New Firmware Issues with AP Mode

[mwbelsaas]

Hopefully this is just my scenario. I just flashed to the new firmware and did a factory reset just in case. I changed the wiring around and put my Almond+ after my Airport Express (4th Gen) as it is my router for my house. I enabled the new AP mode on the Almond+. My laptops pull an IP on the correct network for about 10 seconds, then gone and WIFI shows disconnected. I reconnect to the Almond+ 5ghz or 2.4ghz networks and immediately pull an IP address, then gone again in 10 seconds. On the Almond+ screen it says I don't have an internet connection, though for the brief time that I am connected to the network and have an IP, I can start to load or refresh a webpage just fine. Also, it seems that in AP mode, the Almond loses its LAN IP so that I can't access it through the web console any longer. The touchscreen says <no_ip>. To test and make sure it's not my wiring, I've factory reset twice to the defaults and everything works great as the stock 10.10.10.x network, I'm just not on my house LAN at that point (192.168.11.x). I do not want to use the Almond+ as a Range Extender, and I don't want it as a separate network.

[mwbelsaas]

Third go-around:
1. hardware reset via physical button (not through web console as previous attempts)
2. reconfigure Almond+ as router with manual IP address (since I have another device providing DHCP), enter all fields
3. reconfigure WIFI settings (random new pw for SSID by default with new firmware each time the device is reset)
-side note: it would be awesome to change SSID and passphrase without having to wait the ~15 seconds for the router to save changes in between. Most people are going to change both of these items at the same time
4. On the status button screen, manually change the IP address to the correct static LAN IP address from #2 above
5. Enable AP Mode

Result:
1. Status screen shows "internet disconnected" and IP: "<no_ip>"

Moving my LAN cable from the WAN port to a LAN port on the Almond+ doesn't seem to change this. I don't know if it disables this port when AP mode is enabled, thus requiring me to move the cable to the LAN side.

[mwbelsaas]

The problem is on my end - it IS the wiring. Carry on!

[YTN]

Can you explain how you solved it? I am also having AP problems.

Thanks...

[mwbelsaas]

For me it was a brain lapse. Our second kid was born Sunday and I'm taking time playing with tech instead of sleeping. I forgot that my Airport Express (AE) is one-way traffic on its ports. I added a switch after my modem, then connected the Almond+ (A+) and AE to that switch, thinking the DHCP would pass through. Not so fast. I needed to run a LAN cable back from the AE to the A+ to make the A+ pull an IP from the AE. Since I have a very old Queen Anne home, I didn't want to try to run another ethernet cable tonight between floors to each device. So instead I moved DHCP services from my AE back to the modem and factory reset the A+ and chose the Access Point mode. All is well right now except one of my IP cameras didn't make the jump. I'll figure that one out tomorrow.

Once I get a feel for the stability of the new firmware with iOS/Mac I intend disable WIFI on my AE and move that entirely to the A+, decommissioning the AE in the process.