How to Install and Configure OpenWRT on Two Xiaomi AX3200 Routers with Fast Roaming and Band Steering

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hi everyone,

I’m working on setting up two Xiaomi AX3200 routers with OpenWRT to act as access points with the same SSIDs, enabling fast roaming and band steering. I’d like to ensure that clients can roam seamlessly between both routers while connected to the best band available.

Let’s name the routers for reference:

  • Room Router: Node 1 (Xiaomi AX3200)
  • Hallway Router: Node 2 (Xiaomi AX3200)

Here’s what I want to achieve:

  1. Fast Roaming: I want fast roaming enabled on all bands (5GHz Wi-Fi 6, 5GHz Wi-Fi 5, and 2.4GHz) between both routers.
  2. Band Steering: I want clients to automatically switch to the optimal band (e.g., from 2.4GHz to 5GHz Wi-Fi 6) on the same node and also switch seamlessly between the routers.
  3. Wired Backhaul: I’ll use a wired Ethernet connection between Node 1 and Node 2 for better performance.

My Planned Setup:

  • Node 1 (Room Router): SSID: "Testo" for both 5GHz and 2.4GHz.
  • Node 2 (Hallway Router): SSID: "Testo" for both 5GHz and 2.4GHz.
  • Same SSID on both routers for seamless roaming.
  • Enable 802.11r (Fast Roaming) with the same mobility domain, but each router will have a different NAS-ID.
  • Enable usteer for band steering across both nodes and within the same node’s bands.

My Questions:

  1. When I configure Fast Roaming on Node 1 (Room Router) with the same mobility domain but different NAS-ID and ustear, do I also need to install and configure usteer on Node 2 (Hallway Router) for the roaming and band steering to work correctly between the two routers?

  2. Are there any specific OpenWRT settings I need to ensure seamless handoffs between the two routers, especially with wired backhaul and band steering?

I’ll upload photos of the setup and configuration if needed, but any guidance or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Muntadher

Additional Notes:

  • Both routers will use Wired Backhaul for better performance.
  • The SSIDs will remain the same for both bands and routers (i.e., "Testo").
  • I’ll be enabling ustear for band steering across the routers and between the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands on each router.

Looking forward to your advice and suggestions!

2

You need to install usteer on all APs in order to have it work correctly. I would 1st trye fast roaming disabled. Fast roaming only speeds up the transfer but even without it, it should be pretty fast. What you do need to do is tune the transmit power, such that devices roam at the halfway point. On my setup I have tuned the 2.4GHz power all the way down. I kept all "forced kicking" off. In the end roaming is a client side process. What the AP does is try to coach the clients to roam by providing information, i.e. a list of alternate connection points, such that the clients do not need to scan all bands. But some clients will not roam when they have a really strong signal, regardless of what the AP tries,then the only thing is to kick them off, but then they lose connection altogether.

So I have zero kicking, tuned transmit powers, and all clients connect to the correct bands.

Hope this helps

2 Likes
3

You need to replace wpad-basic-mbedtls for wpad-mbedtls to enable kv, r is just to roam under half second in place of one and a half, neither way games get smooth.

4

thanks bud