Webgui keeps disconnecting on apple products only?

Started by Djjvb, March 01, 2024, 11:55:52 AM

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I am fairly new to opnsense and all of the features. I am just trying to learn about this stuff. So please be gentile. ;-)

But I've got Opnsense running for some months now. But just a couple of days weeks ago I encountered with my Apple MacBook pro. When I accessed the webgui via the internal IP it kept disconnecting after 4/5 clicks or when I tried to change something.

So I started with my noob troubleshooting. So I've tried:
- Different browsers (chrome, brave, safari) on my macbook and Iphone, also in 'private mode'. Access to login and get's disconnected. Cleared chache, cookies, etc.
- Access via Brave on a wired windows PC: works.
- Acces via wifi on an Android Phone: works.  I can click through pages, change settings, etc.

And all just on the default network. So no vlans or other wifi SSID's at play here.

So now I am stuck because my knowledge is too limited and the Ai agent's also can't seem to help me.
In my head i've ruled out: is it the wifi? No, android client works. Is it the browser/browser settings? No, same browser works on onther platforms. Can't be any network or DNS issues, cause I am able to get to the login page.

So hopefully this community can help me where to look for.

Does SSH work? Can you connect with ethernet?

If you don't have a USB Ethernet adapter, it's a worthy addition to your mac.

Oh... why didn't I think of that.  ::) So yes, I have a usb ethernet adapter. And when I connect this it works properly.

SSH I tried, both wired and via Wifi. Wired it works, when I unplugged the wire, connected via Wifi I could also ssh into opnsense. When I refreshed the page (when on Wifi) I got locked out again. And couldn't connect via SSH; remote host identification has changed.

Any idea what I shoulc look into next?

What do you have as a value for Session Timeout in System - Settings - Administration ?


Anyone? I also tried to disable pihole, but this also didn't help. I could get in once, but disconnected even with pihole disabled.

If the same device works on ethernet but not on WiFi, the issue is most likely with your WiFi. There are many tweaks and troubleshooting steps you can try but they're outside OPNsense.

Does your WiFi AP have (forum) support?

Quote from: bartjsmit on March 04, 2024, 07:58:50 AM
If the same device works on ethernet but not on WiFi, the issue is most likely with your WiFi. There are many tweaks and troubleshooting steps you can try but they're outside OPNsense.

Does your WiFi AP have (forum) support?

My Wifi AP's are Unifi U7-Pro's. So they have support. But the issue isn't Wifi in general. Since my android phone can connect to the same Wifi AP and function properly. So this is why I can't wrap my head around it. Why especially my apple devices will cut the connection of with opnsense. And the browser isn't the culprit; i've tried different ones.

RF engineering is not fully deterministic - remember Jobs saying iPhone 4 users were holding it wrong? I would not disregard WiFi issues because a different (form factor) device works.

Do you see good experience in your Unifi client view when you select the mac? Are the client and AP at the latest patches/firmware?

Bart...

March 06, 2024, 08:57:14 AM #9 Last Edit: March 06, 2024, 08:58:53 AM by passeri
I suspect DNS or related. What are your settings for DHCP and DNS on each of your Opnsense and wifi? Does your iPhone randomise its MAC?

I use various current MacOS and iOS devices with no problem.
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