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NetGear Dual ssid managed AP wfs709tp

In June 2008 I setup a dual SSID (for internal and external clients) on a NetGear WFS709TP. The internal SSID has WPA2 security, while the external SSID has no encryption, but is using the Captive Portal feature (the user connects to external SSID then receptionist gives out user/pass to use the wireless).

I tested it out last summer and have had many external clients use the system without issues. This past week I had 4 different users/laptops connect to the SSID but that is it. They cannot ping the controller (WFS709TP) and the controller cannot ping the client's IP that it assigned. Of course each client cannot access the Captive Portal to enter credentials to use the internet.

I just tested with a laptop and have the same result. The internet SSID works fine, and I have not heard of any issues for that SSID. I did try rebooting the controller, and still have the issue.

I do not have a lot of troubleshooting the WFS709TP and am hoping someone has some ideas or even better a solution.
Avatar of Peter Van den Broeck
Peter Van den Broeck
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Sorry to say but the device is crap. Check the Internet, people say that running this netgear is like the lottery. When it works, you won.
In your case, there is a lot of possibilities.
At first: you better use 2 devices. One for the internal Wifi, one for the external.
For the external network (Hotspot): things depend on what you want to do. Billing, passwords changing in a timeframe, ...
This is in my opinion the best device: ZyXEL ZyAIR B-4000
It has it's price, but it can do it all. If you need less possibilities: google around for a hotspot router. That is the device you are looking for.

The dual SSID router: there are lots and lots of problems with this device. Maybe some things got solved, you could try to firmware update the device. I 'm not sure it will be stable after that.

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Member_2_4663752

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Well replacing our whole wireless system is out of the question. (Esp since it was working 100% for at least 6 months)

The main thing that is strange is that the internal SSID works fine, while the external SSID just hands out an IP address and won't communicate. To me it sounds like an issue with the external VLAN (although everything looks fine and has not been modified since initial testing).

Anyone have any ideas before I have to go through the dreaded NetGear support?
It could be after a while, the flash gets corrupted.
It is a long shot, but worth a try.
You could save the config, update the firmware to the most recent 2.5.6.0 version.
When you call support, they will probably do the same, or recall the device. There is no logic in the failure, so I assume there must be something wrong with the FW.
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Ok, glad it got solved.