MT7615 fails to authenticate with ZTE F6600P in STA mode (authentication timed out)

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Assessment

Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Newbie friendliness
48/100
Issue type
Bug
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Quiet
Tech stack
c, linux
Domain
networking, operating-systems

Research direction

Start with the mt76 MT7615 STA-mode authentication path and reproduce the failure using the TP-Link Archer C6 and ZTE F6600P combination described here. Compare the wpa_supplicant, kernel, and dmesg authentication logs while testing; done means the client authenticates and associates with this AP without regressing connections to other networks.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

I spent several hours troubleshooting this issue before opening this report. I also had the assistance of three IT technicians during the investigation to rule out common configuration mistakes. Together, we tested numerous configuration changes and diagnostic steps, but the behavior remained unchanged.
Based on the troubleshooting performed so far, this appears to be an interoperability issue between the mt76 driver and this specific AP rather than a configuration problem.

Device

TP-Link Archer C6 (US) v3.20

OpenWrt version

24.10.4 r28959-29397011cc

Kernel: 6.6.110

Target

ramips/mt7621

Driver

mt76 (MT7615)

Access Point

ZTE F6600P

Software Version: V9.0.10P8N6C

Description

The router is configured as a wireless client (STA mode).

It successfully scans and detects the AP.

However, it is never able to authenticate.

Every attempt ends with authentication timing out before association.

The same configuration has worked successfully with multiple other Wi-Fi networks in different locations. The issue only occurs with this specific ZTE F6600P access point.

Expected behavior

The router should authenticate and associate with the AP normally.

Actual behavior

Authentication always times out.

What has been tested

  • Factory reset
  • Recreated the wireless client configuration from scratch
  • WPA2-Personal
  • Correct password
  • Different SSIDs
  • Different regulatory domains (BR and CN)
  • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) disabled on the AP
  • Mesh disabled on the AP
  • WDS enabled and disabled
  • Different SSID for the local AP interface
  • Ethernet uplink works normally
  • The same Archer C6 connects successfully to Wi-Fi networks in other houses
  • Phones and laptops connect normally to this ZTE AP

Wireless interface

root@OpenWrt:~# iw dev

phy#1
    Interface phy1-sta0
        addr cc:32:e5:10:67:87
        type managed
        txpower 23.00 dBm
        4addr: on

phy#0
    Interface phy0-ap0
        ssid OpenWrt
        type AP
        channel 1 (2412 MHz)

Wireless configuration

wireless.radio1.band='5g'
wireless.radio1.channel='36'
wireless.radio1.htmode='VHT80'
wireless.radio1.country='CN'

Installed packages

wpad-basic-mbedtls - 2024.09.15~5ace39b0-r2

kmod-mt76-connac
kmod-mt76-core
kmod-mt7603
kmod-mt7615-common
kmod-mt7615e
kmod-mt7663-firmware-ap

Relevant logread output

wpa_supplicant: phy1-sta0: SME: Trying to authenticate with
9c:63:5b:5a:b1:33

kernel:
phy1-sta0: authenticate with 9c:63:5b:5a:b1:33
phy1-sta0: send auth (try 1/3)
phy1-sta0: send auth (try 2/3)
phy1-sta0: send auth (try 3/3)
phy1-sta0: authentication with 9c:63:5b:5a:b1:33 timed out

wpa_supplicant:
CTRL-EVENT-SSID-TEMP-DISABLED
reason=CONN_FAILED
auth_failures increasing

This sequence repeats indefinitely.

dmesg

phy1-sta0: authenticate with 9c:63:5b:5a:b1:33
phy1-sta0: send auth to 9c:63:5b:5a:b1:33 (try 1/3)
phy1-sta0: send auth to 9c:63:5b:5a:b1:33 (try 2/3)
phy1-sta0: send auth to 9c:63:5b:5a:b1:33 (try 3/3)
phy1-sta0: authentication with 9c:63:5b:5a:b1:33 timed out

Additional information

The AP works correctly with phones and laptops.

The OpenWrt router also works correctly as a wireless client with other Wi-Fi networks.

The issue appears to affect only this specific combination:

  • TP-Link Archer C6 (US) v3.20
  • mt76 / MT7615
  • ZTE F6600P (V9.0.10P8N6C)

I can perform additional tests and provide more logs if needed. I have administrator access to both the OpenWrt router and the ZTE F6600P.

Dominant language
C
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Forks
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