Eir automatically enabled band steering - no option to disable

whistlebl0wer

Hi folks,

I have the Eir gigabit ftth package and up until today I had two separate SSIDs for my 2.4GHz and 5Ghz bands. My modem is an F3000 (Sagemcom f5366s).

Eir have somehow disabled the 5Ghz and replaced it with a band steering option which supposedly selects the best frequency for each device automatically, but I prefer to have the option to choose myself.

According to the F3000 user manual, there should be an option under wifi settings to disable band steering and revert to the 2 SSID setup but it seems to be missing. Instead I just see the message "If you want to configure 2 SSIDs for 2.4GHz and 5GHz, please disable the feature bandsteering"

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Any ideas on how to sort it?

Any help would be much appreciated, cheers.

Red Silurian

Same thing here, it looks like Eir have disabled this feature or possibly just forgot to implement it

One workaround could be to disable the 5GHz network and then activate the 'guest 5GHz' wi-fi feature with the settings you desire

Also anybody with an internet connected device such as a smart speaker will all need to reconnect to your new wi-fi setup

ED E

Sounds like they pushed a new FW via pinhole management. Crap idea as its often a huge compatibility problem. If you can, replace the F3000.

Red Silurian

ED E wrote: »

Sounds like they pushed a new FW via pinhole management. Crap idea as its often a huge compatibility problem. If you can, replace the F3000.

That sounds a lot like eir, honestly I look forward to cutting them out when my contract is up, I'm only with them for the sports at the moment

whistlebl0wer

Red Silurian wrote: »

Same thing here, it looks like Eir have disabled this feature or possibly just forgot to implement it

One workaround could be to disable the 5GHz network and then activate the 'guest 5GHz' wi-fi feature with the settings you desire

Also anybody with an internet connected device such as a smart speaker will all need to reconnect to your new wi-fi setup

Thanks, yeah I was hoping I could rename the guest SSID to my old 5GHz network so I wouldn't have to manually reconnect all my devices that were on the old network, but the name change wouldn't stick whenever I tried saving it.

Also I wasn't able to login to the guest network or change the password, the fields seemed to be missing, not sure what's up with it.

I did some digging in the config.js file (http://192.168.1.254/2.0/gui/js/config.js) and found the problem flags:

seperateSsidDisplay:!0
wifiBandSteering:{enable:!1}

I figured that if I could flip the values then the options should reappear in the gui, so I downloaded a configuration backup device.cfg file from http://192.168.1.254/2.0/gui/#/mybox/maintenance/backup-restore

Unfortunately it was encrypted so I haven't been able to edit the values, but I read somewhere that there's a sagemcom tool that can read and modify the .cfg so I will try that when I get a chance and let you know how it goes.

But yeah, screw Eir. I'll be leaving them the second another provider can offer the same speeds in my area.

jgbyr

Same issue here. Thought it was something on my own router (F2000). I had separated them as I've a firestick that will only work on 2.5ghz,it drops on 5ghz. Bit controlling of Eir to restrict access.

Yggr of Asgard

Has anybody managed to get this new "feature" disabled?

I tried to restore from a previous configuration backup but that did not help, it made it worse as than it used the 5Ghz network name, so restore from another backup taken after this new feature was introduced and back to the same issue that "band steering" is enabled and cannot be disabled.

Only way I forced something onto a specific band is via the allow/disallow list but that is a pain.

whistlebl0wer

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

Has anybody managed to get this new "feature" disabled?

I tried to restore from a previous configuration backup but that did not help, it made it worse as than it used the 5Ghz network name, so restore from another backup taken after this new feature was introduced and back to the same issue that "band steering" is enabled and cannot be disabled.

Only way I forced something onto a specific band is via the allow/disallow list but that is a pain.

I'd say your best bet is trying the guest network workaround. See if you can rename them so that the SSIDs are the same as your old separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, that way you won't have to reconnect all of your devices.

I had a look for the Sagemcom cfg editor tool but it doesn't seem to be publicly available unfortunately.

I also looked into reverse engineering it and tried a couple of scripts for decrypting the config files from other sagemcom routers on the off chance they worked on the F3000, but no joy I'm afraid. If anyone else is considering going down that route here's a good starting point.

Yggr of Asgard

So following my complaint I got an information from eir that

However since we can't reactivate bandsteering on your current modem, I can send out an F2000 Eir Fibre modem to you if you wish.

This modem will have both the 2.4G and 5G as two seperate ssids.

