MBP doesn't switch mesh APs when connection quality degrades

[nudoru]

I replaced my older Netgear wap with a Google Wifi system. I have 2 points, one up and one downstairs.

If I'm connected to the one on the same floor, my speed is 1300mbp right in front of it, and down to ~500 on the other end of the floor. But if I'm connected on the off floor, it gets down to 100mbps or even 20 or 30. Disconnecting and reconnecting forces the Mac to switch to the strongest signal and it goes back up.

That's not what I was expecting to happen. Based on discussions with Google Support, the points "nudge" connected devices when the RSSI drops by around -15dBm from what it originally connected at. Watching this as I move floors, mine drops by over 25 and it doesn't switch.

Has anyone solved this and gotten their Macs to auto switch? Or do I just need to manually do it when I move around?

 

[posguy99]

That's not what I was expecting to happen. Based on discussions with Google Support, the points "nudge" connected devices when the RSSI drops by around -15dBm from what it originally connected at. Watching this as I move floors, mine drops by over 25 and it doesn't switch.

Is it documented somewhere that the Google Mesh system does such steering? Apple devices do tend to hang onto the BSSID that they've successfully connected to before, but so do many other devices. I would hope that for any device, a pure "more RF here, must connect" was not the algorithm used.

 

[nudoru]

@posguy99 According to the support tech, the points attempts to get the device to switch but it's up to the device to do it. Here's what he copy/pasted into our chat from support docs he had access to

Network assist and Client Steering.
Indicates the different signal strength or Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), if the client device doesn’t make the proper choice, the node dissociates the client device from the network. It stops seeing the network and immediately scans for the same network in the area. If the client connects to the same node, we will stop disconnecting until two things happens; a minimum of 10 minutes elapses or the client degrades more than a quarter of what it was when kicked off (-15dBm). It would have to drop lower than what it originally dropped off otherwise it would take the 10 minutes if the signal remains low.

Sometimes you will notice that a device will remain connected to a Google or Nest Wifi point that is the farthest from that device. This happens because client devices decide what router they're going to connect to and remain connected to. All a router can do is nudge them in the right direction. Typically, if a client device still has acceptable signal strength from a more distant Google or Nest Wifi point, it will remain connected to the more distant point. This is also the case with newer devices that have stronger network cards. These devices are designed to make a connection with a router and remain connected until the RSSI is at it's lowest possible point and at that time, the device will look for another router to connect to.