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Orbi: We really need separate SSID for 2.4 Ghz and 5Ghz or speed is limited to less than 200 Mbps
TLDR: With Orbi, my 5Ghz capable devices are "forced" to connect to 2.4 Ghz most of the time, slowing down speed. Tested against 3 different routers and my 5Ghz capable can connect to 5Ghz network all the time. I got the 3-pack Orbi from Costco and after numerous testing, ALL my devices are connecting to 2.4 Ghz MOST of the TIME rather than 5 Ghz. This slows down the transfer speed from 800 Mbps to a paltry 145 Mbps. Unfortunately, since the Orbi does not allow separate SSID for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, I cannot "force" my device to connect only to 5Ghz to get better speed. This means that I have a $499 router system that mostly allow only 2.4 Ghz. I previously have a Time Capsule and setup 2 separate SSID: - devices capable of 5Ghz will ONLY connect to 5Ghz SSID (MacBook, iPhone, etc.) - devices capable of ONLY 2.4 Ghz will connect to 2.4Ghz SSID (thermostate, etc.) There was no changes on the setup or placement of my devices when I replace the Time Capsule with the Orbi: 1). Orbi is in the middle of apartment, same location as my Time Capsule 2). Laptops are in the same area as before (desk, room 1, etc.) 3). Other devices are in the same area as before (printer, camera, thermostat, etc.). 4). No new devices that can interference with Wifi signal The ONLY changes is the Orbi Router and Satellite and now all my 5Ghz capable devices are connecting to 2.4 Ghz with Orbi. I powered down Orbi, put my Time Capsule back and BAM!! I got 5Ghz connection again. For a separate testing, I bought the following: - Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 - ASUS RTC3200 Setup both to have separate SSID and BAM! 5Ghz devices can connect to ONLY 5Ghz network. I hope Orbi will change this in the new upgrade. Otherwise, I have no need for a $499 router that "force" 5Ghz devices to connect to 2.4 Ghz network.*BUG* 2.6.1.16 SSID Name Character Limit Change
Count me in as one of the folks whose system was auto updated from firmware 2.0.0.74 to 2.1.1.16. I'm also experiencing from the various other issues reported, but wanted to touch upon this particular issue concerning the wireless SSID character limitation/display issue I'm experiencing. Prior to the firmware upgrade to 2.1.1.16, I had a 17 character SSID brodcast name. After the firmware upgrade, my SSID name was chopped down to only 15 characters (last 2 characters were dropped off). It took me a bit of troubleshooting to figure out why my wireless devices were not connecting to my known network, and that’s when I discovered the discrepancy in SSID name. Oddly enough, I was able to go into GUI and re-apply my original 17 character SSID name, and my devices were able to re-connect as expected. However, the GUI SSID Name textbox is still only displaying the first 15 characters, despite the system broadcasting the 17 character name. This sounds like a simple character length/display coding issue that was introduced in this version that will hopefully be trivial enough to correct. I would appreciate if others could duplicate this issue and acknowledgment from the Netgear Support/Dev team that this is an issue they will investigate. Equipment: RBK50 in Router Mode 1 x Orbi Router (RBR50) 1 x Orbi Satellite (RBS50)