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Forum Discussion
Issue with New Laptop on Orbi
Hi - hoping someone here can help. I just got a new laptop and I have been having weak connectivity to Orbi. My old laptop (Dell XPS) was typically connecting on 5Ghz. The new laptop in the sam...
WPJoe wrote:When I open the Device Manager I noticed that this new laptop is not showing as a Laptop (with the icons used in Device Manager). Instead its showing as "Network" with the Antenna icon.
Does this matter? Could this be causing an issue?
This is annoying, but not functional. The Orbi "app" has struggled with displaying device types correctly. Depending on which Orbi router you have, Netgear claims to have improved the device recognition software with the latest release of firmware. Whether that is worth taking a risk that updating firmware will "do bad things" to the router is a matter for the customer to decide. You should be able to "correct" the display be selecting the icon yourself.
Concerning the laptop.
- Does it appear to work correctly with other WiFi routers? If it does not connect to other WiFi at 5G, then something is wrong with the laptop.
- You might consider trying to fool the laptop into connecting at 5G and hope that it will "stick". This requires using the Orbi web interface with a web browser (because the "app" does not provide access to the features needed).
Using the web interface, navigate to the Advanced Tab, Advanced Settings, Wireless Settings and uncheck the box "Broadcast SSID on 2.4G" and click "Apply". (It takes about 2 minutes for this to happen. Seems like an eternity.) Every device currently connected to the Orbi will remain connected.
On the laptop, open the network selection (lower right), click on the Orbi network, disconnect, and "Forget" the Orbi.
Look at the list of available WiFi SSID's. The Orbi will appear, but only the 5G radio will be broadcasting the SSID. Enter the password and connect. The laptop should now be connected at 5G. If it does not, then something is wrong with the laptop.
If it did connect at 5G, then return to the Orbi web interface, check the box "Broadcast SSID on 2.4G", "Apply", and wait (and wait).
The "payoff" will be when you restart the laptop and it connects to Orbi at 5G.
Thank you both for the replies.
Good to confirm that the Icon category in Device Manager is cosmetic and doesnt impact anything.
The laptop does jump tp 5GHz sometimes so perhaps it is just due to interference or high usage at those times.
I wanted to make sure it wasnt something obvious like a categorization issue (which it isnt, thanks!) and I will keep track and see how it goes.