The Apple Roaming Rule: Apple iOS devices WILL NOT scan for a stronger Wi-Fi access point until the current connection's signal drops below -70 dBm (the official Apple Roaming Threshold). If your mesh nodes are placed too close together, the signal at the midpoint remains at -65 dBm; your iPhone considers this "good enough" and refuses to roam.
1) Increase physical spacing between mesh pods so signal drops below -70 dBm when moving between rooms.
2) In mesh settings (Deco, Asus AiMesh), enable Fast Roaming (802.11r) and 802.11k/v.
3) On ASUS and OpenWrt, set Roaming Assistant / Disconnect RSSI to kick clients at
-72 dBm.
Apple's Official macOS and iOS Roaming Specifications
| Client Device | Roaming Trigger | Candidate Delta Needed | Supported Standards |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone & iPad (iOS 15+) | -70 dBm | +8 dBm (Active) / +12 dBm (Idle) | 802.11k, 802.11v, 802.11r (FT) |
| MacBook Pro / Air (macOS) | -75 dBm | +12 dBm better than current AP | 802.11k, 802.11u, 802.11v |
| Android 12+ (Pixel, Samsung) | -72 dBm to -75 dBm | +6 dBm to +10 dBm | 802.11k, 802.11v, 802.11r |
Why Buying More Mesh Pods Makes Roaming WORSE
Adding too many mesh units creates dense overlapping RF radiation zones. When you walk from the living room to the bedroom, the living room pod is still radiating at -62 dBm. Because your phone has not breached the -70 dBm trigger threshold, it never initiates a neighbor scan. It remains stuck to the living room pod at 1/10th speed instead of switching to the bedroom pod.
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