How to set up Tenda Nova mesh for wired backhaul - MW5, MW6, etc.

[Seán]

It seems like the Qnap is filtering something that the Tenda Nodes use to establish the wired backhaul connection. If possible, I suggest connecting the two such that they are not daisy chained through the Qnap, i.e. only use a single LAN port on the Qnap, like the following if possible:

ISP router -> Wall socket -> MW 12 WAN Port (Primary node)
ISP router -> Wall socket -> MW 12 LAN Port (Secondary node)
ISP router -> Qnap QSW-2104-2T

[mivi]

Thanks Sean, I agree that's probably the best workaround in my case.

Just out of curiosity (because it aligns with the suggestions at the start of this whole thread) I also tried the following:
ISP router -> MW 12 WAN Port (Primary node)
ISP router -> Wall socket -> MW 12 LAN Port (Secondary node #1)  Uses wired backhaul
MW 12 LAN Port (Primary node)  -> Qnap QSW-2104-2T -> Wall socket -> MW 12 LAN Port (Secondary node #2)  Does not use wired backhaul

Either way it's not a viable solution for my case, since I would need (to keep) a third MW12. Maybe it helps someone else in debugging

[SirLouen]

This is the new bible of Tenda Mesh!

I've followed your method but I have to say that the points are not getting wired, they stay on the wireless structure. I know this because I've checked the latency between nodes and its not a full wired latency under miliseconds.

Would it be possible to access some kind of Web interface for this nova routers? I've been trying to access the 192.168.X.1 for the gateway interface (I prefer not to use the bridged mode because I prefer my main router not to asign DHCP addresses to all the devices connected to the mesh) but it doesn't find any web interface. Maybe it's hidden under a different port?

I have 3 MW6 and 3 MW3

[Seán]

Unfortunately there is no web interface or any other means of configuring the Tenda nodes that I'm aware of other than through the App, e.g. no Telnet or SSH access either.

Another way to check if it's using wired backhaul is to unplug the backhaul Ethernet cable of the node you're connected to while running a continuous ping test. The nodes don't automatically switch between wired and wireless backhaul (except when power cycled), so this should cause the pings to time out until the Ethernet cable is reconnected.

As the Tenda MW5C model reportedly does not support wired backhaul, it's likely the same with the MW3 model also. The MW3 Ethernet ports are also limited to 100Mbps.

[SirLouen]

Unfortunately there is no web interface or any other means of configuring the Tenda nodes that I'm aware of other than through the App, e.g. no Telnet or SSH access either.

Another way to check if it's using wired backhaul is to unplug the backhaul Ethernet cable of the node you're connected to while running a continuous ping test. The nodes don't automatically switch between wired and wireless backhaul (except when power cycled), so this should cause the pings to time out until the Ethernet cable is reconnected.

As the Tenda MW5C model reportedly does not support wired backhaul, it's likely the same with the MW3 model also. The MW3 Ethernet ports are also limited to 100Mbps.

After a ton of time wasted, I have to say that I've been able to create the wired backhaul using your method with the 6 points (1 MW6 as the gateway and the rest as secondary nodes).

I had to set up one by one, disconnecting the rest (instead of just plugin all at the same time straight away).

Still I don't really like the solution because, I just wanted to set this as a secondary wifi for my site (mainly for home automation, I have dozens of devices). But my main Mesh is based on Asus spots and they must be in front of the wall ethernet sockets so basically my Tendas must be only secondary nodes.

Currently I have the gateway with the WAN to the internet and the LAN to the switch that deploys to the rest of the network. So basically the main gateway tenda is acting like a router/NAT. I've noticed that I can gain root access and disable the DHCP so I can set it as a bridge, so I can integrate everything in one network.