So the only option is going back to the F2000.

one armed dwarf

I somehow managed to find the band steering page by replacing the 'overview' part of the 'wifi-mesh' url with 'bandsteering'. Not sure why it's hidden, maybe the toggle off doesn't work correctly?

eg, gui/#/wifi/2.4GHz/priv/mesh-wifi/bandsteering

Yggr of Asgard

one armed dwarf wrote: »

I somehow managed to find the band steering page by replacing the 'overview' part of the 'wifi-mesh' url with 'bandsteering'. Not sure why it's hidden, maybe the toggle off doesn't work correctly?

eg, gui/#/wifi/2.4GHz/priv/mesh-wifi/bandsteering

That is a nice find, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, even if band steering is de-activated you can't give the two networks different names but there is a workaround to force devices onto a band.

It now shows the 2.4 and 5 differently and lets you define different passwords, so you could steer the devices that way to the different bands.

So, a nice find and it works to disable band steering, but it's not addressing the issue of different network names.

one armed dwarf

That's another weird one, I found I was able to give the SSIDs different names but only by resizing the browser window to a narrow width would the input appear. Something is fairly fecked up in the way they defined their views for the router gui.

Again I've no idea how stable or reliable it all is, clearly it's a bit of a mess

Yggr of Asgard

one armed dwarf wrote: »

That's another weird one, I found I was able to give the SSIDs different names but only by resizing the browser window to a narrow width would the input appear. Something is fairly fecked up in the way they defined their views for the router gui.

Again I've no idea how stable or reliable it all is, clearly it's a bit of a mess

Oh wow - narrowing the "2.0/gui/#/wifi/2.4GHz/priv/basic" webpage to 1/2 of the screen now shows the names and it's possible to change.

I'll go an test this further this evening when I don't need my broadband.

Red Silurian

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

Oh wow - narrowing the "2.0/gui/#/wifi/2.4GHz/priv/basic" webpage to 1/2 of the screen now shows the names and it's possible to change.

I'll go an test this further this evening when I don't need my broadband.

Sometimes it's the simple solutions that work best

Yggr of Asgard

I'm now back on separate named networks

2.0/gui/#/wifi/2.4GHz/priv/mesh-wifi/bandsteering
Change the Bandsteering and Roaming: to off / apply

2.0/gui/#/wifi/2.4GHz/priv/basic
narrow the browser window until all sections are shown in a single row and SSID for 5 GHz shows

Change the Name as appropriate and click apply
Accept "Changing any values in this page may cause a loss of connectivity for Wi-Fi users."

Go back to 2.0/gui/#/ and see you devices connect.

Now going back into the Wi-Fi 5GHz from home screen will get you back into the dual screen 2.0/gui/#/wifi/5GHz/priv/basic so once again back to the narrow down to single row.


So far on the Wi-Fi 5GHz the Speed: 2200 Mbit/s is shown, as usual on most of my devices connect with Signal rate: 780 Mbps which is slightly better than they did with band steering funny enough.

Have not seen any issues yet, but obviously sooner or later they push something new and it's back to square one.

Thank you one armed dwarf .

alec76

So F3000 become part of the mesh system ( Eir smart hub) ,you've disabled mesh capabilities.( That was the reason Eir pushed FW update at the first place)

alec76

ED E wrote: »

Sounds like they pushed a new FW via pinhole management. Crap idea as its often a huge compatibility problem. If you can, replace the F3000.

F3000 pretty decent AP , FW was needed for Mesh support.
Average Joe doesn't need manual band selection option .
Especially if it is mesh and range more important than top WiFi speed .

Mickeroo

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

I'm now back on separate named networks

2.0/gui/#/wifi/2.4GHz/priv/mesh-wifi/bandsteering
Change the Bandsteering and Roaming: to off / apply

2.0/gui/#/wifi/2.4GHz/priv/basic
narrow the browser window until all sections are shown in a single row and SSID for 5 GHz shows

Change the Name as appropriate and click apply
Accept "Changing any values in this page may cause a loss of connectivity for Wi-Fi users."

Go back to 2.0/gui/#/ and see you devices connect.

Now going back into the Wi-Fi 5GHz from home screen will get you back into the dual screen 2.0/gui/#/wifi/5GHz/priv/basic so once again back to the narrow down to single row.


So far on the Wi-Fi 5GHz the Speed: 2200 Mbit/s is shown, as usual on most of my devices connect with Signal rate: 780 Mbps which is slightly better than they did with band steering funny enough.

Have not seen any issues yet, but obviously sooner or later they push something new and it's back to square one.

Thank you one armed dwarf .

So I've managed to get the two SSIDs showing again by doing this but for some reason nothing can connect to the 2.4G one. Password is the same so I had hoped all my devices that mysteriously went offline this morning would just connect back again but I can't connect to it at all even using my phone yet the 5G SSID works fine.

Yggr of Asgard

alec76 wrote: »

So F3000 become part of the mesh system ( Eir smart hub) ,you've disabled mesh capabilities.( That was the reason Eir pushed FW update at the first place)

Yes, there is no other Eir around (most people made the choice to go to vodafone) and the only other Eir is across the street.

So, what benefit does mesh bring me, nothing as I only have the F3000.

