How many WiFi devices do you guys try to string off your consumer level WiFi Router? I’m wondering if I’ve noticed that my WiFi router goes flaky if I get over 20 DHCP clients…
I had more WiFi clients than I remembered. I’d forgotten the Airport Express plugged into my Audio Engine A5s at the back…the Epson printer…the “Roberts” Revival Radio…
Just 20? That is almost impossible… Check you DHCP setting, maybe it has a limited range set.
Ditch the ‘consumer’ WiFi router and go with something more prosumer. Or better yet, use a proper access point and use the router as a router, and not a router + access point.
I over 20 esp8266 thing 3 phones 4 pc every thing good
Such as? Any tips/examples? What sort of £ do you need to spend?
I prefer Ubiquiti gear for the price:performance ratio
I use a Ubiquiti Edge Router POE-5, a Cisco switch, and a Ubiquiti AC-LR (access point)
No idea what it would cost you to get some proper gear, but I haven’t run a consumer grade router in over 14 years. I can throw a hundred + clients at my system without so much as a blip of instability.
in all routers i have seen you can set the DHCP range.
i got mine from 10 to 150, all others i do use for fixed IPs.
i got 4 different routers from 4 different brands and they can all do that.
cheapest 1 was 18 euro, expensive 1 was 150
I had a cheap netfear router/access point/switch combo and when I started adding WiFi devices it struggled. We would get drops in connectivity and reboots.
Taking the router duty off it’s workload and just using it as an access point solved the issues.
I have since moved to a full Ubiquity setup as the performance and options for securing my network are far better.
I think people are failing to understand the OP’s issue. It’s not DHCP maxing out, they are stating that their router gets flaky after 20+ clients are connected.
This doesn’t sound like a DHCP issue at all, but a flaky router issue. There are a lot of routers that simply cannot handle a lot of traffic on the network.
yeah, I’m probably misleading people with my title. I initially thought maybe DHCP given that I’m running a fairly cheap TP Link combined router/AP but now I’m thinking it’s that I’m running devices (Particle Cores and Particle Photons) on a network where there is one SSID and multiple BSSIDs and they’re getting veeeery confused. I think if I go back to having separate SSIDs 
“21 Main Street UPSTAIRS”, “21 Main Street DOWNSTAIRS” etc, things will improve…
several APs with the same SSID does give trouble in a lot off cases.
i got a total of 9 SSIDs and allthough i would prefer just 1 i also got them with different names
Maybe try a setup with meshed APs. Works pretty solid for me with one Router/AP + 3 APs around my house.
Just a thought: If you have issues with your router, try installing/flashing OpenWRT on it, it’s quite powerful, has a LOT of functions and is really stable, even on low-end routers, like those for $20.
Take a look
I just want to add that I moved away from the Ziggo (UPC) connectbox by setting it to a modem only function and use another router to handle the DHCP. I think I had the Connectbox (Compal CH7465LG) or Connectbox (Arris TG2492LG).
I have about 20-30 devices (ESP8266) connected with 2 bridged routers, all different SSIDs.
I do not have any problems anymore with lost connectivity from the moment I moved away from the connectbox.
Sorry @bvansambeek - to what do you attribute the resolution of your connectivity problem? That you no longer had one device which was expected to establish & maintain your internet connection, routing, DHCP AND WiFi etc?
I think that the DHCP of that router was not good.
I noticed that some of my nodes got 0.0.0.0 ip addresses and where no longer able to connect to the MQTT server. Or sometimes they would just need to reconnect.
I am not 100% sure, as I am only an amateur thinkerer.
But after I put a router between the modem/router from Ziggo and the 2 bridged hotspots I have 100% stability. I also have improved access to a IP cam which I control with its own app. (not able to connect it to hass yet)