iPad not switching to nearest wireless access point

[JaxPlanet]

I have 2-WAPs with 1 on either end of a long hallway. They both have the same SSID and security settings. I want wireless devices to automatically connect to the nearest WAP so the user doesn't have to do anything.

I tested it with iPad and Windows computers. The iPad would never switch to the nearest WAP. Oddly, Windows would switch once and not switch again. I found that Windows wireless adapters allow you to change their "Roaming Aggressiveness" so I set it to the highest possible setting. Then I walled from one end of the hall to the other 5-times and Windows switched to the nearest WAP every time.

This confirmed my wireless infrastructure was working properly and the problem was the iPad.

I started by making sure the iPad had the latest iOS version, which it did. I read iPads should automatically switch to nearest WAP and, if they don't, restart the iPad and, if that doesn't work, reset network settings. Unfortunately, that did not resolve the problem and I can't find any more information beyond that.

Does anyone have an ideas on how to get an iPad to automatically switch to the nearest WAP.

TiA!

 

[jbn858273]

I do not have a quotable source, but personal experience with older devices / software and received wisdom is that Apple devices in general are very poor at roaming between Wireless Access Points.

 

[belvdr]

How long is a "long hallway"? More WAPs is not always better.

I believe you have a misconfiguration in your WiFi, since you only saw the Windows machine roam after you increased the roaming agressiveness. In essence, you're telling Windows to roam even if it isn't the better connection.

Check the bandwidth of each WAP and ensure they are identical. I've seen issues where one WAP has a wide bandwidth, which can introduce more noise, thus clients don't prefer to roam to it. Also, you need to make sure the WAPs aren't on the same channels.

 

[JaxPlanet]

How long is a "long hallway"? More WAPs is not always better.

I believe you have a misconfiguration in your WiFi, since you only saw the Windows machine roam after you increased the roaming agressiveness. In essence, you're telling Windows to roam even if it isn't the better connection.

Check the bandwidth of each WAP and ensure they are identical. I've seen issues where one WAP has a wide bandwidth, which can introduce more noise, thus clients don't prefer to roam to it. Also, you need to make sure the WAPs aren't on the same channels.

Not sure exactly but I can say that signal was -60 or lower on either end when I had 1-WAP in the middle, which was not enough for users at the ends, especially if they closed their solid wood fire door. Therefore, 2 were necessary.

Windows did roam but it was at its roaming threshold so it was inconsistent. Increasing the aggressiveness solved the problem. I was even able to lower aggressiveness to 1 above the default setting and it still roamed properly. In essence, I am telling Microsoft that their threshold for switching WAPs was too low

Of course, none of this would work if the wifi was misconfigured or stepping on channels but, so you know, the channels are fixed and several jumps apart so there's no chance of overlap. In addition, the WAPs are same make/model/firmware.

Back to the problem at hand, is there any built-in or add-on app that can lower iOS's threshold for changing WAPs?

 

[JaxPlanet]

I do not have a quotable source, but personal experience with older devices / software and received wisdom is that Apple devices in general are very poor at roaming between Wireless Access Points.

In this case, it is a 1-year old iPad running the latest version of iOS. 1-WAP is a month old and the other is 1-year old so I don't think "older devices" applies. I agree with you when it comes to iOS. However, there is a good chance that a Mac will let you tweak aggressiveness either through the GUI or CLI so I can't completely knock Apple for this issue without knowing more about it. Sadly, head of the law firm would see me gone before he'd give up his iPad so a Mac is not an option.

 

[JaxPlanet]

Almost forgot, thank you for your replies!

Still looking for some kind of fix though.

TiA!

 

[jbn858273]

Found this Apple article - perhaps tuning down the power of both WAPs can trigger the roaming….

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203068

 

[high3r]

If I'm right Wi-Fi roaming with access points occurs when a wireless client device moves outside the usable range of one router or access point (AP) and connects to a different one. I think your two AP's are too close to each to trigger switching.
You'd be better off with a mesh system where client switching is managed by the router and nodes.

 

[pk0]

What kind of wireless access points do you have?

Wireless controllers and devices handle roaming differently. Wireless controller handle roaming by handing off a client to a better suited access point. Just because an access point is closer does not mean your wireless will automatically select the closer one, generally your wireless will determine the "best" access point. Different wireless setups/controllers handle this better than others.

If your wireless controller does not support roaming then your device will stay connected to an access point until it drops below a certain signal level and then try connecting to something with stronger signal. This isn't the same roaming that wireless controllers do. This obviously varies by device so to me, though I don't know for certain, it sounds like Windows "aggressive roaming" that you set just lowers the signal threshold to force a device to connect.

If your wireless does support roaming, it may be worth diving more into tweaking it to get clients to switch when you want.