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subarctic's avatar
Jan 04, 2020
Solved

The Curse of the Changing Names

I've recently been re=victimized by the dreaded "Curse of the Changing Names"--i.e., when I go through the effort to change the name of a device connected to the Orbi network, it typically rapidly changes back to its (usually useless) default. Anyone have a sense of when/if Netgear will finally fix this? I know that this has been a subject of discussion here before, and I've been through the pain of it a few times. Every so often, after an update to the router and/or the app, I change the names of a few devices--hoping things will be different this time. Inevitably, I'm disappointed. This time, things were even stranger than usual. Today I noticed that several of my devices were named as former devices no longer connected to my network. For example, the Orbi decided to tag one of my connected speakers with the name of an old smart phone, and it also christened my printer as an "Apple TV." Prompted by this bizarreness, I took the time and effort to audit my devices MAC address by MAC address and name them properly. Sure enough, shortly after going through all that work, devices have started changing back to their useless, Orbi selected names. I wish Netgear would fix this. In today's connected world, it's an asset to look at a network listing, quickly account for your devices, and identify anything that shouldn't be there. But that process is harder when the names are strings of letters and numbers, or worse nonsensical inaccuracies.
  • SW_'s avatar
    SW_
    Jan 04, 2020

    subarctic wrote:

    I'm on 2.5.0.38.

    Device rename was broken on v2.5.0.38, which was pulled from NG support website.  Manually upgrade Orbi/Satellite to the latest firmware version 2.5.1.8, which contains the fixes for device rename issue.

11 Replies

  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru - Experienced User

    My RBR50 remains on firmware 2.3.5.30 and device names "work fine."  Which firmware release are you on?

    • subarctic's avatar
      subarctic
      Guide

      I'm on 2.5.0.38.

       

      I don't know if I tried renaming devices when I was on 2.3.5.30. But I have tried it several times in the past, on a few different firmware varriants, and the results were similar--sometimes my names "stuck" but most of the time they did not.  This is the first time, however, that the Orbi has assigned my devices inaccurate names.

      • SW_'s avatar
        SW_
        Prodigy

        subarctic wrote:

        I'm on 2.5.0.38.

        Device rename was broken on v2.5.0.38, which was pulled from NG support website.  Manually upgrade Orbi/Satellite to the latest firmware version 2.5.1.8, which contains the fixes for device rename issue.