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Troubleshooting mesh networks

How to fix common issues with mesh networks.

Note

Sophos Central can't debug mesh-related problems. You can see which access points are root and which are nodes, but that doesn't guarantee the mesh network has formed. You can verify that all access points are connected using the AP6 local UI or shell. See Mesh.

A second mesh SSID does not work.

You can only have one APX mesh SSID. AP6 access points support one mesh SSID per broadcast domain.

The mesh network isn't coming up.

Take the following troubleshooting steps:

  • Wait a few minutes for it to appear. The mesh network may need up to five minutes to be available after configuration.
  • Check if the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) blocks your mesh configuration.
  • Check the status of the access points in the mesh SSID. See Check the status of a mesh SSID.
The mesh network isn't visible to end users.

This is normal behavior. The mesh SSID is only visible to other access points and isn't used to communicate with clients. You can create another SSID with the same name and mesh disabled for users to connect to.

The mesh network isn't usable.

Take the following troubleshooting steps:

  • Check if you have at least two access points in the mesh network.
  • Physically connect at least one access point to the same LAN network.
  • Check if your mesh access points are using the same channel for the backhaul SSID.
  • Check the status of the access points in the mesh SSID. See Check the status of a mesh SSID.
  • Make sure access points that aren’t part of the mesh network are on a different channel.
  • If possible, try moving the nodes closer to the root.
  • Create a mesh SSID using a frequency band with a longer range.
Not all the access points show in the mesh network.

Take the following troubleshooting steps:

  • Make sure that all access points have the mesh configuration. Access points must stay connected to the LAN until configured and restarted.
  • Make sure that the LAN cable of the node access point is unplugged.
The root access point must have two radio bands including the 2.4 GHz/5 GHz/6 GHz band enabled and at least one SSID for the mesh network to operate.

For AP6 access points, assigning an SSID with these requirements to the access point you want to become the root access point ensures the radios are active on the access point before it becomes the root. It also gives the access point an SSID to assign to node access points that connect to it. You can change this later.

I'm getting less throughput than expected.

Depending on the environment, you can expect a 50% drop in bandwidth, an extra one to five milliseconds in latency, and increased jitter for each hop from a node access point to the root. We recommend using a star topology to minimize the number of hops to the root.

I can't manage the settings on a node access point after assigning a mesh SSID to it.

Not being able to manage node access point settings is normal. You manage all node access point settings from the root access point. The root access point synchronizes all changes to the nodes.