Re: Cannot rename devices on Nighthawk APP or using mywifiext EAX20

dtaft · ‎2023-11-15

I have devices with no names and no way to edit them. I have done this in the past, but currently I cannot find a way to do this. There is no option to edit, either in the Nighthawk APP or logging in with mywifiext.

I looked but seem to have the most current firmware version.

Hardware Version: EAX20
Firmware Version: V1.0.1.64_1.0.104

michaelkenward · ‎2023-11-15

@dtaft wrote:

I have devices with no names and no way to edit them.

Is this a reference to names in "Attached devices"?

This is a notoriously flakey are for Netgear devices.Apps don't help because they also have their eccentricities.

One way to name things is to do it in a web browser and the graphical user interface (GUI).

You could also try it on the router that feeds this AP.

You say:

There is no option to edit, either in the Nighthawk APP or logging in with mywifiext.

Have you clicked the icons for the devices?

dtaft · ‎2023-11-15

Click the icons....No Icons here on the web login. If you mean the APP, I have clicked on everything I can see.

dtaft · ‎2023-11-15

App main page... I click the white dot with circles, the named device, the unnamed .... all they do is pull up the devices info, there is no way to edit the device name here. When I am looking at the device info, there is nothing there I can click which pulls up a way to edit it either. I press the dashes, the white doted circle icon, and the .. next to the green dot. None of them do anything.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-11-16

@dtaft wrote:

Click the icons....No Icons here on the web login. If you mean the APP, I have clicked on everything I can see.

We still don't know where you are looking. I did ask if you were talking about Attached devices.

"Is this a reference to names in "Attached devices"?"

Your screen grab seems to show Access Control.

I'm looking at an R7800 in AP mode. I realise that this is different hardware, but Netgear tries to maintain some sort of commonality in the GUI, so I'm hoping that you see the same thing, or something similar. (The manual suggests that it does.)

In the settings

Attached Devices

(The EAX20 manual also talks about Connected Devices.)

I see this:

Attached Devices

Each of those icons is clickable. Click one and it brings up this:

Edit Device

Do you see something similar?

There are other ways to edit devices, with the "desktop genie" for example. But that's the easiest.

dtaft · ‎2023-11-16

I was logged in via the web using http://mywifiext/

I logged in, selected settings, and connected devices.

That is the only place I see devices, and as the screen shot showed, some have names but 2 of them say the names are --.

Nowhere is there any icon to click, or any button saying edit, so that I can put names to the devices which just show IP addresses and have device name --

I looked through the manual and I do not see anyplace I could do this. I thought I assigned names for things when I first set this up a year or two ago.

Now on the router, I can see attached devices, and there is a button to click to edit and change names of them.

But I need to be able to do this to the devices on the Extender.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-11-16

@dtaft wrote:

Now on the router, I can see attached devices, and there is a button to click to edit and change names of them.

But I need to be able to do this to the devices on the Extender.

Have you tried changing the settinngs there and seeing if they carry over to the extender?

I have many places where I can change these settings. (Nighthawk App, router GUI, AP GUI and desktop genie) Once fixed on one, they carry over to the others. It would be bothersome to have to change them individually in all of those places.

@dtaft wrote:

I was logged in via the web using http://mywifiext/

That's not really "via the web" as I understand it. That is the browser's way into the graphical user interface (GUI). It goes nowhere near "the web". You can even get there without an Internet connection.

dtaft · ‎2023-11-16

If you mean can I change the on the router.. the answer is no. All I can see on the router is the devices connected to it. I cannot see the devices which are connected to the extender.

Logging into the extender with the internet or the APP are the only 2 ways I know of to see the devices connected. They just are not giving me any way to edit them.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-11-17

@dtaft wrote:

If you mean can I change the on the router.. the answer is no. All I can see on the router is the devices connected to it. I cannot see the devices which are connected to the extender.

Logging into the extender with the internet or the APP are the only 2 ways I know of to see the devices connected. They just are not giving me any way to edit them.

I sense that something else is going on here. I'd forget about the names of the devices for now and dig deeper into why you see what you do. For example, the grabs from your Nighthawk app are clearly bust. Why?

Start with the heart of the network. The EAX hangs off that. The network's controls are in the router. It hands out IP addresses and tracks what is happening on the network.

