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Forum Discussion
Will the option to name SSID individually ever arrive?
With the latest firmware, the ability to change radio strength and disable a specific radio were removed; which in my opinion is a step backwards.
I think it's important for the Netgear team to realize that the ability for a user to tailor their orbi for their specific needs and situation. Removing features that facilitate versatility and customization makes no sense.
With that in mind, the OPTION to rename each band individually would be a great feature to implement. I understand the idea of why that is not an option at the moment. On paper it sounds like a good idea, but in reality, lacking the option doesn't allow advanced users to customize to suit their needs.
On the forum, I see many posts complaining about being "stuck" on 2.4ghz when they want to be on 5ghz. Many utilized the features (now removed with latest firmware) mentioned above to help prevent that from happening.
In my case, I only need certain devices to be on 2.4ghz...my blink cameras, ring doorbells and my printer. Outside of that I have no need or desire to be on the slower 2.4ghz network. Being able to isolate that via a different SSID, would eliminate the issues of being stuck on 2.4ghz when not desired and ensure all my other 5ghz capable devices would always be on thr 5ghz network.
Adding back the two options removed with the latest firmware and introducing the advanced setting option to name each band individually if desired, would solve a lot of woes for many in my opinion.
When advanced users choose to upload custom firmware to their routers like Tomato, I believe they mainly do so because of all the OPTIONS and features that become available that wasn't there by default.
I encourage others to chime in on the topic with their opinions. Am I the only one that desires to have that option or see the logic in it?
I think it's important for the Netgear team to realize that the ability for a user to tailor their orbi for their specific needs and situation. Removing features that facilitate versatility and customization makes no sense.
With that in mind, the OPTION to rename each band individually would be a great feature to implement. I understand the idea of why that is not an option at the moment. On paper it sounds like a good idea, but in reality, lacking the option doesn't allow advanced users to customize to suit their needs.
On the forum, I see many posts complaining about being "stuck" on 2.4ghz when they want to be on 5ghz. Many utilized the features (now removed with latest firmware) mentioned above to help prevent that from happening.
In my case, I only need certain devices to be on 2.4ghz...my blink cameras, ring doorbells and my printer. Outside of that I have no need or desire to be on the slower 2.4ghz network. Being able to isolate that via a different SSID, would eliminate the issues of being stuck on 2.4ghz when not desired and ensure all my other 5ghz capable devices would always be on thr 5ghz network.
Adding back the two options removed with the latest firmware and introducing the advanced setting option to name each band individually if desired, would solve a lot of woes for many in my opinion.
When advanced users choose to upload custom firmware to their routers like Tomato, I believe they mainly do so because of all the OPTIONS and features that become available that wasn't there by default.
I encourage others to chime in on the topic with their opinions. Am I the only one that desires to have that option or see the logic in it?
10 Replies
to answer your question in the title , i would say more than likley not
the reason is the specific way the orbi has been designed with both band and ap steering to facilitate whole home wifi , if you where able to use two different ssid names then it would primariliry be up to the client to roam and lets face it most clients dont do a great job of roaming by themselves , doing so basically removes the automated capability and would lessen the functionality of the orbi as a wholistic system
just my 2 cents
pete
in areas with a high density of different wifis (like the city center i am living in) the 2.4ghz band is often swamped, even to a point where it is nearly unusable (i am scanning100+ wifi ssid around here sharing the 2.4ghz channels).
at this point the 5ghz is the only way to go (and actual throughput is 50x faster). under circumstances like this you just NEED an option to force devices to the 5ghz (even though the signal strenth of the 2.4ghz is nominaly higher). seperate ssids would be a perfect way to accomplish that. again: this a not for everyone. but as an advanced option this would be PRICELESS. other mesh wifi products (e.g. amplify) offer this option, already.
- So would that logic be why they decided to remove the two options with the last firmware revision?
I understand "most clients" may prefer a wholly automated system that makes all the decisions for them, but that still doesn't mean that the advanced users would appreciate the ability to fine tune and decide what they want the orbi to automate for them for their specific needs. Now you would have a system that caters to every type of user.
A "one size fits all" approach doesn't necessarily mean it's the best for ALL users.
I'm sure most users who don't need or want these options would ever utilize these functions and can leave their setup as default; hence OPTIONS. I can't fathom people not appreciating the ability to exercise options if seen fit.yup imho thats why they did it
I completely support individual SSID's and the return of being able to disable either radio. These are not "advanced" features as they have been available in routers for years. My whole household has become irritated with the seemingly arbitrary switching between 2.4GHz - 5GHz and back to 2.4GHz again. Prior to this update I had the 2.4GHz band completely disabled and had absolutely no issues whatsoever, so even if the 2.4GHz is used for some backhaul purposes, it did not affect me.
I realize that the Orbi does not appear to be marketed towards "advanced" users and is more of a plug in and play system; however, that does not have to be the case. The Orbi could easily be a device that is valued by both the target users and advanced users alike. The solution is already halfway there by leaving the Orbi's factory default settings as they are. All that needs to be done is to expand the advanced user options. If they're worried about people accidentally disabling certain default features such as bandsteering (By disabling a radio or using 2 SSID's), they could simply have a pop up warning box that says something along the lines of "WARNING: Disabling this feature may cause the Orbi to not operate normally. Are you sure you want to continue?" I'm sure this would scare off anyone who didn't realize what they were doing.
