Topic: WiFi Logger not connecting to strongest signal

[RichG]

I've been using the WiFiLogger for 3 months now and I've noticed that it always connects to the weakest WiFi signal. I have 3 Access Points all running the same  SSID and the list of found stations shows one with a signal level of -89dB, one with -75dB and one with -54dB and yet it always picks the -89dB which makes no sense. As a work around I've created a secondary SSID on the closest AP and connected to that but this provides no backup if that should go down.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[R.Sidetrack]

You didn't say what wifi band your various Access Points operate on. If some are 5Ghz, that can be a problem. I don't have a Wifilogger.  But, AFAIK it only works with 2.4Ghz.

WiFiLogger can connect to all 2.4GHz networks (b/g/n) but please note that it cannot connect to 5GHz networks (because there is no suitable WiFi module available for building into WFL that also supports 5GHz, so this is effectively a limitation of chip supply rather than WFL design).
https://www.weatherstations.co.uk/wifi-logger.htm

I'd create a secondary SSID name that is only on 2.4Ghz and have the Wifilogger connect to that.

[RichG]

They are all 2.4GHz, the logger sees them all, it is from the loggers scan that the signal levels are quoted from. You select the strongest one and it immediately connects to the lowest signal.

[johnd]

Definitely a question for Wojtek I think. I'll nudge him.

[WiFiLogger]

Definitely a question for Wojtek I think. I'll nudge him.

Unfortunately, I cannot provide a direct answer because I do not know it.

The library is provided by the manufacturer of the WiFi module. You need to look deeper into it to find out more.

As for what I did, WiFiLogger is designed to restore the previous connection.
The connection data, such as the previous IP address and other parameters, including AP data, are stored in Flash memory. These same data are restored after a restart. My goal was to maintain the same IP address for the user. Since a lot more information is automatically saved in the process, I have no control over that.

Every AP has a BSSID (a kind of MAC address for WiFi), which serves as a unique identifier beyond the SSID name.
However, the library only asks for the SSID and Password; I do not select the transmitter using BSSID. This happens automatically due to the mentioned WiFi library.

I would need to dig deeper and possibly find an option for additional network identification via BSSID.
Unfortunately, I do not plan to work on the WiFiLogger firmware in the coming months.

[RichG]

Thanks, digging a little deeper it seems that you have to take action in the code in order to achieve this. Using this as a reference

https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/stable/esp32/api-guides/wifi.html

You need to use options.
WIFI_ALL_CHANNEL_SCAN
WIFI_CONNECT_AP_BY_SIGNAL

Which then scans all channels for the SSID and then sorts into order of signal strength before connecting to the strongest. It seems that by default it just connects to the first one it finds.

Hopefully you can add as a fix for the future?

Richard

[davidmc36]

I assume that is WFL II you have?

What firmware version are you running?

I usually run mine on the net with single point but just tried the Three Point System and it grabbed the strongest one.

[RichG]

Yes it's the V2 running 2.43 which I think is the latest?

So that's interesting, I wonder if it is just chance or whether the channels that each AP is using has a bearing?

I couldn't find any further official information but have seen the same issue mentioned on various Arduino forums.

[davidmc36]

The Logger I tried is actually on 2.41.

The point it connects to with strongest signal is transmitting channel 1. The others are 6 and 11.

My other Logger is on 2.42. That's the latest on the site.

https://wifilogger.net/support.html

[RichG]

Mine came with that version from Prodata Weather Systems??

So I wonder if it starts at channel1 and it just so happens that yours is the strongest? I'll have to try changing my channels to see if that helps.

[davidmc36]

How do other settings compare?

I have: 2.4GHZ "N", Max Tx Power: 11dBm, Power Saving: Max Power

[RichG]

The only difference is Power Saving, which is set to power saving. I have changed this with no effect, couldn't find any documentation about what this option does?

So I then turned off the weakest AP and it then it connected to the strongest AP and now continues to do so....

It seems as if the Logger remembers the last AP it connected to and by default just reconnects, however if this is not available then it goes hunting and connects to the next available AP?

[92merc]

You should check your router.  I think Ubiquiti has an option where you can set a client's device to use a favorite AP.

I could be mistaken...