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Forum Discussion
psuhacker
Oct 14, 2024Tutor
Nighthawk R7800, no 80 Mhz Bandwidth
Hi Everyone, A number of years ago I purchased a Netgear Nighthawk R7800 router and set it up as another access point along with my Arris NVG443B modem/router supplied by Frontier Communications DSL...
psuhacker
Oct 17, 2024Tutor
Thank both of you for your suggestions. See the following:
I do have 5 GHz neighbors but their power levels (signal strength) are low relative to my output (if this was a neighbor issue I would expect the Arris router to be affected also?). The neighborhood 5 GHz spectrum is not crowded. My Arris router uses channel 36 and the Netgear router uses channel 149 so there is a wide channel/frequency separation. Also there is no channel overlap with others using the channels. In further trying to eliminate the possibility of interference, I separated the routers by about 20-25 feet with two walls in between. Still no change; still a 20 MHz channel.
I downloaded WinInfoView and it confirmed what my Android Wi-Fi analyzer said, the R7800 was transmitting 5 GHz at 20 MHz bandwidth (why would my range extender transmit the R7800 5 GHz signal at 80 MHz? I would think the range extender would follow whatever the router was doing). I wish I knew more about these things.
I also checked the Netgear web site and confirmed my firmware was up to date.
Lastly I visited the Voxel web site and downloaded what I think is the latest version of their R7800 firmware (R7800-V1.0.2.111SF). I am hesitating to install it (cold feet) because I do not want to turn my router into a door stop. Admittedly, I can be "all thumbs" with such things. I have to give this some more thought.
This may be a hardware issue and not software? I believe the R7800 uses a Qualcomm radio module and that is the device that creates the 80 MHz path. Maybe that is defective?
In any case, the router seems to be doing well for my purposes and this issue is, at this point, an academic one.
Lastly, I took Michaelkenward's note "Just another user with time on their hands" to be pointed at me. Sorry, my mistake, even though I am retired and do have time to research these things that interest me.
Kitsap
Oct 18, 2024Master
I have an early production R7800 that I have been running Voxel's firmware on for years. Recently updated to version 1.0.2.111SF. It runs fine and broadcasts 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an 80 MHz wide channel with excellent throughput.
See attached. There is a chance your specific R7800 has a problem with the 5 GHz Wi-Fi radio.
- psuhackerOct 20, 2024Tutor
Thanks for your response. I am not too concerned about the firmware itself, I am sure it works okay. I have always been concerned about these installation processes, whether this one in particular or the flashing process in general. I will try the Voxel firmware but will conduct a test beforehand.
I purchased a used (reasonably priced), fully functional, R7800 router on ebay and when it arrives will restore it to factory condition, install it and see if I get 80 Mhz bandwidth on the 5 GHz band. If I do, it will indicate my first router was probably defective. I will then install the Voxel software on the "defective" router to see if it makes any difference. This may take a couple of weeks.
- KitsapOct 21, 2024Master
psuhacker wrote:Thanks for your response. I am not too concerned about the firmware itself, I am sure it works okay. I have always been concerned about these installation processes, whether this one in particular or the flashing process in general. I will try the Voxel firmware but will conduct a test beforehand.
Fully agree with your concern. The update process with the least chance of an issue is to use a web browser on a computer that is direct connected to the router via an Ethernet cable. Avoid the mobile application at all costs. Preferable not to use Wi-Fi for the connection. If your laptop does not have an Ethernet port, buy a USB to RJ45 adapter on Amazon.
A couple of tips from past experience. Do not connect the router you are updating to the internet when updating. Make sure the Wi-Fi (both bands) on the router you are updating is enabled and broadcasting. Perform a firmware default reset and reboot prior to performing the update. After the firmware update, configure the router from scratch. Do not upload a previous configuration file.
- psuhackerOct 21, 2024Tutor
Will do, many thanks!