NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Aircard 785 - problem with dynamic MAC address
The device is programmed to present different MAC address (dynamically allocated) on WiFi interface. Below arp result, address changes on each restart: arp - a 192.168.1.1 9a-09-09-fc-...
I replaced Netgear with other LTE mobile router and sold the Aircard on web auction.
No problem with changing network name anymore, it has more features (e.g. sms sending, USSD codes support).
Problem solved.
Hello Ac_001
Are you on the latest firmware I believe we just released a new one not to long ago for this device. Also you may want to try a factory reset and see if this behavior continues let me know if so Ill have it investigated further.
DarrenM
Hi Darren,
First of all, thanks for reply and understanding. Online support took a while to understand my issue and later said "Since Windows is creating these registry entries or keeps asking you, then it is a Windows problem, not ours".
Definitely not a proper response, given also that other routers like D-Link DWR-730 that I used before, or newest DWR-932 that my friend uses do not have such issues.
Responding to your question - I am constantly checking for updates and when you recently released newer firmware, I was hoping it would fix my issue - I downloaded it and upgraded instantly.
My current firmware is:
FW Version: NTG9X25A_02.08.00.51
FW Build Date: 05/04/15
Web App Version: AC785S-1_03.03.58.06C
Bootloader Version: NTG9X25A_02.08.00.51
Hardware Version: 1.0
Unfortunately, the problem remains.
What's strange, is that on web administration page under WiFi Detals I can see router MAC Address:E8-FC-AF-B9-8F-3D, whereas arp -a returns (after todays boot, next time will be different of course):
192.168.1.1 2e-8d-ee-16-fc-63 dynamic
On Windows taskbar I can see WiFi profile displaying as <<my network name>>_129 (so Windows already registered 129 different MAC router addresses for my Aircard.
To add more information, I have checked and confirmed that the problem occurs on 2 other Windows machines, not only my PC (all Windows 7).
Steps to replicate:
1. set up WiFi network on the router (I use WPA2 authentication)
2. connect to the network from Windows, choose network type (Home/Work/Public)
3. On Windows taskbar network name displayed when hovered by mouse is "SSID" where SSID is your chosen network name
4. reboot the router
5. connect to router again (Windows remembers WiFi password and doesn't ask for it but will ask again for network type - choose it again)
6. On the taskbar network name displayed when hovered by mouse is "SSID 2" where SSID is your chosen network name
The number from point six above increments after each router reboot (3, 4, 5... and so on).
Would be great if you replicated and corrected the issue in the firmware. I do look forward to it.
Regards,
Adam
Hello ac_001
Yes Im going pass this issue on to be investigated to see if we can replicate the issue and look for a fix. Let me know if you have any more issues or concerns with the 785.
DarrenM
Hello Ac_001
We tried to replicate the issue by following the steps you provided but were unable to get the same result. After checking someone remembered a customer having this issue in the past they said they updated there PC bios and usb drivers and this solved the issue. If after trying that and it does not resolve the issue can you record this behavior on his machine using application such as http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ or any other screen capture tool you wants so we can see the behavior and escalate further if needed.
DarrenM
Darren,
I wil record the behavior and present to you (how should I share movie?).
I am surprised with your explanation regarding BIOS, as it is possible to confirm router's changing address from any device on the network and it has nothing to do with BIOS or drivers (anyway I'm on newest version on machines that I tried).
I am able to see same router's MAC address changing after each reboot from my QNAP server, as well as Windows running on Mac machine (bootcamp).
Regards,
Adam
Hello ac_001
I have sent you a PM
DarrenM