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Security Enabled and Guest Network Enabled - but they're not!
Took the plunge and installed firmware V4.6.7.13_2.1.9 about 5 days ago. (System was NOT factory reset after installation.) All my internal tests showed it was stable, fast and appeared to be much better than the previous firmware. However, today I noticed my two RBSs are broadcasting the 2.4mHz band on channel 1 even though I manually set them to channel 6 on the RBR webpage. Additionally, the RBR webpage shows security is "Enabled" but I NEVER authorized that AND the guest network is broadcasting even though it is NOT enabled in the GUI.
I confirmed all of this via Apple's Airport Utility. (I know it is ancient but it actually sniffs WiFi and will give you SSIDs, MACs, frequency band, channels and RSSI values.) Anyone else seeing this anomaly? Any ideas how to fix this short of factory reset?
Because I don't like to give in to an inanimate object, I wanted to see what would happen if I set the RBR to the channel that the RBSs were broadcasting. I set the RBR 2.4 GHz band to channel 1. As soon as the RBR had applied that change, I checked the SSID broadcasts. Guess what? The guest network no longer is broadcasting! The RBR and RBS are now on the same page.
Doing WiFi tests at 6'-8' from the RBR I get 750-800 Mbps/40 Mbps (upload/download speed). Since I must daisy chain my sats, the first RBS gives 600-650 Mbps/40 Mbps. I'm content with that value. The second RBS gives 350-400 Mbps/30 Mbps and I'm good with that as well.
What I haven't done is to reset the RBR to channel 6 to see if the RBS will follow now that they're all on the same channel. Not willing to waste anymore time on this if the system stays stable. All of my lengthy (4+ hours) troubleshooting definitely points to firmware bugs in version 4.6.7.13.
11 Replies
Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router and RBS been performed since last update?
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.factory reset and setup from scratch maybe needed. Also give checking the Guest Network SSID about 5-10 minutes...it should disappear. We've seen the Guest Network broadcast during bootup and does disappear a few minutes later.
A power off cycle was performed per the procedure you laid out in another thread regarding installation of the latest firmware. These anomalies are new within the last 48 hours. They appeared without any GUI/app changes from me.
I finally discovered where to turn off Netgear Armor. However, the Guest Network continues to broadcast on 2.4 mHz, Channel 1 even though it shows as DISABLED in the GUI. The primary Network is broadcasting on Channel 6, 2.4 mHz. Both my RBSs show Channel 1 as the selected channel yet the RBR shows channel 6 as the selected 2.4mHz channel and a good sync/backhaul connection.
The 5 gHz band broadcast is ONLY on showing up on the primary network and on my selected channel (48) for the RBR and RBSs.
Obviously there's a bug somewhere in this new firmware. I am loath to do a factory reset as I have over 40 IP address reservations and it takes a lot of time to reinitialize my system. I'll try another power cycle first.
Ok. Turn OFF the RBS and power OFF the RBR then back ON. Don't turn ON the RBS. See if the RBR has the guest network broadcasting...
