Connection Type incorrectly reporting (at both outerlogin.net and iPhone app)
When I log into routerlogin.net for my Nighthawk RAX80 and go to:
BASIC > Attached Devices
or
ADVANCED > Administration > Attached Devices
There is a column called "Connection Type" which declares whether a device is on the network as "Wired" or "2.4G Wireless" or "5G Wireless."
This column is completely incorrect on a majority of my devices. Mostly it seems to report "Wired" for devices that are definitely (and always have been Wireless. There doesn't seem to be any way in the UI to correct that reporting, as I imagine it's supposed to be getting this information via the device.
For example, my iPhone is listed as Wired even though it's connecting wirelessly to the RAX80 router. Same with all my Alexa devices and other mobile clients. This makes no sense.
Now, if I go to:
ADVANCED > Security > Access Control
I can see a list of devices there too, and there is also a Connection Type column but this column is a lot more accurate (though not entirely). For example my Alexa devices show up there as Wireless which is correct, but my iPhone still shows up as Wired.
A few facts:
Obviously I am NOT using it in AP mode.
I do NOT have Smart Connect enabled, because some devices don't work with that turned on.
I do NOT have MU-MIMO enabled for the same reason.
I DO have AX enabled.
I am NOT using any Port Forwarding, Subnets, Static Routes, or Port Aggregation.
My current firmware version is V1.0.3.102_1.0.48 and frankly I'm very relectant to mess with the firmware because I've gone through many buggy versions that wreak havoc with my network or create WiFi dropouts and all sorts of problems; while this version is very stable for me. So if the "solution" is a firmware upgrade I'll probably decline and just live with this issue.
I do NOT have Private Address enabled for any of MY networks on my iPhone (iOS 14 introduced this feature for security and defaults it to enabled, but I disabled it for my own network logins so that I can keep track of what is on my network).
I DO have two other access points set up on my network, also Netgear routers, which are attached to cat5e. This can explain the issue reported by the RAX80 for any mobile device connecting to the access point, since the RAX80 might not "read" the client as being Wireless but rather Wired via the access point... However, that is not the case. The mobile devices it is showing as "Wired" are wirelessly connected directly to the RAX80, not the access points. I wonder, however, if for some reason the database is not being updated after a device initially logs in? For example if one of these devices logs in wirelessly to an access point for the first time, and the RAX80 then records that as Wired (which I can understand), and then the same device logs into the RAX80 directly and "forgets" the access point WiFi, perhaps the RAX80 is not updating its database? If so, it doesn't explain why the device list in Access Control reports a more accurate (but not entirely accurate) list of Connection Types. Apparently, Access Control is reading from a different table. But how to update these tables?
Anyone have any advice? (Aside from the dreaded: "Try upgrading your firmware" which is like playing with dynamite.)
Re: Connection Type incorrectly reporting (at both outerlogin.net and iPhone app)
OK, answering my own questions. Foot in mouth, lodged tightly. BLEH!
I just needed to reboot the router.
I think the tables might only update this column when the router boots. Those devices that incorrectly said "Wired" when they were Wireless were simply on an Access Point's WiFi at the time of the last boot, and this router saw their connection as wired because those Access Points are connected via cat5e. So the data stuck, even after the devices logged into the RAX80's WiFi directly.
