Hi all,

I've just finished reading through multiple posts about the MESH not working so i think i know the answer to my question....

Upgraded to a newer dual band router (2862ac) from a 2860Ln which never missed a beat so that i could add a MESH node to improve wireless across the other end of the house with a secondary objective of then adding another node at a later date to extend wireless down the garden. Like so many other posts, i have followed the instructions from Draytek's various PDF's to the letter, upgraded, downgraded firmware, tried different channels and like everyone else it seems have ended up screaming in frustration at something that should just work. As i do SOHO/SMB IT for a living i was hoping to find a viable alternative to Ubiquiti which i could roll out across customers who already have the routers in place (which i cannot fault as they work superbly well) and the availability of hardware would be a bit better.

Has anyone managed to get a 2862ac set up as Root to succesfully pair with a AP912c as a node wirelessly?.

What makes this all the worse is that i have a cheap AP810 set up in AP-Bridge WDS on the 2.4GHz channel, that i had with the previous router which still works perfectly on the new one!.

Have lodged a ticket with support and received the standard response - we'll get back to you.....

Any help gratefully received.

Do you suspect that the answer to your question is to setup the node via a wired connection before attempting to use it wirelessly?

I've tried setting it up wirelessly and wired, i've tried the app and i've tried through the GUI for both the root and the node. Whichever way i go, the node is detected and shows as part of the MESH network but never actually goes online, it always shows up in red as offline.

I had a similar problem using a 2927ac as root. Contacted support who sent me an RC firmware which fixed the problem. Maybe they need to update the firmware for the 2862ac?

I gave up on getting mesh to actually work properly on my 2866Lac and reverted to using WDS (which has been absolutely fine)...but I suppose it's possible that the issue is actually only a cosmetic one and that the mesh is in fact up - but the interface simply shows otherwise?

The only WDS mode available on my 2927ax is as Repeater on the 5GHz band

Does this mean Draytek are phasing out router WDS in favour of mesh? If so, then maybe they should speed up getting mesh onto the ax models.....