Suggestions on small Wireless Access Point?

AnthonyB

Since introducing ST into my band's setup, there's been one issue I've not yet ironed out, and that is client iPads getting network disconnect messages randomly while connected to our Host iPad.

Background
In our band's IEM rig, we have been using a TP-Link TL-WR902AC Wireless Travel Router (https://www.tp-link.com/au/home-networking/wifi-router/tl-wr902ac/) so all the band members could connect tablets/phones (Android and iOS) to our Behringer X32 Rack mixer to control their IEM mix using the Behringer mixer app. The Drummer and I also connected laptops (Windows and MacOS) for running the main Behringer mixer app. This has been working perfectly for many years and has 100's of hours of use with no-one ever experiencing any network connection issues.

The Problem
Now I've added ST. I have a 9th Gen iPad (iOS 18.4) as our main Host ST3 iPad running multitrack audio backing tracks and serving up timestamped lyric sheets.
5 band members have client iPads that connect to the Host to have lyric sheets pushed to them. With our current setup, 2 x 4th Gen iPads running iOS 16.7.10 are rock solid, however the 2 x 9th Gen iPads and iPad PRO running iOS 18.3.2 / 18.4 all suffer from random and inconsistent (i.e. not all at same time) 'Connection closed' errors (i.e. Connection closed. Host has closed or denied the connection)

Troubleshooting
I've made sure the firmware on the TP-Link router is latest. We've tried using 2.4Ghz instead of 5Ghz. Nothing has made a difference. So, this does make me question, are these Network Disconnections an iOS issue? or a ST issue?
I've had years of devices connecting using mixer apps with zero issue, but now ST is throwing connection closed errors? And oddly, only the devices with iOS 18 and not the devices running iOS 16?

I know the standard answer here is try a different Wireless Router/Access Point (WAP), and I am going todo exactly that, but please bear with me. I'm sharing the above because this just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Is iOS just rubbish with network connectivity? Is there something in the way ST3 is establishing and maintaining the Client-to-Host network session that could be made more robust? Rather than give me an error, which means I have to just click OK, close the ST3 connection, then rejoin the Network Session, and I'm up and running again - could ST handle that better and actively try to reconnect?

Yes, I'm not saying the WAP isn't part of the issue. I've just spent the last few hours 'stress testing' a setup of:

Host - 9th Gen / iOS 18.4
Client 1 - 9th Gen / iOS 18.4
Client 2 - 4th Gen / iOS 16.7.10
Client 3 - 10th Gen / iOS 18.3.2

..at home connected to my home wireless mesh network (Netgear Orbi RBR860). It has worked flawlessly. I left a Playlist on Autoplay running throuigh 30 songs until my old 4th Gen iPad ran out of battery after about 3 hours. Not a single Connection closed error.
So, yes, I will be breaking out a spare WAP to test tomorrow, and if it holds up, use at rehearsal next week and see if it holds up under the normal 'band load'.

This brings me back to my original question (sorry, long journey 🙂) - I'm looking for a small form factor (SFF) wireless router/access point to replace our TP-Link TL-WR902AC. I want SFF so we can mount/store it in our IEM rack. Based on what is available today to purchase (no Apple Airport Express recommendations please ;-) ) does anyone have any recommendations based on what that they have successfully used with ST and at least 5 band members connecting to network sessions? Please, only recommendations on devices you have actually used and proven to be reliable in this scenario.

Thanks in advance! Anthony.

peter

This is an iOS issue. ST3 uses iOS functionality for the data transfer between devices. The whole connection handling is done by iOS. That's why it works on the older iOS and fails on newer iOS version.

That said, in your case I think these issues might indeed be caused by your router. The WR902AC is a travel router and might already be taxed with that many devices connected to it. I would suggest you try a different router. Especially not a travel router. Something like the Airport Express 2 is not much bigger than WR902 but has much stronger Wifi performance. Although there are some reports about issues when connecting to the X32.

AnthonyB

peter Yeah, I know by the very nature of the small and portable design, they are not meant to handle many simultaneous connections, which means I may struggle to find a reliable solution.

This afternoon, I dug out an old Netgear Nighthawk X8 (https://www.netgear.com/support/product/r8500/) that I've used every now and again when I need a temporary WAP. It was rock solid over many hours of testing with the same devices as my original post. Downside is that it is huge! Still, I'll take inconveniently large over unreliable every day of the week and twice on gig days!

peter This is an iOS issue. ST3 uses iOS functionality for the data transfer between devices. The whole connection handling is done by iOS. That's why it works on the older iOS and fails on newer iOS version.

All I can say is... wow. Thanks Apple for making networking reliability worse with newer iOS versions.

AnthonyB

I just used the Netgear Nighthawk X8 (https://www.netgear.com/support/product/r8500/) for a full 4.5 hour rehearsal with my band. Zero 'Connection closed' errors. 🙂

So, at least I have a reliable solution for now. Next is to try and find something a bit smaller that can live permanently in our IEM rig rack!

SmoothMoodProject

AnthonyB I have been using the TP-Link TL-WR802N N300 for 5 years or more now, daily, with ZERO issues controlling my Midas mixer and some other things connected to it.

Even in Dubai, in super crowded venues I can go 30m far and still hold a very solid connection.

You could try it if no other suggestion comes for something more appropriate for your user case.

AnthonyB

SmoothMoodProject Thanks for the suggestion!

That looks even older that the TP-Link TL-WR902AC Wireless Travel Router (https://www.tp-link.com/au/home-networking/wifi-router/tl-wr902ac/) we were using originally and was causing us problems.

How many devices in total were you connecting to your TP-Link TL-WR802N N300?
Were you running a ST in Host mode and had other iPads connecting to the session? If so, how many?

Because that is where our TP-Link failed for us. It was fine with the entire band using it to connect their tablets/phone and run the Behringer X32 mixer app to control their IEM mix. Then we started adopting ST for lyric sheets and with 1 host and 1 client it was fine. Then we added a 2nd client and got 1-2 connection drops in ST every few hours (and always the newer iPads!). Then when I had 5 client iPads, it became very unreliable (mainly for the new iPads with iOS 18. Old ones on iOS16 were very reliable).

I get the feeling that the these travel routers with only 1-2 antennas have to do a lot of juggling of connection sessions, and the iOS peer-to-peer networking stack is not very resilient (I'm sure Peter could provide a more accurate assessment of the situation as he has more experience with it), and thus as we went beyond 1 client iPad, the solution was no longer reliable. You go back to a large router with 4+ antennas and better handling of the multuple device connection sessions, and it becomes rock solid.

SmoothMoodProject

AnthonyB two iPads plus a "my dmx Go" plus a MacBook and a phone connected to it (and subsequently to the Midas)

peter

These travel routers have quite limited cpus and once you have more than a few devices connected the cpu struggles to keep up with routing packets. It is not an issue with the quality of the wifi network these routers maintain.

peter

4 devices should be fine even on travel routers.