I'm going to try first to disable such DHCP and then set them in gateway mode, to see if I can try to put them in a different wired setting (just all nodes dropping from a switch instead of having the main gateway acting as the main router, because if it breaks will be fun to lose internet in the all the site

---

By the way, the method to access root is pretty easy tomorrow I will test it because I'm not in the site

1. You press 3 seconds the reset button (3 not 6 because, 6 resets the router to defaults) this brings up telnet
2. You access via telnet with root and password base64 your wifi password

And then with the command

cfm set dhcps.listnum 0

Your remove DHCP

Credits to Chris Rees and Anton Viktorov

[sotong99]

Is it i can connect like this in bridge mode  , my one is nova mw3

   

[Seán]

I have not tried with 3 network switches between both Nova nodes but reckon this configuration should work with the Primary node configured in Bridge mode first. Only use the LAN port on the Primary node. Connect the LAN of the secondary node to the switch. Power on the Primary node first and leave it a minute or two until its LED stops blinking and is lit green, then power on the secondary node.

[SirLouen]

This is my current setup, but no free of headaches

The thing is that in my house I have a cabled network behind walls and I only use Novas for home automation, not for regular WIFI usage (I have ASUS ZenWifis for such). I decided to move my home automations away, because I want low latency wherever I am in my house, mostly for online gaming and I since I have like 50+ ESP devices constantly pinging for keep alives  they may interfere in the gaming experience.

I don't have enough cable thrown to put Novas in different sockets to ZenWifis so they are just behind and I've found it doesn't matter at all

This is why ZenWifis go always before Novas and here is the setup:



But I'm having a HUGE issue with this shitty NOVA APs: Whenever I connect anything new to the network, it creates a network loop and it drops my Switches and blocks the network.

To solve this, I have to unplug ALL the NOVAS and then start plugin them back one by one very slowly to restore the network

These NOVA are a massive headache as I say. Maybe I will return all 6 at once under warranty claiming they are utterly broken by design and consider an alternative. I might research a little bit though, because I have to admit that I got all 6 (3 MW6 and 3MW3 for $150), which I will never find in any other product anywhere near.

[SirLouen]

Finally, I've found the issue with the network loops that was bringing me nuts

https://www.reddit.com/r/amazoneero/comm...for_25gbe/

This is not a sole issue of Tenda NOVA, but many other shitty cheap mesh systems.

The big problem here is that whenever Nova restarts and doesn't set the Ethernet backhaul, fallbacks into a Wireless Backhaul. This provokes a network loop because it's trying to connect via Wifi and Ethernet at the same time (yes, they are so stupid that doesn't disable the other iface by default).

I've contacted the support, which probably it is omega useless and will not solve my issue.

I'm thinking of buying a couple of cheap TP-Link TL-WR841N, flashing then with DD-WRT and setting a WDS network (not sure if this is possible, but it's the cheapest way to do a pseudo-mesh cheap system that doesn't mess up for my home automation devices, that are almost a hundred. Or maybe test with those Mercusys, perhaps they are better on this regards.

Although I'm also going to wait for Tenda answer, in case they give me a CFM command to issue in the telnet shell in case I can solve this the hard way. But I seriously doubt they will. The support smells like shit.

Probably most people around won't be having this issue because most are most likely using cheap switches without loop detection systems, which in this case paradoxically is an advantage.

The cheap things turn out expensive in the end.

EDIT:

As expected I've tried to setup a cheap Gb  switch I had in the storage room without the loop detection, and the whole wired backhaul is now working like a charm. Its kind of funny because even the App that took ages to load, it's now working flawlessly, it connects in no time and it shows the nodes almost perfectly.

What I've noticed is that after disabling DHCP I can simply use whatever combination of ports I like, both WAN and LAN respectively without mattering much, I think the whole point of the OP is rendered useless as soon as you set the Tenda Mesh wired backhaul to Bridged mode, which is more conformable DHCP wise and then remove with CFM (telnet) the DHCP flag.

