A wired register is plugged into a mesh access point and works. When the mesh backhaul drops, the register drops too, even though its Ethernet cable is still connected. Why?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
The cable only gets the register as far as the mesh radio. From there your traffic is on the wireless backhaul, and that backhaul is what dropped. The register falls with it.
Full Explanation
A wired device on a mesh access point is bridged across the wireless backhaul toward the root. The Ethernet cable staying up does not give the register a path once the backhaul drops. The cable does not power or replace the backhaul. The mesh access point does not reach the root for that device without the backhaul. A guest VLAN does not keep the register online. A wired device on a mesh access point rides the wireless backhaul. When the backhaul drops, that wired device drops with it. Check one live client after the change and leave the rest of the floor alone until that client matches the result you expected. Confirm the symptom on the next attempt before changing anything else. Confirm the symptom on the next attempt before changing anything else. Exam caveat: a root's wired uplink is a different cable. This register is on the mesh access point, so its fate follows the backhaul, not the root's local wire. Operational check: drop the backhaul in a test and confirm the register stops, then restore the backhaul and confirm it returns.