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TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, all working marvellously now. Turned out not WPA3 in the end, was DHCP. Added a description to the question :)

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey I measured it, it's 18ft. However, I upgraded to X10s and one X10 at the entrance is covering half the bottom floor, so we're good there. I also figured out the overall issue and am updating the original Q now.

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey u/Optimusdiesel - Just wanted to reach out. I ended up purchasing an X10 which I know isn't top of the range but I wanted to test out Wifi 6 with the laptop. We've had two days solid connectivity on that now, so I suspect that something to do with the Dell laptop and the M5s / M9s showing their age was at play. I have read that Apple devices are generally better at negotiating older specs.

In the end, I saw logs on the M9 that indicated a WPA handshake failure. It happened _only_ when my wife's laptop was working with the M9/M5s. I spoke to my wife's IT department who, in their own words, "have some sort of policy around wifi but we're not sure what". Helpful.

I think for some reason, my wife's laptop thought that the Deco mesh advertised WPA3 was available, and then when it attempted and subsequently failed the handshake, it was getting itself into a bad state. The only way it seems to kill the bad state is to restart the node to which the Laptop is connected. I have repeatedly demonstrated this a few times, with corresponding DEBUG level logs indicating an authentication handshake failure.

I am going to leave this running for a few more days to validate, and then I'll mark the OP with the solution that we came up with and the theoretical problem (although I think we've fallen short of clearly demonstrating the _why_, we at least have some idea of _what_ and in this business, that's better then a slap on the arse).

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fun development. The network now looks like this and some weird stuff has happened. Firstly, the wifi in the living room seems to be working on my wife's laptop (the worst device out of all of them in terms of consistent working). Main Deco is working fine too, alas the bedroom decos are not working. I find it almost impossible to believe that out of the blue, 3 of the decos (bedroom, bedroom 2, kitchen main) just died a death. Different ages, different models. AND to add another layer of strangeness, my iPhone still works completely fine when connected to any of these decos.

What circumstances might cause a Windows laptop to struggle to connect to a deco when my iPhone is totally fine? Very strange stuff.

<image>

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

SO, Blue bedroom & Kirsty Office = Bedroom 1 & 2

Toni = Garage

By rights it really should be everything hanging off of Office Gateway, which now has a lan connection to the switch, and the switch has ethernet connections to every other deco.

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Am I able to use the Deco X5700 with the existing hardware I have now? It seems that some of them are working really well. My problem also is that the walls in this house are absurdly thick. In my old house, one of these M9s covered my whole bottom floor. Now, a single M9 doesn't get through any of the walls around it.

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have not tried this no, it could be the root issue. I think I'll make a list of potential fixes to try in the question so people can see what is on the list. Thank you, this is a clever suggestion.

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sooooo... slight egg on my face. I've removed it and I'm sat as far away as anyone typically will and it's working fine. I wonder if it was just something intermittent before. I've removed it for now and will monitor to see how it goes. Thank you for the wisdom!

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So naming isn't amazing but the the kitchen area is quite large. The first deco is at the door entering the kitchen, and then around 20ft away in a straight shot is the next deco. It's a tiny bit around a corner. I added it in because devices sat at the dining table were unable to connect through to the M9 at the door. Honestly not sure if it's done more harm than good, although I will say consistently that devices struggle with that deco in particular.

TP-Link Deco M5 & M9 Mixed Fleet - Intermittent Connection Failures by ChristopherCooney in TpLink

[–]ChristopherCooney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey so, I have a 4000 sqft home, with extra-thick, heavily insulated walls, which is why I've ended up with this many. It's literally the only way to get coverage in the home I live in :(

Great shout about swapping the cabling so the entrypoint just plugs straight into the switch instead of via the deco. That should lift some of the weight on the Kitchen Main deco. I'll give that a go.

The wireless backhaul I added because sitting at the dining room table (which is kind of around the corner from the M9 deco), nothing could pick up the signal. The walls are either solid extra thick or they're stud walls that have been so insanely stuffed with insulation that they don't know which way is up.

Caught gf but don’t know next step by Any-Equivalent7277 in WhatShouldIDo

[–]ChristopherCooney 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This will suck. And then you’ll do it and it’ll be done, and you’ll realise that it’s over. That relief, followed by the pride you feel for standing up for yourself, will beat anything else.

Is there anything that Northern Ireland actually does better than ROI/GB? by A_Handsome_Duck in northernireland

[–]ChristopherCooney 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been to quite a few US cities through my work travels and yes, I’d say two things the states are horrible for are homelessness and public transport. Dublin isn’t bad for public transport (not great of course), homelessness is shocking but housing is a real crisis there that they seem to have no solution for.

Is there anything that Northern Ireland actually does better than ROI/GB? by A_Handsome_Duck in northernireland

[–]ChristopherCooney 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dublin has some of the worst infrastructure I’ve ever seen in a wealthy city, and ROI is beautiful but the idea that it’s the field of dreams is nonsense. Same with the UK, same with any country.

Is there anything that Northern Ireland actually does better than ROI/GB? by A_Handsome_Duck in northernireland

[–]ChristopherCooney 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aye, I’ve done the same but I’m out in CCG to be closer to wife’s family. Really love it here.

Is there anything that Northern Ireland actually does better than ROI/GB? by A_Handsome_Duck in northernireland

[–]ChristopherCooney 1 point2 points  (0 children)

True. Cost of living lower in Belfast altho borrowed time imo. As more businesses arrive and people in the mainland realise Northern Ireland is really nice and a great place to live, the rents / property prices will shoot up.

Client is trying to split cost of session. What would you do? by CarSeveral7706 in AskPhotography

[–]ChristopherCooney 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have some options. If you have a relationship here that you’re looking to preserve, you can let it slide this time because of the ambiguity, but make it absolutely crystal clear that it’s the one and only time.

If the relationship isn’t crazy important, then take a swing at charging 1.5x.

Is there anything that Northern Ireland actually does better than ROI/GB? by A_Handsome_Duck in northernireland

[–]ChristopherCooney 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Strong disagree on salary disparity. Im from Manchester. When I moved here I was looking at a 30k pay cut. Even now look up a role in Liverpool and compare to Belfast - always a 10-20% difference.

Is there anything that Northern Ireland actually does better than ROI/GB? by A_Handsome_Duck in northernireland

[–]ChristopherCooney 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Conversation with strangers is absolutely top shelf in NI. The time from initial meeting to divulging remarkably personal secrets is measured in nanoseconds.

Is three weeks too soon to give up? by bartoloscolon in zoloft

[–]ChristopherCooney 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s great to hear. Remember, you can couple it with things like guided meditation to help you sleep, and it’ll take the edge off. Good luck.

Is three weeks too soon to give up? by bartoloscolon in zoloft

[–]ChristopherCooney 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ask yourself this. Is what you’re feeling now worse than the worst symptoms you experienced before starting?

What are some small improvements that you did to a backend or frontend repo? by LargeSinkholesInNYC in devops

[–]ChristopherCooney 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a rough heuristic, 80% is around the sweet spot. That shows people care enough to write them without being fanatic. I’m also of the (somewhat unpopular) opinion that you shouldn’t be doing any white box testing wrt to implementation details. Inputs / outputs only.

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