NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Re: RBR760
Crimp On, just FYI on the WIFI 7 971/970 Router Satellites. You seem to be the 2.4MHz expert and my update is not on the 860, but this info may help you answering questions in the future. I had not...
e “attached devices” list in the App, if my iPhone is using 6MHz, and I open the App, I can still all the IOT SSID devices. I think if the main NG SSID and the IOT SSID were truly separate WIFI networks, normally your device has to be on the same SSID to see devices attached to the network your device is connected to. Some how NG has two different SSID’s established, but their APP treats them as the same SSID. When I was using my iPhone with 6E automatic, and then attaching to the 2.4 IOT SSID, my iPhone was using 6MHz band, not 2.4Mhz that the IOT was set to (after I disabled 5Mhz IIT band). I spent hours trying unsuccessfully to get my IOT devices to connect to the NG IOT SSID. After I disabled 6E automatic to off, my iPhone did show up on the Orbi Connected device list on the 2.4Mhz band, and everyone of my IOT devices connected on 1st “onboarding” try.
I did re-enable 6E Automatic when I finished connecting IOT. But, something strange is going on in the Router, or in the App.
There have been times when in my house with 6E enabled standing 10’ from the 971 router, I was on the 5Mhz band?!?! It did not automatically switch to 6Mhz band even when I was 10’ close to the router. I tried multiple solutions to get it to connect to 6MHz. I closed/re-opened the App, still 5MHz. I rebooted my iPhone, Orbi app still showed me on 5mhz. I had to reboot the router before my iPhone finally showed up on the App connected at 6Mhz. Maybe the App was stuck in 5 MHz, and not the router.
I also have 2.4 IOT devices that show up on the App with an RJ45 icon and not WiFi icon. I have no IOT device that has a LAN wired port??? And that RJ45 “moves around from one WiFi Iot device to other IOT devices. Then, sometimes all IOT devices have WIFI icon. There’s even been a few occasions when my iPhone 15 showed up on the app connected to the router with and RJ45 icon. That could, and does happen if I’m on satellite WIFI that are directly wired (I don’t use wireless backhaul) to the Router. But if I’m standing 10’ from the router, why did my mesh connection not change from the Satellite to my router??
The most aggravating is when I started replying to a Community post, or an email while my iPhone shows 3-full WiFi bands. I watch the WiFi corner of my iPhone almost continuously. Halfway thru my typed reply, the full WiFi will immediately disappear and 5G will pop up. When your’e replying to something, that something is on a server your WiFi has you connected to. When it jumps to 5G, the cellular service has no idea what you are replying to. I usually have to get back very close to router before it will reconnect to WIFI. I’ve tried turning off WiFi on my phone, cellular still pops up. Then sometimes 5G will disappear and full WiFi bars re-appear. I’ll go back into my reply, finish typing it, and hit “send”. Every time my phone goes from WiFi-5G-WIFI, and even though I finish typing my reply, I get a “sending error”. It just jumped to 5G as I type this. I had to copy everything I already typed. I’m still connected to 5G network, after I reopened a new reply window and pasted what previously copied.
Now I’ve gone back into full 3-bar WiFi. I’ll try sending this now.
I did re-enable 6E Automatic when I finished connecting IOT. But, something strange is going on in the Router, or in the App.
There have been times when in my house with 6E enabled standing 10’ from the 971 router, I was on the 5Mhz band?!?! It did not automatically switch to 6Mhz band even when I was 10’ close to the router. I tried multiple solutions to get it to connect to 6MHz. I closed/re-opened the App, still 5MHz. I rebooted my iPhone, Orbi app still showed me on 5mhz. I had to reboot the router before my iPhone finally showed up on the App connected at 6Mhz. Maybe the App was stuck in 5 MHz, and not the router.
I also have 2.4 IOT devices that show up on the App with an RJ45 icon and not WiFi icon. I have no IOT device that has a LAN wired port??? And that RJ45 “moves around from one WiFi Iot device to other IOT devices. Then, sometimes all IOT devices have WIFI icon. There’s even been a few occasions when my iPhone 15 showed up on the app connected to the router with and RJ45 icon. That could, and does happen if I’m on satellite WIFI that are directly wired (I don’t use wireless backhaul) to the Router. But if I’m standing 10’ from the router, why did my mesh connection not change from the Satellite to my router??
