Wifi extender keeps going offline frequently

[Agusts]

I wonder if there are any router/extender experts out there who can help. I'm familiar with routers but not much extenders. The router is put in and configured by 3bb who was called by the landlady, but I also have admin access to it.

 

The router is on ground floor, then we have an extender on each floor, 3 floors up. The extender is EnGenious ENS202. Only an Ethernet cable connects to each one, and I assume that connects directly to router below and gives them network and power.

 

We connect out wifi directly to extenders SSID at each floor with good signal , or can connect directly to router below, very weak signal.

 

All works fine, but every day or so the floor 3 or 2 extenders going offline. All we need to do is pull the Ethernet cable out and put it back and all comes up for that extender and works again. The floor 1 extender almost never has this problem... !? And the router always works fine and can be connected to.

 

I rebooted the router when extenders SSID disappears but that does not help.  I  can't connect to extenders remotely,  no idea what config they have, I think it needs direct cable connection because it has no IP address on the network - something I don't understand...!?

 

Any ideas...!? Could it be due to distance on higher floors...? By the way, all LED lights on extender that stops broadcasting it's SSID shows correctly and as normal as when working correctly ...!

 

 

 

[UKMART]

Hi,

It seems that they are Wireless Access Points rather than wifi extender.

 

WAPs can be configured in the router itself. The internet cable from each one, should run back to the router. or to a Bridge.

 

The 2 WAPs that go offline, depending on the router, can be configured to go offline if they are not being used. You will need to check the router settings.

 

If the router is Not very advanced functioning wise. I can see no reason why they would shut off other than the being faulty. Have done a google search?.

 

Without actually seeing it and logging in to the router its very difficult to asses.

 

 

[AgMech Cowboy]

I was hoping to learn something from this post. Where are the IT gurus?

[tom in bangkok]

I can't help you much with troubleshooting, however I had a similar problem that turned out to be caused by True resetting my router's IP address every 24 hours. Maybe that's causing your problem? I noticed the pattern because it would sort of "drop out" at around the same time every day.

 

My extender/router recovers by itself but it takes a bit of time, so I just power-cycled the router when it was 3am one night and never had a problem again.

[Agusts]

3 hours ago, UKMART said:

Hi,

It seems that they are Wireless Access Points rather than wifi extender.

 

WAPs can be configured in the router itself. The internet cable from each one, should run back to the router. or to a Bridge.

 

The 2 WAPs that go offline, depending on the router, can be configured to go offline if they are not being used. You will need to check the router settings.

 

If the router is Not very advanced functioning wise. I can see no reason why they would shut off other than the being faulty. Have done a google search?.

 

Without actually seeing it and logging in to the router its very difficult to asses.

 

 

 

I have no idea about this, as you say they may well be WAP. However, I have looked through all the router settings and there is nothing in there about these boxes, absolutely zip, that is what surprised me. No mention or any settings that refers to them. The only think I can see is that on LAN Settings all 4 LANs are enabled (cables connect to it) on the WiFi/SSID, only one is enabled, that is the router's own SSID. 

 

It is really a simple router and nothing fancy, I browsed all the options, and I know most of the config and what it is for. I think as you say there is bridge box, because this is next to router I think - is there any settings on that, or it is just a physical cable splitter !? Maybe that is faulty..

 

As it happens the floor that I am has just lost it's (WAP) SSID while I was typing this, disappeared just now, while I was connected to it, so I don't think non-use policy theory is an issue. I just connected to another floor now and can continue. I have to go and pull the cable off the dead one and put it back in to get it going again !

 

Someone mentioned maybe the IP address leases is an issue and recommended extending that. So I went to the router and DHCP server config and set the lease to 99 hours (maximum), that was last night, so that had no effect.

 

Renewing of IP of main router by 3BB could be an issue, but why it effects just two floors and not one other floor... !?

 

I am going to bring the WAP or extender inside and find a cable and connect it directly to my laptop and see if I can access it's config and settings, but I have no idea where to look to see why it would randomly dies and stops broadcasting SSID - I let you know if I find anything in there... 

 

Another question, so assuming there are WAP, it is not possible to connect to them via network (they don't have an IP).... !?

   

 

[treetops]

Can you post a photo showing the make, model no. type label or whatever of these boxes?

[Agusts]

Well, I didn't realize the new laptop has no Ethernet connection, but found my old laptop that did. Connected the EnGenious ENS202 to it, and nothing, even the power LED didn't light up, so the bridge box must supply it with power, and it is probably not a normal Ethernet cable (or maybe it is but with power supplied).. !? 

 

So no connection and I tried 192.168.1.1 but did not connect to the box. I am really baffled. Also on the manual that I have it says ENH202, so need to find the correct one ENS202...

 

 

[Agusts]

[extercy]

I am no expert but have play with this kind of WAP before. Each floor with an outdoor AP is a bit much but you can always turn down the power. This is a PoE device so the power does not comes from the router but from the power adapter and the PoE Injector (the rectangular piece that has a RJ45) combo. Just beware to keep the power adapter off until you are sure everything is connected correctly as PoE injectors can cause irreversible damage to router, switches, etc.

