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Re: [LUG] Mesh Wifi

 

Dear Henry,

> ... the problem is moving across the stairwell the wifi signal
> switches from one AP to the other AP (same network name, username /
> pw). The android phones take time to connect to the other AP. This
> reconnection is not straightforward, more often than not, requires
> turning off the phone ...

There are a number of extensions to the original WiFi specification that
are intended to improve the speed of switching between access points of
the same LAN. The three main ones are 802.11k, 802.11r and 802.11v.

802.11k is likely to have the biggest benefit for this kind of
situation, as it defines how devices can query the AP that they are
currently connected for information about other nearby APs.

802.11r and 802.11v won't make too much of a difference if what I have
read is to be believed - 'r' allows enterprise-grade authentication
systems to work better over multiple APs, but with normal WPA security
this doesn't apply. The 'v' extension allows the AP itself to offer
unsolicited suggestions to the connected device, but apparently most
devices don't listen to such messages.

I've searched through the user manual for your Draytek AP180, but
there's no mention of any of the extensions I described above. Maybe
support for these features would be a factor if you are considering
buying a new access point :)

Best wishes,

Sebastian

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