So today we did a service call on a reoccurring problem with wifi on a small project with a simple RTI processor. The wifi consisted of 2 Engenius AP's hooked to 2 PoE's from a cisco SBC switch. A project we have done over and over for the last 3 years. Dozens and dozens. We walk right in the door and all of our products would connect just fine i.e. - android phones and a PC. But, the client's mac air, iphone and ipad would not. (Apple products were connecting to the wifi but had an !, indicating radio connectivity but no data)
Long story short, squirrels chewed into the wiring in the attic. In this case, they chewed thru the 2 greens on the cat5 to the nearest access point. So, this AP had power but no data. The other AP was just fine. And here is where it gets interesting...
Every product that wasn't an apple, would jump to the working access point without fail. All apple products would jump/stay on the nearest access point regardless of the fact that its data connection was cut (literally).
In (our) conclusion, Apple products were not smart enough to lock into the AP that was working. Every other product, Samsung phones, Lenovo PC, etc not apple, would jump to the nearest working AP.
I see this all the time with Apple devices. They generally make good products, but WiFi and networking are not their strong suit. Also, there is no way on an iOS device to set the prioritization of preferred networks, you have to use the iPhone configuration utility from a computer to create a config that has the preferred order and then sync it over, very annoying.
Been like that for years...err forever with Apple. They seem to not care about wifi handoff; because their customer base sits stationary in coffee houses all day(?)
Early this year, Wife's iPhone 6s refused to connect Fi-Fi at home, but doing fine at other places. After multiple trips to Apple store due to tried different methods to solve the problem. Apple finally replaced her with a new one. It worked as soon as we stepped into the front door.
The Apple were still seeing the radio from the APs that weren't working- the fact that no data was being transferred means nothing. If the POE had been cut, this wouldn't happen.
My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
Was the one on 5GHz and the other 2.4? I've heard apple devices always tend to prefer 5 and jump to that if at all possible if both have the same ssid.
Last edited by gerard143 on September 30, 2016 15:27.
The Apple were still seeing the radio from the APs that weren't working- the fact that no data was being transferred means nothing. If the POE had been cut, this wouldn't happen.
Right, but, every other machine was smart enough to move over to the working one.
Was the one cut 5GHz and the other 2.4? I've heard apple devices always tend to prefer 5 and jump to that if at all possible if both have the same ssid.
Both AP's are dual band with band steering. We did forget the network and they would still jump on the non-working AP.
Why aren't you guys using a controller based network? Fixes all of apples roaming issues!
Still very frustrating, I tell clients they are sticky devices and want to "stick" to the AP as long as possible. I tell clients either they get androids or you get a network that unsticks the phone and pulls it to the closest access point.
Ruckus of course works well and Luxuls top of the Line controller AP kit works very very well with apple devices
The Bitterness of Poor Quality is Remembered Long after the Sweetness of Price is Forgotten! - Benjamin Franklin
On September 30, 2016 at 14:18, 3PedalMINI said...
Why aren't you guys using a controller based network? Fixes all of apples roaming issues!
Still very frustrating, I tell clients they are sticky devices and want to "stick" to the AP as long as possible. I tell clients either they get androids or you get a network that unsticks the phone and pulls it to the closest access point.
Ruckus of course works well and Luxuls top of the Line controller AP kit works very very well with apple devices
Isn't that sort of a moot point here? The point is not to spend more money to get the iOS devices to work, but for the iOS devices to not lock on. Yes it may fix it, but its already a challenge in some instances selling even a router. "This one I bought at Best Buy works great, I see no reason to spend more". I will refuse to put a large system on such routers, but I cannot tell a client to get a Android to get his phone to jump. Well, I can, but it just won't happen. I do tell clients up front with iPhones that contact me about wifi issues that the iPhones are known to have this issue. Haven't had one yet willing to spend the money on a more expensive fix when I inform them of this. They seem to think their iPhones are indestructible gods and could not possibly be the issue, it MUST be the network. The problem is the iPhones.
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