How to deactivate 5GHz or get a different SSID for it?
Hi all Netgear users out there,
I have Netgear routers since the very beginning of WLAN and most of the devices were just great.
With Orbi its quite different - the poeple who defined the key parts for Orbi can only be pure ignorant or have no clue what people need.
Or its a product pure made by marketing people with no technical background.
I don't know what it is - but its not the hand writing of a well known network vendor - its something different.
Side note - the app is a joke or!? Nothing really you can do with it.
Couple of shiny icons but no possibility to change anything vital. I always hope that something has changed over the time - but it stays as an app with no features since it start.
Ehm, sorry - thats harsh - I correct myself - maybe 2% of the Orbis Settings you can change within the app. I am soo happy to have it installed *gg*
When I have bad mood I just have to open the orbi app to get a big laugh.
Anyway - thats not the message i want to tell - the real problem is that it is impossible to deactivate the 5GHz network! And this is indeed a BIG problem!
The idea that 2,4GHz and 5,0GHz have one and the same SSID is in one hand clear the future, but this idea crashes fatal when it meets reality.
Many older WLAN devices can only handle 2,4G and some of them are kind of dump and can only be configurated if your mobile device is also connected to this 2,4G network.
In past days with old router (nighthawk or so) you could select the 2,4Ghz due to seperate SSID, pair the device and get back to 5GHz.
Job done -. everything fine.
BUT Netgear went a different approach with Orbi - you have only one SSID for both networks and cannot define in which you want to go.
I was hoping that one and the same SSID will cover this old fashioned need of switching back to 2,4 for just pairing a device - but its not like that.
In fact you are not able to configure these (old) 2,4GHz devices anymore as long as you are connected to 5GHz. And modern mobile phones automatically catch up the best connection - guess what its 5G
And this is the point where Netgears ignorance came into play.
Since years i find questions from people who ask how to deactivate 5Ghz on Orbi (because of that problem) and still after years there is no real solution present - I don't understand why a vendor can be that ignorant!
This is a tiny entry for a technical person who makes the firmware and many other vendors have this feature since years - its just Netgear who ignores us.
Their answer to this problem is "reduce power of 5G to 25%" --> oh yeah, this is like when you ask for fire and someone answers "punch the finger into the eye this burns too".
When i reduce to 25% i have (when i am lucky) a tiny chance to get into 2,4Ghz if i stay outside of my flat. Most of the time my mobile catches the 5G network and ignores 2,4G.
My light switch is installed inside the flat (in the middle of it) and guess where - into the wall. Kind of not removable.
And my WLAN router is only a couple of meters away. I have to walk outside of my flat in hope to get enough walls between me and Orbi to get 2,4Ghz. (funny in winter!)
To pair my light switch with my mobile i have to walk inside, but when i enter the door - BAM 5GHZ.
I cannot pair it outside because i have to push buttons on that dump light swith to enter pairing mode and neither I can pair it inside because i instant get connected to 5Ghz.
The fact that you cannot simple define a seperate SSID or deactivate 5G makes it nearly impossible to pair such 2,4GHz devices.
Maybe it works for devices you can take with you somewhere far away....but with a light switch installed into the wall its kind of hard.
Why vendors are so ignorant if a solution could be that easy is something i cannot understand.
Does someone has a tip for me what to do? Lower then 25% is also not possible thanks to Orbi Team.....
Re: How to deactivate 5GHz or get a different SSID for it?
It would be helpful if you could identify the make/model of light switch. (Would help me to avoid that brand. If it costs under $30, I'll order one from Amazon and give it a try to see what happens.)
A solution that has worked for others is to temporarily power off the Netgear WiFi system and use a smartphone to create a WiFi Hot Spot with exactly the same WiFi credentials as the Netgear system. Then use a separate smartphone to set up the Internet of Things (IoT) device.
Verizon was offering so little for trade in that I have kept the last four cell phones I bought. My newest cell phone (2020) creates a WiFi Hot Spot in the 2.4G band. I connect the previous cell phone to it and go through the setup.
Once the IoT device has learned the WiFi credentials, power down the Hot Spot and restart the regular WiFi system.
