Unstable Wifi Connections - AP305C and AP4020

[TonyS2024]

Firmware: 10.8.5.6 (Including numerous other ones prior)

I know there are a lot of various settings and configs, so not sure exactly what to post here first so I'll describe the issue first. 

This issue affects multiple locations utilizing Extreme AP's and Switches. (5 total locations at the moment)
1. Client's workstation disconnects from Wifi and they need to manually reconnect
or
2. Client's workstation is connected to Wifi but randomly every so often the Wifi icon in Windows says "No Internet" for a few seconds, then automatically resolves itself.

It's an issue that has been spanning several months, multiple tickets, various changes on configuration including power settings, various firmwares, and moving physical access points. So far no success. 

The issue is intermittent, occurs randomly, a user can experience it once per day or multiple times a day. Every single day we get reports from users especially when it knocks them off their zoom and teams calls. 

We have several users hardwired in with cable, and they never experience the issue. 

Prior to implementing Extreme in these locations, they were all running on Unifi AP's, Unifi Controller for almost 10 years with 0 issues. The locations that are still on Unifi have 0 issues. But all the locations with Extreme all experience these disconnect issues. 

The locations are all within the city so the surrounding SSID's from neighbors is dense, but it never caused any issues with Unifi on much older technology. 

Reaching out in case there are any common gotchas that need to be looked into or configured when implementing Extreme APs. 

One location has about 6 AP's covering 3 floors the other locations have less AP's. Overall network setup is pretty simple. 1 SSID covers employee network, 1 SSID covers guest network, both on a different vlan. 

thank you in advance for any replies. 

[Raul_Carbonari]

Hi,

Besides the recommendation to open a support ticket, which has already been mentioned:

There are a few "gaps" in your problem description, so I'll try to help as best as I can.

Late last year, Extreme released a Best Practices document, which is a summary of the specific training course on this topic.
Wireless Best Practice - Documentation List
https://extreme-networks.my.site.com/ExtrArticleDetail?an=000131192

I don't know your level of familiarity with Wi-Fi or Extreme, but I've been working with Wi-Fi since 1997 and found the documentation very useful. There are also plenty of KB articles covering disconnection issues—it just takes a bit of patience to find the one that applies to your case.

Based on the details provided, if you've already tested several firmware versions, I'm inclined to say part of the issue might be on the client side and its driver versions. Certain Intel and Realtek chipsets are notoriously problematic with the 802.1x protocol.

I'm currently testing version 10.9.1 without issues—it came out this week (it's still rolling out according to the customer's RDC). According to the release notes, the version you are using is currently the "recommended" one. I've already deployed 10.9.1 on AP305C, AP3000, and AP5010 models, and it seems stable.

Certain connection issues get amplified when using 802.1x and/or WPA3. For instance, I've had issues where Intel cards worked perfectly with PSK but caused major headaches with 802.1x, even though Intel claims WPA3 support for the 9462 series. Since you didn't specify the connection type, you could try running some tests using PSK or PPSK.

The comparison to UniFi is a bit vague... I'm guessing you might be comparing different Wi-Fi generations (like AC vs. AX). In that kind of tech comparison, legacy clients usually run flawlessly on AC but cause headaches on AX—and in that case, the issue lies with the legacy client, not the AP. There was presumably a reason for switching from UniFi to Extreme, so the comparison doesn't add much value here.

If you have 6 APs covering 3 floors, how many clients are we talking about? On which frequency band? Do clients stay on the 5 GHz band or drop down to 2.4 GHz? Are the APs operating in 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz or Dual 5 GHz? Do you have Client/AP Balance features enabled? Is Fast Roaming enabled?

There is a Windows command that generates a detailed client log report (assuming we're talking about Windows devices):
netsh wlan show wlanreport

That should help you get a better look at what's happening under the hood.

Hope this helps!

[Nithisha]

Hello TonyS2024, 

Based on the information currently available, the GTAC team is unable to determine the exact cause of the issue, and further troubleshooting is required. We recommend opening a support case with GTAC so that the team can investigate the issue in detail and provide the appropriate guidance and resolution.