Troubleshooting local connection issues using default SSID on MR Access Points
Both ap.meraki.com and my.meraki.com are locally-hosted sites useful for configuring an AP when it cannot reach the Meraki Cloud. This is often seen on a static, non-DHCP network or when there are strict firewall rules. After a Cisco Meraki access point (AP) has lost its connection to the Internet but is still receiving power, it will broadcast a default service set identifier (SSID) that can be connected to for administrative tasks.
Connect to the default SSID by completing the following steps:
- Physically inspect the AP
- Check for available wireless networks
- Check if a known default SSID is being broadcast
- If a default SSID is being broadcast, connect your device to it
- If no known default SSIDs are present, set up a manual wireless network connection
- For the SSID name, use 'meraki-<MAC_Address>' e.g. 'meraki-xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx', replace the x's with the AP's MAC address in lower case
If a Meraki Access Point does not have a configuration from the Meraki Cloud Controller it will instead broadcast a default SSID of "Meraki-Scanning." The AP takes an address of 10.128.128.128, the SSID runs DHCP, and it will try to assign any clients that associate with it an address. This is merely to provide a connection between a client and the AP to allow for local configuration.
-
After connecting, open a web browser and connect to one of the Local Status Page addresses
-
A list of the administrative tasks which are available to use can be found here.
Default SSIDs
Potential known default SSID names along with potential causes/solutions:
<SSID_name>-bad-gateway
Cause: An AP's configured default gateway has failed to respond to 15 consecutive ARP requests.
Solution: Check the AP's IP address configuration and reachability to its default gateway.
<SSID_name>-connecting
Cause: An AP's SSID that is configured to use a VPN concentrator is unable to connect.
Solution: Verify connectivity to the concentrator using the tools in Dashboard. Also, confirm that your local firewall is not blocking the connection.
<SSID_name>-scanning
Cause: Similar to 'bad-gateway', an AP is unable to connect to its default gateway.
Solution: Check the AP's IP address configuration and reachability to its default gateway.
Meraki Setup
Cause: An AP has never connected to the Meraki Cloud Controller (MCC) or has been factory reset.
Solution: Establish MCC connectivity for the AP by ensuring appropriate Internet access.