Iot devices drop connection on unifi wi-fi post version 9

[ferris]

I’m disabled (spinal patient), and I use a lot of wi-fi connected devices in my home so I can control them without having to get out of my seat. I NEED things like my ecobee thermostat, my smart plugs, my BroadLink RM4 pro, etc etc etc to all stay connected so I can turn on lights, adjust temperature, adjust ceiling fan, etc etc etc. Basically live my life. I do use a little bit of home assistant as well, and I’m planning on ramping that up, as I’ve been burned by multiple cloud connected devices/companies and it’s time to go local.

I think it was when I went to version 9 of the unifi software that things started to not work… i.e. constant dropouts of IOT devices on my wi-fi, and it’s been a PAIN ever since.

I’m trying to figure out what I can tell you guys to help you help me.

I’m running pfsense, with all wifi ssid’s currently going to my iot vlan. this has changed some time ago, can’t remember when, but I decided it wasn’t a good idea to have any wifi going to my vlans for servers, main desktops, etc etc.

My wi-fi gear consists of 2 AC Mesh AP’s.

Access Point AC Mesh - Ubiquiti Store

My ecobee seems to be the worst offender, so here’s some logs.

It’s fairly close to the upstairs AP, so I have no idea why it would ever roam to the downstairs AP.

Note: my thermostat on my wall never grows legs and walks downstairs (that’s a joke)

I’ve been trying to play with settings to see if I can get these devices to play nice and stay online, but no joy so far. Let me know what else I can show that may help.

yes, I know I just let you find me. ssid . did I mention I’m VERY VERY disabled? I’m not going through the PAIN of obfuscating all that.

side note:

i also have this issue. been meaning to look into it. these things called hospital stays and overall lack of energy just aren’t helping me get it done.

[xMAXIMUSx]

That error message about your switches STP priority could easily be the issue to all your networking problems. Could you send a us the topology of your network? If you have switches connected to switches connected to switches we can guide you on setting the priority.

[ferris]

First, lemme apologize for this long winded reply, but I think you are correct now.

I do have a series of several switches, esp b/c i’m using wiring that was already built into the house when I bought it. some forward thinking person used Cat 5e for phone wires to each room 20-some years ago, so I had them swapped out to RJ45’s several years ago and boom… instant Ethernet. But, that also meant I had to deal w/ the wires where they were, so I have more switches than what you might think.

I also just remembered that NOT ALL my switches are ubiquiti, so the chart won’t show them all.

So from my pfsense (running on an old Dell R420), out one port I have a chain of 2 Omada switches that’s not really being used, has it’s own set of vlans, etc. The idea for this was to eventually expose it in some capacity to the internet, but that has never happened.

out the port I actually use, it’s an Intel X520-DA2 10gig SFP+ card I installed. It originally went to the 8 port ubiquiti 10gig switch that’s not in use, but that got switched out and now it goes to an Arista DCS-7050SX-64-R.

Switch Aggregation - Ubiquiti Store

My original intent when buying the Arista was 2 fold.

1^St, my 8 port 10gig unifi (currently not in use) was full (1 port from the pfsense, 1 port stepping down to the 1gig unifi stuff b/c it doesn’t have any separate 1gig ports, and 6 servers). I was afraid I’d be adding more 10gig stuff (before life got in the way) and I was out of ports.

2^Nd , I wanted to learn enterprise networking. But then my health started getting worse, and that learning has never happened, and I have no idea if or when it will happen. I’m in pretty bad shape and have a lot more important things to focus on. (I’m home bound and rely on my parents coming over daily to feed me, etc etc.)

That said, looking at the number of 10gig devices I have in use, I think I can get away with going back to the 8 port 10gig unifi switch if needed. I certainly don’t know how to properly operate the arista, other than a few instructions I ran to initially get it running, and I’m not using any of it’s L3 capabilities.

So keep in mind you are NOT going to see:

internet — pfsense Dell R420 — Arista

Arista has 5 servers connected to it that you will also not see

from the arista, in addition to the servers, it steps down to 1gig “server room” unifi, which is where the diagram will pick up.

From “Furnace Room”

Also from “Furnace Room”

Also from “Furnace Room”

Also from “Furnace Room”

Why does “subbasement” seemingly have no purpose?
Why is the little “Furnace Room” connected to so much?
remember, the wires were originally placed for phone lines, and I had to switch them back to Ethernet.

LAST NOTE: Sorry this took so long. Preparing this was a workout. I normally just sit in my recliner all day, and play with homelab from my seat, between naps and doctor’s appointments. I hope this is enough to help.

[ferris]

Again, just to be clear, I’m VERY disabled. So please bear with me. Thanks for any help.

[ferris]

one more thing. it’s not showing up on the network layout, probably b/c it was just adopted a few days ago and has no devices on it yet, but there is a flex mini unifi switch on my living room switch. so idk how that plays into things if settings are gonna need to be changed.

[ferris]

hey, hope you’re still willing to take a look. I did a few things… plz tell me how I did.

dealing w/ an INSANE amount of pain, trying to work through it, so plz let me know if I messed up.

1st, I removed the Arista from the equation… I’ll reserve learning that for a much later date, probably more in a learning / lab setting (still need to watch @LTS_Tom vid on setting up a network lab. Soooo… it now goes:

internet — pfsense (dell r420) — unifi aggregation (8 port 10gig) and on down. so all unifi switches now.

2nd, I read this page:

https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/24292724428311-Understand-and-Mitigate-Network-Loops-STP

This explained the basics of STP, and shows how to set correct STP priorities when dealing with lots of switches… I thought the switches would all “figure it out” and “talk to each other” w/o me needing to set all this. I guess I learned something new. As you will see, the switches do now have what I believe to be proper STP Priorities. One interesting note… the little 5 port flex switches do NOT allow setting STP priorities… sooooo… who knows on that one. They DO allow turning on flow control though.

3rd, I turned on Flow Control on all the switches (it was off on all switches before).

Just a reminder, I have a ton of switches for a home setup b/c I did not do the wiring… the original builder used Cat 5e to each room w/ RJ11 jacks, presumably for phones… they all led to the furnace room, which is where ofc the “furnace room” 8 port switch is now. I hired someone to change all the walls to RJ45’s and put in a patch panel in the furnace room. I’m just counting my blessings w/ regard to the wiring that they chose to use ethernet at all so I didn’t have to run wires. It made it so I needed more switches, but that was a small price to pay, esp. when I was still working and bought the house.

Here’s an updated diagram, showing STP Priorities assignments. plz double check me

[ferris]

I guess time will tell if my IOT devices contine to drop their connections and/or roam. finger’s crossed they don’t, since again, they are basically critical for me since I’m disabled and really need to be able to do things from my recliner. e.g. adjust lighting, fans, ecobee thermostat, etc etc etc

[ITspec]

Hi I didn’t spend much time looking at this ,but from what I can gather on that last image. Did you set the priority of the aggr switch to the pfsense. I cannot see from the snippet you posted. Maybe set that switch at 0 priority. Then monitor logs for any stp errors. Sorry not very thorough support, just what I can currently notice with a quick glance. You have a lot of pieces in that topology. I think you getting STP right is a good start. Best of luck.

[xMAXIMUSx]

Even though you don’t have switches connected to them you should still set the priorities on the Living room and kitchen. The rest looks correct.

[ferris]

see my paragraph above the last picture, the sentence that begins, “One interesting note…”

you might find something “interesting” there.

[xerxes]

Just checking the obvious: are these 2.4GHz devices and are you using “Enhanced IoT Connectivity” on the Wifi for those?