The answer to this will not make you happy, but users need to know this when considering purchase of an Orbi system or when tearing their hair out because most (if not all) of their smart devices cannot be connected or configured on the network.
The problem is that almost all mesh systems, and particularly the more advanced ones like Orbi are set to have a single SSID for both 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz bands, and they cannot be separated nor can you turn off or temporarily suspend 5.0ghz. But, almost all smart devices, whether locks, video cameras, doorbells, thermostats, security systems, lights etc, are designed to ONLY work on 2.4ghz, and your phone MUST be connected to the same band and SSID during setup for the app to recognize the device. But the rub is, smartphones will ALWAYS prefer 5ghz when it's available, and you can't force them to connect on 2.4.
The generic solutions are:
1. Move far enough away from the router so that the phone can't connect on 5ghz. Because 2.4ghz has greater range, the phone will switch to 2.4ghz. Unfortunately, if the phone needs to be in bluetooth range of the device, or to be able to scan a QR code or some other identifying attribute, you'll be too far away from the smart device for this to work and solve your setup problem.
2. Turn down the radio strength of the 5ghz band and unplug all your satellites temporarily. Go to the desktop portal to your router (192.168.1.1) and click on the Advanced Settings tab, and then Advanced Setup, and then Wireless Settings. You should see settings for the 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz bands on this page. You want to change the Transmit Power Control value from 100% to 25% to reduce the broadcast strength of the 5.0ghz radio. In theory, this is doing the opposite of (1) above, by shortening how far the 5ghz band will reach and giving 2.4ghz a chance to be the best choice for your phone to connect to. Unfortunately, the Orbi routers, particularly the higher end ones are still able to reach a considerable distance, even at 25% power (I've had laptops and phones with only 2 bars of signal strength, still preferring 5ghz at 45ft from the router). So, if you're trying to install a video camera or doorbell or even a light, and you can't move the router far enough away, this will not solve your problem, but it's worth a try.
3. If (2) didn't solve the problem and your phone still won't connect on the 2.4ghz band, then the next thing to try is to turn off the AX functionality (the Wifi 6 features) if your router has Wifi 6. Leave the 5ghz radio set to 25%, and go up to the regular Setup link (still on the Advanced Settings tab), and then choose Wireless Setup. At the top of this page, you will see Enable AX-This Wifi Mode Will Enable AX Features. You'll want to uncheck the two boxes below that -- turn off both 2.4 and 5.0 bands. Apply that change and wait for the router to reset. Then go try again to see whether your phone can connect to the 2.4 band. (For both steps 2 and 3, if your phone is near the device that you need to configure with the app, you'll be able to see on the Basic Settings tab under Attached Devices what things are connected to the network and what band they are connecting on.)
If none of these power adjustment settings tweaks work, then you are at the end. There is no access to a finer level of control. You can't turn off the 5.0ghz radio, or split the networks and give 2.4ghz a different name, nor do you have any settings that can force devices onto the 2.4ghz band that you need.
Generally, at this stage, Netgear advises that the best/only solution is to upgrade your Orbi system to the 960 series, where features that you expected to have on lower end routers, are once again added that allow you to force things onto 2.4ghz. It isn't called 2.4ghz, but rather the IoT (Internet of Things) band -- i.e. the 2.4ghz band where most smart devices live. With this, you can temporarily connect your phone to the IoT band, and set up your smart devices. Unfortunately this fix can cost you a lot more money -- from the 760 to 960 Orbi is a $700 jump, and from 860 to 960 is $500 more. Anything below 760, and you're looking at $1000 or more to get this expected feature.
Netgear claims all this is by design, and that the power of Orbi systems is they're simple to set up and just work. Unfortunately, what they've overlooked or misunderstood is that one of the reasons people get mesh networks is because they have, or plan to have, a lot of smart devices, and want a problem free network where signal coverage spans their entire home for everything that needs to be connected. And, the types of people who buy mesh networks are the ones most likely to have smart appliances, and vice versa. Which makes all of this a design error of gross negligence. You shouldn't have to spend $1500 to connect smart doorbells and lights that you had successfully connected with equipment that cost a fraction of that price, nor should a feature that is simply expected only be available in the most expensive product that most people who are not super power users or businesses will ever need. Unfortunately if you need the high bandwidth and speeds that Orbi supports throughout your home, the only choice is to get the top end product if you also have smart devices that need to connect.
Like many of you who will read this, I've learned all this the hard way. It never occurred to me that the most advanced networking technology made would be unable to connect to smart appliances that we've been using for years. Or that I'd be looking at a substantial upgrade to a very expensive purchase in the first days after installing it. But, this is the only full and truthful explanation you'll find.
Netgear doesn't have this anywhere on their site or documentation, and their sales advisors don't know this when steering you to the "correct" purchase decision for your needs. And, no one asks the simple (common) question "do you intend to connect smart products", and then tells you why you'll need the 960 for that. The support engineers know it, but it will take you 4-8 hours to get this from them, at which time they'll tell you this is the reason the 960 is designed as it is, because they've had thousands of customer complaints about this single problem, and it's one of the most common issues they hear from unhappy customers.
