I lately up to date my router firmware after a long-period with out checking. That is not one thing it is best to do — overlook to test your router firmware — since you might be leaving safety updates and fixes on the desk, by chance making your community much less safe.
The firmware put in nice, and every part appeared okay till my household and I seen that our gadgets had been immediately disconnecting from the community randomly. I believed it was traditional tech points, so I simply mentioned that everybody ought to restart their gadgets, toggle Airplane Mode, and cycle by way of the opposite frequent “Wi-Fi is not working, Dad” sort fixes.
However it seems that the router firmware replace had enabled a setting I hadn’t seen earlier than: Quick Roaming (802.11r).
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Wait, I’ve by no means heard of Quick Roaming (802.11r)
What is that this thriller Wi-Fi customary?
Characteristic
Element
Normal identify
IEEE 802.11r-2008
Widespread identify
Quick BSS Transition (Quick Roaming / FT)
Launched
2008
Objective
Hastens gadget handoff between entry factors or mesh nodes
The way it works
Pre-negotiates authentication keys earlier than roaming happens
Regular roaming (with out 802.11r)
Full authentication handshake at level of roaming (~100–300ms delay)
Quick roaming (with 802.11r)
Keys exchanged upfront, handoff near-instant (
You’ve got by no means heard of Quick Roaming? Effectively, good, as a result of I hadn’t both till I stumbled throughout this Wi-Fi customary on my router.
It seems that in follow, Quick Roaming might be actually helpful. It is primarily designed to assist transfer gadgets between entry factors or mesh nodes in your community, ensuring your gadgets transition easily. Mainly, if you go away the vary of 1 node and transfer into one other, in some networks, your gadget has to undergo authentication once more.
That may imply delays earlier than your gadget begins receiving Wi-Fi from the brand new node. Normally, it is not an issue, however if you happen to’re on a name, streaming, or in any other case, your connection will dip.
That is what Quick Roaming (802.11r) is designed to repair. It pre-negotiates authentication keys earlier than handing over, which provides a near-instantaneous transition.
So, why was Quick Roaming (802.11r) inflicting community points for me?
Why are you breaking every part?
Quick Roaming itself is not an enormous drawback. It is extra gadget compatibility all through the house. 802.11r is an older Wi-Fi customary that the majority gadgets ought to deal with simply, however we discovered that some gadgets did not prefer it immediately being out there.
With some analysis, we realized it was primarily the older gadgets on the community, reminiscent of my youngest daughter’s previous pill, a number of previous good bulbs we’ve got dotted about, and so forth. However then my center daughter additionally reported her cellphone disconnecting extra incessantly, and that was manufactured in 2024, whereas a take a look at with my spouse’s previous Pixel 2 discovered the identical.
So, at the least to us, it appeared that whereas older gadgets are affected by this situation, some more moderen gadgets had been additionally problematic, seemingly as a result of poor or buggy implementations of the Wi-Fi customary.
The issue is {that a} gadget with out 802.11r assist, or a buggy implementation, is that Quick Roaming’s authentication trick does not work correctly. It principally implies that typically gadgets will not join, or at occasions, they could join however not broadcast correctly.
Most new {hardware} is unaffected by this drawback, but when it will get turned on by a firmware replace and even out of curiosity, you might end up in an identical state of affairs.
What does disabling Quick Roaming 802.11r truly do?
Slower authentication however extra stability
Turning off 802.11r tells the router to fall again to straightforward 802.11 authentication for all roaming handoffs. The method takes fractionally longer — the complete authentication change occurs on the level of roaming fairly than upfront.
You may basically discover the distinction imperceptible more often than not, bar these moments the place you are on an lively VoIP name and transferring between entry factors. In different instances, like streaming, until you are on the sting of buffering, you are most probably to have sufficient information buffered to note a big drop.
The tradeoff does provide you with close to common compatibility and the prospect of all of your gadgets remaining fortunately linked, however you may have to guage the way it works in your dwelling community.
Model
TP-Hyperlink
Vary
2,900 sq. ft
Wi-Fi Bands
2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz
MU-MIMO
Sure
Mesh Community Appropriate
Sure
Ports
1 x 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN, 2 x 1Gbps LAN
The place to seek out Quick Roaming (802.11r) to show it off
Location varies by model
As chances are you’ll anticipate, the situation of the Quick Roaming (802.11r) settings varies by router, however you are usually on the lookout for one thing labeled Quick Roaming, 802.11r, or FT (Quick Transition) in your router’s wi-fi settings.
Flick the change and switch Quick Roaming off, and you will be good to go.
In the event you up to date your firmware lately and began experiencing intermittent drops, connection refusals, or gadgets that join however do not talk, that is the primary place to look.