What is router feeds the extender? Further up the chain, what modem/gateway/ONT sits between the router and the Internet?

donalcombright · ‎2024-09-20

Still an issue I assume? My experiences with my setup below.

-- I have an Orbi 960 (+1 Sat) and 2 EAX15 devices. My experience:

1. Nighthawk app is atrocious.

2. You cannot rename devices (for an extender at least) via the Nighthawk app or the web app.

3. Not only that but the device names pulled are worse on the nighthawk app/web app then what the Orbi app/web interface gets.

4. If a device connects to your router directly for a short period of time you can name it via the Orbi app/web interface. When it goes back to its strongest connection location (extender) it doesn't maintain the name from the Orbi device.

This is frustrating for anyone with a lot of devices you are trying to keep track off because:

1. Orbi app should show the device, its getting the IP from my router.

2. Nighthawk app should give the ability to rename it in the very least.

Having to use 2 apps its beyond stupid as well, give me one look and also make it so when I switch between devices I don't need to reload everything.

michaelkenward · ‎2024-09-20

@donalcombright wrote:

1. Nighthawk app is atrocious.

It is not great, which is why some of us advise against using it. It is too dumbed down. But there are a few things that you can do that people miss. Maybe it depends on your version. You don't say if it is iOS or Android.

2. You cannot rename devices (for an extender at least) via the Nighthawk app or the web app.

There is the hidden "Edit" button in the Network Map. Drill down to the device you want to manage and look for the button next to the device icon.

Of course, some devices don't let you do that because of the way that they are configured. It is there for an AP. but I'm not sure about extenders. They are a bit different and increasingly losing out to Mesh systems. I'd expect to manage an extenders on the device itself.

Having to use 2 apps its beyond stupid as well, give me one look and also make it so when I switch between devices I don't need to reload everything.

I guess that's a consequence of mixing two systems.

Just another user with time on their hands.

donalcombright · ‎2024-09-20

@michaelkenward wrote:
You don't say if it is iOS or Android.
iOS

There is the hidden "Edit" button in the Network Map. Drill down to the device you want to manage and look for the button next to the device icon.
I have no button anywhere when browsing the extenders in iOS or on the web interface. Do you have a screen shot of a hidden button? Note unknown is my Rachio, which Orbi does a somewhat better job of naming, but at least I can organize it if it doesn't.
I guess that's a consequence of mixing two systems.
Agree with this however I have tried running 4 Orbi's (750s) and they start causing issues because they are too close and NETGEAR recommended it was "congested". My house is about 2500sq feet, however it was originally electric heat so every wall is fully insulated (interior/exterior). With the 960's it's not economical for me to spend $600 on a satellite so my Rachio in the garage can have a connection either.

My setup is I have a 960 middle of house first floor. I have a basement left extender (it's an addition so the signal died quick from the 960 because its through a concrete wall) but too close to the Orbi to run another satellite (per netgear). My other one is in the garage because I have 3 items "just enough" out of range that they connect/disconnect all the time. My 2nd satellite is in a shed outback via backhaul. It's about 150' away but gives my entire backyard wifi. Note, prior to this configuration I had 4 750s setup all the same locations for the most part.

michaelkenward · ‎2024-09-20

This is for an AP in the NIghthawk app.

Then:

donalcombright · ‎2024-09-21

Yes, I can rename my extender, however I can not rename the devices attached to the extender.

michaelkenward · ‎2024-09-21

@donalcombright wrote:
Yes, I can rename my extender, however I can not rename the devices attached to the extender.

Can you see the devices on the router?

What about renaming them there?

Did you ever tell us what that router is? I can't find anything that features as an "Orbi 960" or 750. RBK753?

Any device connected to the extender or an Access Point relies on the router to manage most stuff.

As suggested before, try sorting that out first.

It is some time since I used an Orbi device, but a Netgear router certainly works like that.

You jumped into the middle of a conversation started by @dtaft . You should have started with your own message. But the same unanswered question applies to both of you

.... what modem/gateway/ONT sits between the router and the Internet?

That question was in the message just before your first post. What is the answer?

