802.11kvr roam will not actively trigger roaming

[yayyayyay]

I have tried using both an Android phone and a laptop to move from the signal range of one router to another，will not automatically switch routes the two router is linksys mr8300, Star shaped network，openwrt version 23.05， I refer to this article https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/dawn

config wifi-device 'radio0'
	option type 'mac80211'
	option path 'soc/40000000.pci/pci0000:00/0000:00:00.0/0000:01:00.0'
	option channel 'auto'
	option band '5g'
	option htmode 'VHT80'
	option country 'CN'
	option cell_density '0'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio0'
	option device 'radio0'
	option network 'lan'
	option mode 'ap'
	option ssid 'OpenWrt5g1'
	option encryption 'psk2+ccmp'
	option key '19830727'
	option ieee80211r '1'
	option ft_over_ds '0'
	option ft_psk_generate_local '1'
	option bss_transition '1'
	option wnm_sleep_mode '1'
	option time_advertisement '2'
	option time_zone 'GMT0'
	option ieee80211k '1'
	option rrm_neighbor_report '1'
	option rrm_beacon_report '1'
	option skip_inactivity_poll '1'

config wifi-device 'radio1'
	option type 'mac80211'
	option path 'platform/soc/a000000.wifi'
	option channel '1'
	option band '2g'
	option htmode 'HT20'
	option cell_density '0'
	option country 'CN'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio1'
	option device 'radio1'
	option network 'lan'
	option mode 'ap'
	option ssid 'OpenWrt2.4g'
	option encryption 'psk-mixed+ccmp'
	option bss_transition '1'
	option wnm_sleep_mode '1'
	option time_advertisement '2'
	option time_zone 'GMT0'
	option ieee80211k '1'
	option skip_inactivity_poll '1'
	option key '19830727'
	option ieee80211r '1'
	option ft_over_ds '0'
	option ft_psk_generate_local '1'

config wifi-device 'radio2'
	option type 'mac80211'
	option path 'platform/soc/a800000.wifi'
	option channel '36'
	option band '5g'
	option htmode 'VHT80'
	option cell_density '0'
	option country 'CN'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio2'
	option device 'radio2'
	option network 'lan'
	option mode 'ap'
	option ssid 'OpenWrt5g2'
	option encryption 'psk2+ccmp'
	option key '19830727'
	option bss_transition '1'
	option wnm_sleep_mode '1'
	option time_advertisement '2'
	option time_zone 'GMT0'
	option ieee80211k '1'
	option skip_inactivity_poll '1'
	option ieee80211r '1'
	option ft_over_ds '0'
	option ft_psk_generate_local '1'

[frollic]

You usually need more than one device to make roaming work.

[psherman]

Several things to point out here:

1. We don't know anything about what symptoms you are seeing of the roaming issues. What happens?
2. We also don't know anything about your other APs -- do you have more? Are they running OpenWrt? What does the network topology look like?
3. We only have a fragment of your configuration, certainly not a complete picture of your setup. We need to see more.
4. And we don't know if this work better and without 802.11k/v/r. If you don't have functioning 'classical' roaming, these standards won't help. In some cases, these 3 standards can make performance worse because not all devices work well with them.

Finally, please don't link your details from pastebin or other sites. The forum software has the ability to directly host your configs and other info -- this provides much better context and easier readbility.

Please use the "Preformatted text </>" button for logs, scripts, configs and general console output.

Please edit your post accordingly. Thank you!

[yayyayyay]

I am a beginner on the forum. Thank you for teaching me a lot. I have already edited and modified it

[psherman]

Can you address items 1 and 2? And 4 as well.

[yayyayyay]

I am unable to test the fourth question, but each wifi connection is functional

[psherman]

Why can’t you rest the 4th option (disable 802.11k/vr on all nodes)?

[yayyayyay]

This is possible, but I don't know much about the technology, so how to turn it off and roam? I think I should search and learn what classic roaming is

[psherman]

@yayyayyay

classic roaming

It is just normal roaming without the k, v, and r standards.

Maybe start with this video for an understanding about how to setup the wifi radios for best general performance. It talks about Unifi, but the concepts apply to all wifi.

BEST WiFi Optimization Settings!

