Hi all,
I'm new to the forum and need some help with a problem with a recently purchased hAP ax^3 (routerOS updated to version 7.13.2).
I am not an expert and I'm not familiar with Mikrotik, however the basic configuration works but I am having problems with Wifi network.
All android devices connect without problems to the Wifi network but Apple devices don't. They, an 8th gen ipad with IpadOS 16.6.1 and an iphone 14pro with iOS 17.3, after entering the Wifi password, cannot connect. Only a very old iphone 6 with iOS 12.5.7 connects and works regularly.

Searching the documentation and the forum, I found that one solution might be to change the preamble length from short to long.
But I couldn't find the preamble-mode entry in WinBox or the CLI command related. Where is it?
Thanks for your help.

My wifi configuration
[admin@MikroTik] /interface/wifi/actual-configuration> print
0 name="wifi1" l2mtu=1560 mac-address=78:9A:18:xx:xx:xx arp-timeout=auto radio-mac=78:9A:18:xx:xx:xx
configuration.mode=ap .ssid="..." .country=Italy .manager=local
security.authentication-types=wpa2-psk,wpa3-psk .encryption=ccmp .group-key-update=12m .passphrase="..." .wps=disable .ft=no
interworking.network-type=private .internet=yes .ipv4-availability=single-nated
datapath.bridge=bridge
channel.frequency=5180,5260,5500 .band=5ghz-ax .width=20/40/80mhz

1 name="wifi2" l2mtu=1560 mac-address=78:9A:18:xx:xx:xx arp-timeout=auto radio-mac=78:9A:18:xx:xx:xx
configuration.mode=ap .ssid="..." .country=Italy .manager=local
security.authentication-types=wpa2-psk,wpa3-psk .encryption=ccmp .group-key-update=12m .passphrase="..." .wps=disable .ft=no
interworking.network-type=private .internet=yes .ipv4-availability=single-nated
datapath.bridge=bridge
channel.frequency=2412,2432,2472 .band=2ghz-n .width=20mhz

I copied similar data from one of the routers. Try it by analogy. Currently 6 Apple devices (2 laptops and 4 phones) are connected to the network and are functioning normally.

Hi,
Thank you for your advice. I will try it tonight when I get home.

Hi all,
with the configuration suggested by BrateloSlava (thank you) ipad and iphone, as well as other android devices, they connect to the wifi network, but only at 2.4GHz. Last night I did not have much time to investigate the cause of the malfunction, but I have noticed in the logs that the device connects to the 5GHz network, but then disconnects a few seconds later.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Explain: do devices disconnect from the 5 GHz network and connect to the 2.4 GHz network? Or are they completely disconnected from the WiFi network?

Show the logs, please.

Hi,
I'm at work now and can't post the logs (will do so this evening).

The S22+ phone, detects the 5GHz network (wifi1) but cannot connect to it permanently and fails (don't try?) to connect to the 2.4GHz network.
If I disable the 5GHz network, all devices (including the S22+) connect regularly to the 2.4GHz network.
Thanks for your help.

Apple devices cache information about WiFi access points. If you played with configuration on your router, such as changing SSID or security settings, then you can try "forgetting" the networks and rebooting the problematic devices.

country=United States

Well one can play with the country (mostly illegal settings as outcome) , but this can have another negative side.
Frequencies and allowed strength (power) used in 5GHz differ per region. USA is region FCC, Italy is region ETSI, with quite different settings.

And since RouterOS 7.13.1 the default (not specified) country now is not USA but Latvia.
The channel if not specified is also 5700MHz and up in the 5GHz band. That is for ETSi with SRD power (short range device) , very low power.
Better limit the range of frequencies 5180-5700 for 5GHz band in Europe (not in USA)

wifi1 is normally the 5GHz band, not wifi2, at least in the hAP ax2

@BrateloSlava

Hi, in the image log of the connection attempts to the Wifi1 network (@5.5GHz, 80MHz bw)). I don't understand why this happens, any suggestions? Many thanks

See : viewtopic.php?p=1009820#p1009820 about SA Query timeout.

The rest is about using WPA2/WPA3 combination, setting FT enabled or not, and cypher settings.

1. I don’t have hAP ax3, so I’m copying the example settings from the only place, where one hAP ac3 is installed. The majority - have long switched to several WiFi points and CAPsMAN. Or for products from other manufacturers.
2. When you, like me in some places, have a very noisy airwaves (more than 100 networks in the 2.4 GHz range and about 10 in the 5 GHz range), you will have to make “difficult decisions” with selecting the country option and limiting the power of the transmitters. Unfortunately, most neighbors do not care at all about others when setting up WiFi: they set the country, automatic channel selection and maximum transmitter power in the settings.


I’ll say right away, that most often I have to give explanations “primitively” and “simplely”. Without very clever phrases and terms.

@shado

Automatic “switching” of a WiFi network client between the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands depending on the “level” (or “quality”) of the signal.
The “struggle” for “good WiFi” usually comes down to a lot of experiments and observations.
Unfortunately, if you do not have ideal conditions (a room without furniture, in the center of which there is a table with a WiFi point, and around this table you walk and conduct tests, and around your room there is “clean” air and there is no equipment turned on at all) - there is several variants:
- try to place your hAP ax3 in a different location to reduce the impact of walls, etc.
- buy another WiFi point and place it in a “problem” place. At the same time, limit the power in each WiFi range.


IMHO, your main task is not to use “only 5 GHz”, but to ensure that all your devices work normally and without unnecessary delays.
Very often in apartment buildings, solving this problem becomes problematic, if there is only one WiFi point.
And the point here is not at all about the products of any particular vendor. But rather - in the “walls”, “interference” and “neighbors”.

Hi,

the log I sent was generated with the phone stable on a desk, in positions where it was previously able to steadily connect to the 5GHz network.

If both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks are active, it seems that the devices don't "decide" to use the 2.4GHz network if the signal from the 5GHz network is too weak. If I disable the 5GHz network, all devices connect quickly and without hesitation to the 2.4GHz network.

I haven't had time to do extensive testing these days, which I will do during the we. Then I can be more precise in my description of the scenario.

@bpwl
viewtopic.php?p=1009820#p1009820
very interisting link!

Thank you for your help.

See if this helps:

viewtopic.php?p=1070980#p1070980

Hi,
I just spent a lot of hours troubleshooting iphones just hanging when trying to connect to our EAP Wifi.
Problem turned out to be interworking. Removing interworking from the wifi configuration solved our problem.