I have some device that I want on the 5 GHz network (for example my apple tv as the lan port of the F3000 is not providing good speed) and some of my devices work smoother when I have separate networks.

I know why Eir pushed this out (to make more money by selling additional mesh points) but I don't need it, so I did make a decision knowing what works for me.

Yggr of Asgard

alec76 wrote: »

F3000 pretty decent AP , FW was needed for Mesh support.
Average Joe doesn't need manual band selection option .
Especially if it is mesh and range more important than top WiFi speed .

And that is the reason why I did not go with a different router, the F3000 is great in my environment (as long as I don't use the LAN ports), so why invest into something else (well until my contract ends and I swap provider).

But you are going on about Mesh as if it's magically going to improve everyone's performance. It's not unless you have loads of points around you.

Yggr of Asgard

Mickeroo wrote: »

So I've managed to get the two SSIDs showing again by doing this but for some reason nothing can connect to the 2.4G one. Password is the same so I had hoped all my devices that mysteriously went offline this morning would just connect back again but I can't connect to it at all even using my phone yet the 5G SSID works fine.

Don't have that problem, I tested and deleted some of my trusted networks and reconnected fine to the 2.4G.

Revert back to a backup or manually might be your only option.

Mickeroo

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

Don't have that problem, I tested and deleted some of my trusted networks and reconnected fine to the 2.4G.

Revert back to a backup or manually might be your only option.

I've reverted back to the single SSID again, weirdly everything is connecting only to the 5G band though. Would have thought one or two things would have go to the 2.4.

It's rather frustrating because I noticed my two SSIDs had reverted to one last week but somehow the 2.4G reliant devices were all still worknig away fine so I didn't really care. Something happened this morning where all those devices went offline and weren't able to reconnect anymore so I figured I need to get the two distinct SSIDs back.

alec76

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

I have some device that I want on the 5 GHz network (for example my apple tv as the lan port of the F3000 is not providing good speed) and some of my devices work smoother when I have separate networks.

F3000 providing gigabit speeds over the LAN ports, no danger there , unlike your Apple TV though.
If you got good signal then your devices will pick 5 GHz network
anyway , unless your router too far away / placed in wrong location etc.
I don't have a option for manual band selection myself with ORBI ( well, I could do it through telnet of course, not via WUI) I never had problems with that and at same time have 500+ Mbps WIFI speeds at every corner of my house.,plenty only 2.4 GHz devices on Network ( smart switches , roborocks etc)

dmoss

Neat couple of hacks! Having 2 separate SSIDs rather than the default 'roaming' is working best for my set up and my pesky kids. Everything working for me so far so good.
Thanks for sharing that info

obi604

I recently got the f3000 modem and yes it’s annoying the way you cannot choose between the 2.4 or 5.

if I was to get the something like the tp link deco m5 mesh system, would this system allow me to choose 2.4 or 5?

does anybody know?

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117721708#Comment_117721708

Any comments on this one?

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/116705229#Comment_116705229

is there any harm in dong this?

security etc

alec76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117730892#Comment_117730892

Tp-link normaly would have such an option.

Deco M5 pretty poor device performance wise though ( unless you are happy with 170-200 Mbps wireless speeds )

F3000 could hit up to 550 Mbps wireless

bart877

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117311443#Comment_117311443

thank you, had the same problem with the modem Fast5366SD, but thanks to your link and page narrowing trick, I go two SSID's and 2.4 as well as 5gh network. Just cant understand, why such vital feature is so hard to find.

Tigerandahalf

Hi

I am having a somewhat similar issue.

Both of my 2.4 and 5ghz signals are visible. I used to use the 5ghz for a dns service.

Lately the fire stick stopped working when connected to the 5ghz.

I can try to connect to the 5ghz on my phone but then it immediately switches me back to the 2.4ghz signal.

It sounds like the 2.4ghz signal is being deliberately selected. The 5ghz signal is just as strong where I need it in the sitting room.

Is there any way on the eir F2000 router (the black one I have) to stop this from happening.

Thanks

sudaltsov

The interesting thing is that with/without band steering eir enables and disables 5GHz network as it liked! Even though the modem constantly reports 5GHz as UP, I do not see it. Then I see it again. Then again off. Is that normal? Reproducible on at least two boxes..

https://internet-access-guide.com/5ghz-wifi-keeps-dropping/

It’s commonplace irrespective of provider. I’m with Virgin and this can be an issue depending on device location.

mdevilly

i implemented bandsteering, both 2.4G & 5G networks are separate. Unfortunately, 2.4G drops on the eir Wifi Smart extender after a few days. Any ideas?

alec76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119769213#Comment_119769213

implemented bandsteering, both 2.4G & 5G networks are separate.

You've DISABLED band steering,and created separate networks, right?

I don't think you should do it BTW, especially if you using Eir's MESH hubs ( if that what you call "extender")