[yayyayyay]

I have seen others mention this video multiple times while searching for answers, but I didn't take it seriously because it wasn't the 802.11kvr I wanted. This time, I will study it carefully

[psherman]

To be clear, 802.11k/v/r are not required for roaming in general and high performance roaming is absolutely possible without them. In some cases, using these standards makes the performance worse. So focus first on proper tuning of the APs as described. When that is working well, you can consider experimenting with k/v/r.

[yayyayyay]

I have finished learning and setting up the video, but I don't have any of the questions you mentioned. My family is small, and classic roaming may not be suitable for me. I need to actively roam. Is KVR more suitable for me?

[psherman]

@yayyayyay

classic roaming may not be suitable for me

Please elaborate on why you think that classical roaming isn't suitable?

@yayyayyay

I need to actively roam

Why? Are you under the impression that classical roaming means your devices won't actually make good roaming decisions? The fact is, classical roaming can work really well to the point where it is almost entirely tranparent.

@yayyayyay

Is KVR more suitable for me?

Only if we establish an actual need for it (although obviously nothing is stopping you from using it regardless of the need). At this point, my impression is that you 'believe' you need it based on it being advertised or discussed as "the next big thing" or sold as the "solution to roaming issues" -- it isn't that transformative, really, and as I've noted before, there are situations where it actually makes the roaming performance and experience worse than a properly configured classical roaming scenario.

[yayyayyay]

I don't know what classic roaming includes. I couldn't find the definition. I placed the route and set the channel according to the video you sent, but roaming didn't happen proactively. I want to know the principle of classical roaming

[psherman]

@yayyayyay

I don't know what classic roaming includes

In that case, my initial answer to your earlier question is no, you probably don't need, and probably shouldn't be using 802.11k/r/v until you have specific reason to do so, and only after you have properly tuned your APs for "classical" roaming.

Basically, classical roaming is a client side process. Your device will listen for other APs and (super oversimplifying) when it determines that there is one with a better signal, it will roam from one AP to the next. This can work really well and can be seamless when properly tuned.

The k/r/v standards aim to speed up the process of roaming from one AP to the next and they try to coordinate the APs and provide guidance to the client device to make the decision process a bit smarter. The decision to roam is still in the hands of the client devices, and some 'proactive' means of forcing roaming (i.e. kicking a client off an AP) tend to hurt more than they will ever help.

Using k/r/v still relies on the first-principles of a well tuned set of APs, and it can (as I've said many times now) actually decrease roaming performance or even break it entirely for certain devices.

Personally, I avoid the k/r/v standards for my setups -- I have near seamless roaming across my APs without using them.

The video I linked earlier describes how to properly tune the APs. Did you go through the exercise of:

1. RF scan to map your environment and identify the channels with the lowest utilization.
2. Set your APs so that all neighboring APs are on non-overlapping channels (this must be done for both 2.4 and 5G bands)
3. reduce power levels to make smaller regions of overlap between the APs.

Also really key is stuff you haven't provided:

• How large is your home?
• 1 floor or many?
• What's the floorplan like (long and skinny, squarish, etc.)?
• What are the construction materials for both interior walls and the exterior (also floors if you have more than one floor in your home)? Wood framing, plywood, and drywall is very different than concrete and rebar or brick)
• How many APs do you have in your home?
• Where are they placed?
• (you might consider a simple sketch of your home and the AP placements -- doesn't need to be to-scale or anything, but just a general idea of how things are setup).

Beyond that, you haven't described issues aside from "not roaming" -- are you having real-world performance issues with your devices in certain parts of your home, or are you just hoping to see more 'bars'?

[yayyayyay]

Although my skills are not good, my intuition tells me that what you said is right. I don't know how to make a signal range map yet, but I will learn it. Thank you very much for your hard answer

[yayyayyay]

Finally, I can roam. Yesterday, I set up 802.11kvr without roaming. At first, I thought the settings were incorrect. Looking back at yesterday's screenshot, I found that the settings may be correct, but the signal is not lower than -67dbm. This seems to be the preset value for my phone to trigger roaming (which I found during roaming earlier). I am very happy. Thank you again！

[psherman]

If your problem is solved, please consider marking this topic as [Solved]. See How to mark a topic as [Solved] for a short how-to.
Thanks!