Will the option to name SSID individually ever arrive?

[JAYSONE]

With the latest firmware, the ability to change radio strength and disable a specific radio were removed; which in my opinion is a step backwards.

I think it's important for the Netgear team to realize that the ability for a user to tailor their orbi for their specific needs and situation. Removing features that facilitate versatility and customization makes no sense.

With that in mind, the OPTION to rename each band individually would be a great feature to implement. I understand the idea of why that is not an option at the moment. On paper it sounds like a good idea, but in reality, lacking the option doesn't allow advanced users to customize to suit their needs.

On the forum, I see many posts complaining about being "stuck" on 2.4ghz when they want to be on 5ghz. Many utilized the features (now removed with latest firmware) mentioned above to help prevent that from happening.

In my case, I only need certain devices to be on 2.4ghz...my blink cameras, ring doorbells and my printer. Outside of that I have no need or desire to be on the slower 2.4ghz network. Being able to isolate that via a different SSID, would eliminate the issues of being stuck on 2.4ghz when not desired and ensure all my other 5ghz capable devices would always be on thr 5ghz network.

Adding back the two options removed with the latest firmware and introducing the advanced setting option to name each band individually if desired, would solve a lot of woes for many in my opinion.

When advanced users choose to upload custom firmware to their routers like Tomato, I believe they mainly do so because of all the OPTIONS and features that become available that wasn't there by default.

I encourage others to chime in on the topic with their opinions. Am I the only one that desires to have that option or see the logic in it?

[peteytesting]

to answer your question in the title , i would say more than likley not

the reason is the specific way the orbi has been designed with both band and ap steering to facilitate whole home wifi , if you where able to use two different ssid names then it would primariliry be up to the client to roam and lets face it most clients dont do a great job of roaming by themselves , doing so basically removes the automated capability and would lessen the functionality of the orbi as a wholistic system

just my 2 cents

pete

[JAYSONE]

So would that logic be why they decided to remove the two options with the last firmware revision?

I understand "most clients" may prefer a wholly automated system that makes all the decisions for them, but that still doesn't mean that the advanced users would appreciate the ability to fine tune and decide what they want the orbi to automate for them for their specific needs. Now you would have a system that caters to every type of user.

A "one size fits all" approach doesn't necessarily mean it's the best for ALL users.

I'm sure most users who don't need or want these options would ever utilize these functions and can leave their setup as default; hence OPTIONS. I can't fathom people not appreciating the ability to exercise options if seen fit.

[peteytesting]

yup imho thats why they did it

[captain_phaser]

I completely support individual SSID's and the return of being able to disable either radio. These are not "advanced" features as they have been available in routers for years. My whole household has become irritated with the seemingly arbitrary switching between 2.4GHz - 5GHz and back to 2.4GHz again. Prior to this update I had the 2.4GHz band completely disabled and had absolutely no issues whatsoever, so even if the 2.4GHz is used for some backhaul purposes, it did not affect me.

I realize that the Orbi does not appear to be marketed towards "advanced" users and is more of a plug in and play system; however, that does not have to be the case. The Orbi could easily be a device that is valued by both the target users and advanced users alike. The solution is already halfway there by leaving the Orbi's factory default settings as they are. All that needs to be done is to expand the advanced user options. If they're worried about people accidentally disabling certain default features such as bandsteering (By disabling a radio or using 2 SSID's), they could simply have a pop up warning box that says something along the lines of "WARNING: Disabling this feature may cause the Orbi to not operate normally. Are you sure you want to continue?" I'm sure this would scare off anyone who didn't realize what they were doing. 

[martyfp]

While I like the idea of automated band-steering I also agree that more control would be desirable. If this does not happen then the band-steering has to be improved to make it more intelligent and biased towards using the 5GHz band.

I have wireless speakers that are in the same room as the Orbi master and although the 5GHz signal is perfect, they seem to nearly always sit on the 2.4GHz channel when I would prefer them on 5GHz.

In my home office - my work laptop normally sits on 5GHz whereas my home PC, which is located right next to it seems to randomly flit between 2.4 and 5GHz depending on what ways the wind is blowing.  5Ghz is weaker than 2.4 in this location but still perfectly usable.

There should be a way to prioritise the 5GHz over the 2.4GHz.   I.e.  to define that if both 5GHz and 2.4GHz are both above an acceptable threshold then 5GHz should always be chosen over 2.4.  

[peteytesting]

this is already done on the automated system and is client based , so roaming between bands is done on rssi level

[martyfp]

Yes it is already done. However, i think that there is clear room for improvement.

My home office has the following :

2.4GHz rssi = -48

5GHz rssi = -60

So clearly 2.4 has better rssi, however, the 5GHz is perfectly usable and still preferable in this location.

Interestingly, the 2.4Ghz band is picked for my desktop, 5 GHz for laptop.  (admittedly using different wifi adapters)

Desktop connection is reported at 100mbps, laptop is around 390mbps.

I can force the desktop into 5GHz by forcing the config in the driver to only work in AC mode and I get a steady 433mbps connection and it is rock solid.

My point is that if the Orbi is not always getting it right.  Sure for the average user it's going to be good enough 95% of the time, however, it would be useful to be able to have a stonger bias towards 5GHz or be able to lock individual clients to a specific band.

 I this case I can do so in my PC driver settings. I can't do the same on other devices.

[peteytesting]

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@martyfp wrote:

Yes it is already done. However, i think that there is clear room for improvement.

My home office has the following :

2.4GHz rssi = -48

5GHz rssi = -60

So clearly 2.4 has better rssi, however, the 5GHz is perfectly usable and still preferable in this location.

Interestingly, the 2.4Ghz band is picked for my desktop, 5 GHz for laptop.  (admittedly using different wifi adapters)

Desktop connection is reported at 100mbps, laptop is around 390mbps.

I can force the desktop into 5GHz by forcing the config in the driver to only work in AC mode and I get a steady 433mbps connection and it is rock solid.

My point is that if the Orbi is not always getting it right.  Sure for the average user it's going to be good enough 95% of the time, however, it would be useful to be able to have a stonger bias towards 5GHz or be able to lock individual clients to a specific band.

 I this case I can do so in my PC driver settings. I can't do the same on other devices.

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its simple physics

2.4 gig will cover far more than 5 gig

[martyfp]

Hi Pete - yes, I do appreciate that 2.4 will have further coverage than 5GHz (I am no stranger to wave theory )

My point is that in the case where 2.4 is stronger than 5GHz, the devices will attach to the 2.4 even if the 5GHz signal is still perfectly usable.    My home office is a good example of that, The Orbi band steering puts my home PC on the slower 2.4GHz connection when the 5GHz is perfectly fine.  Luckily on my PC, I can modify the driver settings to force the band to 5GHz only and get the datarate that I need.

Personally, I don't want a separate SSID for 5GHz since I want mobile devices to be able to roam seamlessly between the two bands.  I would just like to see an option in the router to define a band preference for certain devices (usually static devices that I know work well on 5GHz in their fixed location). 

[js_b]

in areas with a high density of different wifis (like the city center i am living in) the 2.4ghz band is often swamped, even to a point where it is nearly unusable (i am scanning100+ wifi ssid around here sharing the 2.4ghz channels).

at this point the 5ghz is the only way to go (and actual throughput is 50x faster). under circumstances like this you just NEED an option to force devices to the 5ghz (even though the signal strenth of the 2.4ghz is nominaly higher). seperate ssids would be a perfect way to accomplish that. again: this a not for everyone. but as an advanced option this would be PRICELESS. other mesh wifi products (e.g. amplify) offer this option, already.