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Forum Discussion
Disable 5GHz
My printer only supports 2.4 GHz WiFi, but my Orbi system keeps steering it to 5 GHz. This causes the printer to go offline, fail to wake, and requires the Canon app to reconnect. My Orbi model does not show options to:
- split 2.4/5 GHz bands
- disable 5 GHz
- create a second main SSID
- force IoT devices to 2.4 GHz
The only workaround I see is creating a Guest SSID and limiting it to 2.4 GHz. Before I do that, does my Orbi model have any hidden or advanced settings that allow:
- forcing a device to 2.4 GHz,
- disabling band steering, or
- creating a dedicated 2.4 GHz network for IoT devices?
If not, is the 2.4 GHz Guest Network the recommended solution.
Thank you.
14 Replies
I have a Canon printer. When I set it up, it is linked to my Net Gear mesh - via 5GHz. I did not request 5GHz. It was assigned to 5GHz by Net Gear. I call this Band Steering. Maybe there is another name for that. But for now, I am done. My problem was solved using an extender - to prevent Orbi from assigning 5GHz to my printer.
Something that may help in resolving the printers wifi issues with MESH systems, try a USB to ethernet print server. Maybe getting the printer on a Ethernet connection and then point your printer driver to this IP address instead of using WiFi may be one solution.
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-100Mbps-Ethernet-Network-Server/dp/B016A4MSA4?th=1
Orbi only offers the platform for devices to connect too, dual band or signal band. It's always been up to the devices to pick the signal to connect too.
Good Luck.
As mentioned..... Problem was solved using an internet extender limiting the band to 2.4GHz. I disagree with your 2nd paragraph. As a user, I I can select what band to use. However, when devices have no human interaction to select the band, Orbi determines the signal band the device will use. For this reaspon I will continue to blame both Net Gear and Canon for creating this problem.
No, Orbi only offers up the bands that devices can connect too. It's up to the devices to pick and choose the band they connect too based on what they support. Been like this since Orbi first appeared. Wireless design. Dual band devices mostly perfer 5Ghz or the highest band that is available. All up to the device. Not a NG issue.
Long time problem on the device Mfr side. IoT has been problematic having only 2.4Ghz devcies and there setup software only using 2.4Ghz, while dual band phones and pads perfer 5Ghz. Also the fact that 2.4 and 5Ghz are on the same NETWORK. Orbi and Mobile devices have both. But the IoT Mfrs don't allow there setup SW to work on a 5Ghz dual band mobile phone or pad. Thats all the IoT mfrs, Not a NG issue. NG has newer generation Orbi systems that has seprate IoT networks that users can configure for either band now since IoT Mfrs are not supporting there software on dual band mobile devices.
Also the 50 series is long time EoL. NG didn't do anything with it during it's life time and won't be.
Glad you got it working.
Good Luck.
In my opinion the problem is shared between Netgear and Canon. Netgear because they offer no means to control band steering. Canon because they should not even be configuring their printers to work with 5GHz. But since Canon is allowing users to use 5GHz - they should offer the ability to toggle it on or off. I spent 2 hours with Canon Tech Support not solving my problem. It wasn't until I dug deeper on my own to discover that 5GHz is crap. Canon sent me a survey to measure the results of my satisfaction with their tech support. I happily responded and I have not heard back.
Netgear because they offer no means to control band steering.
There is not a single Netgear documentation explicitly or implicitly stating, that any Orbi systems are doing active band steering. A little bit different on the business grade Netgear wireless access points like the WAX6xx and WBE7xx models: There is an option to enable Band Steering if it's wanted by the network admin - by default it's disabled.
But since Canon is allowing users to use 5GHz - they should offer the ability to toggle it on or off.
Why oh why please? Not a single standard wireless client implementation does - on Windows or Apple systems, and not on most Linux systems - offers -any- kind of band selection. Just some cheap wirelss extenders might do ...
