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Forum Discussion
Disable 5GHz
Hi, I an Orbi Tri-Band Mesh WiFi System 3 Gbps model # RBR50V2. One band is 2.4 GHz and the other two bands are 5GHz. I can’t set-up a Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell with my iPhone. The doorbell is ...
We both know that there aren't any serious ones:
- Making the 5 GHz invisible [hide], forget and reconfig the wireless on the mobile, quickly try to IoJ config paired with hope & pray the mobile device does not quickly roam to the hidden SSID,
- wrapping the router in tin foil (a little bit difficult on a Mesh system),
- simply make distance form the Mesh location to hope the mobile device can see the Mesh only on 2.4 GHz (not that easy if you have an AC connected IoJ where you might have to press a button, too; or
- the engineer's solution temporally connect a crappy old router with the 2.4 GHz configured to the same SSID, security key/passphrase, and security setting instead of the Mesh system (yes, this is the only one which isn't a hack), and
- last but not least try to convince Netgear for adding this ill-fated split garbage (which Netgear prayed to be the standard for almost two decades - disallowing the same SSID for much to long...).
If the consumers don't complain the it IoJ makers NOW, this "disable 5 GHz", "split SSID", "connect mobile on the 2.4 GHz"... nonsene will continue for years.
Well, another consumer marketing disinformation. Providing a single SSID to connect to a single network using two or more WiFi radios isn't Mesh - it's 802.11k, 802.11v, and sometimes 802.11r where seamless roaming is available what the industry does designate as Mesh system, regardless if it's a single box (like a WiFi router or ISP provided WiFi CPE), or when the marketing message is a little bit louder if there are two or more boxes involved. Every middle-class to top-of-the-line consumer router and CPE does implement this for a longer time. Only very basic routers or AP don't allow this config.
Said that - even the (few) WiFi systems listed on the Wikipedia Mesh Networking page are technically not Mesh systems. Most WiFi "Mesh" are hub-and-spoke (if a wireless backhaul is in place). The most popular example which is really a Mesh is ZigBee as used for smart bulbs/lights..
This must be enough excursion into this off-topic subject.