 

"Only an Ethernet cable connects to each one" need clarification on this.

So each ENS202 PoE port connects to a Cat5e/Cat6 dedicated cable back to the ground floor to the router LAN port ?

 

"We connect out wifi directly to extenders SSID at each floor with good signal , or can connect directly to router below, very weak signal."

Not sure how it happened but normally these PoE Outdoor Wireless units requires configuration. So you will definitely have problems with IP crashing, etc.

 

 

[extercy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zHbs5L0niU&frags=pl%2Cwn
 

Have a look at this video. You can skip thru the other details but what you need to do is to configure it each of your ENS202 to Static IP so it is easier to find it i.e 2nd Floor is 192.168.0.2, 3rd Floor - 192.168.0.3, etc, then disable DHCP server on each of the ENS202 as it will clash with the DHCP server on the router. Gateway should be your router ip - 192.168.0.1.

 

Bridge is Not what you want. Bridge is for 2 ENS202 facing each other to act as a wireless bridge. AP Mode is what you want. 

 

Wireless settings : Best I have tested is to put all of routers and APs in the same Channel rather than auto. Do a scan of you house and see if there are available clear Channels. Some people would not recommend this but what I experience is because I technically hog the channel, the other Wireless routers in the vicinity, that are on auto channel mode, will move off my chosen channel ????  SSID also all the exact same name.

 

It looks like the LAN port on the ENS202 is only for configuration .. hmm.

 

Check your router LAN ports if they have any VLAN tagging. If no, then good.

I would suggest to put 2nd Floor on Router Port 2, and so on for easy troubleshooting. In the router, if you are able to block of the IPs being use by your 3 ENS202, that would be preferred.

 

I think that should be enough to solve your issues. Good luck.

Edited January 29, 2020 by extercy

[grobec]

I agree with setting static IP addresses for the extenders. You could also try swapping the 1st floor extender with the 3rd floor to test if extender is functioning properly.

[Fruit Trader]

For a simple router setup, the access points should each have a static address set outside of the main routers DHCP range with router alone handling all DHCP requests. First I would check if there are any DHCP or address conflicts on the network.

 

Note that poor quality cable can cause POE and data problems on long runs.

I had a problem with the work shed access point dropping off the network and found it to be a poor RJ45 connections causing the injected POE 24 volts to go low on occasions.

 

My access points are on non overlapping channels with common SSID.

[extercy]

What I normally do is to choose a subnet 192.168.XX.100. Example, I will put choose subnet 5 so in your example :

 

ENS202 2nd Floor : 192.168.5.2

ENS202 3rd Floor : 192.168.5.3

ENS202 4th Floor : 192.168.5.4

Router : 192.168.5.1  - since you have Admin access.

 

I do this since most router can change the subnet thus changing ISP, you only need to change the router settings since it is the "brain" for DHCP, Port Forwarding, etc. So your mileage will vary. I have other devices like printers, switch, IP cameras, etc with fix IPs so I can find them easily on the network.

 

If ENS202 by default have DHCP Off, then you will need to set your PC to manual ip to match the format of the ENS202. Direct connection. Look at this manual that I Google but I think there is an error for the initial connections in the manual. The PoE port on the ENS202 should be use and not the LAN port ! Picture correct but wordings is wrong. 

 

https://www.engeniustech.com.sg/products/wireless/outdoor-access-points/ens202

 

If ENS202 by default have DHCP On, then you can connect directly to the unit and you should receive an IP address in the 192.168.1.xxx.

 

Once you are done with the ENS202 settings, then plug in one by one at the top floor to test with Internet Speedtest to make sure that data is actually being transferred thru the new ENS202.

 

*ENS202 uses panel antenna so it is a directional antenna. Face it to where you want the strongest signal to be. 

 

My earlier post did not cover most things so I thought I will do a follow up.

 

Happy Networking !

[extercy]

4 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

For a simple router setup, the access points should each have a static address set outside of the main routers DHCP range with router alone handling all DHCP requests.

I would normally do this too but I have experience some routers that will block any IP from communication if it is out of the DHCP range. So you will need to use the router's assign/tie fix IP to this MAC address settings. And this is with MAC filtering off ! Troublesome but I have experienced 2 routers like this .. don't recall the make and model. Just sharing incase someone is scratching their heads when this happens.

[Fruit Trader]

12 minutes ago, extercy said:

I would normally do this too but I have experience some routers that will block any IP from communication if it is out of the DHCP range.

Any router that blocks addresses outside of its DHCP range should go in the trash. DHCP is given a range to work with and that includes mac assignment within DHCP.

[Agusts]

@extercyVery useful posts and I appreciate it - you also described correctly how the network here is set up. I almost understand how it all works (or should), the problem is now I can not connect to any of these AP boxes to check configuration... !? As I mentioned below I connected one directly to my old laptop tried both LAN and PoE connection via a Cat5 cable, no reply to 192.168.1.1 (I assume the IP is changed - but when connected directly to computer what should it be !?). Also my old laptop is Windows XP and I use Chrome, but I think that should not make any difference... !

