Running into a couple issues with OpenWRT on my linksys 1900acs since I first installed.
1: Sometimes, one of my devices in wifi, say, a phone, may claim there is no internet access when connected to wifi randomly (this happens in longer intervals, say 24-72 hours). Simple reconnecting the device to wifi solves the problem.
2: I want to whitelist clients based on MAC address. Wifi works great, but when I enable the MAC address filter... All of a sudden, it simply will not work anymore. Clients cannot connect over wifi to get internet, even though device MAC addressss have already been added. As I recall, what is even weirder, is that this only occurs on the 5Ghz wifi. 2.4 Ghz wifi SSID works just fine.
Any help? Thank you very much. I will check suggestions a bit later.
Generally speaking, MAC address allowlisting (and/or blocking) is a weak security measure that generally causes more headaches than it solves.
With respect to the security value of it -- it's not hard to spoof MAC addresses, so anyone who is intent on connecting will likely be able to use MAC spoofing to gain access to the network. And from the perspective of practicality, most OS's now randomize the MAC address of their wifi hardware which makes it harder to make meaningful use of the allowlist/block without also changing settings on the client devices.
With that in mind, the best option is to use proper security -- a strong password, possibly guest/iot networks/VLANs, etc.
That said.... if you still want to use MAC based filtering, post your. config so that it can be reviewed for errors or improvements.
Please connect to your OpenWrt device using ssh and copy the output of the following commands and post it here using the "Preformatted text </> " button (red circle; this works best in the 'Markdown' composer view in the blue oval):
Remember to redact passwords, VPN keys, MAC addresses and any public IP addresses you may have:
Modern devices scan for wifi networks using random MAC, your AP will not make itself known. . It is not configurable anymore. MAC access lists are DEAD, and will not rise back.
