New user here and a quick question. I have a Pepwave MAX Transit Duo LTEA and I am attempting to use WiFi as WAN and connect to it as an AP at the same time.
It appears if I connect to a 5G WiFi AP as WAN the Transit doesn’t always broadcast the 5G WiFi SSID, only the 2.4G, and vice versa. Firmware is 8.1.1 build 5040. Is this normal behaviour?
Thank you.
I was told during training the other morning that doing both would impact both. Wasn’t really designed for that I guess. I am working on a way to put my Mikrotik Metal back on the roof again. I replaced its attachment to the batwing with the Puma 401 to keep it flat stowed and raised. I also heard the exact same thing during a call with the MIRC. -Bill
Ok, thank you. I raised a ticket…will post what I hear back. My understanding was this should work.
Possible Solution: I had issues with the 2.4G not broadcasting and wanted to post the solution that I found in the event it helps anyone.
My issue seems to be directly related to a strong 2.4G WAN signal using the same channel as the 2.4G I’m broadcasting for my AP. You can test for the issue like this.
First move your 2.4G WAN to “Disabled” to turn it off. You should then see your Pepwave being broadcasted as expected. I use a wifi analyzer mobile app to check this (Mine is “Wifi Analyzer” on Android by Kevin Yuan, but many will work.) If you are now getting 2.4G broadcasting then channel interference is likely the problem.
Next use your wifi analyzer app or device to see what network channels are in heavy use around you. Then go to AP → Settings and manually set your AP Channel from “auto” to instead use a specific unused channel number. When you apply changes you should suddenly see you Pepwave pop up on the app (or your laptop, device, etc.)
If changing the channels solves the problem then you’ll want to prevent having to do this every time. So go back and edit the settings for the Channels once again. This time switch the Channel back to “auto” and make sure all channel options are selected as usable. (This is easy to miss. Press “edit” next to the dropdown selector and make sure all channels are checked.) Then next to Auto Channel Update you will ensure every hour is checked. Lastly, UNCHECK the setting “wait until no active client associated.” My understanding is that this configuration will attempt to find the best channel every hour and because it doesn’t wait for active clients it could cause a temporary disconnect for devices in use. Choose fewer times if this is a concern for you.
Finally since you may be setting up your initial connection (i.e. at a new location) before the Pepwave has reached an update checkpoint, you may find that resetting the Pepwave device allows it to choose a new channel. If it does not, then simply “Disable” the 2.4G WAN until you get a signal. then re-enable it at the desired priority. I have found similar tactics to that described above can help with 5G conflicts as well. Hope this helps.