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Firmware V1.12.0.18 Discussion
This does indeed appear to be based on (identical to?) the last private beta V1.12.0.16 and has been released to the public. Hope it helps!
Guest mode AP isolation finally works 100% over IPv4...
New Features and Enhancements:
- Supports ReadySHARE Printer for Orbi devices that are equipped with a USB port
- Updated the OrbiOS API to v3.14
Bug Fixes:
- Fixes the iOS disconnection issue.
- Fixes the Dropcam disconnection issue.
- Fixes the convergence issue when an Ethernet connected device moves from one Orbi to another.
- Fixes the issue where the Orbi app can’t find the Orbi router if the router is using IPv6 and is in AP mode.
- Fixes the issue where the Orbi app can’t display more than 20 connected devices.
- Fixes the issue where the installation assistant might not display if the device is connected to the Orbi network wirelessly.
- Fixes the issue where the 2.4 GHz backhaul setting is disabled if the fronthaul MU-MIMO and TxBF is disabled.
- Fixes the issue where IPv6 devices on the guest network can access the Orbi router’s web GUI.
- Includes security fixes for the following security vulnerabilities:
PSV-2016-0133, PSV-2017-0607, PSV-2017-0615, PSV-2017-0736, PSV-2017-2190
Download Link:
RBR50 - http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK50/RBR50-V1.12.0.18.zip
RBS50 - http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK50/RBS50-V1.12.0.18.zip
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.
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?
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.
st_shaw wrote: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.
I'm on 1.11.0.20 mainly because the Orbi's band steering is completely unreliable for me. With the 2.4Ghz radio off I don't have to worry about getting stuck on the 2.4Ghz band (which performs worse everywhere on my property).
Observing the Orbi in inSSIDer and a Wifi Analyzer app does show the 2.4Ghz backhaul from the router as active, but it is very sporadic (same with 5GHz). I recall a thread about this issue, but it doesn't look like the reason behind the signal drops was conclusively found. When the radio is active, there are 3 total 2.4Ghz signals visible (1 router + 1 sat + 1 backhaul), with it "off", only 1 is visible. I would hope that this means less frequency usage.
With the 2.4 radio never really "off" I don't understand why the ability to disable the primary bands was removed. A true changelog would note the reasoning for this and other features removed.
captain_phaserI have looked into the hidden signals in great detail. The reason the hidden signals look sporadic is because of the way your WiFi analyzer samples hidden SSIDs--it sniffs packets. Your WiFi adapter can only sniff on one channel and one band at a time. It's not a sporadic signal--you are simply missing some of the packets because your WiFi software is busy changing channels and bands on the adapter.
If you want to see what's truly happening, you need to lock your WiFi adapter to a single band and channel. This can be done with Acrylic WiFi Professional with an adapter that supports their NDIS driver, such as the NETGEAR A6200 v1.
The other thing this software shows you is that the satellite is connected to the router as a client on the hidden 2.4 channel (and thus passing traffic.) The reason your scanner stops showing the sats when the 2.4 band is "off" is because your scanning software is not designed to show any client traffic, just AP traffic.
st_shaw wrote: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.
Okay, thanks. Is there a way to tell which devices are using which frequencies?
There is a NVRAM setting you can make via telnet that will show what band your devices are connected to, either 2.4 or 5. Other than that, you would need to figure out the MAC address of the radios in Orbi (using inSSIDer or similar) and check each client to see what MAC it attached to. The NVRAM setting used to show if a device was connected to the router or sat, but this was removed.
See my comment on this page: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/hidden-features/td-p/1149584