Satellite MS60 SYNC button and reset

[n8lbv]

I have 3 pack that includes a router/AP and two satellites.  
What exactly is the purpose of the reset and SYNC buttons if they are not needed?  
I have tried EVERY form of factory reset on the satellites and they always automatically connect to the router they came with.  
It's like they are hard-coded to work with that router. and the mesh network uses
a hidden SSID and password that is cannot be seen or changed. 
These sync on their own regardless of any WPA2 I set on 2.4 and 5GHz on the router/AP. 
The sync and reset buttons seem to have no purpose.  
How do I get it to NOT be synced to the base? is another way of asking this. 
Factory resetting the satellites do not cause them to no longer connect to the router/AP. 
  



  

[FURRYe38]

Mostly troubleshooting problems if needed. 

Seems like the MS are coded to the MR as I notice my MS auto sync with out any intervention, even after a reset. 

Not sure if they are intended to not be syned. If you don't need them or need less MS connected, just don't connect them. 

[michaelkenward]

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@n8lbv wrote:

What exactly is the purpose of the reset and SYNC buttons if they are not needed?  
  

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There is a difference between " not needed" and "no use".

Visit the support pages:

Support | NETGEAR

Feed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware.

The manual explains its use. Just run a search for "sync button".

You may not need it, but there are times when it has its uses. What if you have a satellite that does not connect to its router?

By the way you use the term router/AP. Does this mean that you are using the MR60 in AP mode?

[n8lbv]

Yes- I'm using it in AP mode at the moment.  

The devices seem to be hard configured to mate with the AP/Router.
I am using the term router/AP or AP/Router because it is capable of both.  
And when in router mode it is doing both.  
If I just called it an "AP" this might confuse some people as much as my own term has. 

I see the "hard paired behavior" regardless of which mode I have it (the router) in.

The satellites appear to automatically "pair up & work" regardless of what I set the WPA keys to on both wifi radio bands. 
This "pairing" or "SYNC" (without ever pushing the SYNC buttons) seems to bypass the user configured WPA2 keys as if it is using an internal key or is using the default key printed on the label regardless of If that has been changed before powering up the satellites.
  
I am not understanding why I do not have to pair them or why there are instructions to pair them (sync them). 
If they come hard coded to somehow pair without pushing the buttons   
This continues to work across factory resets of the satellites and router as well as firmware updates and factory resets after that. 
I am not seeing how they could or would become "un synced" or unmatched.
In fact every effort to "un sync" them has failed in my tests.  
I am not able to determine what kind of wireless security is being used when they can magically communicate and pair up-
regardless of a factory reset and key change on the router before powering up the satellites after this has been done on the router.  





  
 
 

[michaelkenward]

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@n8lbv wrote:

The devices seem to be hard configured to mate with the AP/Router.

Have you tried pairing an MS60 satellite with a different MR60 router?

I can't tell from your messages,

Only then can you confirm that router and satellites are "hard wired".

[n8lbv]

No sir I have not. 
I do not have easy or free access to another one right now.
I of course thought about this and figured if they are hard coded (which I find very likely) -just like the "unique" hard coded
wifi password that it comes built in.   
The true reason for the SYNC switch would be to mate it to a different router. 
Or if the satellite was purchased separately and not as a "matched pack" this would be required. 
All speculation and educated guess work but likely to be true.
This is the type of information that I feel would be really useful to have in the documentation and it simply is not. 
Publishing and being able to know how things like this actually work is very helpful.. when they don't.
 
 
  
  

[michaelkenward]

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@n8lbv wrote:

No sir I have not. 
I do not have easy or free access to another one right now.
 

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You don't need that access to dig deeper. You just need to consult "satellite compatibility" data.

Take the Orbi system. It also comes in "bundles" with a router and various satellite options. There are lots of different combinations out there.

Which Orbi routers and satellites are compatible? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

As you can see from the Orbi chart, you can connect lots of satellites with various routers.

If you extrapolate to the MK Mesh WiFi 6 systems, you would end up with a less messy chart. (There haven't been that many models yet.)

Which Nighthawk Mesh products are compatible with the Nighthawk Tri-band Mesh WiFi 6 products? | Ans...

You can see from that list that you could use your MS60 satellites with an MR80 router. To me this suggests that there is not permanent "hard coding" to lock a satellite on to a particular router.

Yes, router and satellites may arrive in a state that makes it easy for them to talk to one another, but that tells us not much about what is possible with a different router.

You have tried a few satellites with one router and jumped to a conclusion that doesn't  seem to be related to real world experience.

[n8lbv]

No- did not reach any conclusion, I suspect they may be hardcoded to sync based on nothing except real world experience. 
Between the MR60 and two MS60 satellites that I have, there is for a fact- some type of built in trust or ability for them to associate to each other completely outside of any user settings /SSID and keys. that does not require pressing the sync button in order for them to get into this mode where they can talk to each other and associate.
This may be common among "compatible models" or even the same models but I highly doubt it.
That would be a security issue if you could just turn one on in range of anyone's router and associate to it. 

_Yes, router and satellites may arrive in a state that makes it easy for them to talk to one another, but that tells us not much about what is possible with a different router.

You have tried a few satellites with one router and jumped to a conclusion that doesn't seem to be related to real world experience._

[michaelkenward]

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@n8lbv wrote:

Between the MR60 and two MS60 satellites that I have, there is for a fact- some type of built in trust or ability for them to associate to each other completely outside of any user settings /SSID and keys.

The connections between a router and its satellites has nothing to do with the SSID for your router.

The satellites use their own links.

No need to "hard code" anything. They just have  the ability to recognise each other and establish a connection.

The ability for routers and satellites to talk to each other is, of course, at the heart of MESH technology.