NetSetMan Support

jasmin

Member

Registered: 2016-12-19

Posts: 3

AutoSwitch not working with Connect-By-MAC feature

As the title says, NetSetMan's AutoSwitch is not working Connect-By-MAC
When it uses Profile, it always connects to the closest AP/Repeater, rather than the MAC I have configured in the profile.

NetSetMan Support

Administrator

Registered: 2005-08-06

Posts: 1,878

Re: AutoSwitch not working with Connect-By-MAC feature

We're not sure if we understood your problem correctly. The AutoSwitch feature and the settings that are applied in the profiles are not connected in any way. AutoSwitch only decides when to activate a profile. The settings configured inside a profile are applied regardless whether the profile activation was started manually or automatically. So based on this background information we don't really understand the described problem. Did we miss something?
Please describe with more details:
- NetSetMan and Windows version
- Screenshots
- Activation Log

jasmin

Member

Registered: 2016-12-19

Posts: 3

Re: AutoSwitch not working with Connect-By-MAC feature

NetSetMan v 4.2.3
Windows 10 x64

The profile "Freifunk" activates, and ignores the *selected* freifunk_mac, so it connects by essid (berlin.freifunk.net) to the nearest AP (strongest signal) rather than the defined and selected connection by mac address (the 2nd strongest signal).

This is a problem because the nearest AP/Repeater is often congested, and this is why I must connect to the second repeater/AP.

If I connect manually, by clicking "Freifunk" profile from right-click menu on tray icon, it connects properly by mac. But when connection is dropped, it automatically switches back to the first (wrong) AP/repeater.

I hope the problem is clear now , especially with the below screenshot:

Last edited by jasmin (2016-12-19 15:04)

NetSetMan Support

Administrator

Registered: 2005-08-06

Posts: 1,878

Re: AutoSwitch not working with Connect-By-MAC feature

Thank you for the additional details and the screenshot. They clear things up.
The problem you've experiencing has actually nothing to do with NetSetMan. Your Windows WiFi profile is configured as "Connect when this network is in range". This option tells Windows to connect to this profile whenever it's in range and no other wireless connection is established. However, Windows has no understanding of MAC addresses in WiFi profiles, so it just connects to the one with the strongest signal.
If you don't want Windows to establish that connection you need to disable the "Connect when this network is in range" option. Then you can establish the connection with NetSetMan where you've configured a MAC address to connect to.

In a situation where your prefered AP frequently drops the connection, it won't be easy to configure suitable AutoSwitch conditions to activate the profile completely automatically. In the next version we'll add a new condition "Connected/Disconnected to a WiFi network" additionally to the currently available "WiFi network in/out of range" conditions, that might possibly help you in this case.

jasmin

Member

Registered: 2016-12-19

Posts: 3

Re: AutoSwitch not working with Connect-By-MAC feature

Thank you very much for the prompt clarification.
I have now disabled windows auto-connect to wifi network and look forward to the next version that helps in automatic reconnection to preferred AP.