Just another user with time on their hands.

donalcombright · ‎2024-09-21

@michaelkenward wrote:
@donalcombright wrote:
Yes, I can rename my extender, however I can not rename the devices attached to the extender.
Can you see the devices on the router?
No. If it is connected to the Extender (EAX15 times 2 of them) it doesn't show in my router (RBRE960/RBSE960, Orbi 960)
What about renaming them there?
I can't rename them on the router because they don't show. For the few devices that initially showed on the router because they were close enough I did name them but the Extender doesn't take that name.
Did you ever tell us what that router is? I can't find anything that features as an "Orbi 960" or 750. RBK753?
Orbi RBRE960/RBSE960
Any device connected to the extender or an Access Point relies on the router to manage most stuff.
I agree, which is weird to me that it doesn't show.
As suggested before, try sorting that out first.
How can I sort it out, they don't show?
It is some time since I used an Orbi device, but a Netgear router certainly works like that.
Apparently Orbi's don't unless its a setting on the Extender or the Orbi?
You jumped into the middle of a conversation started by @dtaft . You should have started with your own message. But the same unanswered question applies to both of you
I didn't start a new thread because it's the same problem and threads get bumped to the top if they get activity. So if the issue is resolvable its better than having to find 2 threads in the future 🙂

.... what modem/gateway/ONT sits between the router and the Internet?
I have a FiOS ONT hooked up via CAT6 to my router. Not sure that impacts this since no other gateway is impacting but happy to provide the full setup. I also have an unmanaged switch however that has 0 impact as I only hooked that up today.
That question was in the message just before your first post. What is the answer?

donalcombright · ‎2024-09-21

This is just so people at Netgear can see this, but you have multiple 5Ghz filters for the router in the app. It makes it look confusing, unless they are supposed to be like that.

In my iOS Orbi app under Device Manager I have:

2.4GHz
5 GHz
5Ghz
6Ghz
Wired

michaelkenward · ‎2024-09-22

@donalcombright wrote:

.... what modem/gateway/ONT sits between the router and the Internet?
I have a FiOS ONT hooked up via CAT6 to my router. Not sure that impacts this since no other gateway is impacting but happy to provide the full setup. I also have an unmanaged switch however that has 0 impact as I only hooked that up today.

It can make all the difference. Many people turn up here thinking that their router runs everything on the network but in reality their "modem" is a modem/router. This means that there are two routers on the network. In those circumstances, the IP address of their "main" router can be a movable feast. So things like attached devices can also show strange behaviour.

ONTs don't usually come in router combinations, but it is not unknown. ISPs do like to inflict "single-box" terminals at the user end to make life easier for them to manage.

That's why this is a common question here. We don.t ask for that sort of detail for the hell of it. As in all troubleshooting it is important to have as much detail as possible, no matter how meaningless it may seem to you.

Just another user with time on their hands.

donalcombright · ‎2024-09-22

That's fine, I provided it. I don't have a FiOS router, it is directly to my Orbi. The reason I mentioned its probably not impacting this is because it isn't. My router shows ALL devices plugged in/wireless EXCEPT the specific ones on the extenders. Also, although I would rather my router showing it, I don't really care if it does I just want to be able to name a device on the Extender but it seems you cannot which is poor design. It also doesn't take the name from my router (as one device originally was on my router then moved to the better signal. It was named on my router, the extender doesn't see that name though. Seems like a good feature request as you'd think it would be available.

michaelkenward · ‎2024-09-22

There is one final trick that can work when naming devices on a network. The desktop Netgear Genie for Windows (and maybe Macs) has a useful Network Map with its own ability to "Modify" devices that it detects.

Netgear is trying to kill this useful utility, but for the time being you can find it here:

genie | Product | Support | NETGEAR

Be warned that the genie installation file is wrapped up in a RAR archive that you have to decompress.

Click on a device on the network and note the Modify button.

Netgear genie wifi device

With luck, changes made there carry over to the rest of the network.

I use the genie regularly.

Just another user with time on their hands.

FURRYe38 · ‎2024-09-24

Please post a picture of what your seeing with in the Orbi app.

@donalcombright wrote:
This is just so people at Netgear can see this, but you have multiple 5Ghz filters for the router in the app. It makes it look confusing, unless they are supposed to be like that.

In my iOS Orbi app under Device Manager I have:

2.4GHz
5 GHz
5Ghz
6Ghz
Wired

Re: Cannot rename devices on Nighthawk APP or using mywifiext EAX20

Cannot rename devices on Nighthawk APP or using mywifiext EAX20