Hidden networks, missing country codes

[ShantelS]

Is it normal to have my Bluecurve broadcasting 19 hidden networks and eight visible ones? 12 of the hidden networks and 6 visible ones are missing the country code, the others have it correctly. They are on five different channels and eight of them are using 40MHz. Just wondering how this happens and if something needs to be corrected.

[mdk]

@ShantelS -- if you search within this discussion forum for "hidden networks", you'll find references to how the BlueCurve communicates wirelessly to the remote TV Player boxes that are connected to TVs in other rooms within your home.

Do you live way out in the country, or in a suburban area, or in a condo/apartment block? Those 8 visible ones could be your neighbours who have Shaw cable-modems or Telus-modems that are broadcasting their SSIDs beyond the boundaries of their housing unit.

What are the names of those 27 networks? What level of signal (4 bars, 3 bars, 2 bars, 1 bar) does it show for each connection? The number of bars usually indicates the distance between your WiFi device and the source of those networks.

[ShantelS]

Thanks for getting back to me! They aren't other people's networks; they are all mine. The eight visible ones have my network name with the same SSIDs except for the first and last digit. The hidden ones have the same convention which isn't similar to any other networks I am picking up.

I live in a house in Vancouver and don't have any televisions.

[ShantelS]

Wondering if anyone can shed light on this. I still don't know why my one Bluecurve broadcasts 27 (although this # differs day to day) networks with a variety of attributes. If it helps, the info is ascertained from wireless diagnostics on Mac.

[mdk]

@ShantelS -- The hidden ones have the same convention which isn't similar to any other networks I am picking up.

I would expect that the "hidden" networks being broadcast by the BlueCurve would have a "similarity" in network names.

Have you powered-off the BlueCurve, by disconnecting the AC power-cord, and rerunning those diagnostics on your Mac?

[ShantelS]

Thanks again for replying. It’s been a while since I posted and I have powered off my Bluecurve more than once since, but the situation is the same and the people I’ve chatted with at Shaw don’t have the experience to help.

Right now I am broadcasting 25 networks; 16 are hidden. One would imagine the hidden networks have a “similarity” in name but again, they are hidden. I only know they are mine from the BSSIDs. One (hidden) network uses enterprise security, the rest are personal. The country codes are a mix of CA, US and null.

I’m not necessarily concerned, but I am still curious. What causes this to happen?