Cannot permanently hide SSID for 5GHz and 6GHz bands on RAXE500 Nighthawk AX12

[User714]

I've had a RAXE500 Nighthawk AX12 for several months now, purchased new direct from Netgear and have discovered that it does not seem to be able to permanently keep my SSID hidden for the 5GHz and 6GHz bands. The 2.4GHz band is fine and stays hidden.

After clicking the apply button it will show the 5GHz and 6GHz band to be hidden, but after a few days or a week, if I log back into the router it shows that the two bands are not hidden anymore and back to broadcasting. Router has the latest firmware.

[microchip8]

Why do you want to hide the SSID? If it's for security, you're fooling yourself. Security by obscurity doesn't work. Hiding an SSID does not make you less discoverable.

[User714]

Why provide a basic feature on a $500 router if it doesn't even work? I want my SSIDs to be hidden because it's a feature that I've used on my previous routers. When I change my SSIDs every so often, I don't want random people trying to connect to it.

[michaelkenward]

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@User714 wrote:

When I change my SSIDs every so often, I don't want random people trying to connect to it.

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@microchip8 has already explained that that is a futile strategy. They'll find you anyway.

It might be more secure to reveal your SSID and set your security to a level that warns you when people try to connect to it.

After all, you can tell your router to block all new attempts to sign in.

I haven't checked lately, but what is the current advice from recognised security experts? (Not some junk posted on the Internet.) 

In Armor, Netgear does have solutions for the terminally paranoid. You just have to pay for it. I don't.

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Why provide a basic feature on a $500 router if it doesn't even work?

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That is a very good point. Someone at Netgear should follow it up. But to do that they may need a bit more pinout from you than "it doesn't work".

For a start your claim that "Router has the latest firmware." is no help. The only way to conform that is to tell people the version number. Your idea of "the latest" can be wrong, depending on how you determined it. Check with Apps, for example, can get things horribly wrong.

[FURRYe38]

Only way that random people could connect to your SSID name is if they the PW. IF you don't give this out, then you'll be fine. 

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@User714 wrote:

Why provide a basic feature on a $500 router if it doesn't even work? I want my SSIDs to be hidden because it's a feature that I've used on my previous routers. When I change my SSIDs every so often, I don't want random people trying to connect to it.

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