Possible problem with my VM hub 3.0 country code setting

[wren]

My next door neighbour has been having a few problems with her wifi connectivity over the past few months. On running a diagnostic test, she received the following message which seemed to identify my 2 networks as the problem. Is there an easy way of checking this and changing my country code from FR to GB?

My neighbour sent a screenshot of the test result which reads:

Conflicting Country Codes: A nearby wireless router has been detected which is identifying itself as originating from a country which conflicts with your current settings. This may prevent your Mac from automatically re-joining a previously joined Wi-Fi network. Certain wireless routers have the ability to identify the country they are designed to work in, this is called the Country Code. Wireless routers should only be used in the country they were originally obtained from. Failure to do so can result in performance and reliability issues for nearby wireless clients. If possible, contact the network owner to resolve the problem. 

The following nearby networks conflict with your current country code (GB): 

[my wi-fi]_5GEXT [mac address] - FR      

[my wi-fi]_2GEXT [mac address] - FR

I am using a standard issue VM hub 3.0.

I would be most grateful for any help - thank you!

[legacy1]

would explain a lot...wonder when VM will fix this...

[Anonymous]

Assuming no third party router try a 30 second pinhole reset of the hub. 

[Sephiroth · Accepted solution]

May I draw your attention this link with a full explanation?
https://www.howtogeek.com/211993/how-to-fix-conflicting-country-codes-and-improve-your-macs-wi-fi/#:....

And here's the stupidity of Apple's approach to WiFi:

"This can confuse your Mac. When it wakes up, it scans for nearby Wi-Fi networks and the country code information tells the Mac which Wi-Fi settings it should use for this area. It appears that the Mac uses the country code from the first network it finds broadcasting this information. If you’re in one country and there’s a router with another country’s code nearby, your Mac may think you’re in that country, use those Wi-Fi settings, and have problems connecting to wireless networks using the proper settings for the country you’re actually in. This can confuse your Mac. When it wakes up, it scans for nearby Wi-Fi networks and the country code information tells the Mac which Wi-Fi settings it should use for this area. It appears that the Mac uses the country code from the first network it finds broadcasting this information. If you’re in one country and there’s a router with another country’s code nearby, your Mac may think you’re in that country, use those Wi-Fi settings, and have problems connecting to wireless networks using the proper settings for the country you’re actually in."

There is no solution other than you turning off your WiFi!!

I'm wondering whether you've got a European issue Hub; the Hub 3s are certainly present in Europe (I've used one in Austria). I don't think that LG are present in France, but this is the only explanation I could offer.

The Hub 3 has WiFi certification for the UK and if your Hub has a FR country code, then VM is in potential trouble (not too serious, though).

It'll be beyond the VM bods on this Forum unless they go back and ask the right questions.

May I draw your attention this link with a full explanation?
https://www.howtogeek.com/211993/how-to-fix-conflicting-country-codes-and-improve-your-macs-wi-fi/#:....

And here's the stupidity of Apple's approach to WiFi:

"This can confuse your Mac. When it wakes up, it scans for nearby Wi-Fi networks and the country code information tells the Mac which Wi-Fi settings it should use for this area. It appears that the Mac uses the country code from the first network it finds broadcasting this information. If you’re in one country and there’s a router with another country’s code nearby, your Mac may think you’re in that country, use those Wi-Fi settings, and have problems connecting to wireless networks using the proper settings for the country you’re actually in. This can confuse your Mac. When it wakes up, it scans for nearby Wi-Fi networks and the country code information tells the Mac which Wi-Fi settings it should use for this area. It appears that the Mac uses the country code from the first network it finds broadcasting this information. If you’re in one country and there’s a router with another country’s code nearby, your Mac may think you’re in that country, use those Wi-Fi settings, and have problems connecting to wireless networks using the proper settings for the country you’re actually in."

There is no solution other than you turning off your WiFi!! (or going into modem mode with your own router)

I'm wondering whether you've got a European issue Hub; the Hub 3s are certainly present in Europe (I've used one in Austria). I don't think that LG are present in France, but this is the only explanation I could offer.

The Hub 3 has WiFi certification for the UK and if your Hub has a FR country code, then VM is in potential trouble (not too serious, though).

It'll be beyond the VM bods on this Forum unless they go back and ask the right questions.

[wren]

Thank you all so much for the info, link, help and suggestions!

Having spoken at greater length with my neighbour I suspect that other factors may also be affecting the issue - e.g. her old iMac and other equipment.

I too have an iMac, and when I press the Option key and then click the wi-fi icon on the top bar, I can see among all the information displayed that the country code is GB. Is my iMac displaying this from my Hub 3? Also, when I run Network Diagnostics from my own iMac, there is no mention of a country code conflict in the results: surely the diagnostics tool would pick this up if my Hub were set to FR? Sorry, but I find all this so confusing and I have little knowledge.

I also logged in to 192.168.0.1 and poked around a bit but could not find any reference to which country code has been set on my Hub. Maybe such information is not there, but if my Hub were set to FR then I would expect the interface to be in French, surely?

[Sephiroth]

Ah - an old MAC which might need an OS upgrade!

It's a relief to know that your Hub 3 is no longer a suspect. As with most routers available in this country, the territory code is "baked" into the router and not configurable. The VM hubs are no different.