How do I disable MESH and Band Steering on a LightHub Zyxel XMG 3927 router?

The new LightHub Zyxel XMG 3927 router comes with MESH and Band Steering enabled by default which helps your devices connect automatically to the best wireless frequency in your home.

• MESH helps your devices automatically connect to the best frequency within your home
   
• Band Steering combines the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies to automatically 'steer' your devices to either frequency. When this is turned on, you'll only see one wireless network to connect to.

First, some things you need to know

• The Zyxel router is dual band which means that it has two wireless frequencies as usual: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. However, as band-steering is enabled by default, you'll only see one wireless network to connect to.
   
• Changing the wireless channel while band-steering is turned on isn't recommended as you're not going to know whether this has fixed the problem - the router could end up pushing all devices onto the other band to compensate.
   
• We highly recommend using the router's built in Wi-Fi Analyser so you can choose a channel with the least interference.

Disabling the MESH and Band Steering

1. Connect a device to your Zyxel router using an Ethernet cable (recommended) or Wi-Fi.
   
   
    
2. Open a new web browser and type 192.168.1.1 into your address bar and press enter or go.
   
   
    
3. You should now see a Zyxel screen asking you to Login - we'll explain where to find these details in the next step.
   
   
    
4. To log into your router, you're going to need the username and password which you can find on the little card that comes with your router. This is normally located on the slot on the back.
   
   
   
   Type in the username and login password, then select Login.
    
    

   Password not working?

   If this password doesn't work, you'll need to factory reset your router. To do this, find a pin and push it into the 'Reset' hole on the back of the router for 10 seconds. After a few minutes when your router has turned back on, go back to Step 1.

   
   
    
5. Once you're logged into the router, you'll see the Home screen. This is where you get an overview of what's happening on your router. At the top right of the screen, select the three black lines to open the Menu.
   
   
    
6. Select Network Setting and then Wireless.
   
   
    
7. A page labelled Wi-Fi will open. Select the MESH tab at the top.
   
   
    
8. Switch off MESH so the slider is grey, then press Apply. Now that MESH is disabled, click on the General tab to go back to the main Wi-Fi page.
   
   
    
9. Look in the Wi-Fi section and untick Keep the same settings for 2.4G and 5G Wi-Fi networks. This will separate the two bands.
   
   Now the bands will be split, you need to give them separate names. Select a Band to edit from the dropdown menu - either 2.4GHz or 5GHz.
   
   
    
10. Scroll down the page until you see Wi-Fi Network Name and then change this. We recommend leaving the name as-is for 2.4GHz but adding '5G' on the end for the 5GHz band.
    
    
     
11. Now scroll to the bottom and press Apply to save your changes. Both wireless names and wireless frequencies will be available and listed on the main Zyxel router screen.