Troubleshooting: A wireless Client Cannot Access the Internet Through an Omada Wi-Fi Access Point

This article applies to all Omada APs.

Contents:

Objective

Requirements

Introduction

Troubleshooting Steps

Conclusion

Objective

This article will effectively guide customers through troubleshooting when wireless clients cannot access the network.

Requirements

• Omada AP

Introduction

Encountering wireless connectivity issues in modern networks may be expected, but we have you covered. This article will guide you through troubleshooting steps to help you resolve Internet access problems.

Troubleshooting Steps

Step 1. Verify if the client can successfully obtain the IP address. If not, proceed with the following checks:

a. Check whether the DHCP server has available IP addresses in its address pool.

b. Check the SSID VLAN Configuration. If the SSID is configured with a VLAN, ensure the corresponding VLAN configuration is properly set up for both the network gateway and the switch port.

Step 2. Check the correctness of the client's network parameters.

a. If there is an unauthorized DHCP server in the network that assigns an incorrect IP address or gateway to the client, the client will be unable to access the internet. Therefore, check the client's IP address, subnet mask, and gateway IP address to ensure they are correct. If any issues are found, locate and remove the rogue DHCP server.

b. If the client uses a static IP address, please ensure that the client is configured with the correct gateway IP address and DNS server IP address.

Step 3. Check for IP address conflicts on the client, as an IP address conflict will cause the client’s IP address to be unable to function normally. You can identify conflicts using these methods:

a. Check the IP addresses of terminal devices in the Omada Controller's Clients list to detect any conflicts.

b. Check the DHCP Client List on the DHCP server for duplicate IP addresses.

Step 4. Check the connectivity between the client and the gateway.

Step 5. Check the client's connectivity to the DNS server.

a. Check if the client can successfully Ping the DNS server.

b. Test DNS resolution. For example, on a Windows system, run the nslookup command in the command prompt (e.g., nslookup www.google.com) to see if you receive a response.

Step 6. Confirm whether the Internet can be accessed via the wired network. Connect a wired client directly to the front-end gateway or switch and check if it can access the Internet. If not, troubleshoot the wired network.

Step 7. Test potential wireless interference that might prevent clients from accessing the Internet. If a device's channel utilization exceeds 70%, it can affect user experience. Monitor the channel utilization and switch to a less congested channel if necessary.

Step 8. Check whether there are a large number of unauthorized multicast or broadcast sources in the network. Monitor multicast and broadcast packet statistics on the Omada Controller (version 5.14 and above). If there are excessive multicast or broadcast packets in a short time, consider enabling multicast and broadcast rate limiting or multicast filtering (Omada Controller 5.14.30 and above) to free up network resources.

Step 9. Confirm that no special configurations affecting the client's internet access, such as ACL (Access Control List), URL Filter, or Portal authentication, are present. Temporarily disable these configurations and attempt to connect to the internet again.

Conclusion

This article should provide the troubleshooting steps and tools to remedy the problem of wireless clients being unable to access the Internet.