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Forum Discussion
Keep connecting to 5GHz network despite disabling 5GHz SSID broadcast
I have been having a lot of issues getting my Orbi system (RBR50 and RBS50) and my Sony HT-ST5000 soundbar to play nicely with each other (documented in detail here). The issue can be resolved if I c...
I have some great news! I was able to unbrick my Orbi!
I used this excellent tip to keep the Mac plugged into the router and then restart it with the reset button pushed down with a paperclip. As soon as the router started and the red light blinked I pinged 192.168.1.1 (while keeping the reset button pushed down) from Terminal and, voila, the red light kept flashing and TFTP mode was activated! I then took the pin out of the reset button and initiated the transfer of the firmware via the NETGEAR recommended Mac app but it didn't go through, failing with a very cryptic error 103. I then used these instructions to do the transfer using the Terminal and it went through flawlessly in 18 seconds. I hope my experience is of help to others.
I am back now on stock NETGEAR firmware, ready to upgrade to Voxel's again. Of course, I will not be doing a factory reset after the upgrade!
The bricking of my Orbi has taken this discussion on a sidetrack so, coming back to the OP, my thought process now is to use Voxel's firmware to separate the 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs so as to stop the interference between 5GHz network and my soundbar. Although Voxel himself cautions against separating the SSIDs, users who have done so seem to be very happy and I haven't seen any complaints. I now plan to not lower the power on the 5GHz network but to hide it and have my devices connect to the 2.4GHz one instead. That way, I can manually connect to the 5GHz network when needed (when I am not near my soundbar and need to transfer files for example) without it popping up on the list of networks and confusing other users. I am also unchecking "Enable 20/40 mhz coexistence" as there are no neighbours in the vicinity and this way I can use faster 2.4GHz networks without inconveniencing others.
As my Internet speed is far lower than the speeds I get over a 2.4GHz network, I hope that this setup will enable me to get the benefits of a mesh network (seamless connectivity over a large area) while simultaneously using my Sony HT-ST5000 soudbar. I will report back after testing out my new setup 🤞.
Glad the system is back up and running. Let us know how it goes...
Anjadekar wrote:I have some great news! I was able to unbrick my Orbi!
I used this excellent tip to keep the Mac plugged into the router and then restart it with the reset button pushed down with a paperclip. As soon as the router started and the red light blinked I pinged 192.168.1.1 (while keeping the reset button pushed down) from Terminal and, voila, the red light kept flashing and TFTP mode was activated! I then took the pin out of the reset button and initiated the transfer of the firmware via the NETGEAR recommended Mac app but it didn't go through, failing with a very cryptic error 103. I then used these instructions to do the transfer using the Terminal and it went through flawlessly in 18 seconds. I hope my experience is of help to others.
I am back now on stock NETGEAR firmware, ready to upgrade to Voxel's again. Of course, I will not be doing a factory reset after the upgrade!
The bricking of my Orbi has taken this discussion on a sidetrack so, coming back to the OP, my thought process now is to use Voxel's firmware to separate the 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs so as to stop the interference between 5GHz network and my soundbar. Although Voxel himself cautions against separating the SSIDs, users who have done so seem to be very happy and I haven't seen any complaints. I now plan to not lower the power on the 5GHz network but to hide it and have my devices connect to the 2.4GHz one instead. That way, I can manually connect to the 5GHz network when needed (when I am not near my soundbar and need to transfer files for example) without it popping up on the list of networks and confusing other users. I am also unchecking "Enable 20/40 mhz coexistence" as there are no neighbours in the vicinity and this way I can use faster 2.4GHz networks without inconveniencing others.
As my Internet speed is far lower than the speeds I get over a 2.4GHz network, I hope that this setup will enable me to get the benefits of a mesh network (seamless connectivity over a large area) while simultaneously using my Sony HT-ST5000 soudbar. I will report back after testing out my new setup 🤞.