Is WPS really disabled?

[iFrogMac]

Hey all,
I was curious about AsusWRT, and WPS. The toggle turns off when I set it to off, but there is a section in the configuration that still says enabled. Was curious if it's possible to fully disable WPS, or if this is just a glitch in the UI.

Thanks - see attached screenshot.
I have blanked out the pin listed in the screenshot.

 

[bbunge]

Many of the WIFI analyzer apps will show if WPS is enabled or not. I have WPS OFF as you show and the Android WIFI Analyzer and Acrylic WiFi Free show just WPA2/WPA3 for my router. None of the other routers within range have WPS off.

 

[iFrogMac]

Many of the WIFI analyzer apps will show if WPS is enabled or not. I have WPS OFF as you show and the Android WIFI Analyzer and Acrylic WiFi Free show just WPA2/WPA3 for my router. None of the other routers within range have WPS off.

Thanks, just checked my WiFi app on the computer, and it doesn't list anything related to WPS for the router. Just b/g/n for the 2.4 Ghz band. I don't think WPS works with 5Ghz so didn't check that one.

 

[iFrogMac]

Here are the advanced details my wifi app shows for both bands on the RT-AX86U.

Here is the basic info for both:

 

[L&LD]

The 'enabled' you're hinting at is whether or not WPS is 'configured'. Not whether it is actually turned on.

 

[iFrogMac]

The 'enabled' you're hinting at is whether or not WPS is 'configured'. Not whether it is actually turned on.

It's just confusing because it can be misleading because one switch says off, and the other setting says enabled. Even though it says configured by enabled. I think it could be worded a bit better. Either way, glad to know it's actually off.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

I don't think WPS works with 5Ghz so didn't check that one.

WPS indeed does work with the 5Ghz band.

 

[iFrogMac]

WPS indeed does work with the 5Ghz band.

Since when? WPS was mainly for printers, which are usually only 2.4ghz, or ethernet, or serial / usb, and parallel.
I've never heard of anyone ever engaging WPS to connect a modern 5ghz device.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Look at your screen shot on your first post. See were it says switch frequency ?

 

[iFrogMac]

Look at your screen shot on your first post. See were it says switch frequency ?

Oh, yes I'm with you now. I didn't realize WPS had been made to work on 5Ghz. I thought it was there just for legacy support and most people just say disable it as it's a security hole.

 

[bbunge]

OK, as they say a picture is worth 1000 words:

As you can see there is one SSID that has no WPS indicated. Actually, a 2.4, 2.4 guest and 5 GHz listing which is my router with WPS disabled. There is a printer on the list that does not count and every other listing, 2.4 and 5 GHz lists WPS 1.0.

 

[iFrogMac]

OK, as they say a picture is worth 1000 words:View attachment 43622
As you can see there is one SSID that has no WPS indicated. Actually, a 2.4, 2.4 guest and 5 GHz listing which is my router with WPS disabled. There is a printer on the list that does not count and every other listing, 2.4 and 5 GHz lists WPS 1.0.

I also may need to get a different WiFi analyzer app too. I'm using a Mac, and most people use windows or android, and I've noticed the info presented is different in some ways from my app. So it's possible that I wasn't seeing some of my data in the app I'm using as well. Anyway thanks for clearing this up.

 

[Justinh]

The 'enabled' you're hinting at is whether or not WPS is 'configured'. Not whether it is actually turned on.

Yeah, what makes it confusing is that there is no way to have it 'not configured' as far as I can tell, i.e., configured = disabled. So to say its configuration is enabled doesn't seem to have any meaning.

 

[iFrogMac]

I just looked up the Acrylic WiFi analyzer and it's windows only. I could run it in a VM, but that won't help because the VM doesn't have direct access to the Mac's Wireless card, so VMs are always treated as Ethernet.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Oh, yes I'm with you now. I didn't realize WPS had been made to work on 5Ghz. I thought it was there just for legacy support and most people just say disable it as it's a security hole.

I would never enable WPS. In fact in today's age it should be removed from the firmware.

 

[iFrogMac]

I would never enable WPS. In fact in today's age it should be removed from the firmware.

DD-WRT did remove it, did @RMerlin remove it from his? I'm surprised Asus kept it in stock, but to be fair, most routers still ship with it in stock firmware.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

DD-WRT did remove it, did @RMerlin remove it from his? I'm surprised Asus kept it in stock, but to be fair, most routers still ship with it in stock firmware.

It's still in Merlin code at this time. Not even sure if he has access to that part of the code. Most things wireless are closed source.

 

[iFrogMac]

It's still in Merlin code at this time. Not even sure if he has access to that part of the code. Most things wireless are closed source.

That's true, he said he doesn't have access to any of the wireless code, so his changes aren't related to that, as far as I know. Anyway thanks again. If I want something more simple than the Asus, I'll put my TP-Link AX4400 back into service for a bit. It's firmware is current as of July 11th of this year, and doesn't have all the overwhelming extra settings to worry about. Plus it's also stable. I primarily got the Asus for the extra features, and long term support. Right now I just need basic. So since I have the Asus I can always put it away until I need something more advanced. It probably won't be out of support as quickly as the other router.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Asus support firmware is probably one of the best for timely releases as well as longevity of the product.

 

[iFrogMac]

Asus support firmware is probably one of the best for timely releases as well as longevity of the product.

I know, my journey to find a new router really began after Apple discontinued the Airport. This were rock solid you set it and forgot it. Since it was also made by Apple it natively worked with their special services such as bonjour, etc while many third party routers at the older time frame didn't. Now, most third party routers work ok, but then it's a toss up between firmware quality, or hardware quality. Years back what drove me to stay with Airport products was the fact all the third party routers I used had bad firmware, they either bricked, were unstable, or overheated and died. So it's been a frustrating road finding something I'm 100% content with. The other thing is, I could still use my airport and be secure, but being older hardware, I wouldn't get the most out of my gigabit plan. That's it's main hangup (aged hardware) that can't keep up with today's wireless demands.