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LukeM's avatar
LukeM
Star
Jul 28, 2020
Solved

Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices

I have an Orbi 6 Mesh Router with Firmware version 3.2.15.25_1.3.15. I have two sattelites and the install was fairly staightforward. However, since, day 1, the Orbi does not show up in the SSID list of several devices. Our internet is provided via cable, so I have a cable modem/router provided by my ISP that we cannot get rid of. Initially, when I set the network up, I read in some forums to assign the Orbi the same SSID as the cable modem and put the cable modem in bridge mode. 

 

This seemed to work OK but although I could see the network on all devices, some devices simply would not connect. All of the devices connected to the cable modem previously. Thinking that maybe the problem was the common SSID name and some devices were trying to connect to the cable modem, which is in bridge mode. 

 

Anyway, today I changed the SSID of the Orby. I could see and connect to the renamed network straight away on our two Android phones. But on  3 different Windows 10 PCs (all 64 bit versions with latest updates), the new network simply does not appear. I can see the old SSID on all of these devices but they cannot connect to it. 

 

Desperate to find a solution as need to be able to connect these PCs without moving close to the router and using an Ethernet cable...

 

Thanks for any advice, 

 

Luke

  • Mikey94025's avatar
    Mikey94025
    Jul 29, 2020

    Use the admin browser (orbilogin.com), go to Advanced... Advanced... Wireless Settings, change CTS/RTS threshold for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz to 2347.  This corrects many wireless compatibility issues.

     

    If that doesn't work, in the worst case you can uncheck Enable AX in Advanced... Setup... Wireless Setup.  But it would be a shame to disable AX on your new AX router just to remain compatible with older devices.

     

19 Replies

    • LukeM's avatar
      LukeM
      Star
      Jul 28, 2020

      OK thanks, will try there. Actually wasn't sure where to post as couldn't find my model in any lists... Thanks for the steer...

       

      Luke

    • LukeM's avatar
      LukeM
      Star
      Aug 10, 2020

      Hi FURRYe38,

      thanks for the heads up. I have tried to apply the update. For the two satellites, it worked fine, however I cannot get the router to accept the update. I consistently get an error that the update has failed but no indication as to why. Screen shots attached. Any suggestions? (PS. The PC is connected via Ethernet to the router as cannot connect via wifi unless I disable AX).


      Thanks,


      Luke

      • LukeM's avatar
        LukeM
        Star
        Aug 10, 2020

        FURRYe38 second screen shot. (I couldn't find a way to add more than one file to the same post).

        Regards,


        Luke

        LukeM wrote:

        Hi FURRYe38,

        thanks for the heads up. I have tried to apply the update. For the two satellites, it worked fine, however I cannot get the router to accept the update. I consistently get an error that the update has failed but no indication as to why. Screen shots attached. Any suggestions? (PS. The PC is connected via Ethernet to the router as cannot connect via wifi unless I disable AX).


        Thanks,


        Luke

         

  • Mikey94025's avatar
    Mikey94025
    Hero
    Jul 29, 2020

    Use the admin browser (orbilogin.com), go to Advanced... Advanced... Wireless Settings, change CTS/RTS threshold for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz to 2347.  This corrects many wireless compatibility issues.

     

    If that doesn't work, in the worst case you can uncheck Enable AX in Advanced... Setup... Wireless Setup.  But it would be a shame to disable AX on your new AX router just to remain compatible with older devices.

     

    • LukeM's avatar
      LukeM
      Star
      Aug 10, 2020

      Hi Mikey,

      sorry for the slow reply, but took a while to find a time when I could take down the network and play around a bit. 

       

      I tried both solutions. Changing the CTC/RTS threshold made no difference. 

       

      Disabling AX worked. I could see the Orbi network on all my Win 10 devices. I also checked some other forums regarding this issue. A couple suggested that outdated network adapter drivers could be the problem. However, this doesn't quite ring true to me as I have tried on 4 different machines with 4 different wifi adaptors and none can see the network. Moreover, although I searched on each manufacturer's website, none offered a more recent Win 10 driver and two of them explicitly stated that the latest drivers were bundled with Win 10. I have updated to Version 2004 on all machines but this makes no difference. 

       

      It does seem to be a Windows thing though. I accept that none of my adapter cards are newer than 2017, and so probably pre-dated the wifi6 standard. However, my Android phone is also a 2017 model (HTC U11) and therefore the built in wifi adapter would presumably suffer the same issue, yet all the Android devices in the house can "see" the AX enabled network. 

       

      For now, I have re-anabled the AX feature and will just disable it to update the non-Ethernet connected machines from time to time, but obviously this is a poor solution. Would be really good to get to a positive solution rather than a workaround, so if something bubbles up that you are aware of, please cascade it to me. 


      Thanks a lot for you help.

       

      Luke

    • LChew's avatar
      LChew
      Initiate
      Aug 30, 2020

      I'm glad to come across this thread.  My daughter's school provided Chromebook is a bit older and can't connect when the 20/40 MHz Coexistence on my older Nighthawk R7000 router, so I relegated her to connect to the 5Ghz guest network.  Same issue with the Orbi AX4200 RBR750 default configuration.  But this thread got me to look under the advanced wireless settings.  But still can't find where to disable SSID broadcast, which is not supported.

      • FURRYe38's avatar
        FURRYe38
        Guru - Experienced User
        Aug 30, 2020

        Try turning down the power output of either radio and see if this helps.

         

        For disabling SSID broadcast, please post about that here for a feature request:

        https://community.netgear.com/t5/Idea-Exchange-For-Home/idb-p/idea-exchange-for-home

         

        LChew wrote:

        I'm glad to come across this thread.  My daughter's school provided Chromebook is a bit older and can't connect when the 20/40 MHz Coexistence on my older Nighthawk R7000 router, so I relegated her to connect to the 5Ghz guest network.  Same issue with the Orbi AX4200 RBR750 default configuration.  But this thread got me to look under the advanced wireless settings.  But still can't find where to disable SSID broadcast, which is not supported.

         

  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User
    Jul 29, 2020

    Let us know if the suggestions help on this...

     

    Also there i newer FW available as well:

    https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/RBR850-RBS850-Firmware-Version-3-2-15-32-Hot-Fix-Firmware-Update/m-p/1943164/highlight/true#M5113

    LukeM wrote:

    I have an Orbi 6 Mesh Router with Firmware version 3.2.15.25_1.3.15. I have two sattelites and the install was fairly staightforward. However, since, day 1, the Orbi does not show up in the SSID list of several devices. Our internet is provided via cable, so I have a cable modem/router provided by my ISP that we cannot get rid of. Initially, when I set the network up, I read in some forums to assign the Orbi the same SSID as the cable modem and put the cable modem in bridge mode. 

     

    This seemed to work OK but although I could see the network on all devices, some devices simply would not connect. All of the devices connected to the cable modem previously. Thinking that maybe the problem was the common SSID name and some devices were trying to connect to the cable modem, which is in bridge mode. 

     

    Anyway, today I changed the SSID of the Orby. I could see and connect to the renamed network straight away on our two Android phones. But on  3 different Windows 10 PCs (all 64 bit versions with latest updates), the new network simply does not appear. I can see the old SSID on all of these devices but they cannot connect to it. 

     

    Desperate to find a solution as need to be able to connect these PCs without moving close to the router and using an Ethernet cable...

     

    Thanks for any advice, 

     

    Luke