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Forum Discussion
ORBI Wifi needs to turn off with night schedule, use only wired connections.
I am sure it is not difficult to allow the WIFI / WLAN to turn off on a set schedule at night. It is not necessary to have it running---so why should it. Also it could be great to just turn it off when you don't need to run it. In the app or otherwise would be great.
As another poster said I tried to do the following in the router
*ADVANCED
*ADVANCED SETUP
* WIRELESS SETTINGS
* TRANSMIT POWER CONTROL---this is where I couldn't go any further. There was no options.
*TURN OFF WIRELESS SIGNAL BY SCHEDULE ---clearly I couldnt do this if I couldn't do the prior step.
Others have mentioned having a totally private (as in NOT SHOWN to the neighbors or passersby) SSID. With all of the cyber security issues now and increasing annually it would be a great feature.
So. Please help me turn off the wifi signals.. (& the SSID)
Yes, I am concerned about the extra and while we (& most importantly our children) are sleeping that there are UNNecessary wifi EMF waves going thru the house. I am not here to have other posters dispute the safety of it. I just want to turn it off and on with a set schedule or if we ever get to travel again. :)
4 Replies
Thats something that is not supported on Orbi systems. Orbi systems are MESH systems and are designed to be ON all the time.
Yes, there is an option to not broadcast the SSID. Every device that searches for WiFi will not discover the SSID and it will have to be entered manually. (Personally, I find this a pain in the (posterior). My long and complicated WiFi password is security enough for me.)
No, Orbi has no option to disable the WiFi radios. With the continuing introduction of "Internet of Things" (IoT) devices the expectation is that WiFi will be available 24/7. The only method to disable WiFi is to connect the Orbi units to "smart plugs" which have a schedule to drop power to the Orbi and restore it at another time. Smart plugs store the schedule internally (on the plug itself), so they do not depend on WiFi for operation.
I totally agree with the OP. Irregardless of their design objectives, Netgear should design a feature to turn off ORBI radios on a user-determined schedule. My X6 R8000 has this feature.
I purchased this to schedule when the ORBI is on: myTouchSmart Programmable Outdoor Plug-In Digital Timer, 2-Outlets, 26898 - Walmart.com - Walmart.com
The advantage for me in using the external timer is that it also controls my Line-of-Sight IP Antenna Radio so I can shut it all down when not in use at night.
The ORBI does have a good feature to decrease transmit power (Advanced > Advanced Setup > Wireless Settings > Transmit Power Control). I haven't put a meter on it to test it's actual (if any) power decrease. I see no noticeable change in usability in my application at the 25% setting.
I'm sure by now you figured all this out but maybe it will help someone in the future as now the customer is the customer service department.
Reason your R8000 router has a schedule to disable the wifi radios is that it's not a MESH router. One reason orbi doesn't have that feature is that the remote RBS units need to have a connection with the RBR all the time. Most wifi MESH systems are designed around this as most of the time wifi is always on all the time and the remote units need to have a signal to connect to or they would loose connection. The RBS would still be broadcasting a singal as well. Orbi and MESH systems are already complex in there design. Would be another level of complexity that some router mfrs don't want to deal with.
So if power timers work, then go for it. You would need a timer on the RBR and any RBS as well.
wayg wrote:I totally agree with the OP. Irregardless of their design objectives, Netgear should design a feature to turn off ORBI radios on a user-determined schedule. My X6 R8000 has this feature.
I purchased this to schedule when the ORBI is on: myTouchSmart Programmable Outdoor Plug-In Digital Timer, 2-Outlets, 26898 - Walmart.com - Walmart.com
The advantage for me in using the external timer is that it also controls my Line-of-Sight IP Antenna Radio so I can shut it all down when not in use at night.
The ORBI does have a good feature to decrease transmit power (Advanced > Advanced Setup > Wireless Settings > Transmit Power Control). I haven't put a meter on it to test it's actual (if any) power decrease. I see no noticeable change in usability in my application at the 25% setting.
I'm sure by now you figured all this out but maybe it will help someone in the future as now the customer is the customer service department.
