I'm managing a Wi-Fi network with over 200 devices connected to a 2.4 GHz band, specifically on channels 1, 6, and 11, with a channel width of 20 MHz. However, I'm experiencing periodic connection drops and packet loss. My setup is currently based on Mikrotik equipment. I'm considering whether it would be worthwhile to switch to Ubiquiti or if there are other solutions. What do you recommend?
5 Answers
I see where you're coming from, but trust me, you need more than one AP for this setup to perform well—especially if you're trying to manage all that traffic on 2.4GHz.
There's no way you'll get a single AP to work for that many devices. You might find a solution, but it won't be with Mikrotik on a 2.4 GHz band.
You're dealing with quite a chaotic environment with 200+ devices on 2.4 GHz. Those connection drops are likely due to interference and congestion. Before making any big changes, try lowering the transmission power to reduce interference and distribute the load between multiple SSIDs or APs. If you can, move some devices to 5 GHz. Ubiquiti could improve things, but honestly any 2.4 GHz network with that many devices is going to have challenges.
It sounds like it's time for an upgrade! With so many devices, you can't stick to just 3 channels and expect stable connections. In large setups, ideally, there should be around 50-100 devices max per AP, and not all of them will be active at once. Look into spreading your devices across more APs, upgrading to 5 GHz or even 6 GHz support, and managing load effectively.
If you're in the same space, switching to 5 GHz could help alleviate some of your issues. Also, having over 250 devices on a single access point (AP) is a bit much. You might want to consider using multiple APs to handle the load better.
Totally agree! Monitoring channel utilization can really help identify congestion issues.