Forum Discussion
Arcadyan KVD21
I just recently switched over to T-Mobile Home Internet. I have a problem with the security cameras on the front of the house staying connected due to a decrease of signal. I had this same issue when I was with Verizon FIOS and the solution was to add a WiFi extender. I've tried several times to get the cameras working with T-Mobile support but nothing has worked. I also spoke with Netgear, the manufacturer of the extender who said that the issue is that the Access Control List on the T-Mobile router may be enabled which prevents the extender from fully connecting and having internet access. The solution would be to add the MAC address of the extender. T-Mobile has said that they can't change the configuration of the router. I believe that it should be possible to gain access to the router so this can be changed. Anyone know how to do this?
If you have a WIFI extender link that to the T-Mobile gateway and then connect your cameras to the extender WIFI. It often depends upon the age of the camera but also really comes down to the wireless channel(s) the cameras function with. The security also is a major factor as well. Older cameras often only do WPA and do not support WPA2/WPA3.
If you suspect the WIFI signal to be weak on the front of the house and have an Android phone download one of the free wireless scanner apps and check signal strength. If the location of the T-Mobile gateway had to be moved to obtain better cellular reception the wireless signal may be weak where the cameras are. The extender should resolve a weak signal and if it is also some issue with the authentication then it may help there as well. Look up the model of the camera for specifications and find out the wireless channel limitations and also the authentication for the wireless. Check the configuration of the gateway for the authentication on the 2.4 GHz frequency and see if it is WPA/WPA2/WPA3. If the camera only supports WPA and it is not there that could well be the reason for the reference for MAC filtering. The reporting may not actually reflect quite what is going on.
If you have the Arcadyan gateway: http://192.168.12.1/TMI/v1/gateway?get=all
Use a browser and get the information about the router configuration. I believe that should also get the wifi information for authentication. I don't have the Arcadyan to know for sure but I got that from the Nater Tater videos. That is another resource you should consider. Nater Tater's YouTube videos which could be helpful as he provides a considerable amount of information from first hand experience with the T-Mobile gateways.
There are no access controls like MAC address filtering on current TMO 5G Gateway firmware. You are probably experiencing some type of wifi standard and/or security setting that is not compatible with TMO wifi.
If you have a WIFI extender link that to the T-Mobile gateway and then connect your cameras to the extender WIFI. It often depends upon the age of the camera but also really comes down to the wireless channel(s) the cameras function with. The security also is a major factor as well. Older cameras often only do WPA and do not support WPA2/WPA3.
If you suspect the WIFI signal to be weak on the front of the house and have an Android phone download one of the free wireless scanner apps and check signal strength. If the location of the T-Mobile gateway had to be moved to obtain better cellular reception the wireless signal may be weak where the cameras are. The extender should resolve a weak signal and if it is also some issue with the authentication then it may help there as well. Look up the model of the camera for specifications and find out the wireless channel limitations and also the authentication for the wireless. Check the configuration of the gateway for the authentication on the 2.4 GHz frequency and see if it is WPA/WPA2/WPA3. If the camera only supports WPA and it is not there that could well be the reason for the reference for MAC filtering. The reporting may not actually reflect quite what is going on.
If you have the Arcadyan gateway: http://192.168.12.1/TMI/v1/gateway?get=all
Use a browser and get the information about the router configuration. I believe that should also get the wifi information for authentication. I don't have the Arcadyan to know for sure but I got that from the Nater Tater videos. That is another resource you should consider. Nater Tater's YouTube videos which could be helpful as he provides a considerable amount of information from first hand experience with the T-Mobile gateways.
While I appreciate your response, the problem has been getting my WiFi extender to connect to the T-Mobile router and have internet service. T-Mobile was unable to resolve this issue, so, I took matters into my own hands and installed a WiFi Mesh system.
So, problem with cameras joining the WI-FI solved with the mesh system vs an extender. That is probably a much better solution anyway. It seems the 802.11ax implementation of the T-Mobile gateways possibly does not follow the IEEE standard for backward compatibility. If the mesh system is also 802.11ax that would be interesting. The standard is written to account for backward compatibility but some components different vendors use may restrict their ability to fully adhere to the standard or the developers just are not allowed the time to complete a full implementation. It is a common industry problem that vendors push products to market due to competition pressures and the products are not fully mature. The newer wifi 6 implementation pushes performance and it could be some home appliance vendors don't really push to conform to the newer solutions. The goal is to sell more product after all.
This issue was escalated up to an engineer with T-Mobile but they didn't offer anything except updating the firmware in the extender, which I had already done, and use an Ethernet cable. This worked but couldn't be used because I would have to keep the extender next to the router which doesn't offer any extended range. You would think that someone at T-Mobile would be knowledgeable enough to offer a solution.
I tried using an extender a couple of years ago and found them to be a bit problematic. I have not been impressed with most of the extenders I have tried. If you get a good one maybe but one less than $100 maybe just a hit or miss as it if it works. When using an extender the bandwidth between the extender and the router is pretty much half what you might expect. It is not a real good solution to begin with. The capability of the extender also can be part of the equation. The new WI-FI 6 band steering is probably part of the problem the older wireless extenders and adapters take issue with. If the firmware is engineered according to the IEEE specifications on both devices the connection should still work. Of course it is not a perfect world and never will be.
Thank you for the reply. I finally decided that adding a mesh system was the best solution. So far, the cameras haven't gone offline once.
Just curious what kind of mesh Network did you get ?
How old and what kind of cameras do you have?
Everything working good for you ?
I'm using the Netgear Nighthawk Mesh System. It works very well. I have three Nest outdoor cameras that are about 4 years old. I had a problem with two of the cameras that were located outside on the front of the house even when I had FIOS. I then used a Netgear WiFi extender and it worked. When I switched to T-Mobile Home Internet, I couldn't get the WiFi extender to communicate with their gateway. T-Mobile and Netgear both tried to help me but couldn't get it working. So, I decided to buy the mesh system.
Thank You !
I think that might be the answer for me to get my camera outside the garage to work.
