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Avanet

AP cannot connect to Sophos Central Wireless

Central Wireless

If a Sophos access point is not found during registration in Sophos Central Wireless and the message AP did not connect to cloud within the timeout appears, do not only check Central. With older or moved access points, an old assignment to Sophos UTM, XG or XGS may also be involved.

Requirements

  • Sophos Central Account
  • Sophos Access Point
  • Sophos UTM with wireless license or XGS/XG firewall (wireless free)

Possible reason for the problem

One possible reason for the error message is an old access point assignment. If the AP was previously operated on a Sophos UTM or Sophos Firewall and was not removed there correctly, an old registration context may still exist. The new onboarding in Sophos Central Wireless then fails even though the serial number and network look plausible in principle.

Before cleaning up, still check the simple points:

  • internet access of the access point,
  • DNS resolution,
  • DHCP address,
  • outbound HTTPS connections,
  • serial number in Central onboarding,
  • power supply and link status on the switch.

Problem solution

1. Connect access point to Sophos Firewall

Reconnect the access point to the previous Sophos UTM or Sophos Firewall. On Sophos UTM, at least the appropriate wireless-capable firmware must be present.

2. Set up access point

Add the access point under the firewall as a new device. Firmware may be reinstalled or configuration may be reloaded during this process. This can take several minutes. The goal is for the AP to be shown as Active again.

3. Delete access point from firewall

Remove the access point configuration on the firewall and then wait until the AP appears under Pending Access Point again. Do not disconnect the physical connection during this step.

4. Delete access point from pending

As soon as the AP is listed under Pending Access Point again, it must be deleted there manually once more. After that, the cable can be disconnected from the AP.

Delete pending access points from firewall

5. Add access point to Sophos Central

Afterwards, test onboarding in Sophos Central Wireless again. The process is described in Register Sophos Access Point with the Onboarding Wizard.

If the AP still does not appear, do not repeat the same registration steps several times. Then network access, DNS, firewall rules, serial number, AP model, firmware version and Central Wireless compatibility should be checked specifically.