If I could also remove the wifi backhaul, then I will keep these Tenda 100% for sure. But I want that 2.5Gb connection switches because I've setup a whole 10Gb Cat6a network in my site, and I like to take advantage of this, specially when streaming a videogame, from my computer, to anywhere in the whose where there is a node (the ASUS ZenWifi have 2.5Gb wired backhauls and as I showed in the previous image, most Tenda NOVA are just behind them).

I'm now wondering if anyone of you are not having issues with the wireless failover. It seems that Tendas was only thinking on Wireless mesh because I must understand that for most users this is the most convenient way to have a fully featured wifi system in their home without having to throw ethernet cable. As soon as an ethernet connection drops, Tendas will switch to Wireless mode and they will never return back. This is the biggest caveat. 

If at least the had some sort of priority, so in case they found an ethernet uplink they returned back to wired mode, it would be also sufficient. But the Tenda nodes are dumb AF.

[dodge3]

Witam was wszystkich. mając mieć jakość, że narysowana przeze mnie instalacja będzie dobrze i wydajnie działać. Mam 5 zestawów, które ponumerowałem AE. Czy każdy do pierwszego MW6 będzie połączony kabel -prawdopodobnie LAN? Czy jeśli naprawdę wszystkie MW6 zostaną zresetowane, wystarczy dodać do aplikacji pierwszej A1, czy rzeczywiście do połączenia się jeszcze dwie A2 i A3? Kiedy dodam B1 do B2 i B3 też nagle się dotrze? W tej chwili coś się zmieniło i zerwałem prowadzenie, a sieć działa bardzo wolno. Czy powinienem wyposażyć mostek lub DHCP?

Hello everyone. having the quality that the installation I drew will work well and efficiently. I have 5 sets that I numbered AE. Will each one be connected to the first MW6 by cable - probably LAN? If really all MW6s are reset, is it enough to add the first A1 to the application, or really two more A2 and A3 to connect? When I add B1 to B2 and B3 will it suddenly arrive too? At the moment something has changed and I have broken the lead and the network is very slow. Should I equip bridge or DHCP?

[Seán]

From the info I could find, the MW6 supports up to 10 nodes in a single mesh and Tenda recommends no more than 6 for stability. With 15 nodes in the above network, you will need to configure them in multiple groups with each wired main node configured in DHCP mode. When doing this I suggest just powering on one set of nodes at a time and ensuring they are working fine before setting up the next group. The main side effect is that devices will not seamlessly roam between nodes from one group to another, so walking from one area to another will likely interrupt video calls and live streaming. Another option would be to try reducing the number of nodes to 10 so you are within the 10 node limit and configure them as a single group, e.g. try taking out 5 of the nodes if possible to get within the 10 node single mesh limit.

As that appears to be a very large property or area to require such a large number of nodes, you may be much better off with something like Ubiquiti UniFi or MikroTik cAP access points that are designed to handle a large number of nodes on a single mesh network, such as for guest Wi-Fi at venues, hotels, etc.

[dodge3]

Thank you for the hint. I will have to do that. I spent a lot of time with Tenda these last days. What I noticed. I couldn't add more than 13 nodes. If I connect the cable the main node seems to work properly. On the connected cables B1, C1, D1 and E1 something was blocking every now and then. At the moment it works stably. Thank you.

[mubentoben]

Hi. I created this account to finally seek help with a very niche problem with my two units of Tenda Nova MW6.

TL; DR: I cannot set a new SSID and passphrase to my meshes. They're stuck with factory SSID and passphrase!

--
As we know, the only way to configure the mesh units is via the Tenda WiFi App. Here's the standard process:

  1. Connect one node to power and WAN and wait for it to boot completely. The LED should light solid green.
  2. On a mobile device, connect to the mesh with an SSID NOVA_XXXX. The passphrase is provided underneath the unit.
  3. Open Tenda WiFi app. It will greet you with "Welcome to nova. The Best WiFi Coverage System."
  4. Tap on the orange [Setup] button at the bottom of the screen. The next frame will say "Your Internet connection type is dynamic IP."
  5. Tap on the orange [Next] button. A prompt that says "Connecting..." will appear at the bottom of the screen.

