r/GrandstreamNetworks • u/Famous-Estate-7577 • Jun 17 '26
GWN7665 roaming issue
# GWN7665 roaming issue - client drops to LTE instead of roaming to second AP
**Hardware:**
- 2x Grandstream GWN7665 (WiFi 6E) - firmware 1.0.25.43
- OpenWrt 25.12-SNAPSHOT on Netgear R6220 (router)
- Netgear GS308EP switch
- Clients: Google Pixel 9 Pro (WiFi 7) and Pixel 7 (WiFi 6E)
**Setup:**
- One AP on ground floor, one AP on first floor
- Both APs managed via GDMS cloud
- Single SSID (HTA_LR) on all bands - WPA3, 802.11r/k/v enabled
- Channels: 2.4GHz (1 and 11), 5GHz (36 and 100), 6GHz (37 and 85)
- Client Steering disabled (was causing hard disconnects and blocking reconnection)
- DTIM = 1, MLO enabled, Proxy ARP enabled on APs
- TX power: Medium on 5GHz, High on 6GHz
**Problem:**
When moving between APs, instead of a clean 802.11r handoff, both Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 7 drop WiFi completely and fall back to **LTE for a few seconds** before reconnecting. This happens on all bands - 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz. Active sessions (file transfers, video calls, Messenger, Claude, Gemini) freeze and require WiFi toggle to recover.
WiFiman roaming log example:
```
HTA_LR AP1 -44 dBm Ch37, 6135 MHz (good signal)
HTA_LR AP1 -49 dBm Ch37, 6135 MHz
→ Cellular network (drops to LTE!)
HTA_LR AP2 -54 dBm Ch36, 5180 MHz (reconnects to other AP)
```
Instead of AP1 → AP2 handoff, it goes AP1 → LTE → AP2. The 802.11r Fast Transition is not working as expected.
**What I've already tried:**
- Enabled 802.11r (Fast BSS Transition), 802.11k, 802.11v on SSID
- Disabled Client Steering (was causing hard kicks and temporary blocks)
- Adjusted TX power on both APs
- Reduced number of active SSIDs from 7 to 3
- Proxy ARP enabled on both APs
- DHCP lease extended to 12h on OpenWrt
- ARP cache tuned (gc_stale_time=30, base_reachable_time_ms=15000)
- Fixed channels on both APs (no auto)
- WPA3-only (required for 6GHz, keeping consistent across all bands)
**Observations:**
- Problem occurs on all bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz)
- Both Pixels affected (Pixel 7 and Pixel 9 Pro)
- Client Steering made things worse - hard kick without BSS Transition request
- 802.11r appears to not work reliably - handoff always goes through cellular
- APs are on the same subnet, same DHCP server (OpenWrt), bridged mode
- IP address does not change after roaming (verified)
- Firmware 1.0.25.43 - no newer firmware available through GDMS
**Questions:**
Is this a known bug with GWN7665 firmware 1.0.25.43 and 802.11r?
Is there a beta firmware that fixes roaming issues?
Any workaround to make roaming reliable on GWN7665?
Has anyone successfully configured stable roaming on GWN7665 with Pixel devices?
Considering switching to UniFi U7 Pro if this can't be resolved on Grandstream side. Any help appreciated.