BGW320-505 Gateway periodically drops many IoT Devices

Same as this: https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-fiber-equipment/gateway-dropping-iot-devices/6192f2b955bc6123e7d05f3d

Have you split the Wi-Fi 5 and 2.4 GHz SSIDs?  The BGW320 is a Mesh Wi-Fi device so 3 (two 5 GHz and one 2.4 GHz) Wi-Fi bands share the same SSID be default.

Since you have so many IoT devices leave the 2.4 GHz SSID the same and move the 5 GHz SSID to a different Name and password. You can make the change here: http://192.168.1.254/cgi-bin/wconfig.ha

IoT devices are well know as not having the most complex Wi-Fi systems onboard so they don't as a general rule as a family of devices to support Mesh networks. Yes so devices are smarter than others.

That's an easy test and while you are at it check the uptime on your BGW320 to see the last time it was restarted at this link:

http://192.168.1.254/cgi-bin/sysinfo.ha

Dave

Thanks for the suggestion.  I will try it.  Of course AT&T warns me when I do that I shouldn't.  But I have read it elsewhere, so I will give it a try.  

I get it the IoT devices can be pretty dumb, but when the work for weeks then suddenly the network is a mess, I'm not sure they are the problem.  But if AT&T wants to say they don't support smart homes, I suppose they can go that route. (Sorry if I sound unhappy - my wife isn't happy that the internet isn't reliable).

We're here to help keep you connected to your network, Curious_George!

The security of the AT&T Gateway can often conflict with IoT devices, which are smart devices that connect to other devices on or outside your network.

If you want to use your devices with your AT&T service, you will need to set up port forwarding on your AT&T Gateway. You can begin to start the process for setting up port forwarding for your TV by selecting the model of AT&T Gateway you have, and following the steps to change the configuration.

Let us know if this helps!

Donovan, AT&T Community Specialist

@Curious_George   Completely ignore the noise you just heard, that was ATTHelp Donovan blindly reaching into the grab bag of "solutions" they have and pulling out yet another completely irrelevant suggestion.  🙄

The security of the AT&T Gateway can

I think you used the wrong "s-word."  I think you mean to start that sentence with "The stupidity..."

@Curious_George 

Since you have provided only very limited data at this point (which is expected) we start with the obvious swing of the bat to isolate your IoT devices first and then whenever there is a Wi-Fi blip they should just reconnect seamlessly without any action on your part.

but when the work for weeks then suddenly the network is a mess, I'm not sure they are the problem.  But if AT&T wants to say they don't support smart homes, I suppose they can go that route. (Sorry if I sound unhappy - my wife isn't happy that the internet isn't reliable).

Dave

I have connected my wife’s devices (laptop, iPhone, iPad as well as my devices to the 5-G, and at least for the short duration of the test, that is working fine. 

The 2.4G network is still acting up. I can’t connect my iPhone to it (Unable to join the network). Some, but not all IoT devices are connected and working as expected. 

I tried “Find the best channel” on the gateway. I forgot the 2.4 network and tried a clean connection. 

I appreciate your help, and I’m happy to provide more details if you tell me what would be helpful. 

I know to ignore the generic “help” from AT&T. 

The 2.4G network is still acting up. I can’t connect my iPhone to it (Unable to join the network). Some, but not all IoT devices are connected and working as expected. 

Why would you want to force your iPhone to connect to the 2.4 GHz network?

For the IoT devices with issues it would help to know what type of Wi-Fi connection they want. Set your 2.4 Ghz "Mode" setting to only the range for the IoT devices. Default on the BGW320 is G/N but you might want to try mode B/G/N.

You also want the 2.4 GHz bandwidth set to 20 MHz instead of 40 if you changed it from the default.

I would also hard code Channel 11 for the 2.4 GHz radio and start there if you need to change it go to channel 6.

All changes are made here http://192.168.254.1/cgi-bin/wconfig.ha the Advanced Wi-Fi settings page.

Dave

@Curious_George  FWIW, AT&T-supplied gateways, and pretty much any ISP-supplied gateway are lame. With my router, I just let my devices connect to whichever band they needed to and they all worked with zero issues. I have recently placed all of my IoT devices, which are pretty much all 2.4GHz on the Guest network, which does have a separate SSID/pw for a little bit extra security but I didn't have to. No pass-through, no port forwarding, none of that useless info from AT&T Help.

Listen to the suggestions from the members here and disregard AT&T Help.