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R7000 Firmware Bug 1.0.6.28
The other night, I flashed the firmware, as the router notified me of an update to version 1.0.6.28_1.1.83. After doing so, my wife's laptop will no longer connect to the home 2.4 GHz network; howev...
So far, so good. I just flashed my R7000 and it even kept my modified IP settings, so I don't have to modify those parameters. It appears to "see" the connected devices, and my Samsung printer works on the IP that was assigned. If I notice any glitches, I'll post again. Also, will Arlo be in the final version and off by default?
Thank you.
When I loaded firmware 1.0.6.23_1.1.83 on my Nighthawk R7000, it automatically enabled ARLO on my network. I don't own any ARLO devices and will never use it, but this firmware created a brand new SSID on my router that broadcast on the SAME CHANNEL as my 2.4 Ghz network. For a networking company, this really makes me question the technical knowledge of the engineers at Netgear.
When the ARLO SSID popped up on my network, it totally killed my 2.4Ghz network because it was on the same channel. The interference made my connection to my normal SSID drop out every couple of seconds. It wasn't until I opened up a Wifi scanner that I noticed the new SSID. When I updated the firmware, I did not see any alerts that the new SSID would be set up and enabled. Looking at the Genie settings, I was unable to find the ARLO setting to turn it off. It wasn't until I logged in to the web interface of the router (isn't the Genie software supposed to make it so we don't have to do this?) that I saw the setting to turn off ARLO.
Why in the world would a networking company do something so asinine? This is making me question my purchase of this router.
And, I just noticed that the firmware update also enabled Genie Media Server, again without my input. So I have to go look for the setting to disable this as well. How about when new features like these are added, we are given a choice as to whether we want them enabled?
With regard to sharing the 2.4 GHz channel by the ARLO SSID and your regular SSID, there's nothing asinine about it. The guest network, when enabled, operates in the same manner, and it certainly doesn't kill the channel. There certainly could be a bug, but in the absence of this, the channel should not be significantly affected by the ARLO SSID.
You can certainly question the benefit of enabling a new feature by default, but I will point out that it is well established that features are almost never used when they are disabled by default.
As soon as I disabled the Arlo SSID (the option was only available in the Web interface, not the Genie interface) my 2.4Ghz connection was stable again. I do not use the Guest network for the same reason, having multiple SSIDs on the same wireless channel is a poor plan because of the interference caused by congestion. If interference is not an issue, then why do routers generally search for a non-crowded channel upon boot if set for auto-channel? Why do apartment complexes usually have wifi issues because of so many SSIDs broadcasting on the same channel?
Sorry, I'm an IT engineer with a background in networking, so I have a little bit of knowledge about this. If there have been recent advances that make channel congestion a non-issue, then that is great. However, I have never seen it to be a good idea to have multiple SSIDs on the same channel.
And I know that new features are often overlooked if they are not enabled by default. Perhaps the router could enter a "New Feature Setup" mode after a new firmware and show users all the new features with options to configure them. If the feature is simply enabled but the user is not aware of it, that still doesn't mean it is being used - just that it is enabled. For example, I have no Arlo devices on my network that would utilize the new Arlo SSID, and I use Plex so I have no need for the Genie media server.
It is not quite accurate to call the congestion from multiple SSIDs using the same channel as interference. Interference implies a disorderly disruption. In fact, multiple SSIDs on the same channel cooperate in a very orderly fashion using the CSMA/CA mechanisms built into Wi-Fi. Since you have an IT background, this is no different than overlaying multiple IP subnets on the same Ethernet segment. The individual subnets operate as ships in the night but share the same physical medium. So it goes with multiple SSIDs on the same Wi-Fi channel.
OTOH, you do get interference from multiple SSIDs operating on adjacent, overlapping channels, such as channels 1 and 2. In this case, transmissions on one channel are literally noise to the other channels. There is no cooperation across channels, so retransmissions can be quite frequent to the detriment of both channels. That is why it is recommended that people only use channels 1, 6 and 11 because they don't overlap.
In spite of the above, it certainly makes sense to find the least congested channel in order to maximize the available bandwidth, but there's nothing wrong with having multiple SSIDs use the same channel. A router would literally need another radio to avoid multiplexing two SSIDs on the same channel.
Your suggestion about introducing new features is not bad. You can post it in the Idea Exchange forum.