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Forum Discussion
Orbi: We really need separate SSID for 2.4 Ghz and 5Ghz or speed is limited to less than 200 Mbps
TLDR: With Orbi, my 5Ghz capable devices are "forced" to connect to 2.4 Ghz most of the time, slowing down speed. Tested against 3 different routers and my 5Ghz capable can connect to 5Ghz network al...
completely agree khad there is zero need for finger pointing, I want to be able to select specific networks for my Sonos, LIFX, etc, this isn't limited to my Apple devices, in fact I've been quite happy with allowing my iphone 8plus to choose the network.
Can you tell me what voodoo magic you used to create a seperate 5Ghz network please?
mostlyfoild, check out my post #61 above for detailed instructions. It does require the use of the command-line, but it worked perfectly for me.
khad wrote:mostlyfoild, check out my post #61 above for detailed instructions. It does require the use of the command-line, but it worked perfectly for me.
... until the next update where all hell breaks loose because you made a change that netgear is not expecting anyone to have made.
..Just saying..
- aaz,
Anything’s possible. But something tells me you might not understand what those steps above are doing.
The router has to have both a 2.4 GHz network and a 5 GHz network in order to function at both frequencies. And each one has to have an SSID in order to function.
So, under the hood, there are and will always be 2 separate SSIDs unless they completely remove one of the frequencies. There just isn’t a way to change the SSIDs separately in the GUI. All those steps do is set the SSID for the 5 GHz network separately. Worst case scenario they both get set to the same one and you have a completely normal Orbi that functions like every other one does.
Which you can sell if it no longer suits your purposes. And I should mention that people have been setting the SSID for the 5 GHz network separately like that for nearly a year. It's worked across many updates. It's a pretty basic setting.
I have follwed the telent instructions and commands extacly. I still do not have seprated ssid's. I really need this I have a smart home device that only works on 2.4g and I can not configure it when my iphone is on 5g.
Any ideas. I am on V2.0.0.56 firmware
It really shouldn't matter. But, just to setup your device, I would try powering off any satellites you have, so the devices all connect to the Orbi router. If that still doesn't work, you could then try moving your iPhone so far away from Orbi that your iPhone is forced to connect using 2.4G. Others have said this worked for them.
EDIT: I split my post into a separate thread because I felt it was way too hard for me to find this information when I needed it. Hopefully this will increase visibility of it and maybe even get Netgear to act.
How to set a separate SSID for the 5 GHz network on your Orbi
After reading through this thread, I am starting to wonder if the "combined" 2.4 and 5.0Ghz is causing my problem. I have a Harmony Remote Hub connected to the network, as well as phone to edit activities on the hub. Both are on the same network, but the phone is on 5 and the hub is 2.4. I can't edit because it wants them both on the same network and it is recognizing the 2 bands as different. I have no way of switching one to get them together. I have had issues with security cams as well. I think I'll need to start looking for another whole house solution.
Retired_Member,
If you follow the steps I provided in this other thread, you can create separate SSIDs for your 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz networks. At the very least that will allow you to troubleshoot your issue and see if it is related to that or not. I don't suspect it is, but if you're technically inclined, it's easy enough to try and revert if it doesn't help:
How to set a separate SSID for the 5 GHz network on your Orbi
Hello all,
I have the Orbi bundle from Costco and have found that the single SSID approach is not working with half of the devices I have at home.
The newer devices (laptops and phones) connect just fine and I have great coverage.
However, some of the my older laptops when trying to connect are just returning an error "cannot connect to this network". This is after providing the correct password.
Does anyone know if there is a way (for the layman) around this without having to buy new laptops?
st_shaw is spot on. I wrote up a post that describes How to set a separate SSID for the 5 GHz network on your Orbi.