NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
dpalmet
Jun 04, 2022Follower
RBR840 - Not showing 2.4GHz network at all
I've had the orbi RBR840 for about two years. I have a number of FEIT smartbulbs that are connected to my 2.4Ghz radio. When I tried adding another FEIT smartbulb recently, I couldn't locate the 2.4Ghz band at all on my smartphone or computers. I only see and am able to use the 5 Ghz band.
I unplugged the router and reset the entire orbi system to factory settings and tried the trick in advanced settings where "Enable 5Ghz" is de-selected, then tried re-scanning on my phone for the 2.4 Ghz bandwidth. It still doesn't show up anywhere, and now with the factory reset, none of the FEIT smartbulbs are not working (nor are any IoT that relies on 2.4Ghz for that matter) and I am unable to set them up again.
Not sure what to do here, this is deeply frustrating. Otherwise, the system is working well. If I could access the 2.4 Ghz, it would be perfect. I did see one suggestion on another board, "Please try a factory reset and setup from scratch with the RBR and RBS." I just have no idea if that makes sense or how I would setup from scratch with RBR and RBS, whatever that is.
Any suggestions?
2 Replies
Orbi routers have only one WiFi SSID ("name") which is broadcast on both 2.4G and 5G WiFi channels.
I have set up Feit products (bulbs and switches) using my smart phone connected to an older Orbi and had no problems.
Yes, Feit is careful to point out that "2.4G WiFi is required", which means that a customer who has no 2.4G WiFi at all cannot use the product. But, every modern WiFi router provides both 2.4G and 5G WiFi. This is similar to a flashlight saying, "takes 2 C batteries." If the customer has no C batteries, the flashlight will not work.
I recommend going ahead with the Feit app and selecting the Orbi WiFi SSID that appears.
It is odd that you don't see any 2.4Ghz wireless network from your Orbi. A factory reset may be required. If your Orbi's admin website indicates that it is indeed transmitting a 2.4Ghz wireless network, then these settings changes may improve compatibility with older 2.4Ghz wireless devices like your Feit lightbulb:
- Go to the web admin portal at http://orbilogin.com/
- Click to the Advanced tab, Advanced left menu, Wireless Settings
- Set CTS/RTS Threshold to 2347 for both 2.4hz and 5Ghz networks
- Press Apply
See if that helps. If problems still persist, next try disabling AX mode for the 2.4Ghz band:
- Go to http://orbilogin.com/
- Click to the Advanced tab, Setup left menu, Wireless Setup
- Uncheck "Enable 2.4G" under the top Enable AX section
- Press Apply