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: