Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2025 21:03 Post subject: MX4300 suggestion. Fix wifi channels on reset.
As I have been playing with several of these for different projects, I have gotten only about a 20% or less ability to login wirelessly after reset. Seems to be that the issue is with setting the ipaddress via dhcp, BUT even when doing it with static it will sometimes not connect until you set it to a fixed wireless channel.
Connecting wired seems to always work if you cannot get dhcp address, you can always get using a static ip on the device, but when logging in via wire and setting to a channel, then all wireless can connect properly.
I think it would be a good idea to have it reset to a fixed wireless channel, probably channel 1 as a default instead of going to auto channel, as it seems that you would then be able to login wirelessly after a reset. I can test it to verify if you want to give me a developmental build to try it on.
I did try even in a saturated wireless environment on channel 1 and 6 to see if there would be any problems connecting once a channel is set and there were none. Much better to be able to connect wireless after a reset than to have to connect with a wire. I know there are other problems with not having a fixed wireless channel also that have been listed, just cannot remember what they are, but it seems would be a better idea to set a channel on reset than not set a channel.
If this should have been posted in a different forum, let me know...thanks for all the help and great development!
If they are going to have to change the channel anyway for the topology, what is the harm in having it preset so that they can logon wirelessly initially? That was why I tested to see if you could still login in a very crowded environment.
If you reset them all the time, at least on the MX4300, you pretty much have to hit it with a wire to get access to it most times. or at least in my testing about 3/4 of the time.
Auto seems to come up in questions about once a month in the forums as an issue, so why have it set to something that lots of people miss that also makes it harder to get into initially? Everyone was a rookie at ddwrt at some point...so they don't all know about it.
I know in the past, getting into the other routers after reset wirelessly was not as much of an issue as it seems to be on the AX routers, but just as a default to a channel might make more sense than a known setting that we know has issues. For testing it definitely makes life easier to be able to access it after reset.
Or maybe have it auto channel on reset to a fixed channel? I dont know if that is possible but that might be the best world. Takes the problems away with auto channel and adapts to the environment where the device is.
I have zero wireless or dhcp issues with either of my MX4300s. They are GREAT routers and IMO even better than a MX8500 in some ways (which is a great router too, but lacks two 5ghz radios). Once I finish up on a few projects I'm super involved in, I may ask @BrainSlayer to offer two builds for the MX8500. One as is now (1x2.4ghz, 1x5ghz and 1x6ghz) and another with 1x2.4ghz and 2x5ghz. He told me this was possible when we were beta testing pre-releases for it, and 2x5ghz is way more useful to me than short range 6ghz.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, yeah, auto channel works fine for me, but I am in a rural area with very little interference. No, I don't use it on production routers, only for quickly testing a new build on a non-production router. My test routers include EA8500, MX4300, MX8500, MR7350 and MR7500. Autochannel works on all of them (in this area), but as I said, I have to walk outside with my phone to pick up any other wifi radios in the area, and they are weak, at best. _________________ - Linksys EA8500: I-Gateway, WAP/VAP 5ghz only. Features: VLANs, Samba, WG, Entware - r60xxx
- Linksys EA8500: 802.11s Secondary w/VLAN Trunk over 5ghz - r60xxx
- Linksys MX4300: 802.11s Primary w/VLAN Trunk over 5ghz. 2.4ghz WAP/VAP only - r60xxx
- Linksys MX4300: (WAP/VAP (7)) Multiple VLANs over single trunk port. Entware/Samba r60xxx
- Linksys MR7350: WDS Station for extended Ethernet r60xxx
- Linksys MR7500, MX8500: None in production. Just testing. r60xxx
- OSes: Fedora 40, 10 RPis (2,3,4,5), 23 ESP8266s: Straight from Amiga to Linux in '95, never having owned a Windows PC.
- Forum member #248
.. auto-channel definitely doesn't work properly on ath10k devices like the R7800 or the EA8500
it hangs regularly and 1 or 2 radios do not start.
only when you end the scan process manually via "kill" do the affected radios start
this has been known for years.
but as I said, I have to walk outside with my phone to pick up any other wifi radios in the area, and they are weak, at best.
That must be awesome, it would be nice to have no interference to that level...I get a lot of networks and half the people only setup one of their 3 radios on their fancy routers so its ugly just to pull up the list.
That being said, i have no issues with wireless either on the 4300 and the dhcp works fine except on the unbridged VAP not on VLAN (which is a whole other project), but on reset, wirelessly, cant get on 3/4 of the time until I attach a wire and Im just guessing as to why, based on my observations.
Once channel is set, works flawless even in purposefully harsh environment I created to try out, hence my suggestion. Just spitballing, makes me think its a timing thing, maybe based on what ho1Aetoo said..at least on the MX4300 the radios seem to start (they are broadcasting but fail to connect 3/4 of the time) but maybe in the process of requesting the address they cant connect and time out before dhcp is finished. I also did not check to see if the channels were scrolling when requested, that would make sense too...I can easily see if they are tending to lock a channel or not just after reset etc. Stuff I can test like that to help
I will pay attention to it this weekend and see what calls its is making. I didnt check to see what the router was saying in the process most of the times when i restarted. I also have 2 7800s so I can see if its any different after reset.
ho1Aetoo thanks for the links, I read thru them and can test a bit better this weekend or maybe sooner, I had not had a chance to review in my prior post. I get what BS is saying also...so much work on some issues, Im thankful for all the everyone puts into this and just trying to help where I can!