This was discussed up and down back at the times when some **** had the idea, that the configuration of certain IoT using brainded App implementations falsely requiring (and testing) if the mobile device with the App is currently connected to the 2.4 GHz band.
Industry standard wirless clients supporting 2.4 and 5 GHz, and much more those supporting all three bands 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz are depending on 802.11k and 802.11v, sometimes in combination with 802.11r (allowing fast roaming), even with WPA3-Personal (-AES) and WPA3- Enterprise, using SAE (Simultaneous Authentication of Equals) and IEEE 802.1X/EAP to temporary key snooping and replay impossible.
Even without any band steering - technically band steering to the better 5 or 6 GHz bands would for a short moment deny wifi access on the 2.4 GHz band, allowing the wireless client re-associating to the assumed better performing, more reliable 5 GHz band - any wireless client (unless it's sticky) will re-associate to the 5 GHz band extreme likely. This, and onls this, is what you wrongly claim to be band steering.
It wasn't until I dug deeper on my own to discover that 5GHz is crap.
5 GHz WiFi has - for physical reasons - a shorter reach than the 2,4 GHz band.
Sure, there can be some other systems disturbing 5 GHz systems, especially those located very near to your environment. For examle yet another WiFi router, also operating on the lower channels like 36...48, where the Orbi like the RBR50 and RBS50 are operating the client-facing connections.
Problem solved. I purchased a WiFi extender. I connected it to my Orbi and it is creating an alternative WiFi signal that is limited to just 2.4GHz. I send a print job from my computer (via my Orbi mesh) to the printer which is receiving signals from orbi through the extender. The extender only broadcasts 2.4GHz - which the Canon printer prefers. To test it, I let it sit for several hours and the computer and printer went to sleep. Woke up the pc, sent a print job and the printer did what it was designed to do immediately. This was well worth spending $7 on a cheap extender. As much as I luv technology, technology sucks.
How did you connect it to your Orbi? Do you have a part number for the extender you bought?
The extender connects to my Orbi via a cable. Could extend it wirelessly - but cable was easier.
It might be worth spending under $20 (Amazon) to purchase a TP-Link RE220 WiFi Extender. Locate it close to the printer, but where it still gets a good signal from the Orbi system (router or satellite). i.e. don't hide it near the floor behind massive furniture or a metal desk.
This provides two choices:
- Connect the printer to the Ethernet port on the extender. WiFi on the printer is no longer relevant. or...
- Define a 2.4G network on the extender which has a unique name so that when the printer is connected to that unique WiFi network the only thing it can find is the extender.
p.s. The Orbi system provides a way to assign an IP address to devices in the web management interface. Advanced Tab. LAN Setup menu. Sometimes WiFi extenders create pseudo MAC addresses for devices that are connected through the extender, so be careful to record the MAC address that appears in Attached Devices.
Thought about that.......... Unfortunately, my Canon printer has no ethernet port - WiFi only option. Canon techsupport helped me to download a program that appears to have forced their printer to setup on my network via 2.4GHz. Will need to test this out over the next few days - primarily let the printer and computer sleep and then see if they wake up properly. If that doesn't work, will look at assigning a unique IP address. I looked into doing that and I thought it was not an option. More in a few days. Thanks!!!
Can set a IP address reservation for the printer on the RBR unit:
https://kb.netgear.com/25722/How-do-I-reserve-an-IP-address-on-my-NETGEAR-router
My printer works. When it goes into error mode, I launch diagnostics. I only print 2-3 times a week. But, every time I print requires 20 minutes of set up. I am told this would not be an issue if the printer was connected via 2.4 instead of 5.0.
See if you can get the printers configuration page and set it for 2.4Ghz only. I know some printers you can force the printer to only use one or the other frequency.
Does the printer have an ethernet port? if it does, could connect it this way.
Make sure the printers FW is up to date.
Contact the printers Mfr for additional help and information regarding there printer products.
