Wrong Country Code: AU in settings; US Broadcast

[Philip_D]

I am in Australia. Recently I have been having problems with Macbook connectivity.

If I run a diagnostic scan from the Mac I am informed:

- The basestation is broadcasting a US country code.

- The satellite is broadcasting an AU country code.

In the ORBI login advanced settings, wireless setup screen I have a drop-down box for region. That is set to AU.

If I Telnet into the basestation and check the region (artmtd -r region), the response is REGION: AU. 

So my questions are:

1. I this an expected behaviour to broadcast US with the AU setting? I assume the Mac is correctly reporting the region code.

2. Is there any action I can take to change the broadcast region value? 

Any help much appreciated.

Other info:

The basestation and satellite were both bought here in Australia. 

Firmware is V2.5.1.8.

I have tried hard resets, induding pressing the resut button for 30s, powering down, powering up then continuing to press the reset for 30s. 

I don't believe this is reported in other posts. I have read a number of posts where DE is reported as being used in the UK which looks like a similar type of problem. But it is strange that the satellite broadcasts AU, and the basestation US. 

[plemans]

So my questions are:

1. I this an expected behaviour to broadcast US with the AU setting? I assume the Mac is correctly reporting the region code.

That is the assumption. Any other device you could test it with? 

---

If you look at the wifi channel restrictions, there isn't a whole lot of difference between AU and US broadcast. maybe the mac just isn't seeing it right and thats the issues you're having.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels

What problems are you having?

Is it only the mac with the issue? or what all devices have issues? 

[CrimpOn]

My understanding is that WiFi "beacon frames" transmitted by WiFi access points contain a "country code" as part of the beacon:

https://mrncciew.com/2014/10/08/802-11-mgmt-beacon-frame/ 

Sort of ironic that the country code displayed in this example happens to be "AU" for Australia.  Something is FUBAR.

This is an optional frame that many access points simply omit.  Netgear appears to  (attempt to) follow the 802.3 description correctly.

As @plemans points out, there are few differences in WiFi regulations between US and AU, so it might not be worth the hassle to attempt to "fix it."  I am not even sure how a person would go about trying to fix it.

[Philip_D]

Thanks @CrimpOn @plemans. I have done some more homework based on your replies. Perhaps have spent far too much time on this.

A bit more information.

I have used the Mac Wireless Diagnostic tool to capture packet data and used Wireshark to find the relevant broadcast messages. 

This indicates that the router and satellite are broadcasting different Country Codes:

Basestation:

Tag: Country Information: Country Code US, Environment Any

  Tag Number: Country Information (7)

  Tag length: 36

  Code: US

  Environment: Any (0x20)

  Followed by info for channels 1 to 11.

Statellite

Tag: Country Information: Country Code AU, Environment Any

  Tag Number: Country Information (7)

  Tag length: 42

  Code: AU

  Environment: Any (0x20)

  Followed by info for channels 1 to 13.

So while I am using the Macbook to sniff the messages, I am pretty confident that the basestation and statellites are broadcasting different codes. 

A bit more detail on my situation and the symptoms

We have multiple devices connected to the Wifi. I have three teenage kids who "demand" perfect intenet connection for gaming and streaming. On the whole the coverage is solid for multiple devices and manufacturers.

The issue is with Macbooks at locations on the boundary between basestation and satellite. At locations where coverage is dominant from either basestation or satellite there does not appeart to be any issue.

After a short period of time the Macbook disconnects from the Wifi network and displays and exclamation mark on the Wifi icon in the menu bar. Service can sometimes be restored by toggling Wifi off an on. Although I now tend to tether the Macbook to a mobile device and use the mobile data. 

Other mobile devices (iPhones, iPads) seem to be okay. Although I don't have a different network to compare against.

I suspect the issue is a day-one issue, but something we have not noticed. The locations affected are places we have only recently started using. And I had initially thought the issue was due simply to interference resulting from similar signal strengths.

The reason for the problem - Apple MacOS

From my bit of research I understand that Apple uses the first or dominant 802.11d Wifi country code it sees when restarting to apply the relevant Wifi settings for that country. All good if that is the right country and the same country as the home Wifi is set to.

This process is automated and not configurable on the Mac. Apple's own advice if a different country code is identified when running the network diagnostics is to chat to the owner of the device and get it changed.

https://www.howtogeek.com/211993/how-to-fix-conflicting-country-codes-and-improve-your-macs-wi-fi/ 

The reason for the problem - Netgear Orbi

Again from my little bit of amateur sleuthing, I understand that the Orbi country or region is factory set and is not usually user configurable. 

While the country code drop-down box is available to me, this may have been something that I have modified using a Telnet instruction earlier in the process. 

If the ORBI country code is factory set, then any changes I think I am making to the country code may just be cosmetic. This would explain why the User Interfact says AU, the network interface says US. But that really is just a guess.

What may have happened to my base station

I suspect this is a day-one issue. It is possible that the basestation I purchased was a US destined box redirected from the US to Australia at some point in the supply chain. Who knows.

My options and what I plan to do

If there is no way to change the current ORBI basestation country code broadcast, I have a number of options. I could continue to live with the issue, I could change Wifi network technology, I could switch from Mabooks to say Windows, or I could upgrade the ORBI. This last option would at least give me a product that would be in warranty if I experience the same issue.

Now I'm off to do some more homework and thinking on the best option.

[CrimpOn]

An amazing amount of work!  Thanks for the thorough explanation.  I think you are entirely correct.  The Orbi router is "simply wrong."  I have no explanation for how the router and satellite could possibly broadcast two different country codes.  The satellite should "inherit" settings from the router.

Perhaps the easiest way to resolve this is to force the router to change to "AU" for a country code:

I found this post that explains how to enable the drop down menu to change region code:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-RKB53-global-differences/m-p/1736104#M59059 

[Philip_D]

Thanks again @CrimpOn.

I have read the post you suggested. At the moment I have the country code drop-down box available and set to AU. I think I followed the Telnet process described in the post. 

However, my issue is still this one where the user interfacr shows AU, the network interface shows US. I have probably run out of patience to dig deeper myself. So unless someone can provide a simple step-by-step guide to fix it I'm looking at upgrading. I'm leaning towards a new ORBI basestation and satellite and so end up with two working satellites - I need to extend coverage to my garage. An expesive option I know. 

[CrimpOn]

Merde. What a mess!  The "last resort" is often the dreaded "Factory Reset". Something is obviously horribly wrong when the router says it is in Region "AU" and broadcasts "US" in the beacon frame.  I have done it  (several times) and each time have endured a solid hour (or two) of typing in IP reservations, device names, etc.  A true "pain in the (tender anatomy)".

You have shown tremendous initiative.  This  just "sucks".

[FURRYe38]

Something to contact NG support about and see if they can help you with this...

[michaelkenward]

This issue has come up before and is truly puzzling.

It seems to be the wifi client, the Mac, that reports the country code. The natural assumption would be to point the finger at the Mac, after all, other devices don't behave in the same way. But there does seem to be something odd going on here.

When I received an Orbi satellite from, the US, it really was locked into the US wifi system. I could not change the region in the wifi settings. (Seems to be an FCC requirement.) I had to delve into the entrails and use Telnet to write the satellite's region to WW (worldwide).

The "on-board" wifi is, of course different from what wifi clients report. But it is a wifi thing.