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Even if I "hide" the 5ghz, and "forget" the SSID on my android phone
These steps will not work for me for some reason. Even if I "hide" the 5ghz, and "forget" the SSID on my android phone, when it then shows the available networks, it is still a 5ghz network. I also...
I think I can connect the access point, turn off the Orbi, and set up the access pont WiFi to the same SSID/PWD as the Orbi.
Does that sound like it would work?
You'll need a router. Though your ISP "modem" might be a gateway (router+modem).
A variation will work
- change the SSID on the Orbi
- set up the AP to use the original SSID/PWD
Then of course change the SSID back after the install.
NEVER MIND. I just tried this on Orbi RBR50 with Samsung Galaxy S24. Verified that Broadcast SSID was working correctly using WiFi Info View (free for Windows from Nirsoft). "Forgot" Orbi SSID. Powered off phone and restarted it. Selected SSID from those showing, and the phone connected at 5G.
What worked perfectly on the RBR50 several years ago no longer works. Maybe the Orbi now has some "band steering" feature? Maybe the Samsung phone tries 5G even though there is no SSID being broadcast on 5G. Maybe the Samsung phone 'remembers' SSIDs even when told to forget them? Annoying. (Sort of academic because Netgear removed the SSID broadcast option when Orbi WiFi6 systems were introduced.)
Maybe the Orbi now has some "band steering" feature?
Or possibly the phone wifi stack has evolved to use the features that were already there. Could be either.
802.11 has facilities that allow the phone to ask for a list of available radios (BSSIDs and their channels) from the mesh, and that list can give the phone the info it needs to connect to the hidden network.
It also has facilities that allow the mesh to suggest that the phone switch to a different BSSID or channel.