Newbe: Wifi device disconnecting
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I have limited network experience so this may be the wrong forum. But i have pfsense running on esxi7 server with my "smart home" machine and a couple of asus rt-ax53u in ap/mesh for wifi. I have a android wifi device that keeps disconnecting after some minutes, but it works fine when i create å new isolated network using the provided router from ISP for troubleshooting.
It reconnect immediately when screen is touched, but dont think its an android problem because of the above. Ive given the device static IP and ARP table entry. Im out of ideas, any tips on what to try next to figure this out?
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@jfooobet What would pfsense have to do with a wifi connection via some AP or mesh AP?
Pfsense has no clue to a device being connected via a wire or wireless.
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Yup if it's actually disconnecting from wifi pfSense can't do anything to affect that.
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That makes sense, sorry. No logs in the smart home system says that it actually disconnects, so i figured it could be some lease or energy saving option or something like that from the pfsense.
I'll try another router type on my network and see. Thank you for your help.
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@jfooobet If your handing out the dhcp lease from pfsense - it could be related to that.. But I believe the default lease is 2 hours.. So even if was related to not being able to renew a lease - you wouldn't see an issue until the devices lease expired and then it had to do a discover vs renew.. And then it should only be a temp short little blip while it got a new lease, etc.
But after a client gets a lease - it would continue to hold that IP until the lease actually expired, even if it was having an issue renewing it. But again - that wouldn't be on pfsense.. That would be on the client or the wifi connection. If you were having an issue with dhcp on pfsense - then every client on your network should be seeing the problem, not just 1 client.
edit:
What are you running for wifi? Do you have multiple AP, its possible this one device is having trouble roaming? Or with what your running WPA3? I don't have really anything android based other than my tablet (lenovo P11) and chromebook (a bit different than like pure android OS).. But have not had any issues that I am aware of with them and connecting to my wifi. They both connect to my wpa3 enterprise network.. What version of android is it running.. I know my tablet is a couple versions behind for sure.. -
@johnpoz I have checked multiple times now and the android device is working fine connected to my ISP's router as wifi and DHCP server. Conditions are the same except that there are way more connected devices to my home network som Im pretty sure its not an android device problem. Not possible to turn off the DHCP server on the ISP router and cant seem to find my old ac router, but will try another wifi AP. Also put the device on "roaming blacklist" as you suggested. Hard to find old devices when I actually need them, but will report back when I do in case anyone else comes in the same situation. By the way also went full legacy mode on the ASUS without solving the issue.
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@jfooobet said in Newbe: Wifi device disconnecting:
lso put the device on "roaming blacklist" as you suggested
Where did I suggest that - I suggested no such thing.. I said maybe it has a problem when it roams? Blacklisting a device from roaming it just going to make things worse to be honest because it can not move to another AP if its signal is bad.
pfsense has no clue if a device is wired or wireless, or android or apple or windows.. If your having an issue with a client - it has zero to do with pfsense... If it was pfsense all your clients would be having issues. not just 1 single android device.
I would suggest you go ask on your wifi forums for why some client has an issue working with it.
I see discussions all the time with specific sorts of clients having problems on different wifi forums.. But pfsense is not part of that conversations.. Has no clue how a device is connect, or any way to distinguishing what os a client is even running. If your having a problem with a client maintaining a connection to the network over wifi - your best bet for help is on the wifi forums.. Pfsense is agnostic when it comes to how a client connects to the network..
Maybe its not a wifi problem - maybe its a IPv6 problem - and your old wifi network doesn't use it? But its getting IPv6 from pfsense - and your other clients are not??
You sure your android is connecting to your new wifi, maybe its trying to connect to the old wifi router network, even when you unplug the old wifi router from the network?
If it was me I would make sure there is no other wifi available - forget all the wifi networks on the android and then cleanly connect it to your new wifi network. And make sure there is no IPv6 setup on pfsense.
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@johnpoz said in Newbe: Wifi device disconnecting:
Where did I suggest that - I suggested no such thing..
Sorry, I misunderstood. Its a static wall panel, but I did not disclose that. I got the ISP router to work as AP somehow and can confirm as you already have suggested that it is not a pfsense problem, but the connection between asus and the android. Thank you for taking time to help anyway, much appreciated.
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@jfooobet said in Newbe: Wifi device disconnecting:
ISP router to work as AP somehow
Any wifi router can be used as just an AP, turn off its dhcp server and connect it to your network via one of its lan ports = just AP.. Normally its a good idea to set its lan IP to be on your network so its easier to adjust its wifi settings.
