Hi,

We have been using Draytek routers to replace BT/Sky devices in our residential smart home projects for a long time now and very pleased with them. We have over time being introducing Draytek for Wifi in place of the more expensive (but rock solid) Ruckus but finding it not as seamless. We now are using 2862ac and AP903/802 devices in a mesh setup to get Wifi where we have no cables. What's the best practice with this type of set up? Should roaming and mesh be mixed? We've found iOS devices prone to not passing over seamless with roaming (Ruckus no problem) but not sure if that's a config issue.

What would be a typical baseline for config of roaming and/or mesh in a residential environment with devices like iOS/Android phones/tablets and even some of the smart wireless devices like doorbells etc.? I appreciate each site is different but looking for what might be accepted as a sound starting point.

TIA!

I've been asking a similar question for a while - but does anyone know the answer? I'm just composing yet another post on this....

I posted a similar request this morning so keen to hear what people have implemented to achieve seamless wifi experience site-wide

From doing some digging across yours and other posts it seems like this is a bit of a hot topic atm. I've emailed Draytek support directly as well as contacted my supplier so will see what feedback we get. I've also been speaking with a number of fellow smart home integrators and many have moved from Draytek to Ubiquiti which did surprises me but a number of them are now looking after over 100 sites and more than happy... TBF to Draytek I have always appreciated the UK support and found the products to be very good so am hopeful of a positive response.

May be of interest, I found this advice on smallnetbuilder:-

Don't Overcrowd APs/mesh points - Too many APs in too small an area will almost guarantee terrible roaming behavior. Some devices will never reach a level low enough to trigger roaming. Others may bounce back and forth between APs with similar signal levels, causing connection instability. So you might not need all three mesh nodes that come in a three-pack "mesh" system. And skip the temptation to buy an Orbi three-pack unless you have a really big area to cover.

(To me though this seems at odds with a "self healing / seamless roaming" system - if a client is not seeing a decent signal from at least 2 APs then how does it switch over and "carry on regardless" (a la the PC Pro test I mentioned in my other post) if one of the APs goes down?)

Don't Create AP Gaps - The inverse of the previous point is also true. If there is too little or no overlap between access points, you'll get a dropped connection. Fortunately, Wi-Fi systems are good at guiding proper mesh node placement, as are today's Wi-Fi extenders.

Have you had any response from Draytek support regarding this?