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311

I’ve been quiet, but overall, I’m still in the same situation.

I got the Flint 4, made it the main node of my 3-node Flint 3 mesh setup, and the old issues started to reappear:

  1. IoT devices can’t connect to the internet.
  2. Although I’m using a hardwired backhaul, the 5GHz band doesn’t fully utilize the 160MHz bandwidth.
  3. Renaming SSIDs doesn’t consistently propagate across the network.

I set up the Flint 4 from scratch, but I’ll admit that I manually copied some files from the Flint 3 (which was previously the main node), such as DHCP lists.

I could try doing a full reset and starting over, but my gut feeling is that I should wait for the next Flint 4 mesh beta or stable release before spending hours rewiring and reconfiguring everything.

Do we have any ETA on a stable mesh firmware for the Flint 4? Specifically, one that supports wired backhaul properly and allows the 5GHz band to use DFS?

312

In /etc/config/wireless under config wifi-device 'MT7990_1_2' set option htmode to ‘EHT160’ for 160mhz.

Then do wifi down ; wifi up and voila!

Also please upvote 🚀 Mesh Beta Test Recruitment: Seamlessly Extend Your Home Network Anywhere! - #300 by Pro4TLZZ 🚀 Mesh Beta Test Recruitment: Seamlessly Extend Your Home Network Anywhere! - #307 by Pro4TLZZ

313

Hi Miles,

I’ve just installed Slate Pro 7 firmware and it works like a treat with my other Flint 3 devices!

Quick question: what’s the easiest way to also use it as a travel router? A toggle on the display to switch between “Mesh node” and “Router” mode would be ideal, so I could use it standalone while travelling and rejoin the mesh when I’m back home.

Any tips on the quickest way to do this would be much appreciated.

Also keeping other functions on the Slate 7 pro display while in mesh mode (ex VPN on/off) will be ideal.

Thanks,

314

The Slate 7 Pro display currently supports Mesh functionality. Simply tap the Mesh button and select the corresponding Mesh mode.

To switch from Mesh mode to routing mode, the easiest way is currently to press and hold the reset button next to the router for about 4 seconds.

Thank you for your suggestion. I will certainly submit this feedback to our product team so they can evaluate and improve the user experience.

315

Also it seems I cannot use the WAN port as LAN on the Slate 7 Pro anymore.
Cannot find how to configure it as LAN when added as a mesh node

316

Hi. At the moment i do not have a good experience with the mesh network. Coming from Asus routers (wifi 6), now having moved to GL.Inet routers feels like a downgrade.
I often have problems with my phone, and my wives phone not steering to a better node. I've also experienced problems where my phone does not want to connect to the main router at all, giving wrongs password errors, or trying to switch to it, and in the end dropping wifi alltogether to connect over 5G.
EDIT: I use a fully wired backhaul

Here is a report gathered by AI.

Subject: Multi-AP mesh (GL-BE9300 + GL-BE3600 + GL-BE10000): inconsistent bands, nodes don't follow primary's 5 GHz width, clients stick to weak APs / "wrong password" errors

Setup: GL-BE9300 (fw 4.10.1) as the primary router, with GL-BE3600 (fw 4.10.1) and GL-BE10000 (fw 4.11.0) as wireless mesh nodes. All use the same SSID on 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz.

Observed:

  1. The nodes follow the primary's 5 GHz channel (36) but not its width. The primary runs 160 MHz, including the gl-mesh-bh-… backhaul. Both nodes run 80 MHz, so the backhaul links are 80 MHz.

  2. On 2.4 GHz the BE10000 node uses channel 3 / 20 MHz while the primary uses channel 6 / 40 MHz. The BE3600 has its 5 GHz channel set to a fixed 40 in config but actually runs on 36.

  3. Security differs per band under one SSID: 2.4 GHz is WPA2-only, 5 GHz is WPA2/WPA3 mixed, and 6 GHz is WPA3-only. The primary's 2.4 GHz has PMF off, while the BE10000's has it optional.

  4. Fast roaming (802.11r) is off on all units, and the ssid-steering service is disabled. 802.11k and BSS-transition hints are on.

Symptoms: Android phones often fail to join the nearest router, with a "wrong password" message even though the password is correct. They also stay on a distant, weak AP (-70 dBm) instead of roaming to the strong, nearby primary. In the primary's log, a POCO F6 repeatedly associates and disassociates across all three bands.

Questions:

  • Is it expected that nodes don't inherit the primary's 5 GHz width, and is it possible to force one value across the mesh?

  • Is it expected that bands under one SSID have different security modes? Can the mesh apply the same security to every band?

  • Can 802.11r fast transition, or active client steering, be enabled in Multi-AP mode?

