D7000v2 Wifi SSID frequently becomes hidden or unavailable

[BecArk]

Hi,

I've had a Netgear Nighthawk D7000v2 router for the past 6 months or so and have had regularly connection issues which I have not seen mentioned elsewhere on here so thought I would ask if anyone else has seen it and/or if there are any solutions.

When the issue occurs, the Wifi SSID seems to disappear. Sometimes it is preceded by the SSID being visible, but unconnectable. Devices report being able to see it, but cannot connect. When I try connect, an "incorrect password" error message is displayed.

This seemed to happen a lot more when I got the router first of all. And it also seems to happen more frequently when new devices are added. Devices are able to connect to the wifi network ok, but after a period of time, either the SSID becomes invisible or they are told the password entered is incorrect even though it was working previously.

The only workaround I have at the moment is to restart the router. However, as you can imagine, this is not ideal. It happens roughly once a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but frequently enough to be a major irritation. As I said, I suspect it may be related to having new devices connect, but am not certain. There doesn't seem to be a connectivity issue with the outside world, as restarting the router invariably fixes it. Also, there are no error lights flashing or any other indications from the device that somethin is wrong.

I believe I am running the latest firmware V1.0.0.56_1.0.1.

Has anyone else had similar problems? Are there any logs I can lookup to see what's happening on the router to troubleshoot further?

[w3wilkes · Accepted solution]

I have seen the issue of the devices unable to connect with some type authentication error, but not the disappering SSID. I think you're on the most recent firmware. Netgear doesn't seem to acknowledge bugs on modem/router devices even though they cost a fortune. My take on this type error is to return the device and get another vendors product that actually works as advertised.

[w3wilkes · Accepted solution]

I have seen the issue of the devices unable to connect with some type authentication error, but not the disappering SSID. I think you're on the most recent firmware. Netgear doesn't seem to acknowledge bugs on modem/router devices even though they cost a fortune. My take on this type error is to return the device and get another vendors product that actually works as advertised.

[BecArk]

Thanks for your advice. I'm not comfortable with the "hey it just doesn't work, just get another one" idea. There's a reason it doesn't work as specified. Its frustrating that I can't find out why. But yes, I will return this model and try a different one from another manufacturer as it appears to be only way forward from here.

For the record, I tried using wifi analyzers to find the best channel to use and tried different channels. I tried disabling/enabling beamforming. I even disconnected an internet radio that was getting intermittent coverage due to its distance from the router and the walls between, in the hopes it might have been over-utilising the routers bandwidth. But the problem never went away and, if anything, got worse from being a "once every few weeks" issue to "every day".

Oh well...