NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Please expose the ability to use separate SSIDs for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz on Orbi!
This is becoming rediclous since the functionality is already there. I've been an Orbi user for about 2.5 years now and I'm to the point where I'm going to have to find another solution. I'm coveri...
Just saying that if NG hasn't put in the ability to separate SSIDs then it's not forth coming at all. NG finally put in the ability to disable either radio SSID broadcast as a temporarty work around for some 2.4Ghz specific SW setup devices. However the system is MESH and would not be MESH if it were to have separate SSIDs. Different problems maybe introduced into the system which I presume NG doesn't want to support nor deal with. The Orbi works as designed. Remember that some of these 2.4Ghz devices, there mfr hasn't fully tested or designed the setup system well enough to handle connected to a MESH system. Most of there setup software doesn't included 5Ghz supporting setup devcies like phones which support both radios while there devices only supports 2.4Ghz. So I presume some Mfrs feel that why support 5Ghz when the actual HW on there device only supports 2.4Ghz. Lower development costs as well. However just cheapens there products and is a hassel for it's users and when it would be only a minor SW change to allow there setup software to work on a dual band setup devices that connects to 5Ghz while there device connects to 2.4Ghz since both radios are on the same side LAN. Maybe next generation IoT will take Smart Connect into account.
The bigger issue is that the devices already has the features me and many others are asking for they're just not expeosed. I'm not sure 2.4Ghz is required for Mesh WiFi? Ubiquity allowes the 2.4 radis to be turned off as did the Xirrus mesh syetem I was running alongside of Orbi to cover other parts ofthe properly.
The IOT devices are not the issue, it's the iphones, iPads as well as various other devices like TVs, Rokus and a few PIC NICs. They do not allow you to perfer one band over the other and many times end up on 2.4 Ghz, even with power set to 25%. 4 of the PC NICs do allow hard setting or at least prefering 5Ghz and 3 others don't. None of the other devices I mentioned seem to allow it and Samsung TVs only seem to connect to 2.4 if it's on the same SSID at 5Ghz.
Well it's mostly up to the chip set Mfr and NG on how they design and implement there products. Again, After all this time, I would presume NG isn't going to allow separation of SSIDs. Again, most of the 2.4Ghz issues are with the IoT mfrs, not with NG or mobile phones. It's the handling of there devices with Smart Connect and there setup software and how they handle it. Most devices that are only 2.4Ghz will only see 2.4Ghz and nothing else. Also the setup software from the Mfrs that only supports 2.4Ghz while the setup device like phones support both frequencies, this is were there setup software brings in the problem. Thus NG did finally support the disabling of the 5Ghz radio for these setup devices. So user can disable the 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz SSIDs while setting up various IoT devices should they encounter setup problems. I've had Orbi for awhile now as awell and have no issues in connect any of my devices, 2.4Ghz only or other wise.
"I would presume NG isn't going to allow separation of SSIDs."
I'm not sure where you get this from, it works just fine for the most part and it has been there since the begining, it's just not exposed as a supported feature. I spent some time looking at a co-workers Ubiquity AC HD APs with Mesh APs connecting 2 houses as well as outbuildings and NG is really missing out on a ton of features they already support. I don't work for NG so maybe there's a limitiation in the hardware or software that I'm unaware of. Just saying that to be considered mesh you have to use 2.4Ghz as well as the same SSID is BS as far as I'm concerned.
One thing I found during my testing is that the backhaul for the satelites is pretty darn good. I ran etherent to the satelites for some TVs that were strugling and power lines to the others (power lines better han 5G and way better than 2.4 even hopping breakers, close to the performance of bridging into the satelite). I have no idea why WiFi performaincs is so poor when connected to a sattelite vs the router (testing with iperf3 to a synology NAS wired at 10G).
What I've done now is leave the main network on a single SSID and added seperate SSIDs for 2.4 and 5 on the guest network. We'll see if this causes issues with sattelites stuck in config sync or unable to upgrade.
