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Forum Discussion
WAX210 Firmware 1.1.0.34 Bug – SSID Password Complexity Incorrectly Enforced
Hi everyone — I’m seeing what looks like a firmware regression on the WAX210 after updating to v1.1.0.34, and I want to report it in case others are affected.
After updating, the AP now refuses to save any configuration changes (even unrelated ones like just renaming the Access Point). The UI throws this error:
SSID1: SSID passphrase length must be between 8 and 63 characters, and contain at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one special symbol.
This happens even when the SSID password is not edited at all. The AP loads the existing (valid) WPA2/WPA3 passphrase and flags it as invalid due to a complexity requirement that didn’t exist before. This appears to be the AP Login Password complexity policy being mistakenly applied to SSID passphrases, which contradicts the official manual. SSID passwords for WPA2/WPA3 should only require 8–63 characters.
Reproduction Steps
- Update WAX210 to firmware 1.1.0.34
- Log into the web interface
- Make any change (example: AP Name only)
- Click Apply
The SSID password complexity error appears, even though SSID settings were untouched
Impact. The AP cannot accept any configuration changes unless the SSID password is replaced with a much more complex passphrase. This forces a complete re-key of all connected devices.
Expected Behavior
Per the WAX210 User Manual, SSID passphrases should be valid with:
- 8 to 63 characters
- No requirements for uppercase/lowercase/digits/symbols
- Those rules worked correctly in previous firmware versions.
Current Workaround
Rolling back to firmware 1.1.0.25 or 1.1.0.20 fully resolves the issue.
Request
Can Netgear please confirm whether this is a regression in 1.1.0.34 and escalate to the firmware engineering team? This issue effectively prevents configuration of the device.
I can provide:
- Screenshots of the error dialog
- A configuration backup
- A short video showing the issue
- Exact hardware revision and serial if needed
Thanks in advance.
20 Replies
Can we have an update on a fix for this, please Netgear? It's been nearly 6 months since this bug was reported here...
The V1.1.0.34 firmware has a lot of useful bug fixes which we can't benefit from because it also imposes this inappropriate restriction on wi-fi passphrases.
Don't know what happened there. Feels almost like Netgear cancelled the contract with that OEM, because the were not able to fulfil the basic requirements.
Happened before on what was sold in the market as BR500 and BR200 (with just some functions removed, then renamed, and dropped finally in a very incomplete development state. And the customers were left back alone, with a tiny certificate update a while ago to overcome the Netgear Insight Cloud could no longer talk to these devices...
Hi, thanks for bringing this up - I am confirming the status of this internally. For issues like this we would always strongly advise to raise a ticket to ensure it follows the correct procedures and escalations internally. Please do let me know if you have sinces raised one so I can follow up with the support team.
Raise a ticket how?
Have you tried going back to V1.1.0.25 be chance to see if this still happens?
- undefined
Hi Brett / Dash16,
This was reported (by me) as Case Number — 49666138
Hi everyone,
I can confirm that a firmware to address this is being worked on. Provisional timeline is early July.
Hi BrendanM,
I am curious where you got that provisional date from.
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