You upgraded to Deco X55 as you stated.
@elmojo said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
Any ideas?
Is the interface connected to the pfsense at 1G/Full? Any errors? Short of that not sure where this could be a pf issue.
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@elmojo said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
Any idea what could have changed to cause this?
Aside from MESH being evil and prone to all sorts of interference-related issues?
I would remove all the slave MESH devices and see if the one in AP mode still performs poorly. Then I would remove it and plug directly into the port and see if that device performs poorly
That said -- you haven't given any information about your pfSense installation but everything about your MESH. I suspect you already know that the MESH is the issue here.
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@michmoor said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
Is the interface connected to the pfsense at 1G/Full? Any errors?
I'm not sure how to check the 1G/full thing. Can you elaborate please?
No errors on the interface page, as noted above. Is there somewhere else i should check? -
@elmojo said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
I'm not sure how to check the 1G/full thing. Can you elaborate please?
If it is directly connected to your pfSense go to Status->Interfaces.
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@rcoleman-netgate said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
Aside from MESH being evil and prone to all sorts of interference-related issues?
I would remove all the slave MESH devices and see if the one in AP mode still performs poorly. Then I would remove it and plug directly into the port and see if that device performs poorlyDo you mean that mesh systems suck in general? I wasn't aware of that. My previous one seemed to work pretty well, other than being older and in need of an upgrade to improve range/speed a bit. What would you suggest as an alternative to serve my home with wifi without multiple SSIDs and the hassle of having to hop networks?
I'm not sure what you mean in that last sentence about plugging something in directly. Do you mean the Deco or ??? What would I be plugging into what? The Deco is already plugged into the pfsense box, and I don't think I can plug it directly into my modem (bypassing the pfsense), since the pfsense is acting as my router. I may have all this backwards in my mind, so please help me get this right in my head. I know just enough about network configuration to be dangerous to myself and others. ;)
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@rcoleman-netgate said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
If it is directly connected to your pfSense go to Status->Interfaces.
Oh. Yeah, I did that, and noted the results in my first post.
No errors or collisions reported.
Both WAN and LAN show 0 in all fields.EDIT: I'm an idiot. That's not what you were even telling me about. This was in repsonse to the 1G question...doh. Okay, so I have the interface page open, and the "media" line of both the LAN and WAN reports "1000baseT <full-duplex> "
That's what you mean, right? -
@elmojo said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
That's what you mean, right?
I still recommend breaking down the hardware... turn off the satellite units and test just the one, if it still is an issue plug directly into the port it lands on and see again...
MESH devices are notorious for adding unneeded levels of complexity both in the L3 and L2 areas but also in the RFI side of things.
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@rcoleman-netgate said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
if it still is an issue plug directly into the port it lands on and see again
This is where you lose me. What port would I plug it into that's different than where it is now? The main Deco "hub" is currently plugged into LAN port igb1 on my pfsense box, which is the same port that my previous mesh hub was plugged into. I'm not sure where else it could be plugged in...
By the way, I totally agree that the issue is likely with the Deco system. However, you and I both know that as soon as I contact support, the first thing they're going to tell me to do is remove the pfsense router and connect the modem directly to the Deco and test it that way. I really have no interest in doing that, so I want to do what I can to rule out any possibility of the pfsense box being the problem.
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@elmojo said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
What port would I plug it into that's different than where it is now?
Plug your computer into the port and see if it has connectivity issues and speed problems.
Literally every issue you have described is a layer 2 (hardware) issue with the MESH. Until you can verify it is happening on the physical hardware side (ethernet) you need to eliminate the MESH hardware.
Get the middle stuff out of the way and see if it is still occurring. Until you do that it is not a pfSense issue but a WiFi issue.
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@rcoleman-netgate said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
Plug your computer into the port and see if it has connectivity issues and speed problems.
Oh. Well, my computer is already attached to the pfsense, along with the rest of the network, via ethernet, and it has no issues. I already know it's an issue with the way the Deco system is not playing nice with the pfsense, that was never part of the question.
I'm sorry if I wasn't clear on that point.
As I mentioned before, I'm trying to determine if there's any possibility that there could be some sort of configuration issue between the Deco and pfsense box that's causing the problem. My previous Deco system (the M5) worked perfectly, so either this new system is just garbage (very possible) or something just isn't quite set up right yet (also possible). I'm trying to determine which is the case.
I'll try the isolation steps you mentioned to see if it works any better without the satellite units installed and report back.
By the way, why do you always type mesh as MESH? It's not an acronym. Just curious. :) -
@elmojo Mesh is notoriously finiky and can cause grown men to require several weekly long drives to cool off - otherwise something gets noisily broken….
Since we don’t think it’s a link speed issue between pfsense and the mesh portal AP, my second guess would be you have them configured as a router/gateway, but you say they are in AP only mode. Are you sure?
Otherwise, as others have pointed out. Shut down then mesh points that are not directly connected to pfSense. Do you still have the problem on the only - direct connected - AP?
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@keyser said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
@elmojo Mesh is notoriously finiky and can cause grown men to require several weekly long drives to cool off - otherwise something gets noisily broken….
