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Forum Discussion
Separate WiFi 2.4 and 5ghz bands
I am no longer able to separate my WiFi bands on the most recent Orbi firmware versions. It worked for over a year fine, but after updating firmware they are no longer separate. I have tried the Te...
So I have just updated my Orbi Router (RBR50) and Satellite (RBS50) to the latest firmware (on October 6, 2019) which is v2.3.5.30
(Note: I had to manually update the Satellite firmware because it would not auto update.)
I changed the SSID for 2G and 5G without any issues and the changes did stick after reboot and it works fine.
One thing to make sure is that you are telnetting into the Router and not the Satellite. The settings in the Router will propogte to the Satellite, so using telnet to change settings in the Satellite (I know because I tried it) will cause it either (1) not work properly, or (2) get reset to the settings that are in the Router.
Reminder for telnet settings changes to stick, you would do the following:
telnet 192.168.1.1
config set wl_ssid='New_SSID_2G'
config set wla_ssid='New_SSID_5G'
config commit
reboot
I am also running the v2.3.5.30 firmware on the RBR40 Orbi setup and have tried to separate the 2.4 and 5 bands multiple times with no success. When I telnet in and check the SSID names, they are different, even after a reboot. But it is only broadcasting the 2.4 SSID and devices on my network are connecting to that SSID at the 5ghz speed. It doesn't make any sense. Any ideas?
notepro wrote:I am also running the v2.3.5.30 firmware on the RBR40 Orbi setup and have tried to separate the 2.4 and 5 bands multiple times with no success. When I telnet in and check the SSID names, they are different, even after a reboot. But it is only broadcasting the 2.4 SSID and devices on my network are connecting to that SSID at the 5ghz speed. It doesn't make any sense. Any ideas?
Yeah - You're not alone seeing this problem with these later firmware iterations. It seems that NG has already begun to lockdown custom configs. I also have a need for separate WiFi/SSIDs and my solution is Guest Network, which still works with the latest FW v2.5.1.8 on RBK53. If you must have separate WiFi/SSIDs, you can look into these options and see which one will work for you.
- Revert to an older firmware version prior to lockdown
- Take advantage and enable separate WiFi/SSIDs on Guest Network
Check out this post on how to separate WiFi for 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands on Guest Network.
Good Luck!
So basically the workaround is to separate the 2.4 and 5 bands on the Satelittes instead of the main Orbi router? Then connect the device that I want on the 5ghz band to the new SSID given off from the Satelittes I just changed?
notepro wrote:So basically the workaround is to separate the 2.4 and 5 bands on the Satelittes instead of the main Orbi router? Then connect the device that I want on the 5ghz band to the new SSID given off from the Satelittes I just changed?
Exactly. :smileyhappy:
Think of Guest Network as the new Main Network with these benefits:
- The ability to separate WiFi bands
- Force devices to connect to closet Router or Satellite
- Isolating IoT traffics
- Etc.,
I followed your post about separating the 2.4 and 5G bands on the satellites. The post mentions just setting the wlg1_ssid to show its 2.4G, it doesn't mention anything about setting the 5G band. Did I miss something? Also is the wlg1_ssid change it for both Satellities? If not, what is the name of the second satellite? Thanks.
notepro wrote:I followed your post about separating the 2.4 and 5G bands on the satellites. The post mentions just setting the wlg1_ssid to show its 2.4G, it doesn't mention anything about setting the 5G band. Did I miss something? Also is the wlg1_ssid change it for both Satellities? If not, what is the name of the second satellite? Thanks.
To have different 5GHz SSID instead of 2.4GHz SSID, just change wla1_ssid on the target Orbi/Satellite instead of wlg1_ssid. For example, replace wlg1_ssid with wla1_ssid as seen in the example. Take a look at the before and after pictures to confirm.
It might be clearer to me once I understand the naming system. So does wlg1_ssid refer to Satellite 1 on the Guest Network? Does wla1_ssid refer Satellite 1 on the Main wifi network? If so, what is the designation for Satellite 2 on both the Guest and Main networks? Sorry for my confusion.
notepro wrote:It might be clearer to me once I understand the naming system. So does wlg1_ssid refer to Satellite 1 on the Guest Network? Does wla1_ssid refer Satellite 1 on the Main wifi network? If so, what is the designation for Satellite 2 on both the Guest and Main networks? Sorry for my confusion.
These two variables are used by Guest network only. wla1_ssid is just a variable to store Guest SSID name for 5GHz, similarly wlg1_ssid stores Guest SSID name for 2.4GHz. Each of these 2 variables will tell Orbi/Satellite what Guest SSID to broadcast. By default, both stores the same Guest SSID for both bands. The Main WiFi network uses a different set of variables to store its SSID i.e., wla_ssid and wl_ssid.
Think of it as two different WiFi networks. Whatever changes we make to Guest SSID (wla1_ssid/wlg1_ssid) won't affect the Main nerwork SSID (wla_ssid/wl_ssid) at all.
For examples:
- To force Satellite-1 broadcasting unique 5GHz Guest SSID name, telnet into Satellite-1, and set its wla1_ssid="Satellite-1-5GHz"
- To force Satellite-2 broadcasting a different Guest SSID from Satellite-1, telnet into Satellite-2, and set its wla1_ssid="Satellite-2-5GHz"
- To force Orbi broadcasting a different Guest SSID, telnet into Orbi, and set its wla1_ssid="Orbi-5GHz"
Hope this helps!
Wow, thank you for that. So much clearer and I appreciate your help.
