Question - Why Does New Router Always Broadcast Hidden Networks?

Search

Everywhere Threads This forum This thread Search titles only By: Search Advanced search… Everywhere Threads This forum This thread Search titles only By: Search Advanced… Log in Register

Search

Everywhere Threads This forum This thread Search titles only By: Search Advanced search… Everywhere Threads This forum This thread Search titles only By: Search Advanced… Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar Menu Install the app Install

• Home
• Featured
• Forums Trending Search forums
• What's new New posts Latest activity

QuestionWhy does new router always broadcast hidden networks?

• Thread starter MWink
• Start date May 15, 2019

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar

• Home
• Forums
• Hardware and Technology
• Networking

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. M

MWink

Diamond Member

Oct 9, 1999 3,642 1 76 I just bought a new TP-Link Archer A7 AC1750 router and I noticed that it ALWAYS broadcasts a hidden network on each band (2.4GHz and 5GHz). I manually configured the Wi-Fi networks and all of them are set to broadcast their SSID. I've even tried disabling the wireless radios and these hidden networks remain. Does anyone know what their purpose is or how to disable them? Thanks.

JackMDS

Elite Member

Super Moderator Oct 25, 1999 29,560 431 126 Maybe this can Help. https://www.google.com/search?q=rou...t+ALWAYS+broadcasts+a+hidden+network&ie=UTF-8 https://www.thewindowsclub.com/hidden-wi-fi-networks

dave_the_nerd

Lifer

Feb 25, 2011 16,997 1,626 126 If you disabled the radios and there's still a "hidden network"... maybe it's not actually your router? M

MWink

Diamond Member

Oct 9, 1999 3,642 1 76

JackMDS said: Maybe this can Help. https://www.google.com/search?q=rou...t+ALWAYS+broadcasts+a+hidden+network&ie=UTF-8 https://www.thewindowsclub.com/hidden-wi-fi-networks Click to expand...

Thanks but I still don't really see anything that answers my question.

dave_the_nerd said: If you disabled the radios and there's still a "hidden network"... maybe it's not actually your router? Click to expand...

I'm 99% sure it's this router. I can tell by the MAC addresses, signal strength, and the fact the networks appear/disappear depending on if this router is powered on. There are not a lot of neighboring networks and definitely none that could have this signal strength.

mxnerd

Diamond Member

Jul 6, 2007 6,799 1,103 126 https://emulator.tp-link.com/webpages_a7v5_new/pages/userrpm/basic_wireless.html https://emulator.tp-link.com/webpages_a7v5_new/pages/userrpm/basic_guest.html Couldn't you hide SSID?

VirtualLarry

No Lifer

Aug 25, 2001 56,587 10,225 126 Maybe it's firmware cheesiness, and when you disable the "guest network", it still gets broadcast, but not via the set SSID? Seems like sloppy coding on the part of the firmware devs, though. Edit: Disabling the radios, should physically disable the radios, not just the logical SSIDs. If it doesn't, the firmware is broken, and the product should be returned. Some people have electromagnetic sensitivities.

• 

Reactions: RadiclDreamer

ch33zw1z

Lifer

Nov 4, 2004 39,831 20,428 146 ttiwwp - post pics of your router config, and post pictures of the networks you see M

MWink

Diamond Member

Oct 9, 1999 3,642 1 76

VirtualLarry said: Maybe it's firmware cheesiness, and when you disable the "guest network", it still gets broadcast, but not via the set SSID? Seems like sloppy coding on the part of the firmware devs, though. Edit: Disabling the radios, should physically disable the radios, not just the logical SSIDs. If it doesn't, the firmware is broken, and the product should be returned. Some people have electromagnetic sensitivities. Click to expand...

It does not seem to have anything to do with the "guest networks". If they are enabled then it broadcasts 3 networks per band. I tried disabling the Wi-Fi using the physical button on the back of the router and even then it STILL broadcast the two hidden networks. I finally decided to try flashing a different firmware. I flashed it to the previous version and that made these stray hidden networks disappear. It definitely appears to be firmware related. I'm not sure if it's a bug or related to some new feature that was implemented in the latest firmware. I believe the newest version added support for OneMesh and some Alexa/IFTTT stuff. I wonder if that could have anything to do with it? W

who?

