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Forum Discussion

clemson's avatar
clemson
Follower
Jan 25, 2026

Nighthawk M3 – Cannot change SSID for 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz without factory reset

Hi,

I have an issue with my Netgear Nighthawk M3.

I can only change the SSID for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands immediately after a factory reset. After normal setup, the “Apply” button stays red in the WiFi settings and changes are not saved.

Because of this, I cannot set the same SSID for both bands, which is important for my use case.

This is reproducible:

After factory reset: SSID can be changed

After normal operation: changes cannot be applied

Is this a known firmware issue, and is there any workaround or fix?

Thanks!

mr6150

2 Replies

  • EXaXXion's avatar
    EXaXXion
    Tutor
    Jan 25, 2026

    I have the same problem, there should be a fix with changing the encryption and not saving it. It is discussed in another thread, but I have not tested it yet.

  • robert211's avatar
    robert211
    Aspirant
    Feb 09, 2026

    Yes, this is a known issue with some Nighthawk M3 units—after the first setup, the SSID fields can stop saving changes and the “Apply” button stays red. A few things that usually help: update to the latest firmware, use the web admin page instead of the app, disable band steering while changing SSIDs, or try changing one band at a time. If none of that works, the only reliable way right now is a factory reset → change SSIDs → avoid other changes until Netgear releases a fix.