I'm currently using a Linksys Velop MX4200 (running the Linksys firmware) as my access point connect to my router (running OpenWrt). Whenever the internet goes out, even if only for a short period of time, the Linksys boots all devices off the network. Apparently, this is common with some mesh routers. I'd like to get a new access point that allows me to continue using Wi-Fi even if the internet is out. I would appreciate recommendations. I'm looking for something that could cover 1500+ sq ft.
To start, it is useful to understand if the Velop devices are actually bringing the radios down or otherwise actively disconnecting clients, or if it is the clients themselves that are doing this.
Specifically, some wifi systems can specifically be set to disable the radio when a disruption of internet connectivity is detected. This is one way to help ensure that client devices -- specifically phones and other devices that include cellular modems -- will still have normal connectivity by forcing them onto the cellular network (or potentially other known wifi networks nearby).
However, sometimes it is the client device itself that will automatically drop off the wifi network when an outage is detected on that network; favoring cellular in those circumstances keeps the user online.
So... it's important to know which of these situations is actually happening.
If it is the former, there's usually a setting for this, but I cannot speak to the design of the Linksys firmware and if they expose that to the user.
If it is the latter, your devices may have a control for it as well, so that you can tell it to stay on wifi even if the internet is unavailable.
Finally, your Velop MX4200 devices are actually supported by OpenWrt in the snapshots. OpenWrt does not attempt to bring down WiFi or disconnect clients when the internet is not available, so you might find value in trying this firmware.
https://openwrt.org/toh/linksys/mx4200_v1_and_v2
Keep in mind that there are some considerations with using Snapshots... the three biggest ones being:
- no web interface is installed by default. You can add it into a customized firmware image before you flash your router, or you can install it after. But I mention this so you aren't surprised.
- Snapshots may contain bugs, sometimes transient, and since your device isn't yet running on a normal stable release build, it's possible that the firmware isn't fully baked for your router. The page I linked above will talk about any known issues.
- Snapshots are a moving target, so the ability to install new packages can be limited to as short as 24h after the snapshot is downloaded (it may also be much longer). If you run into a situation where you cannot install packages, you'd need to upgrade to the latest snapshot and then you could install as desired.
Finally, it's worth mentioning that this forum is specifically focused on OpenWrt. So your device is actually supported here (but not with the vendor firmware), and advice you get will be centered around devices that run OpenWrt.
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@psherman Thank you for the thorough and helpful reply. When I contacted Linksys about this, they told me that this was normal behavior and there were no settings to change this. I was thinking of just purchasing a new access point that works well with my OpenWrt router and doesn't have the issues I noted in the post. But I'll investigate the option of adding the OpenWrt firmware to the Linksys a little bit more, keeping your caveats in mind. And my apologies if I posted a question here that wasn't quite right for this forum.
I know it wasn't specifically mentioned, but I noticed the user said the AP was OpenWrt and the other connected to it. I know in OpenWrt, if the AP has a DFS event or otherwise looes connection to a STA while providing an AP on the same radio (e.g. power, loss, improperly configured bridge to WiFi that drops, etc.), the AP will also drop.
To answer the inquiry, any device running OpenWrt won't drop clients associated to the AP if WAN has no Internet connection (although the non-OpenWrt clients themselves may do so if detected).
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