Platinum Member

Sep 1, 2012 2,327 42 91 Maybe your ISP wants to use your router as a hotspot for their customers. R

Rifter

Lifer

Oct 9, 1999 11,522 751 126 If it has mesh support this could be how they are implementing the mesh network across multiple routers, read the manual.

• 

Reactions: fkoehler, DefaultExploit and SamirD H

halcy0n

Junior Member

Jul 15, 2019 1 0 36

MWink said: I just bought a new TP-Link Archer A7 AC1750 router and I noticed that it ALWAYS broadcasts a hidden network on each band (2.4GHz and 5GHz). Click to expand...

I have this same router and found that it is broadcasting a couple of hidden networks since I upgraded the firmware to v1.0.10 The wireless stability has also gone from pretty good, to disconnecting every few hours. I downgraded the firmware to v1.0.7 to resolve these issues. I am not comfortable with my router broadcasting a bunch of hidden networks that cannot be turned off. As another poster said, it appears to relate to the OneMesh feature. S

sanjaypatel

Junior Member

Oct 4, 2019 1 0 6

MWink said: I just bought a new TP-Link Archer A7 AC1750 router and I noticed that it ALWAYS broadcasts a hidden network on each band (2.4GHz and 5GHz). I manually configured the Wi-Fi networks and all of them are set to broadcast their SSID. I've even tried disabling the wireless radios and these hidden networks remain. Does anyone know what their purpose is or how to disable them? Thanks. Click to expand...

Hi, Even i have the same router Archer A7 V5. it is a very good router. i have found the cause of the problem which you are facing, when i had updated my firmware to Archer A7(EU)_V5_190810 even i had the same problem. actually in latest 2 firmwares they have given support for One Mesh, and thats why the Hidden network getting started..my laptop's internet was getting hanged several times a day. so i downgraded the firmware back to Archer A7(EU)_V5_181210. after doing this the hidden network is gone & internet works very smooth without any disconnection problem. on tp link usa site the downgraded firmware is not available so if you want it to download then get it from tp link india site, it is still available there.

DefaultExploit

Junior Member

Mar 27, 2022 1 0 6

Rifter said: If it has mesh support this could be how they are implementing the mesh network across multiple routers, read the manual. Click to expand...

I joined this forum just to let everyone know that one mesh was what was creating the hidden network. Thanks for this.

fkoehler

Senior member

Feb 29, 2008 214 175 116 I'll suggest anyone running the C7 consider getting OpenWRT. I used DD-WRT forever until it started acting up, so decided last ditch effort to try Open. Works great, and tons more features than stock. It supports wireguard also. Which reminds me, I need to get my Aruba Instant On's going with the RPi . You must log in or register to reply here. Share: Facebook X (Twitter) Reddit Tumblr WhatsApp Email Share Link

TRENDING THREADS

• DiscussionZen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)
  • Started by DisEnchantment
  • Sep 29, 2022
  • Replies: 25K
  CPUs and Overclocking
• T DiscussionIntel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
  • Started by Tigerick
  • Aug 22, 2022
  • Replies: 23K
  CPUs and Overclocking
• DiscussionIntel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread
  • Started by TheF34RChannel
  • Jun 18, 2017
  • Replies: 23K
  CPUs and Overclocking
• DiscussionApple Silicon SoC thread
  • Started by Eug
  • Nov 10, 2020
  • Replies: 11K
  CPUs and Overclocking
• QuestionZen 6 Speculation Thread
  • Started by IronLynx
  • May 22, 2024
  • Replies: 8K
  CPUs and Overclocking

COMPANY AnandTech is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. RESOURCES

• Advertising
• Cookies Policies
• Privacy
• Term & Conditions

FOLLOW Facebook Twitter Top Bottom

• This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Accept Learn more…