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On some PCs (windows) appear several APs with the same SSID. To avoid this, can I use (clone) the same MAC address for all APs?... If the answer is that I must clone the MACs of the APs and I do this, what negative consequences can it bring to my local network?

  • Local network 192.168.0.0/24
  • Local network administrator: router 192.168.0.1 (gateway)
  • distribution of IPs + dns: via DHCP (gateway)
  • Number of APs 2.4 GHz: 8 (same make and model - Ubiquiti rocket m2) all connected via ethernet cable (POE) to a non-administrable switch, which in turn connects to the router (administrator-gateway). The APs have static IP each, and dns point to the gateway, different channels, same SSID

PD: If cloning the macs addresses of the wifi access points is not a good idea, then what is the solution to this problem?

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    Multiple APs with the same SSID is fine. It's exactly how you set up a multi-AP roaming network. Why are you trying to avoid it? Just make sure the individual APs aren't all doing NAT for themselves. You want them all to just transparently bridge your traffic onto the infrastructure network, and have a single device on that network that acts as the NAT gateway and DHCP server for the whole network. – Spiff May 29 '19 at 22:51
  • They are not doing NAT. The NAT, DHCP, DNS, etc., is done by the central administrator (router-gateway-server). The APs only have a static IP address within the network, the network mask, and the gateway is to the main administrator (router-gateway-server) (without DNS) – ajcg May 29 '19 at 23:18
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    If you clone the MAC addresses, you will create a huge headache for yourself because switched networks use them, not IP addresses, for transitting data. Every MAC address on a network needs to be unique. To make the point more clear, there are no duplicate burned-in MAC addresses for consumer and business products anywhere on Earth (except by mistake or experiment). I agree with Spiff. Why do you want to change anything? Is something broken or are you trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist?? – HazardousGlitch May 30 '19 at 0:59
  • Here's a good post from @Spiff about AP MAC address cloning: superuser.com/questions/1281116/… – HazardousGlitch May 30 '19 at 1:09
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    Maybe something else is different? Here at $WORK, I have never seen duplicate entries for the same ESSID, even if the computer was within range of 4-5 access points, all with distinct MACs (BSSIDs). Special tools such as InSSIDer or Wifi Analyzer? Well, sure they show each AP, that's literally their job. But the main OS network list has never shown duplicates for me. – user1686 May 30 '19 at 14:39
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If you clone the MAC addresses, you will create a huge headache for yourself because switched networks use them, not IP addresses, for directing data to the correct device. Every MAC address on a network needs to be unique. To make the point more clear, there are no duplicate burned-in MAC addresses for consumer or business products anywhere on Earth (except by mistake or experiment).

Here is a link explaining more about MAC address cloning and APs: What will happen if two APs are in the same area with the same MAC and SSID?

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  • excellent explanation Thank you – ajcg May 30 '19 at 18:58

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