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Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
I have an Orbi 6 Mesh Router with Firmware version 3.2.15.25_1.3.15. I have two sattelites and the install was fairly staightforward. However, since, day 1, the Orbi does not show up in the SSID list of several devices. Our internet is provided via cable, so I have a cable modem/router provided by my ISP that we cannot get rid of. Initially, when I set the network up, I read in some forums to assign the Orbi the same SSID as the cable modem and put the cable modem in bridge mode.
This seemed to work OK but although I could see the network on all devices, some devices simply would not connect. All of the devices connected to the cable modem previously. Thinking that maybe the problem was the common SSID name and some devices were trying to connect to the cable modem, which is in bridge mode.
Anyway, today I changed the SSID of the Orby. I could see and connect to the renamed network straight away on our two Android phones. But on 3 different Windows 10 PCs (all 64 bit versions with latest updates), the new network simply does not appear. I can see the old SSID on all of these devices but they cannot connect to it.
Desperate to find a solution as need to be able to connect these PCs without moving close to the router and using an Ethernet cable...
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
Use the admin browser (orbilogin.com), go to Advanced... Advanced... Wireless Settings, change CTS/RTS threshold for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz to 2347. This corrects many wireless compatibility issues.
If that doesn't work, in the worst case you can uncheck Enable AX in Advanced... Setup... Wireless Setup. But it would be a shame to disable AX on your new AX router just to remain compatible with older devices.
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
Use the admin browser (orbilogin.com), go to Advanced... Advanced... Wireless Settings, change CTS/RTS threshold for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz to 2347. This corrects many wireless compatibility issues.
If that doesn't work, in the worst case you can uncheck Enable AX in Advanced... Setup... Wireless Setup. But it would be a shame to disable AX on your new AX router just to remain compatible with older devices.
I have an Orbi 6 Mesh Router with Firmware version 3.2.15.25_1.3.15. I have two sattelites and the install was fairly staightforward. However, since, day 1, the Orbi does not show up in the SSID list of several devices. Our internet is provided via cable, so I have a cable modem/router provided by my ISP that we cannot get rid of. Initially, when I set the network up, I read in some forums to assign the Orbi the same SSID as the cable modem and put the cable modem in bridge mode.
This seemed to work OK but although I could see the network on all devices, some devices simply would not connect. All of the devices connected to the cable modem previously. Thinking that maybe the problem was the common SSID name and some devices were trying to connect to the cable modem, which is in bridge mode.
Anyway, today I changed the SSID of the Orby. I could see and connect to the renamed network straight away on our two Android phones. But on 3 different Windows 10 PCs (all 64 bit versions with latest updates), the new network simply does not appear. I can see the old SSID on all of these devices but they cannot connect to it.
Desperate to find a solution as need to be able to connect these PCs without moving close to the router and using an Ethernet cable...
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
Hi Mikey,
sorry for the slow reply, but took a while to find a time when I could take down the network and play around a bit.
I tried both solutions. Changing the CTC/RTS threshold made no difference.
Disabling AX worked. I could see the Orbi network on all my Win 10 devices. I also checked some other forums regarding this issue. A couple suggested that outdated network adapter drivers could be the problem. However, this doesn't quite ring true to me as I have tried on 4 different machines with 4 different wifi adaptors and none can see the network. Moreover, although I searched on each manufacturer's website, none offered a more recent Win 10 driver and two of them explicitly stated that the latest drivers were bundled with Win 10. I have updated to Version 2004 on all machines but this makes no difference.
It does seem to be a Windows thing though. I accept that none of my adapter cards are newer than 2017, and so probably pre-dated the wifi6 standard. However, my Android phone is also a 2017 model (HTC U11) and therefore the built in wifi adapter would presumably suffer the same issue, yet all the Android devices in the house can "see" the AX enabled network.
