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Forum Discussion
Separate WiFi 2.4 and 5ghz bands
I am no longer able to separate my WiFi bands on the most recent Orbi firmware versions. It worked for over a year fine, but after updating firmware they are no longer separate. I have tried the Te...
Successfully running separate 2.4 and 5G SSIDs on an RBR40, RBS20 and RBS40 (converted RBR40) using firmware V2.5.1.16.
I joined the club just a couple of weeks ago. First task was to convert an RBR40 into an RBS40 - which worked like a charm (see reddit/orbi). Manually downgraded an RBR40 running V2.5.1.16 to V2.1.4.16 before converting it to an RBS40. Manually upgraded a brand new RBR40 from 1.XX to V2.1.4.16 to be my ORBI router. I chose to begin work with firmware V2.1.4.16 as that corresponded to earlier posts that reported success. Telnet config commands were used to specify unique SSID for "wla_ssid" and unique AES password/key for "wla_wpa2_psk" to create the separate 5G network. All seemed to work well, and the router web interface even showed status for BOTH the 2.4G and 5G wireless networks.
I then decided to update firmware of satellite then router to V2.3.1.58. Web interface now only displayed what was the 2.4G SSID. After some telnet investigation using wild cards to display as many of the wifi variables as I could find, I discovered that the newer firm ware is using different variable names for the 5G network, which now named "wla_2nd_ssid" and its AES password/key is named wla_2nd_wpa2_psk". Armed with this info, I was able to again configure separate wifi networks. I also applied "config set wifison-monitor_stop=1" which is reported to disable automatic firmware updates.
After a manual update to the latest firmware V2.5.1.16, NG again replaces the wla_2nd SSID. The telnet config commands were again used to correctly configure my setup. Yesterday I introduced a new RBS20 to my setup after first manually updating its firmware to the most recent V2.5.1.16 and then successfully integrating the new device. Logging into the web interface of satellites will reveal a status page that reports BOTH networks.
It is a bit of a hassle at first, but I am commited to the concept of limiting devices on my 5G network to prioritize streaming video and minimize interference/interruption.