Since we don’t think it’s a link speed issue between pfsense and the mesh portal AP, my second guess would be you have them configured as a router/gateway, but you say they are in AP only mode. Are you sure?
Otherwise, as others have pointed out. Shut down then mesh points that are not directly connected to pfSense. Do you still have the problem on the only - direct connected - AP?
Hahaha, you too?
So I'm hearing that mesh networks are a problem. What is the recommended better option?
I'm fairly sure it's in AP mode, since it doesn't work at all when the Deco is in router mode. It just says "no internet" and pulls some random IP address. When I switch it to AP mode and reboot the Deco, it pulls an IP from the pfsense, and I get internet.
I haven't tried isolating the Deco hub yet. I need to wait until my wife isn't home. Her patience for me "screwing up the network" is wearing thin. lol -
R rcoleman-netgate moved this topic from General pfSense Questions on
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I haven't tried isolating the Deco hub yet. I need to wait until my wife isn't home. Her patience for me "screwing up the network" is wearing thin. lol
That last part is the real nut cracker. Wireless Services is like running water or power in the outlet - it needs to work 24/7 without intervention. This especially comes true with a wife and kids in the house.
Generally mesh can be made to work if you get some of the really good systems, but the 24/7 thing is not a trademark of mesh - it is very sensitive to the sourroundings, and will at times and under load have to adapt, causing you to experience poor service.
It will never get even remotely close to actual wired AP’s around the house.I always recommend people to spend the money and have a ethernet wire or two laid in, so proper placed AP’s around the house is wired. Why is it, we find saving those 500-1000$ on a couple of wires SO important? It’s what guarantees PROPER wireless internet in the house for the remaing part of your life in that particular house. You would never save that if there where rooms without electricity - you’d get that fixed no questions asked.
If wires is not an option because of physics, you could test a couple of AV2000 2x2 Mimo Power Adapters - they create a wired ethernet over powerlines. They are also finicky, but will in many houses create a better experience than mesh. If you have Coax antennae wiring in the house a coule of MoCa adapters is the answer. They create ethernet over coaxial wiring, and are MUCH more stable than mesh and powerline adapters.
But again… you will be spending the first 100$+ in attempting this. Those $$$ are better spent in getting the wiring done :-)
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@keyser
Well, my house is fully wired with 5e ethernet, so wired APs would certainly be an option. I've asked several folks that are supposedly knowledgeable about such things, and they all recommended a mesh system to me. If there's a better option that would cover my house in fast, reliable wifi for something around $300-ish, I'm all for it! I'll return this Deco system asap. :) -
@elmojo said in Poor wifi performance after upgrade of mesh system:
@keyser
Well, my house is fully wired with 5e ethernet, so wired APs would certainly be an option. I've asked several folks that are supposedly knowledgeable about such things, and they all recommended a mesh system to me. If there's a better option that would cover my house in fast, reliable wifi for something around $300-ish, I'm all for it! I'll return this Deco system asap. :)I'm sorry to say this, but your "experts" that recommended a Mesh when you have cat 5e wiring, are either not experts or have not been given all the information about your house layout. Not in a million years should anyone be recommended a mesh setup unless they cannot avoid it.
I would return the Deco system asap, and order a small POE+ switch. I assume your cat 5e wires all originate from one place in the house? Place the POE+ switch there, and plug in the 5e cables from the ordered number of POE+ capable AP's that are placed around the house. Also connect one wire from the POE+ switch to your LAN port on pfSense.
After that you will have an infinitely much better wifi solution than the mesh setup :-)Personally I would order an Aruba Instant ON 1830 8G POE+ 65w switch and x number of Aruba Instant ON AP22 Accesspoints. These are backed by a major neworking vendor and get firmware updates and compatibility fixes for at least 5 years on (Something that none of the cheap chinese brands offer) - just trust me, it REALLY worth the extra money.
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@elmojo And the wife will like the small white AP's that only require the Cat 5e cable connection (no power supplies needed as power is delivered by the POE+ switch over the 5e Wires)
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@keyser I already have a TP-Link T1600G-28PS POE switch. Will that work, or do I need that specific one you mentioned?
I wonder if how many I'd need to push wifi to the other end of my house? The Deco X55 is 3 units, but I may only need 2 of the Arubas if they have good range. -
@keyser So here's a BIG point that I forgot to ask... Do the AP22s show up as a single SSID or several? That was a big selling point of the mesh for the wife. She was sick of having to hop networks as she moves around the house.
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@elmojo Your existing POE switch can support the Aruba AP’s just fine. There are some advantages to purchasing an aruba instant on switch as well, but you might not need that.
The switch shows up and are managed just like the APs from an APP on your phone or via Arubas cloud portal. When the AP’s are on a integrated Instant ON switch, you can create and monitor everything from within the app. Fx. guest portal for wired/wireless guests, several VLANs (and SSID’s if needed) to segment your network for security and so on.
Last but not least, with the instant on switch you can see all clients on the network (wired/wireless) and where they are located/connected - and at what quality and so on. You can also get full bandwith usage statistics and service usage statistics for all clients.Yes: Regardless of the number of AP’s, you only have one SSID (unless you want fx. a second one for guests). The one SSID covers both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz radios on all AP’s