For now, I have re-anabled the AX feature and will just disable it to update the non-Ethernet connected machines from time to time, but obviously this is a poor solution. Would be really good to get to a positive solution rather than a workaround, so if something bubbles up that you are aware of, please cascade it to me.
thanks for the heads up. I have tried to apply the update. For the two satellites, it worked fine, however I cannot get the router to accept the update. I consistently get an error that the update has failed but no indication as to why. Screen shots attached. Any suggestions? (PS. The PC is connected via Ethernet to the router as cannot connect via wifi unless I disable AX).
thanks for the heads up. I have tried to apply the update. For the two satellites, it worked fine, however I cannot get the router to accept the update. I consistently get an error that the update has failed but no indication as to why. Screen shots attached. Any suggestions? (PS. The PC is connected via Ethernet to the router as cannot connect via wifi unless I disable AX).
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
Hi Furry,
I was using Chrome (which worked fine for the Satellite updates) but have now tried again using both Firefox and IE11. Router update fails with both of those too... (And yes, the file is unpacked).
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
Hi Furry,
as is so often the case in these things, the user was the problem. Only when I went to download the zip file again did I notice that there are different file versions for the Sattelites vs the Router. So once I downloaded the larger Router file, the install went fine.
Sadly, it failed to address the core issue of the network not showing up on the SSID list of any Windows machine. Damn...
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
Hmmm...I was all prepared to triumphantly send through the list when it occurred to me that there was one more machine I had not tested recently, my work laptop which has been idle for months now as I am not travelling. Predicatably, it could not see the network with AX enabled, so I disabled it and connected. Unlike all the other machines, when I used the Update Driver button to search for a more recent driver (the installed driver was from 2015), it actually found one from 2019 and once that was installed, it could see the network even with AX enabled. For the record, it was an Intel Dual Band Wireless N-7260 adapter.
So I assume that the issue on all the other PCs is the same. But I guess the manufacturers simply have not released new drivers for any of these as they are probably out of support:
- Intel Dual Band Wireless AC-3165 (Driver version 19.51.8.3 (17.10.2017))
- 150Mbps Wireless 802.11bgn Nano USB Adapter (Driver version 1027.4.630.2015 (04.03.2016)) (Edimax USB adapter)
- Realtek RTL8188CU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter (Driver version: Same as above)
What is even more bizarre, is that I assumed two ancient machines I have would also not see the network. Wrong. An old Asus notebook from 2008 running Windows Vista Home Premium connected without a hitch, as did an all-in-one PC from 2010 (updated to Win 10 from Win 7). These had the following cards/drivers:
- Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN (Driver version 12.2.0.11 (17.11.2008))
- Realtek RTL8191SE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC 2020.2.327.2013 (Driver version (27.03.2013))
So to me it is rather strange that much older adapters from the same manufacturer can see the network whereas their younger siblings can't. Now that my work laptop is connecting, the main issue is resolved as I can just disable AX as needed if I need to update or connect the other machines for any reason. But if you know where I might find newer drivers for the other 3, that would be awesome, as I could not find them anywhere...
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
If you can't find more up to date wifi drivers for those adapters that are not working from the mfr themselves, you may need to replace the adapters with newer generation adapters or install a USB wifi adapter thats compatible with Orbi AX.
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
Thanks @FURRYe38. Yeah, that was my conclusion also. But the desktops are on wired connections and it is only one backup notebook that I cannot connect. Like you say, I can get a USB NIC for that or just switch off AX when I need to connect it.
Re: Orbi RBR850 WiFi - SSID Not visible on some devices
I'm glad to come across this thread. My daughter's school provided Chromebook is a bit older and can't connect when the 20/40 MHz Coexistence on my older Nighthawk R7000 router, so I relegated her to connect to the 5Ghz guest network. Same issue with the Orbi AX4200 RBR750 default configuration. But this thread got me to look under the advanced wireless settings. But still can't find where to disable SSID broadcast, which is not supported.
I'm glad to come across this thread. My daughter's school provided Chromebook is a bit older and can't connect when the 20/40 MHz Coexistence on my older Nighthawk R7000 router, so I relegated her to connect to the 5Ghz guest network. Same issue with the Orbi AX4200 RBR750 default configuration. But this thread got me to look under the advanced wireless settings. But still can't find where to disable SSID broadcast, which is not supported.
