Asuswrt: Schedule 2.4GHz Main Wi-Fi to Turn Off but Keep Guest Network Active

[Klonoa]

Hi everyone, I want to schedule the 2.4GHz main Wi-Fi to automatically turn off during certain hours. However, I noticed that when the scheduled time comes, not only the main network shuts down, but the Guest network also gets disabled.
My goal is: turn off the main 2.4GHz Wi-Fi while keeping the Guest network running.

Does anyone know how to configure this so that only the main Wi-Fi turns off without affecting the Guest network? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[degrub]

Just curious, why ?

There may be parental controls section ( it has been a while ) where you can schedule a specific set of MAC / IP addresses to be allowed to access the radio during set periods. Don't recall anything that does that by SSID.

Scheduling the radio on/off is all or nothing as you found out.

 

[ColinTaylor]

My goal is: turn off the main 2.4GHz Wi-Fi while keeping the Guest network running.

Not possible. The 2.4GHz guest network uses the same radio as the main 2.4GHz network. The best you could do would be to disable access to the main 2.4GHz network, e.g. by changing it's password.

 

[Klonoa]

Just curious, why ?

There may be parental controls section ( it has been a while ) where you can schedule a specific set of MAC / IP addresses to be allowed to access the radio during set periods. Don't recall anything that does that by SSID.

Scheduling the radio on/off is all or nothing as you found out.

It’s just to reduce the attack surface at night, for privacy and hardware protection. I’m not using it when I’m asleep, so I don’t really see why it has to stay on.

 

[Klonoa]

Not possible. The 2.4GHz guest network uses the same radio as the main 2.4GHz network. The best you could do would be to disable access to the main 2.4GHz network, e.g. by changing it's password.

So I’m thinking of a different approach — is it possible to bring down just the main 2.4 GHz SSID instead of disabling the entire 2.4 GHz band?

 

[Tech9]

I don’t really see why it has to stay on

Do you also turn off electricity and shut down water supply at night?

For reducing eventual "attack surface" - dial down the power of your 2.4GHz band radio so the signal is just enough for your property. For "privacy" - someone may think no Wi-Fi means no one home and may want to check on you when you are asleep. For "hardware protection" - the hardware will survive the device's lifetime when operating 24/7. In few years time you are going to replace this hardware anyway.

 

[bennor]

So I’m thinking of a different approach — is it possible to bring down just the main 2.4 GHz SSID instead of disabling the entire 2.4 GHz band?

Asus includes a Wireless Scheduler option. Problem is it's an all or nothing affair apparently for the specific wireless band (2.4GHz, 5GHz, etc.) See the following Asus support documents for more.

[Wireless Router] How to switch the ASUS router WiFi signal at a specific time?
[Wireless Router] What is Parental Control？
[Wireless Router] How to Enable/Disable/Hide my ASUS router’s WiFi signal?

As to the "surface attack". Keep in mind that while the WiFi band is disabled/turned off using the Wireless Scheduler it means NO WiFi devices can access the band. Meaning if you have devices that require constant WiFi access like; utility monitoring, VOIP phones, security cameras, security systems, etc. those devices will loose their WiFi access and may not function correctly when that band is turned off.

Really, if one just uses WPA2 and or WPA3 devices with strong passwords they'll be fine unless a very determined hacker is targeting you specifically for some reason. If that is the case then one should to hard wired and not use WiFi at all to lessen the "surface attack" angle that WiFi presents. If it is a matter of "power" consumption worries, the router already uses relatively low power to begin with, that reducing the power output of the WiFi signal may have minimal effect on total router power consumption and may reduce the footprint the WiFi signal covers in your use case.

 

[Klonoa]

I don’t think it makes sense to take the comparison all the way to cutting electricity or water — those are completely different in nature. What I’m trying to figure out is a more reasonable way to save power, protect the hardware, and reduce unnecessary exposure. Keeping it running all night does nothing for me, and actually creates the issues I mentioned earlier. It’s not about “turning off Wi-Fi completely,” it’s about managing it more efficiently

Do you also turn off electricity and shut down water supply at night?

For reducing eventual "attack surface" - dial down the power of your 2.4GHz band radio so the signal is just enough for your property. For "privacy" - someone may think no Wi-Fi means no one home and may want to check on you when you are asleep. For "hardware protection" - the hardware will survive the device's lifetime when operating 24/7. In few years time you are going to replace this hardware anywa

 

[Klonoa]

Asus includes a Wireless Scheduler option. Problem is it's an all or nothing affair apparently for the specific wireless band (2.4GHz, 5GHz, etc.) See the following Asus support documents for more.

[Wireless Router] How to switch the ASUS router WiFi signal at a specific time?
[Wireless Router] What is Parental Control？
[Wireless Router] How to Enable/Disable/Hide my ASUS router’s WiFi signal?

As to the "surface attack". Keep in mind that while the WiFi band is disabled/turned off using the Wireless Scheduler it means NO WiFi devices can access the band. Meaning if you have devices that require constant WiFi access like; utility monitoring, VOIP phones, security cameras, security systems, etc. those devices will loose their WiFi access and may not function correctly when that band is turned off.

Really, if one just uses WPA2 and or WPA3 devices with strong passwords they'll be fine unless a very determined hacker is targeting you specifically for some reason. If that is the case then one should to hard wired and not use WiFi at all to lessen the "surface attack" angle that WiFi presents. If it is a matter of "power" consumption worries, the router already uses relatively low power to begin with, that reducing the power output of the WiFi signal may have minimal effect on total router power consumption and may reduce the footprint the WiFi signal covers in your use case.

Yeah, exactly. That’s why I set up a guest network — I only want to disable the main network, not the whole radio. But in ASUSWRT’s GUI the toggle is basically hard-coded, so I’m wondering if there’s a way to just bring down a specific interface instead of shutting off the entire wireless radio.

 

[Tech9]

protect the hardware

If your question is about RT-AC86U (based on your previous posts) - better replace this router. It's End-of-Life model with known software and hardware issues. This particular one had higher than average failure rate and nothing much you can do to protect it. Many died instantly after voltage regulator module failure inside with no prior warning signs.

 

[ColinTaylor]

So I’m thinking of a different approach — is it possible to bring down just the main 2.4 GHz SSID instead of disabling the entire 2.4 GHz band?

As I previously stated, the main and guest networks on 2.4GHz are just different SSIDs being broadcast by the same radio chip. Disabling any of these SSIDs will not save any power or reduce any "wear" on the hardware. If you really feel the need to disable access to the main SSID you could either change the password as I mentioned earlier, or you could turn off the broadcasting of the main SSID using wl -i eth5 bss down. But again, this will not save any power or reduce "wear" because the radio hardware is still running as before.