Supposedly, the prompt will immediately say "Connected", but I cannot get past this!!! The "Connecting..." prompt stays on screen for about 25 seconds and will disappear.  The app won't proceed to the next screen. I am stuck at #5.

I can still recall that the next screen would ask me for my choice of SSID and passphrase. Prior to this happening, I was able to set up both units, i.e. new SSID and passphrase.  I also set them to bridge mode but later decided to reset them by deleting their node entries from the app.

The two units can still connect to the internet just fine as I can perform a speed test on them. However, most importantly, the app won't let me proceed with the setup after point #5. Both of them are stuck with stock SSID and passphrase.

Here's what I already tried:
  1. Reinstall the Tenda WiFi app.
  2. Enable all app permissions (location, camera, storage).
  3. Clear cache/storage from Settings.
  4. Install the Tenda WiFi app on different mobile devices.
  5. Reset each mesh using the pinhole button underneath while connected/disconnected to WAN.
  6. Assign static IP via "Choose your connection type manually" from #5.

I scoured the internet to find an answer. There is only one person who probably shares the same problem. On Playstore, a user left this 1-star review on the Tenda WiFi app listing:

Philip Chang, December 25, 2022:
"If you have reset your mesh WM6 and reconfigure back using bridge mode. This is no longer possible. I got stuck after configure my wifi and could no longer to move forward and causing error. I have to switch to iPhone only then I can go forward and choose bridge mode.. Dear Dev, please give option bridge mode at initial internet setup, not after wifi settings."

I don't have an iOS device.
--

I tried contacting my ISP to ask for a replacement but no good news so far. I'm starting to believe that this is a problem on the software side, the Tenda WiFi app, rather than on the hardware.

Please. I need expert advice.

[Seán]

I have not encountered this particular issue, a right pain indeed with Tenda not offering any web based or alternative way to configure. I have a few suggestions to try:

Switch off the secondary node and do a factory reset (push pinhole for 20+ seconds) with the primary node, then try the configuration steps with the Tenda App. If it gets stuck connecting, try again with the other node as the primary instead, again with only this node switched on. If it connects, you can switch on the other node and use the "Add nova" to add the one that was switched off to the mesh.

Another suggestion would be to try configuring the connection type as "Bridge" and see if it gets past the connecting stage. If it connects, go into the Wireless Settings and set the desired SSD and Wi-Fi password, Then go into Internet Settings -> Connection type and change this to "DHCP". As the wizard was already complete setting it up as bridge, it should hopefully not go through the wizard again.

[mubentoben]

Thanks Seán.

I tried setting up each of them as you described. Both of them are still refusing to have their SSID and passphrase changed. Now, I had them powered on together—in close proximity or far apart—but Tenda WiFi app still won't let me complete the setup.

Now that you mentioned it, I would like to set them to Bridge mode right from the start. However, there is no Bridge mode in the setup wizard. There are only PPPoE, DHCP, and Static IP address, in that order. I might need to find a very early version of Tenda WiFi app in order to bring that option back, just as what the 1-star review complained.

Does Bridge mode exist in the setup wizard of iOS Tenda WiFi app?

[Seán]

The suggestion with configuring them with only one powered on is to see if just one node has this problem. This would also rule out a possibility that the App it is somehow trying to use the secondary node as the primary node where it would not see the active WAN connection.

I haven't seen the setup wizard in a while so didn't realise it's missing the bridge mode option. Unfortunately I don't know anyone personally with an iOS device to test.

[mubentoben]

I'm testing again both units individually today (with only one node powered on and connected to WAN). The problem still persists. Moreover, I was able to install several old versions of Tenda WiFi (3.x.x series) but Bridge mode does not exist in the setup wizard.

