WiFi Roaming

[Legendish]

I have 2 APs in my wireless network at home. I'm certain the routers are set up correctly as my Windows 7 PC is able to roam between the access points flawlessly. Also, my previous iPhone 4 was able to roam perfectly fine. So, my conclusion is that there is an issue with the phone. I've tried using the Wifi Roaming Fix app in the Play Store, but that doesn't seem to fix the issue either. Has anyone else experienced these issues and does anyone know of a fix? I am able to connect to the first router fine, but when I move away from it my phone still tries to connect to that AP even when the second AP has a much stronger signal strength.

Thanks in advance.

 

[palandri]

I have a Nexus 5 and two WiFi routers in my house. My phone switches with no problem.

 

[doogald]

I have 2 APs in my wireless network at home. I'm certain the routers are set up correctly as my Windows 7 PC is able to roam between the access points flawlessly. Also, my previous iPhone 4 was able to roam perfectly fine. So, my conclusion is that there is an issue with the phone. I've tried using the Wifi Roaming Fix app in the Play Store, but that doesn't seem to fix the issue either. Has anyone else experienced these issues and does anyone know of a fix? I am able to connect to the first router fine, but when I move away from it my phone still tries to connect to that AP even when the second AP has a much stronger signal strength.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry, but I believe that's the way it's designed to work. If the radio tried to determine which signal was stronger, when you were at a point that they were close to equal signal the phone would waste energy switching between the access points as one grew stronger and then the other. The phone will connect to the first router and will hold the connection as long as it is relatively strong. If you get a point where you start getting connection errors, packet loss, or low bandwidth, only then will it switch to the other AP.

However, just to ask the question, do the two routers have the same SSID and same security with different channels? It's hard to tell from your post.

That's the proper way to set up wifi routing.

 

[Legendish]

Yes, they have the same SSID, security settings, and are on different channels. I'm certain the network is configured correctly. So is there no way to have it roam between multiple APs then?

 

[palandri]

Let me add, my 1st router with WiFi is built into my DVR by my cable company and is on the north wall of my house and doesn't have very good range, but It works for the north side of my house and my yard on the north side. My 2nd router is an Asus and is in my south bedroom, and works for the south side of my house and yard. They are named portland1 and portland2.

 

[Legendish]

It seems as if you have two different networks and not one with two access points. Perhaps I'll try to change the SSID of the second access point as a workaround solution. Would still prefer to have it work by roaming as my PC and previous phone were able to do though.

 

[wolf_walker]

Shouldn't you have one of them functioning as a repeater/extender for this to work correctly?

 

[Legendish]

Shouldn't you have one of them functioning as a repeater/extender for this to work correctly?

Yes, one of them is set up as an extender. Again, it has worked with other devices so I'm sure the network is properly configured.

 

[doogald]

Let me add, my 1st router with WiFi is built into my DVR by my cable company and is on the north wall of my house and doesn't have very good range, but It works for the north side of my house and my yard on the north side. My 2nd router is an Asus and is in my south bedroom, and works for the south side of my house and yard. They are named portland1 and portland2.

Maybe it would be best to use different SSID for the two. Then go into settings / wifi, tap the menu control bottom right and tap manage networks, and then drag the one that you want to be used most often to the top of the list.

Like I said, in my experience android is designed to hold a wifi network until it's no longer useful and then look for others. It seems to be the way that Google designed it.

 

[wolf_walker]

It's been years but the last time I used a range extender, it did not show up as a different AP unless you went looking for it with wifi scanning software.
The handoff was transparent, part of the beauty of an extender.

 

[Legendish]

It's been years but the last time I used a range extender, it did not show up as a different AP unless you went looking for it with wifi scanning software.
The handoff was transparent, part of the beauty of an extender.

Yup, that's exactly how my current network configuration works. It worked great with my iPhone 4. Whenever I had a weak signal from one AP it would automatically switch to the other one and I'd have full bars of WiFi signal strength.

When I go into the settings and go to the list of WiFi networks, my phone actually does show my network with a full signal strength when standing next to the second AP, so it must be detecting it. However, when I go to connect to the network it seems to attempt to connect to the first AP, which is the AP that is the DHCP server. When I select the network and hit "connect" the signal next to the network name goes to the lowest strength and I am unable to connect, due to the signal being so weak. The second router has has DHCP off, as is the norm when setting up a router as an extender. This same thing happens even if I change the SSID of the second router.

 

[wolf_walker]

I think you should open a support case with Motorola, you aren't the first to possibly have compatibility problems with a particular router.
Stressing that it works fine on one device under the same circumstances where the DT is not is a good approach.

 

[Legendish]

I think you should open a support case with Motorola, you aren't the first to possibly have compatibility problems with a particular router.
Stressing that it works fine on one device under the same circumstances where the DT is not is a good approach.

Ok, I suppose I'll contact Motorola. Something tells me this has more to do with the Android OS though. Thanks for your help

 

[wolf_walker]

I used a bunch of android devices in the warehouse at work with range extenders, seemed to work as well as anything else.
The latency and general buggyness was a bother but that could have been from being in a giant metal building too.

 

[Legendish]

Just got off the phone with Motorola, they just said to wait for the Android 5.0 update. I think this is a known bug in Android on some wifi chipsets, as discussed in the first result when you google "android wifi roaming" (can't post links yet). I'll just have to wait then, I suppose. Thanks all for the assistance.