Galaxy A41 does not switch between mesh wifi access points

[flyinglizard]

I have a TP-Link Deco M5 mesh WiFi network with 3 access points on different floors. Most of my devices, including two Galaxy A3 2017 phones, switch to the nearest access point when moved between floors/rooms. 

My new Galaxy A41 refuses to switch.

The following document on WiFi roaming suggests that a Samsung device should trigger a roaming scan if WiFi signal strength falls below -75 dBm:

https://docs.samsungknox.com/admin/knox-platform-for-enterprise/kbas/kba-115013403768.htm

But when the WiFi strength on my A41 falls to -80 dBm and download speed falls from 40 Mbps to under 10 Mbps, it still sticks to the most remote AP. 

To be fair, the range of WiFi connection on A41 seems to be somewhat better than on my older devices. Can this be preventing it from switching because it thinks that the connection is still good enough? Surely a nearby connection of -55 dBm and 40 Mbps download should be preferred to the remote AP with -80 dBm and 10 Mbps download?

Is anyone having similar issues? Does it make sense to raise a support case with Samsung?

[DAVESHADY]

turn off all WiFi points for 10 minutes..turn back on and start afresh..should be OK then 😄

[flyinglizard]

I don't know if this was a joke, but I tried this anyway and it did not help. I can't see why it would. 

[flyinglizard]

Update: in some places in the house the download speed falls to 3 Mbps and RSSI falls to -90 dBm, and still no switching to the nearest AP with a perfect signal. 

[ThedudeInSweden]

Having the exact same problem on Tp-link M9 deco. No other phones or devices having issue. S10, S7 and a Nokia. Only the A41. No updates available on phone or on tp-link.

[flyinglizard]

@ThedudeInSweden I logged a bug for Samsung support via Samsung Members, included a link to this post. It collected the logs automatically and I also added some screenshots showing wifi signal strength with "Enable Wi-Fi verbose logging" switched on in Developer options. Received an update from them that they were looking into it and sent them updated logs as requested a few weeks ago, but have not heard from them since then. 

Maybe if you do the same it will bump it up in their priorities. 

It would be great to see an official update form Samsung here. 

[ThedudeInSweden]

So, just got a message on the phone saying there was a large update.  The update details says it is to fix wifi connection problems.  This might be the silver bullet.

[ThedudeInSweden]

So, just got a message on the phone saying there was a large update.  The update details says it is to fix wifi connection problems.  This might be the silver bullet.

[flyinglizard]

Unfortunately not, at least not on my phone 😞

I also received a large update today - over 900Mb. It indeed mentioned wifi in the first lines of the description, but nothing specifically about wifi connectivity or roaming. 

I tested it between my mesh wifi access points after installing the update. It still sticks to the original point however tiny the signal is. 

[Consumer1]

I have encountered this issue also with A41 and eagerly waiting a fix from Samsung. A range of previous mid-range Samsung phones have not had the issue, so it's definitely a device bug. The only workaound for me is to turn off and on the wifi on the mobile to reconnect to the better available signal.