Main: GL-BE9300 (fw 4.10.1) Node: GL-BE3600 (fw 4.10.1) Node: GL-BE10000 (fw 4.11.0)
2.4 GHz channel / width 6 / 40 MHz 6 / 40 MHz 3 / 20 MHz
2.4 GHz security WPA2-PSK, PMF off WPA2-PSK, PMF off WPA2-PSK, PMF optional
5 GHz channel / width 36 / 160 MHz 36 / 80 MHz 36 / 80 MHz
5 GHz security WPA2/WPA3 mixed, PMF optional WPA2/WPA3 mixed, PMF optional WPA2/WPA3 mixed, PMF optional
5 GHz backhaul (gl-mesh-bh-…) ch 36 / 160 MHz, WPA3 (SAE) ch 36 / 80 MHz ch 36 / 80 MHz
6 GHz channel / width 69 / 320 MHz no 6 GHz radio 37 / 320 MHz
6 GHz security WPA3 only, PMF required n/a WPA3 only, PMF required
Fast roaming (802.11r) off off off
802.11k / BSS transition on on on
SSID steering service disabled n/a n/a
317

I'm seeing issues in this thread that I have also experienced. Here is my attempt to offer solutions that worked for me.

Quick Verification Commands (Run on Router via SSH)

# 1. Check RAM and Swap Status
free -m

# 2. Check 2.4GHz Channel Width (should be 20MHz for IoT stability)
iw dev ra0 info | grep -E "channel|width"

# 3. Check for 2.4GHz Extender Deauth Loops
logread | grep -E "deauth|ap_peer_auth|SKIP" | tail -n 20

# 4. Check VLAN Bridge Setup
bridge vlan show

# 5. Check AdGuard Home Rate Limit
grep "rate_limit:" /etc/AdGuardHome/config.yaml

# Remember to commit and reload when making changes
uci commit wireless
wifi reload

Router Crash / Watchdog Reboot - failed to allocate -1 bytes, UI freezes, no crash dump. Silent RAM starvation; 0KB swap; procd watchdog timeout (31s).

  1. Check dmesg or logread for repetitive ap_peer_auth_req_at_idle_action... SKIP or deauth messages.
  2. Identify the satellite's 2.4GHz client MAC and block it on the main router's 2.4GHz AP interface so it stops hammering the driver:
iwpriv ra0 set ACLAddEntry="B2:19:21:06:76:F0"
iwpriv ra0 set AccessPolicy=2    # Policy 2 = Deny list (Block specified MACs)

Swapfile should not be needed, but my experience says otherwise:

STORAGE_MOUNT="/tmp/mountd/disk1_part1"
if [ -d "$STORAGE_MOUNT" ]; then
    dd if=/dev/zero of="$STORAGE_MOUNT/swapfile" bs=1M count=512
    chmod 600 "$STORAGE_MOUNT/swapfile"
    mkswap "$STORAGE_MOUNT/swapfile"
    swapon "$STORAGE_MOUNT/swapfile"
fi

# Ensure swap activates persistently on boot via /etc/rc.local
if ! grep -q "swapon" /etc/rc.local; then
    sed -i -e '$i \
# Ensure swapfile activates on boot\
if [ -f "'"$STORAGE_MOUNT"'/swapfile" ] && ! grep -q "'"$STORAGE_MOUNT"'/swapfile" /proc/swaps; then\
    swapon "'"$STORAGE_MOUNT"'/swapfile"\
fi\
' /etc/rc.local
fi

If you do not have external storage, install zram-swap for compressed in-RAM swap:

opkg update
opkg install zram-swap
/etc/init.d/zram start
/etc/init.d/zram enable

Android / Samsung "Wrong Password" - Phone rejects nearest AP; stuck on weak AP (-70 dBm)
PMF / WPA3-SAE mismatch across bands/nodes under same SSID; PMKID failure

  • WPA2/WPA3 Mixed, PMF Optional (ieee80211w='1') or PMF Disabled (ieee80211w='0'), 802.11k enabled (ieee80211k='1'), 802.11v enabled (bss_transition='1').

edit: I was wrong about disable PMF on WPA3. i assume optional would still work for WPA2/WPA3 mixed (not confirmed as i have devices that do not support WPA3 so i don't enable it anywhere

# Enable standard 802.11k/v roaming and harmonized PMF on main radios
uci set wireless.wifi2g.ieee80211w='1'
uci set wireless.wifi2g.ieee80211k='1'
uci set wireless.wifi2g.bss_transition='1'

uci set wireless.wifi5g.ieee80211w='1'
uci set wireless.wifi5g.ieee80211k='1'
uci set wireless.wifi5g.bss_transition='1'

IoT / Govee / Tuya Disconnects - Smart home lights blink; Alexa unresponsive. 40MHz width on 2.4GHz; PMF enabled; extender 2.4G deauth loop. Lock the 2.4GHz Radio to 20MHz and WPA2-PSK (PMF Off). Legacy smart home devices (ESP8266/ESP32, smart plugs, lights) do not support PMF or WPA3.