 

Now as I mentioned the router is under SSID of "Yard 1", it set up to do DHCP and that's all I can see on it. Then we have 3 more SSID fl2, fl3, fl4 and I can connect to any of these SSIDs and also can login as admin to Yard 1 at 192.168.1.1.

 

But when I look at the DHCP Client List none of them has the MAC address of the box I showed you on the photo (I can see the IP of my own computer and MAC, so it means the router is doing the DHCP server job). Hence I assume AP has a fixed IP address - but what is it... !? How do I find out... ? I tried ARP -a command, but that shows some rubbish that does not reflect what is on the network, it even has some IP with 224.0.0.xxx (but I run some VPN programs so might be related to that. I also switch off/on the Network and File sharing for public network, still the same), in any case again none of the the MAC addresses are for the AP I am after.

 

Is there a way I can check all the IP address on the network to find out which one is AP - without having to manually type 255 of them in the browser address bar (and that is if the fixed IP address is even in that 192.168.1.xxx range - could it be in another range even !!!?)

 

It is a really weird situation, but that is when you try to diagnose a system that you have not set up yourself !

 

(The point about the faulty cable and connectors is also a good one, need to investigate that, but this is a condo complex so people might get mad if I start pulling out boxes and exchanging etc.....).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[extercy]

Ok, it is an existing setup and you are trying to diagnose it.

First, turn off your VPN and Firewall just to make things easier. 

 

I am guessing the ENS202 is on static IP, that is why it does not show up in the router Yard1. Not all routers can detect a manual IP device.

 

If you do not get an IP address assign, then you will need to manual IP your PC to ie 192.168.1.100. This is with the hope that the person that setup it up is using the same subnet for all the 3 ENS202. You might be able to use an IP Scanner. I left Windows for a decade now and only using Linux Mint and MAC so I will not be able to assist with Windows programs.

 

There is no easy way to look for subnets and IPs. Some devices uses Bonjour protocol which helps but not widely use.

 

This is with the assumption that the CAT5 wires, the PoE Injectors, Power Adapters and ENS202 are working well and not faulty.

 

Chrome should not be an issue but you can always try Firefox because there might be some Chrome extension that might be causing an issue.

 

It might be easier in the end to just redo all of the ENS202 but have to make sure their SSID and Passcodes are in your hand since it might be different for all three ENS202.

 

Update: Maybe you will have better luck by connecting your smartphone to fl3, then use an app to scan the network as some scanner apps will list MAC, IP and manufacturer in the scan. This method hopefully will make the fl4 ENS202 more visible to the Scanner app because of the direct link.  Then repeat for Fl2 and fl3. I use WiFi Analyzer from Playstore.

Edited January 30, 2020 by extercy

[extercy]

I hate it when people recommend app but when you search, there are tons of them with the same name .. so my bad on this one.

The app is as attached and once you connected to the fl4 SSID, at the bottom of the app, click Show Devices and normally the first one will be the router/gateway and the second in the list is your repeater.

 

 

[Agusts]

Thanks for all the info, I actually had another Wi-Fi analyzer, but I downloaded your suggestion,  I also downloaded Network analyzer from TechNet, that's very good too, and has LAN scanner and trace route and other tools.

 

But none of them shows the AP on the network,  they only show the main router 192.168.1.1...(see screenshots below, no device with MAC starting with 88.xx..... found ) !? I read on web that sometimes that's the case, as it's Layer 2 protocol we may not see the AP, but I'm not sure it should be the case for these ENS202 boxes, I think they maybe just hidden IP, they must have an IP address of some sort...? It's like they do a pass through to router when investigated by these scanners...!

 

Also connected to router directly and scanned as you suggested, see screenshot,  but no AP found on scan.

 

What I want to do now is write a program, maybe a DOS batch file, to call each IP on the network to see if it's listening on port 80 or 443, like "netstat -ano" of some sort, other than that have no clue what else to do. It has also occurred to me that maybe there is a pattern when AP disappearing, maybe at exactly 6pm, I need to check that a few more days, I'm surprised I missed that before. Will report back on that....

 

 

[Fruit Trader]

Disconnect all access points.

Factory reset one of the ENS202's and connect it directly to a PC LAN port

Change the PC IPv4 address to static 192.168.1.10

Access ENS202 using default address 192.168.1.1

Setup ENS202 as access point + DHCP off + static IP out of main routers DHCP range + default gateway

Save settings and plug back into main network

Check you can access ENS202 from a main router connection

Repeat for remaining ENS202's

Complete wireless admin for all ENS202's from main router connection

Or, ask landlady to call network tech

Edited February 1, 2020 by Fruit Trader

[extercy]

Someone might have resettled the ENS202 in the past and not know what they are doing with all 3 are on the default state except for SSID, with DHCP on. So there will be no way to find them due to all the traffic and confusion in the network. Your earlier picture also show no other LED except Power.

 

Best to reset all and redo all the ENS202.

Edited February 2, 2020 by extercy