Hello everyone,

I believe I have found a firmware issue involving multiple RS700 units operating in a wired LAN bridge/AP deployment.

This does not appear to be a configuration issue. Everything is configured manually and worked correctly for several days before the problem occurred.

Network Topology

I have three RS700 routers connected via wired Ethernet.

RS700 #1 (Garage)

• Router Mode
• LAN IP: 192.168.7.1
• DHCP Enabled

RS700 #2 (Basement)

• Wired LAN Bridge / AP
• Static IP: 192.168.7.2
• DHCP Disabled

RS700 #3 (Master Bedroom)

• Wired LAN Bridge / AP
• Static IP: 192.168.7.3
• DHCP Disabled

The Basement and Master units are connected by Ethernet from a LAN port of the primary RS700 to a LAN port on each AP (no WAN port used).

Firmware

All three units are running exactly the same firmware.

Firmware Version

V1.0.11.8_2.0.112

I have attached screenshots confirming this.

Wireless Configuration

Everything is configured manually.

• Smart Connect: Disabled
• Auto Channel: Disabled
• WiFi Optimization: Disabled
• Mesh: Disabled
• Automatic channel selection: Disabled

All APs use the same SSID and password.

RS700 #1

2.4 GHz

• Channel 1
• 20 MHz

5 GHz

• Channel 48
• 80 MHz

6 GHz

• PSC 37
• 160 MHz

RS700 #2

2.4 GHz

• Channel 6
• 20 MHz

5 GHz

• Disabled

6 GHz

• PSC 117
• 160 MHz

RS700 #3

2.4 GHz

• Channel 11
• 20 MHz

5 GHz

• Channel 161
• 80 MHz

6 GHz

• PSC 197
• 160 MHz

What happened

Everything worked correctly for several days.

Then, overnight, several IoT cameras suddenly disconnected.

The cameras use only a dedicated 2.4 GHz IoT SSID.

When I investigated using WiFi Explorer on macOS, I discovered something unexpected.

RS700 #3 (Master) was no longer broadcasting its configured channels.

Instead, it was transmitting exactly the same channel plan as RS700 #1.

Expected:

2.4 GHz → Channel 11

5 GHz → Channel 161

6 GHz → PSC 197

Actual:

2.4 GHz → Channel 1

5 GHz → Channel 48

6 GHz → PSC 37

These are exactly the channels configured on RS700 #1.

Important Observation

The configuration pages on RS700 #3 were still showing the correct manual configuration:

• Channel 11
• Channel 161
• PSC 197

The GUI never changed.

Only the radios were transmitting incorrect channels.

Recovery

I rebooted all three RS700 units.

Immediately after reboot:

RS700 #3 returned to broadcasting:

• Channel 11
• Channel 161
• PSC 197

Everything worked normally again.

The configuration itself had never changed.

Only the active radio state appeared to be incorrect.

Why I believe this is a firmware issue

This behavior cannot be explained by:

• Smart Connect (disabled)
• Auto Channel (disabled)
• Mesh (disabled)
• DHCP conflicts
• AP configuration errors

The AP simply began broadcasting another AP’s manual RF configuration while still displaying its own correct configuration in the GUI.

A reboot immediately restored normal operation.

Possible consequence

Since RS700 #3 also switched its 2.4 GHz radio from Channel 11 to Channel 1, my network suddenly had two APs broadcasting the same IoT SSID on Channel 1.

I suspect this explains why multiple IoT cameras disconnected at the same time.

Questions

1. Has anyone experienced similar behavior with multiple RS700 units?
2. Is this a known firmware issue?
3. Is there any way to obtain diagnostic logs from the wireless driver before rebooting if this happens again?
4. Has Netgear engineering seen any reports of radios applying incorrect channel assignments while the GUI still shows the correct manual configuration?

Thank you.