Network is robust yet inconsistent.
Network is robust yet inconsistent.
I recently set up an Asus RT-AC3100 as an AI mesh node for my GT-AC5300 router, connected directly for a spot with weak Wi-Fi. The signal is now stable with four bars and speeds around 200-300 Mbps and a ping of about 4 seconds. These numbers are decent given my gigabit connection. However, during Zoom calls, the connection drops and restarts unexpectedly, even when I have full bars. This doesn’t happen when using a wired setup. Anyone know why this happens? Thanks in advance.
The AC5300 is being used as a mesh node despite being directly wired to the AC3100 because it enhances network redundancy and stability. Assuming the AC3100 is the main router, it likely operates in a specific mode such as standby or active, depending on configuration settings.
The AC5300 serves as the primary router due to its superior performance, operating in AI mesh router mode. The AC3100 functions as an AI mesh node.
But is there a direct connection via Ethernet? If yes, avoid setting them up in a mesh network since that configuration typically performs better than mesh when switching the AC3100’s operation mode to ‘Wireless Access Point Mode’. Confirm assigning the AC3100 a fixed IP address within the same subnet as the AC5300 but outside its DHCP range, using the identical subnet mask. Set DNS and gateway to the internal IP of the AC5300 and turn off AiMesh completely. When adjusting the AC3100’s WiFi settings, choose non-overlapping channels on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz; you may reuse the same SSID, bandwidth, password, security, and encryption as the AC5300.
I'm not very experienced with networking, so I just chose the mesh system because it seemed simpler. Could this be the reason for the problems you're seeing in Zoom?
It might function similarly to other mesh networks by using a wireless link between a central station and individual nodes. This eliminates one radio frequency for client devices while keeping the other available for communication with the base station. Nonetheless, data transfer between the central station and each node remains half-duplex, meaning both parties must exchange information simultaneously. Performance may drop in areas with many overlapping 2.4GHz networks. While mesh offers practical benefits, it doesn’t guarantee the quickest or most stable connection. Connecting the AC3100 to the AC5300 and operating the former in access point mode provides a straightforward, traditional solution. The link between the two devices becomes fully reliable thanks to Ethernet uplink, allowing the AC3100 to allocate CPU power solely for managing wireless clients.
I'm not sure about those units but there is another Mesh mode where it uses the wired uplink and will try to intelligently move you onto the strongest Access Point. Both units would need to support it and as you said Mesh is turned off on the second one, clearly you aren't using that. Basically you need to use Mesh on both if it supports wired uplink for the Mesh, or turn it off on both if it doesn't and use classic Access Point mode.
This setup includes one mesh router, another AI mesh router, and a third with a wired uplink to a mesh node.
Ah yes re-reading the first post that makes sense. I do wonder if its misbehaving though, could be worth trying it with normal Access Point mode and set them as different SSIDs so you can manually force which one you connect to. I really don't trust Mesh roaming to work correctly in all cases.