WRT1900AC - problem with multiple 5GHz AC networks

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

On a WRT1900ACV1 ("mamba") I have never been able to get 2 AC networks working simultaneously, for more than a few minutes. Typically only one works, and I have to disable network A to get network B working. No problems with multiple 2.4GHz networks, but no more than 1 5GHz network ever works.
Any help would be much appreciated.

root@mamba:~# ubus call system board
{
	"kernel": "5.15.137",
	"hostname": "mamba",
	"system": "ARMv7 Processor rev 2 (v7l)",
	"model": "Linksys WRT1900AC v1",
	"board_name": "linksys,wrt1900ac-v1",
	"rootfs_type": "squashfs",
	"release": {
		"distribution": "OpenWrt",
		"version": "23.05.2",
		"revision": "r23630-842932a63d",
		"target": "mvebu/cortexa9",
		"description": "OpenWrt 23.05.2 r23630-842932a63d"
	}
}

/etc/config/wireless (redacted of course)

config wifi-device 'radio0'
	option type 'mac80211'
	option path 'soc/soc:pcie@82000000/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/0000:02:00.0'
	option channel 'auto'
	option band '2g'
	option htmode 'HT20'
	option country 'US'
	option cell_density '0'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio0'
	option device 'radio0'
	option network 'lan'
	option mode 'ap'
	option ssid 'Net'
	option encryption 'psk2'
	option key 'pass'

config wifi-device 'radio1'
	option type 'mac80211'
	option path 'soc/soc:pcie@82000000/pci0000:00/0000:00:03.0/0000:03:00.0'
	option channel '52'
	option band '5g'
	option htmode 'VHT20'
	option country 'US'
	option cell_density '0'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio1'
	option device 'radio1'
	option network 'lan'
	option mode 'ap'
	option ssid 'Net5'
	option encryption 'psk2'
	option key 'pass'

config wifi-iface 'wifinet2'
	option device 'radio0'
	option mode 'ap'
	option ssid 'Isolated'
	option encryption 'psk2'
	option key 'pass'
	option network 'isolated'
	option isolate '1'

config wifi-iface 'wifinet4'
	option device 'radio1'
	option mode 'ap'
	option ssid 'Isolated5'
	option encryption 'psk2'
	option hidden '1'
	option isolate '1'
	option key 'pass'
	option network 'isolated'

Fairly normal config I think?

2

It has a Marvel chipset. That link should take you directly to the readme.

Read it, make appropriate changes and if nothing works come back with a list of what did not work and what each change did accomplish.

3

maybe one of those old threads helps: WRT32X 22.03 - wifi stops working until I restart radio - #6 by Pico

1 Like
4

The 5Gz radio has always been an issue in this entire class of Linksys routers, and `mvebu’ development has stalled until recently.

2.4 has always been stable for me, but I gave up on 5g and wpa3 and abandoned wireless on my WRT1900ACS about 3 years ago, added a Unifi AP and never looked back.

You will see many, many posts with similar issues on the forum.

You might want to try a current development Snapshot. The platform for the most part is stable and there have been some fairly recent developments on this front. For kicks and giggles, I was able to run 3 days with 2.4, 5, and WPA3 without issue before I returned back to my current setup.

2 Likes
5

I noticed that one of your two AC SSIDs is set to hidden. I am wondering if one of the manifestations of your issue is perceived as client disconnects? ( Or are you indicating that one or both SSIDs just stop broadcasting? )

Also, wondering if you are using MAC spoofing or random MAC on the interfaces.
Apologies for comparing apples to oranges, but coincidentally I once first hand had the same problem scenario you are describing on a Broadcom-chipset device running FreshTomato (with random MACs). When I changed the OUI octets on the AC interfaces, the problem subsided.

These forum posts might be of secondary interest to you with regard to running hidden SSIDs.

https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1047947/

1 Like
6

see BSSID issue

3 Likes
7

Have you tried using a non-DFS channel? The radio must shut down if it gets any radar hits, so this could be a part of the issue. Try a channel outside the DFS range.

1 Like
8

Why doesn't the system log alert when it is having a DFS issue?

9

Thanks all for the wealth of replies. This is really helpful. I should probably mention I've used this router since early 2020 and I've basically just ignored the issue - I only ever really needed one specific computer on 5GHz anyway. I've recently reset the config and re-done everything from scratch.

It seems my router is not experiencing the BSSID issue - all 4 are show to be different in luci's network/wireless page, and I"m able to have all 4 active usually for a time.

The 'hidden' ssid must've been a misclick; I have no idea how that got set since that's not a setting I ever use. The interfaces are not using MAC spoofing.

I was also unaware of different channels not being allowed under some circumstances. I have a mikrotik AP and it frequently goes offline due to (what I assume is) interference, even when set to auto. I've set the WRT1900AC to 36 (despite minor congestion) so I'll see if that works better. However despite 1 networking going down, the other one usually always remained up, and I don't think both networks can be on different channels, so it may not be it.

After changing the settings and rebooting, I've found I was able to connect to both 5GHz networks (with 2 different devices of course) at the same time. As of today it's seemed more stable now than it has in the past, which is good. The real test is if it lasts the work day tomorrow, with my work machine on the 5GHz network.

1 Like
10

The last few days have been uneventful which is good. The current setup is far more stable than I've had in the past.

11

Great to hear!

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! :slight_smile:

12

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