Hub 2 - ghost WiFI even when WiFI disabled

[#1]

@Bob 

I'm confused.

"the next firmware build contains an option to completely diable the Wi-Fi radios but as you suspect, this caters for an 'all or nothing' use case i.e. there will be no option to selectively disable for just 2.4GHz or 5GHz."

My Plusnet Hub 2 has an facility in the GUI, which seems to offer the option to disable the two WiFi bands separately.

Home > Advanced Settings > Advanced Wireless

[#2]

I'm guessing the new completely disable option does get rid of the ghost as well on both bands - whereas the current 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz individual disables are more like cosmetic options that inhibit SSIDs from being broadcast while still radiating at full power

Its the kind of thing that maybe makes sense to one engineer in their lab but at the detriment to the majority of their customers.

[#3]

@jwsg 

See https://community.plus.net/t5/Tech-Help-Software-Hardware-etc/Plusnet-Hub-Two-Hidden-Network/m-p/188...

I doubt many customers know it’s there.

What I haven’t read yet is evidence that it’s presence is detrimental to wireless performance. I accept that there could be if there was a lot of traffic on it, but there’s none.

[#4]

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@jwsg wrote:

I'm guessing the new completely disable option does get rid of the ghost as well on both bands - whereas the current 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz individual disables are more like cosmetic options that inhibit SSIDs from being broadcast while still radiating at full power.

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Correct.

[#5]

Thanks for the update @bobpullen .

It will be interesting to see how this affects power consumption.

[#6]

I noticed this on my Hub 2 a while back. Just for intetest I tried a TP-Link VR600 as a whole replacement but it turned out it did exactly the same, lol. They say it's linked to their Mesh system.

[#7]

Many thanks for all the clarifications above.

I can believe that if 2.4GHz is enabled then as the hidden SSID is on the same channel it doesn't really represent much extra energy, assuming the SSID and the ghost are broadcast in time but appear as two peaks on the analyser app. Even when 2.4GHz is disabled in settings hopefully the ghost doesn't represent enough activity to use much energy.

The work-around for no split SSID of disabling 2.4GHz and adding another AP is hassle so I've tried just leaving both bands enabled and letting the LG TV and other devices connect as they see fit. I only have 43Mb/s internet and so using 2.4GHz doesn't really seem to affect streaming - but maybe it would for LAN files.

But I'm going to give a VR400 V3 a try - even if other routers these days might also have mesh ghosts.

[#8]

@jwsg 

Regarding TP-Link VR400 V3, make sure you install the latest firmware version Archer VR400(EU)_V3_1.5.0_220321

One of the modifications included with this version is "Newly added the OneMesh switch" this switches off the hidden networks when One Mesh is not in use.

You can split the wireless names and has a 'guest network' option which I expect you already know.

Also like many DSL TP-Link devices it can be configured as a router (WAP mode) which supports a PPPoE connection which is usefully as this will support it being connected Full Fibre ONT.

I don't see the point of splitting the wireless networks and let the device use the strongest signal.

[#9]

@Dan_the_Van Many thanks for that info about the OneMesh switch.

The Hub 2 does seems to have pretty strong WiFi and I'm getting a better sync speed than ever before which is important as I've always been below estimate even at 3dB margin

But the experiment to use a WAX204 as wireless bridge still inst 100% successful with issues with device discovery and even IP allocation so I wanted to try a different router before giving up and going back to home-plugs.

If FTTP arrives here way off in the future I will have to try to get the ONT put where I need it and not just left near the master socket as that will really help.

[#10]

But the experiment to use a WAX204 as wireless bridge still inst 100% successful with issues with device discovery and even IP allocation so I wanted to try a different router before giving up and going back to home-plugs.

As an experiment set the Hub Two in bridge mode and set the WAX204 as a router setting the Internet port (WAN port) for PPPoE connection?  

Page 44 here https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/WAX204/WAX204_UM_EN.pdf 

HTH

Edit: the WAX204 would be fed by a ethernet cable which would allow you to position it in a better location. I do note your previous comment about additional hardware

[#11]

I was trying wireless bridge mode as a way to get solid network access to some wired (non WiFi) devices that are close enough to the router for good 5GHz but have a mains wiring path that degrades homeplug speed. The Tp-link homeplugs are fine otherwise and things work just like if over a network cable. In terms of box count and electricity the WAX204 replaced a switch and homeplug.

But things aren't so clean with a wireless bridge. I'd hoped that supporting mesh meant modern routers like the Hub 2 would be less confused by multiple devices on one WiFi connection but there's glitches in the My Devices page, delays in getting connected when devices power on and network discovery (every "smart" device seems to have its own way to talk to its app), and so on.

[#12]

Wifi bridge mode is not the same as a wifi mesh.

https://www.digitalairwireless.com/articles/blog/wifi-bridge-or-wifi-mesh-whats-the-difference 

I do not believe the Plusnets Hub Two supports mesh, the BT version might?

TP-Link powerlines for me work well and have done for years, I have a small collection of devices in my garage, I accept the slight drop in internet speed connection but headline speed is 76mbps/19mbps I see around 65mbps/19mbps across the powerlines using speedtest. I've not measured file transfer rate across the powerlines but the transfer rate has not been an issue. I have two separate powerline networks, they do not seem to interfere with each other.

Fully wired networks are best but for me and many others it's not possible or ultimately not worth the effort doing. Although you can get flat LAN (utp) cable which can be run under a carpet, which makes it easier.

TP-Link sell a One Mesh node with a RJ45 socket RE230 comes to mind.

The One Mesh system is to extend my wifi to the garden.

HTH

[#13]

I can get as much as 300Mb/s file transfer between two of the TP-link AV1000 but it's a lot worse to the homeplug at the router (Home Hub 6) maybe due to the way the mains is wired or whatever - so I changed just that part to be a wireless bridge. I didn't want to replace everything with a mesh system.

But the older HH6 gets confused by multiple devices appearing on one WiFi connection.

The Smart Hub 2 is new enough to have been tested with mesh and as mesh and wireless bridge are similar in one regard  - multiple devices over one WiFi connection - I was hoping the Hub 2 (related to the Smart Hub 2) would be less confused.

It did get better plus an improved sync speed and I'm coping without split SSID and with mesh ghosts but I'm still going to try the VR400 - although it looks like it's got a max DHCP lease time of 2 days instead of 21 of the Hub 2.

[#14]

VR400 DHCP lease is two days, but I find the device usually get the same IP on renewal, only when the device goes off network and returns you'll get a new IP address. Very easy to assign a static IP address through the GUI

See what if offers before you buy

https://emulator.tp-link.com/vr400v3_emulator/index.htm 

[#15]

Cheers. Ive gone through and checked Use Same IP but mostly they seemed defaulting to on with the Hub 2.

Although in theory the long lease is a server side thing it does seem to help with the time to get a network connection. With the bridge one of the glitches was a longer time after turning on something like an ATV 4K before it says the network is available - even though the bridge WiFi connection is permanent (ATV -> wired -> bridge -> WiFi -> router).