I've just bought a 2862Vac (so I can use VoIP for home use) and was intending to replace my excellent combination of a 2860 and Netgear Orbi RBK23 mesh with the new router and a couple of VigorAP 802's. I wasn't expecting the performance to be as good (it doesn't need to be) but I was at least expecting it to work. Unfortunately, I can't get it to work hardly at all.

The router can find and add the nodes into the mesh, no problem at all. However, the nodes won't sync the config and go online... except the weird thing is that they do, sometimes or eventually, depending on how long you are prepared to wait. Sometimes, if you're lucky, after anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour an 802 will eventually sync with the 2862 and actually function as a node. However, temporarily switch off the unit and then back on again, and you have to wait another interminable period for it to maybe get back on line. At no point did I manage to get both the nodes connected into the mesh at the same time, and I've spent most of a frustrating day fiddling with this.

My starting point was to upgrade everything to the latest firmware, so that's 3.9.4.1_BT for the 2862 and 1.3.5 for the 802's. I then tried various combinations including downgrading to earlier firmware including 1.3.4.1 and 1.3.4. The 2862 claims to be compatible (in the "Support List") with 1.3.4, but that didn't work either. I also tried winding the router back to 3.9.2 and 3.8.9.2, with no success, although obviously I haven't tried all possible combinations.

The weird thing is that, occassionally, the nodes successfully connect the uplink to the router, but most of the time they just sit there periodically rapidly blinking the "uplink" light indicating that it's trying (and failing) to establish the link. I've tried with the devices in the same room, or separate by a thin internal wall, with no success. I've tried with the current Netgear wifi turned off, thinking interference might be an issue, but no joy there either.

Any suggestions?

I only had the briefest play with 'wireless mesh' mode - I wasn't particular impressed and now both AP903 and AP802 are in wired AP mode.

I would caution against using V1.3.5 firmware on the AP802. While it may not be the reason for your particular problems it certainly has other issues (reported to Draytek in November!). See: https://forum.draytek.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=97734#p97734

Which 5GHz channel are using? If you've strayed into the DFS/Radar zones there can be a one or ten minute period after power-up, where the node plays-dead (listening for Radar).
(I got myself in this state earlier on in proceedings, because I was trying to avoid next door's Sky Wifi. It turned out it was my Sky Q box, which, by default uses all the non-DFS 5GHz channels ... even if it has no use for them!. I don't know how detrimental that is in practice, but it turns out they can be disabled via a hidden menu option )

Yes, I read the comments on 1.3.5 which is why I tried the two 1.3.4 variants. Like you, I did try to avoid my Orbi system by picking a high channel number, but eventually settled for the highest channel I could choose below the DFS zone. I also tried turning off the Orbi altogether to eliminate interference. The weird thing was that it would sync sometimes, but after a very long time (the quickest was about twenty minutes, but at one point I went out and did the weekly shop at the supermarket and it still hadn't synced when I got back 90 minutes later).

Is a 2862Vac with 802's and wireless uplink an unusual combination?

I also discovered that flashing from one firmware to another sometimes leaves the 802 with all lights flashing rapidly, permanently, and no amount of factory resetting will fix it (it did this twice). Fortunately, I could still access the device using a wire, and it seemed fully functional other than the lights. Reflashing seemed to fix it.

I'm a big fan of Draytek routers, and have rarely needed to visit this forum, but I'm not impressed with the mesh stuff so far.

I installed an Orbi system in my ex's house when Orbi first came out. If I had an Orbi system (with it's dedicated backhaul channel) I wouldn't change it for Draytek without a very good reason :?

(Said the man with 4 AP903s )

Yes, my relatively low-rent Orbi will connect to a satellite node, punching through a double brick cavity wall about 10 meters from the root node, and still give me a real world network data rate of at least 150mbps and sometimes over double that. By the look of it (using my Android phone, since I couldn't get the 802 to uplink at all in that position) I was getting about 50mbps in the same location connecting to the 2862Vac. I was hoping that the 866mbps radio in the 802 would do better than my midrange Motorola phone. In theory, the Orbi and the Draytek kit all have 866mbps-capable radios. In theory

dcrobinson1965 wrote:
I was getting about 50mbps in the same location connecting to the 2862Vac.

Those figures are interestingly in line with what I saw from the AP802. See: https://forum.draytek.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=23887 , but to summarise :-

Code:

The recorded speeds (averaged over 3 runs) were 59Mbps down / 67Mbps up. (wireless mesh) The AP802 was now switched to wired-uplink mode (the location had been chosen to facilitate this) and the tests repeated. The recorded speeds (averaged over 3 runs) were now 146Mbps down / 127Mbps up. (wired 'mesh')

This was AP903 <---Wireless Mesh--->AP802<---Wifi--->Huawei Mate 20 Pro - with about 5m between each node.

It turns out that the AP802's wired AP performance could be doubled again, to almost match an AP903, if you set it to "80MHz" mode. It will not let you do that, in Mesh Mode (either wired, or wireless), for some reason.

As an aside, in a tiny, tiny typeface, in the AP802 Quick Start Guide, it mentions that the output power is 22dBm (5180-5340MHz) but is 29dBm (5480-5720MHz). I don't know if this just offsets the extra losses in the higher numbered channels