I observed that the Tenda Nova MW6 uses its own network segment different from my router. My router has the gateway IP 192.168.1.1 but the Tenda Nova has 192.168.5.1. If I connect my phone to NOVA_XXXX, it will get an IP 192.168.5.80 via DHCP. If I set a static address for my phone, say 192.168.1.80, Tenda WiFi app will not see NOVA_XXXX.

I also played around with the Static IP option in the setup wizard. I tried the following:

IP address: 192.168.1.2
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS: 8.8.8.8
(Here, the prompt "Connecting..." will stay on as expected and nothing happens)

IP address: 192.168.5.2
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.5.1
DNS: 8.8.8.8
(Here, NOVA_XXXX will lose internet connection because it has different segment from my router)

IP address: 192.168.5.2
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
(The app shows a toast message that mismatched segments is not allowed)

It is clear that Nova still responds to the app when I change the Static IP config in the setup wizard. But how come I cannot set the SSID and passphrase? It still bugs me.

[mubentoben]

Update. The tech team of ISP shares my frustration and couldn't figure out the cause of the problem. Two replacement units of Tenda Nova MW6 are underway. If all else fails, I will consider testing equivalent mesh devices from other manufacturers, after which I can emulate the wired backhaul guide presented nicely in this forum.

For now, I'd like to believe that the Nova meshes are not functioning as they should due to weak app support. The Tenda WiFi app is rated poorly both on Appstore and PlayStore. It would be nice if you can update the devices' firmware even at a factory reset state.

[bertie_bassett]

Hi, great thread, love it!

I currently have 4 MW6s in a mesh system. I use them in bridge mode, connected to my 5G mobile ISP router. In order to get the best 5G signal possible, the 5G router is actually in the roof of the house, with gigabit powerline adapters feeding the rest of the network as shown in this first pic:

   

In addition to the devices shown here there are also 11 smart plugs, one wireless Fire TV stick, and all the standard phones and iPads etc - somewhere around 35-40 devices could connect if we are using lots of things. 

Speeds are generally good across the network, but I've noticed recently that the speeds from devices connected to the living room node are slow. This is the case for wireless devices as well as the wired devices connected via 8-port gig switch - not great for 4K streaming for example. I was wondering if this was because of either (a) there are just two many wired devices connected to that node, or (b) there's too many devices on our network so the wireless connection between the nodes is struggling. I know that the MW6 config app has an option for "capacity oriented mode" for when >30 devices connect, but all I can read about this is that it throttles certain devices and therefore doesn't sound great. Do I need to suck it up and turn it on? 

I don't currently have any kind of wired backhaul in place, and installing cables around the house isn't an option. I was wondering if I could add to my existing powerline adaptors to give at least the living room node a wired backhaul to fall back on. Would something like the setup shown in the second pic work, or would it need to be connected in a different way?

   

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[Seán]

To start with, I suggest installing the self-hosted OpenSpeedtest App on one of the wired PCs. This will let you run speed tests within the network to that PC. Try also running a continuous ping test from the HTPC to both a PC and the router, e.g. two minimised command prompt windows while you are streaming TV in the living room. When your streaming services start giving issues, run a speed test from the HTPC or the affected phones to that PC.

If the speed test is very low, e.g. under 20Mbps (4K typically requires 10 to 20Mbps sustained throughput per stream), then this confirms the wireless backhaul is the problem. If the speed is fine, have a look at the two command prompt windows for any ping spikes (over 10ms) or times outs. For example, if the window pinging the router has ping spikes or timeouts, but not the window pinging the PC, this indicates a problem with the Gigabit Powerline.

It would also be worth trying speed tests between the two Powerline adapters in the evening vs. the day. For example, it is quite possible that various electronics switched on in the evening is reducing the Powerline performance due to the additional electrical interference, especially from LED lighting.

I would avoid adding another Gigabit Powerline as this will reduce the performance of the Powerline network. Instead, you can try swapping the primary MW6 node with the Living room MW6 node and connect the Powerline adapter to it. With the nodes swapped you can connect the two PCs to the two ports of the MW6 node.