- WPA2-PSK Only, PMF Disabled (ieee80211w='0'), Channel Width: 20MHz Only.

# Force 2.4GHz radio to 20MHz channel width
uci set wireless.mt798111.htmode='HT20'
uci set wireless.mt798111.bw='20'

# Ensure PMF is disabled on the IoT interface
uci set wireless.iot2g.ieee80211w='0'
uci set wireless.iot2g.encryption='psk2'

5GHz Clamped to 80MHz on Wire - 160MHz main router drops to 80MHz on satellite. EasyMesh wireless backhaul profile constraints & DFS fallback. Force 160MHz Channel Width on Main Radios. (I am using wireless backhaul and I am not running this config on my setup)

# On MT7986 / MT7981 / Qualcomm Wi-Fi 7:
uci set wireless.mt798112.bw='160'
uci set wireless.mt798112.htmode='HE160'   # Or 'EHT160' / 'EHT320' on Wi-Fi 7
# if only wired backhaul identify and disable the hidden wireless mesh backhaul 
uci set wireless.bbss5g.disabled='1'

IoT / Guest No Internet on Mesh - Mesh satellites drop IoT/Guest; main LAN works. Software bridges (br-iot) lack 802.1Q tags over EasyMesh backhaul. Convert your router to native OpenWrt Distributed Switch Architecture (DSA) VLAN filtering. This allows IoT traffic (VLAN 10) and Guest traffic (VLAN 20) to traverse physical Ethernet trunks (eth1:t) and managed switches directly to any AP.

Intermittent Smart Home "No Internet" - Devices drop offline after reboot; AdGuard logs REFUSED. AdGuard Home rate limit (rate_limit: 20) triggered during query bursts
Disable or Raise the AdGuard Home Rate Limit

Edit /etc/AdGuardHome/config.yaml (or via UI at Settings -> DNS Configuration -> Rate Limit):

dns:
  rate_limit: 0   # 0 disables the rate limit entirely on trusted local LAN

Configure AdGuard Home's upstream DNS configuration so that reverse lookups and local subnets are forwarded directly to dnsmasq (127.0.0.1:53 or the configured dnsmasq port):

upstream_dns:
  - "[/8.168.192.in-addr.arpa/]127.0.0.1:53"
  - "[/lan/]127.0.0.1:53"
  - "[/local/]127.0.0.1:53"

/etc/init.d/adguardhome restart
318

Hi, thank you for the detailed report. We understand the roaming experience is currently not meeting expectations, even with a fully wired backhaul.

Based on the information provided:

  • The inconsistent 2.4/5 GHz channel widths and channel synchronization between the primary router and mesh nodes are known issues. Improvements are already planned.
  • Support for 802.11r and more active client steering in Multi-AP mode is also planned for a future firmware release. Currently, 802.11k/v can provide roaming suggestions, but the client ultimately decides when and where to roam.
  • We are evaluating whether security mode and PMF settings should be applied more consistently across all compatible bands and mesh nodes. Note that 6 GHz must use WPA3 with PMF required, so completely identical security settings across 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz are not always possible.
  • Since your backhaul is fully wired, the displayed 80/160 MHz width of the wireless backhaul interface should not limit wired backhaul throughput. However, the inconsistent settings may still indicate that mesh configuration is not being synchronized correctly.
  • The Android “wrong password” message does not necessarily mean the password is incorrect. It can also appear after an authentication or roaming failure, potentially involving WPA2/WPA3 transition mode, PMF, or switching between APs.

We have recorded these findings and will continue improving configuration synchronization, roaming, and client-steering behavior in subsequent firmware versions. Thank you again for providing such a useful comparison and detailed diagnostics.

319

Thank you for sharing. This is very helpful. I will also give it to our team and make improvements.

320

Currently, the Mesh Node GUI page does not provide a way to change the WAN to LAN. You can add eth0 via Luci on the br-lan section of Network < interface < device.

321

Another smaller note / suggestion. When in mesh mode, in my opinion a reboot of the main router should also lead to a reboot of all nodes. Right now you have to reboot nodes manually. Best would probably be to let the main hub reboot first, and let it reboot the nodes when it is back up again.

322

Reboot whole network would be a nice toggle when rebooting a node but I do want to reboot a specific node way more frequently (especially when I can't pin devices to nodes) than to reboot the whole network.

323

Thank you for the suggestion. We understand the need to reboot the entire mesh network from the main router while still being able to reboot individual nodes. We’ll pass this feedback to our product team.