The most aggravating is when I started replying to a Community post, or an email while my iPhone shows 3-full WiFi bands. I watch the WiFi corner of my iPhone almost continuously. Halfway thru my typed reply, the full WiFi will immediately disappear and 5G will pop up. When your’e replying to something, that something is on a server your WiFi has you connected to. When it jumps to 5G, the cellular service has no idea what you are replying to. I usually have to get back very close to router before it will reconnect to WIFI. I’ve tried turning off WiFi on my phone, cellular still pops up. Then sometimes 5G will disappear and full WiFi bars re-appear. I’ll go back into my reply, finish typing it, and hit “send”. Every time my phone goes from WiFi-5G-WIFI, and even though I finish typing my reply, I get a “sending error”. It just jumped to 5G as I type this. I had to copy everything I already typed. I’m still connected to 5G network, after I reopened a new reply window and pasted what previously copied.
Now I’ve gone back into full 3-bar WiFi. I’ll try sending this now.
Roc1 wrote:
I think if the main NG SSID and the IOT SSID were truly separate WIFI networks, normally your device has to be on the same SSID to see devices attached to the network your device is connected to. Some how NG has two different SSID’s established, but their APP treats them as the same SSID
The relationship between WiFi SSID and "network" is more nuanced. Orbi's primary network, which allows all devices to communicate with each other, is based on the IP subnet. Wired devices, Prinary WiFi SSID, and IoT SSID are all assigned IPs in the same subnet. Thus they all can communicate with each other. Devices connected to the Guest SSID are assigned IPs in a different subnet. In addition, Guest devices cannot communicate with any other device. (not even other Guest devices.)
Personally, I preferred the original WiFi5 Orbi method of managing Guest devices where the user has the option of allowing guest devices to "see" or "not see" other devices.
- CrimpOn, well that makes sense, as to why my fruit phone connected to the IOT SSID at 6 MHz until I turned off “automatic 6E” (and it connected at 2.4Mhz, which might just have been a coincidence!!).
So, that takes me to another “novice” question.
Can the Guest subnet (on New Orbi’s (that don’t communicate with the Main/IOT subnet) be configured to work only on a specific WIFI band (e.g. 2.4MHz)?
If so, and since I never establish a “guest” network (all our “guests” are old and WAN/LAN challenged like me!), I just have them connect to the main SSID, could a Guest network SSID be configured only for 2.4Mhz, and then used for IOT devices?
This might be a good way to make sure that the cell device trying to “onboard” (Im trying to use Nest/Arlo lingo now!!) an IOT device is being assisted during connection by a cell device on a 2.4 MHz band.
Roc1 wrote:
Can the Guest subnet (on New Orbi’s (that don’t communicate with the Main/IOT subnet) be configured to work only on a specific WIFI band (e.g. 2.4MHz)?Alas, no. The primary and guest WiFi networks are always both 2.4G and 5G. (and 6G on the newest devices) Netgear has floundered for years with the issue of some IoT smartphone apps being poorly written.
After seven years, their 'solution' is what was customers had been asking for since the beginning: turn off the 5G channel for the five minutes it takes to connect a new IoT device and then turn 5G back on again. Rather than allow customers to do this with the primary 5G radio, Netgear added another SSID to manage (IoT)
It's a lot of bother, but at least it works.
- Crimpon, thanks.
Because of my 971 Orbi WiFi drops, I’ve typed this info in replies to you but then my cell jumps from WiFi to 5G and it wipes my reply, but did I ever get the info to you (you recommend doing this so I went to the 971 manual to try it last week when I was having so much trouble with my IOT’s.
The 168 page manual (latest update was Oct of 23 (maybe it was Nov) directs you to pages 71/72 to see how to reduce 2.4 (and/or 5Mhz too I believe).
When I got to 971 Web GUI screens to reduce 2.4 power, no options are shown in the location where the manual shows them to be. Apparently NG removed that option in some firmware upgrade.
Keep that in mind when you’re trying to help Community members with IOT onboarding.