Firmware V1.12.0.18 Discussion

JMU1998
Luminary
Jul 26, 2017
ArtLee yes good question, it really boils down to your needs, requirements and your surrounding environment. Speaking for my scenario not having the option to adjust the radio power is detetremental to my environment where there is considerable amount of interference already. people have the misconception the most powerful wireless router is the best not true, if everybody in your neighborhood gets the most powerful wireless router without adjusting the radio to stay within the confines of your home or area where you need wifi then just blasting at full strength down 5 houses each direction does not server any purpose and does not help anyone including yourself just polluting and adding to interference.

I am very disappointed Netgear took away the ability to adjust radio power as my scenario does not require 2.4GHz all my devices use 5Ghz and distance and speeds are more than adequate for me so I want the ability to turn off or ar a min be able to reduce the non used radio power down to 25% like I used to be able to as a common courtesy to those around me.

most neighbours are now doing this if there scenario allows it we started this neighborhood wide effort to get everyone to adjust the power on their radios to fit their needs, some have done it some can't depending on individual need.

netgear with latest firmware have taken away the ability to adjust radio power to be the is a step back not forward, very myopic vision of Firmware capability.
- ArtLee
  Apprentice
  Jul 26, 2017
  Until I started watching this forum I had no idea you could adjust power level or even turn off transmitters. I think most of my neighbors know very little about computers, much less about wifi. I seem to be the neighborhood cosultant on iPads and laptops. And I obviously don't know what I don't know!
  - eggraces
    Aspirant
    Jul 26, 2017
    Hi, I just wanted to post on here as it seems most people have the RBK50. I have the RBR40 and RBS40 router/satellite pair and wanted to report the problems here too.
    
    Like some others posting here, the wifi on some of my devices (chromecast, google nexus 6p and iphone 6) intermittently drop, or more specifically remain connected to the wifi with no throughput. Oddly, my nest cam doesn't seem to drop at all...
    
    I bought this to improve my wifi from my cable provider and so far it's been worse. I can't believe nobody from netgear has reponded to this thread to even acknowledge it...
    
    To anyone thinking of buying this router and is reading this STAY AWAY
MacrossMike
Apprentice
Jul 26, 2017
ArtLee wrote:
JMU1998 wrote:
MacrossMike if Netgear does not plan to add the option to adjust radios I am going to look elsewhere also sadly because I did like Orbi but Netgear is determined to handicap it, please do post comparison of Velope performance and stability experience.
Can you explain why you want to adjust radios? I just have a plain Orbi router/satellite system and have no deep knowledge of wifi and don't know if I -should- be able to adjust transmitter power or why.
With respect to why you'd want to adjust radios... there are a few reasons. Mostly it has to do with reducing co-channel interference in areas where there are several WiFi APs operating in close proximity to each other. Being able to command your router to stick to certain channels, and/or modifying transmit power can do a lot to improve service quality in apartment buildings and unseparated condos, or homes where there are multiple WiFi APs operating for different things.

(For instance, I have three separate wireless networks in my home. One is heavily firewalled and meant for IoT devices, one is for the home security system, and one is for everyday use.)

I'll certainly share my evaluations of the Linksys Velop and D-Link COVR-3902 mesh network systems once they arrive. I'm expecting the Velop this Friday, and the COVR sometime next week.
- ArtLee
  Apprentice
  Jul 26, 2017
  MacrossMike wrote:
  With respect to why you'd want to adjust radios... there are a few reasons. Mostly it has to do with reducing co-channel interference in areas where there are several WiFi APs operating in close proximity to each other. Being able to command your router to stick to certain channels, and/or modifying transmit power can do a lot to improve service quality in apartment buildings and unseparated condos, or homes where there are multiple WiFi APs operating for different things.
  (For instance, I have three separate wireless networks in my home. One is heavily firewalled and meant for IoT devices, one is for the home security system, and one is for everyday use.)
  Thanks. I'm in a single home, but I can see at least a half-dozen networks around, but then don't appear to interfere with me.
  
  Question: Would I gain anything by turning off 2.4ghz? Not that it's possible with the current fw. I do have b/g/n devices, like printers. Can they connect to 5 ghz? Or, do they require 2.4?
  - st_shaw
    Master
    Jul 26, 2017
    ArtLee wrote:
    Question: Would I gain anything by turning off 2.4ghz? Not that it's possible with the current fw. I do have b/g/n devices, like printers. Can they connect to 5 ghz? Or, do they require 2.4?
    If your system is working fine, then there is no benefit to you in disablng 2.4. There may be benefit to your neighbors though, by reduced interference. The biggest benefit of having 2.4 active is that it penetrates walls far better than 5 GHz. This is what allows Orbi to provide a usable signal across an entire 5,000 SF home (or whatever the current claim is). You would not get that with 5 GHz only, unless you had an AP in almost every room.
    
    One thing few people seem to get is that Orbi uses 2.4 for the backhaul. Even when you could "turn off" 2.4 in the old firmware, Orbi still maintained a hidden SSID on 2.4, so the radio was still in use, just not as visible. Perhaps the radio frequency utilization is less though, with no clients associated.

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