I recently moved my Archer A7 to "garage duty" as an AP, running OpenWrt 23.05.5 I have 5 devices on that AP, 4 are ESP8266 devices that work perfectly.
One is a Simplisafe alarm basestation, which keeps losing internet access. The log message is
Wed Jan 22 17:57:49 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: phy1-ap0: AP-STA-CONNECTED f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc auth_alg=open
Wed Jan 22 17:57:49 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc WPA: pairwise key handshake completed (RSN)
Wed Jan 22 17:57:49 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: phy1-ap0: EAPOL-4WAY-HS-COMPLETED f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc
Wed Jan 22 17:58:05 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: phy1-ap0: AP-STA-DISCONNECTED f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc
Wed Jan 22 17:58:05 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Wed Jan 22 17:58:06 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to inactivity (timer DEAUTH/REMOVE)
Wed Jan 22 17:58:19 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc IEEE 802.11: authenticated
Wed Jan 22 17:58:19 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc IEEE 802.11: associated (aid 3)
Wed Jan 22 17:58:19 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: phy1-ap0: AP-STA-CONNECTED f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc auth_alg=open
Wed Jan 22 17:58:19 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc WPA: pairwise key handshake completed (RSN)
Wed Jan 22 17:58:19 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: phy1-ap0: EAPOL-4WAY-HS-COMPLETED f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc
Wed Jan 22 17:58:35 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: phy1-ap0: AP-STA-DISCONNECTED f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc
Wed Jan 22 17:58:35 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Wed Jan 22 17:58:36 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc IEEE 802.11: deauthenticated due to inactivity (timer DEAUTH/REMOVE)
Wed Jan 22 17:58:49 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc IEEE 802.11: authenticated
Wed Jan 22 17:58:49 2025 daemon.info hostapd: phy1-ap0: STA f8:51:28:c3:c2:cc IEEE 802.11: associated (aid 3)
Repeated multiple times each minute. It works for ~3 days, then it starts the cycle again.
Based on similar past threads, I tried
DTIM Interval 1 instead of the default 2
check Disable Inactivity Polling
uncheck Disassociate On Low Acknowledgement
But it doesn't make a difference. Is there something else I can try, or should I try a different router? Before I used a Asus AC68U running AsusWRT Merlin, and the Simplisafe alarm worked flawlessly for years, so I know it's not the alarm having problems (or, better, it's a problem that only happen with the Simplisafe/Archer configuration)
EDIT: any suggestion on a "safe" router that can be used as a 2.4G AP, running OpenWRT? I don't need anything fast or high end, the AP is barely loaded as is. Cheap is better, especially if I could get it used. I could try a Linksys EA8300, I guess... still Qualcomm chipset, but a different generation
What is the SNR of the device experiencing issues? Have you tried scanning the 2.4 Ghz spectrum to find the best channel? Barring that, move the device/AP closer?
As far as “safe” goes… TBH if it’s just a dumb AP (L2) with WiFi and it’s behind a proper firewall then your threat model is mostly reduced from worldwide to neighborhood. There’s probably enough bugs in those esp’s and “security” systems WiFi to make the argument moot. In other words, if the AsusWRT Merlin rig was working just use that. This is my opinion from a home user perspective.
Not stated if this is a wired or wireless backhaul. My suggestion is based on my wired backhaul.
I’m using an EA7300 v2 as a garage dumb AP (wall mounted). It replaced my Archer C7 which was having issues (age + environment = problems).
The v1 might be a better choice for 2.4 Ghz (3x3:3). $15-20 used shipped from eBay in the US. Well supported MediaTek… just follow the Wiki.
The backhaul is actually a WiFi Halow bridge, which mostly is supposed to work (as far as the routers are concerned) like a wired backhaul. But that bridge doesn't support vlans, so I had to use vxlan. And that's the reason why I cannot use the AC68U anymore (no vxlan on Merlin, no OpenWRT support for 2.4GHz on the Asus)
The A7 is on the the least used channel (3), and the Simplisafe device has -31dBm signal, -95dBm noise, actually the best of all the devices in the garage, so it cannot be a signal issue (but good idea to check). For what is worth, the Simplisafe device seems to have pretty good security, and all the other ESP8266 devices run Tasmota and have, to my knowledge, no known security issues either. The AC68U has been EOLed by Asus and Merlin cannot changed the binary components, so it's the weakest link, security-wise.
Good suggestion on the EA7300, it's cheap and plentiful, plus a completely different chipset. Well worth a try. Really appreciate the help.
I changed to 1, but the problem happened with the system using ("auto" and picking ch 11) so I'm pretty sure that the channel is not the main culprit. But well worth changing anyway
The EA7300 is on its way... will update here once I verify if it makes a difference
Still waiting for the EA7300, but I noticed other problems with my setting (including not being able to telnet to it even if the Luci interface works in a browser). After rebooting the Halow bridge, those problems went away, and so did the Simplisafe issue. I'm not 100% sure yet, but it's very possible that the Simplisafe device connected, tried to contact a server that couldn't be reached, and disconnected right away. i.e. the issue was the device itself disconnecting, and nothing to do with the Archer A7
If other people have disconnection problems, well worth checking firewall rules and/or adblock. I found a mention of potential firewall issues related to the device disconnect, which pointed me in this direction
At this point I can confirm that my disconnection due to inactivity was not driven by the Archer A7, but by the device itself. I wonder how many other people reporting this issue have a similar problem.
So, check your connectivity and firewall rules, especially if you have a more complex setup, before spending too much time trying to troubleshoot the OpenWRT device
Looks like device "saves power" polling something once a minute like cloud.
WiFi6 includes bss coloring and twt for better savings for low power (wifi6+) clients.
Additional info just in case. If you use a HaLow bridge from companies like Loocam or Anjielo, based on the Taixin module (https://discuss.ardupilot.org/t/802-11ah-halow-iot-wifi-920mhz/92988/78) make sure you update the firmware from 1.3.8.3 to the one available for download on the Taixin page (currently 1.6.3.3).
Updating the bridge firmware solved all my problems