Hub One - 5GHz WiFi issue

[#1]

I have had problems with WiFi connection being very unreliable since I changed over to Plusnet.  It will have no problem  connecting for weeks sometimes, then suddenly will not connect and says password is invalid and  take numerous attempts to connect to the network.  A couple of weeks ago I took it to the local Tech Experts as they had just re-opened after being closed due to the pandemic.  They checked out my laptop and said they could find nothing wrong with it. The boss there said he was also with Plusnet and had experienced similar problems and he was almost sure it was because when the laptop connected to the 5 GHz instead of 2.4 it became very unstable.  He eventually went into the Hub manager and turned off the 5GHz  problem solved.  I tried that today but as I was not sure exactly how to do this I will phone the Tech Experts tomorrow as they said if I had a problem they could talk me through how to do it.  If you are confident enough to do it yourself it may be worth a try.  All my other devices which I can see are connected to 2.4, do not have any problems.

[#2]

@bobpullen

• I had 5GHz connectivity problems with .263 firmware
• You upgraded me to .273 firmware and 5 GHz connectivity problems persisted
• I removed the saved Plusnet WiFi networks from my Mac, reconnected, re-entering the pw etc. → did not restore 5 GHz connection
• Reset Hub to manufacturer default settings, reconfigured separate WiFi SSID's for 2.4 & 5 GHz → same 5 GHz connectivity issue

This persists only on my work machine running macOS Catalina 10.15.6.

iPhone and an older laptop running macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 seem to be fine connecting to the 5 GHz WiFi. 

Are you aware of any macOS Catalina 10.15 specific issues with 5 GHz connectivity? Googling shows anecdotal evidence that I'm not alone with this issue.

Do you have any other suggestions for me to try? Due to this being my work machine, I can't  downgrade to an earlier version of macOS.

[#3]

@annamariamuller Have you disabled IPv6 for the network connection(s)?

System Preferences > Network

[#4]

@Mook Thank you for the suggestion!

I have not — I've got 3 options, none of which let's me de-activate it.

Configure IPv6: Automatically ( current but problematic setting ? ), Manually, or Link-local only

Shall I try the Manual option with the Hub's IP address?

[#5]

The best  option @annamariamuller is to use a Terminal :

Applications > Utilities Folder > Terminal

Then enter:

sudo networksetup -listallnetworkservices

For example:

Mook@iMac ~ % sudo networksetup -listallnetworkservices
Password:
An asterisk (*) denotes that a network service is disabled.
Ethernet
USB ACM
USB Controls
Display Ethernet
LAN-2
Display FireWire
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth PAN
Thunderbolt Bridge
Mook@iMac ~ %

Then from the list above use :

sudo networksetup -setv6off INTERFACE

Where INTERFACE is a name from the list above: e.g. Ethernet or WiFi

[#6]

@bobpullen 

Could I please get the software update?  

Thanks for your thread and information.  Hugely disappointing that Plusnet continued to supply routers with a known issue after it was identified (not your fault, obviously).  

Stay safe, Sarah

[#7]

Thank you much, @Mook , that didn't work either. I'm now pretty convinced it may be a hardware failure and I'll have to go down the iFix It  Airport Board replacement route…

Thank you so much for this additional suggestion to try!

[#8]

Hello all,

I'm so glad I am not alone!

I have recently purchased an Arlo wireless security camera - and to enable it to use the wireless, I have had to separate the 2.4GHz from the 5GHz.

All went well until I checked and saw that every device (phones laptops cameras printer etc....) were only using the 2.4GHz channel.  I have tried switching 3 apple phones, 2 pc's, and 3 laptops (all windows) to the 5GHz channel and none of them get internet access (most show the password as being incorrect intermittently also).

It seems that the 5GHz has been unusable for some time (was not obvious as the channels were merged).  But now I have intermittent warnings of no internet connection and that the password to join the 5GHz channel is incorrect (never been changed so not sure why this persists.)

The hub status indicator remains blue whilst the above is happening.

Only the 5GHz channel is affected.

There seems to be no pattern as to what triggers the problem.

I have tried resetting everything back to factory defaults, renaming channels, changing passwords, rebooting the hub.  All to no avail.

We have been with plusnet for some time - is it possible that the router needs replacing?

Plusnet Hub One | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.263 | Last updated 25/01/19

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I hate to think I am paying for a service which is not living up to its full potential.

David

[#9]

UPDATE:
Since posting at the weekend, I have rebooted mtly router and happened to notice it updated my firmware so thank you Bob, assuming this was your handiwork.
I managed around 27 hours of uptime with 5ghz working well and then it disappeared completely - on the hub the band was still enabled but my scanner couldn't pick it up at all, confirmed on 2 separate devices. I tried just changing the channel, still wasn't there. Tried toggling the 5ghz band off and on and still not there. I haven't yet rebooted the router to avoid interrupting the littlun's audio book but I have every confidence this will resolve the issue. Whether this is coincidence or not, I cannot say but at least I'm having a new issue to my previous ones I'll reboot again when I can and monitor anyway. Thanks for pushing it out to me and let me know if there's any other tests you'd like me to try.

[#10]

Hi @bobpullen please can I have the new firmware? This issue has been happening to me.since i switched to Plusnet

[#11]

Hi @bobpullen we have also switched to plusnet after having no other issues with tt and are finding the firmware 263 is knocking us off and we have to manually reconnect via the router admin. Can I be added for a solution to be rolled out to please

[#12]

Hi all, just to let you know that I was having issues with my iphone disconnecting from 5ghz and going to 2.4ghz channel all the time (new firmware) if youre having that type of issue, check your auto join settings

[#13]

@bobpullen So I joined Plusnet today and have had to turn off my 5ghz already. Does this firmware update work and how do I download it?

[#14]

@bobpullen FYI 4 months now and version .273 is still stable and fast on 5gz. Many thanks.

[#15]

UPDATE 2:
Since posting last week about having received the new firmware and having the 5ghz ssid stop broadcasting, I have rebooted and had 6 days of stable 5ghz band connection. I still have the bands split with manual channels selected so won't change that unless one of the channels becomes congested (currently I have them to myself). I currently still have minimal devices connected to 5ghz so once I hit 7 days uptime I will reintroduce all of the Google home kit to the 5ghz band and see how it handles the added strain but it's looking more hopeful now, putting the initial issue after firmware upgrade as an anomally/blip for now.

Thanks again Bob. I'll try and update this thread again whether positively or negatively at a later date.