@RoryMc 

Hi,

If you power off the AX73 and the mystery network still shows up, then obviously it is unrelated to the Archer AX73.

Maybe you could try the following method to locate the device that emits that Wi-Fi network.

Take a somewhat recent Android phone (9.0 or newer) and install an App that can calculate the distance between nearby Wi-Fi APs and the phone using the "Wi-Fi RTT" (Wi-Fi Round-Trip-Time) feature. For example the App "Wifi Distance Signal Strength".

With the App running place the phone in different rooms of your home and note the Distance and Strength values shown. Every substantial wall (not cardboard wall) located in between should cause a distinctive change in signal strength.

Once you get a green Signal Strength value and a Distance of less than 3 meters reported, then you are likely within the same room as the device that emits the mystery network. Then review again what electronic devices you have inside that room.

Note that the values are not updating instantly. You should stay at each location for at least a minute to allow the values to update two times at least. So it would certainly take some patience to zero in on the mystery network device. 

  @RoryMc Hi matey i had the same thing with my AXE75. I wondered what it was .I was using Windows 10 ,and using my Wifi6E Intel Wifi AX210.

The Unknown network is your your Wifi 6 network. It is hidden under Windows 10 ,because Windows 10 does not support and will not support Wifi6.

I had to upgrade to Windows 11 to get to use Wifi 6 . Since installing Windows 11 ,the unknown network is now showing as my Wifi6 network that i configured.

To sum it up ,the unknown Wifi is Windows 10 hiding your Wifi 6 ssid so you cant connect to it as Windows 10 doesnt support Wifi 6.

Youll have to upgrade to Windows 11 (which supports Wifi 6) to see and connect to your wifi 6 ssid.

Hope you Understand.

Duncan

  @woozle Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.  That's going to be my next step, trying to use an app or a wifi heat mapper to figure this out.  I don't have any Android devices, only iOS.  I'll search for an iOS app that can do that.  Good suggestion.

It really is the weirdest thing, I live in such a remote location there should not be anything putting out a wireless signal other than my router.  Unless owls and bears have started using the internet and set up their own network :)

  @Duncan_McAvoy Thanks for answering me. Interesting, so it could be related to Wifi 6 somehow.  I don't use any Windows machines, only Apple.  This weird network shows up on everything though, phones, TV's, PlayStations....  so it's probably not confined to Windows, whatever the issue is.

Really I have to try to map this thing and pinpoint it. It defies all logic.  I'm not exactly a networking expert but I know my way around this stuff a little and I've never seen anything like this happen before.

  @RoryMc You never know mate. Lol

  @Duncan_McAvoy Thanks, gave that a try last evening and did a complete reset.  I have no idea how but even with the router off this unknown network still shows up.  I did the reset and it seems nothing I do so far gets rid of this.  I also used a network monitor and while I have my router shut off, the monitor shows no activity for both my actual network and this mystery network.  That leads me to believe it absolutely has to be caused by the AX73.  While the router is off if I look on my iPhone or my TV for example for a network to join, my network of course doesn't show up.  But, the mystery network still shows.  This is with the network monitor showing zero activity for both networks while the router is off.  Turn the router back on, and both networks have activity again.

I'm telling you, it's the weirdest networking issue I've ever seen.  I'm at the point where I may just throw the switch on the circuit breaker to power down my entire house to see if it still shows up then.  I suppose I could just tell y devices to "forget this network" and never give it a second thought.  It doesn't seem to interfere with the operation of my actual Wifi network.

I understand that reading this thread it sounds like there must be a different access point in my home sending out a Wifi signal.  But I assure you this is not possible in my living situation.  This is the only router in at least a two kilometer radius in any direction.  Heck, it's the only building in a two kilometer radius, lol.

  @RoryMc Hi Rory, this leads to the conclusion that the AX73 IS causing this. I just checked mine ,I still see the Hidden Network.

Weird indeed 

Maybe someone from TP-LINK can chime in ?

Regards 

Duncan.

  @Bigtec58 Hi, yes I know this sounds a little crazy.  Believe me it's making me a little crazy!  So I live in the middle of nowhere with only one AX73 router in my home for internet.  There is no possibility of another access point besides my AX73.  However, starting two weeks ago this random Wifi network always shows up on my devices alongside my actual real network.  If I use a network monitor, it shows a lot of activity on my normal network as you'd expect.  It also shows a small amount of activity on the "mystery" network that is named with just a random string of letters. 

Now, where I think I confused you (sorry!) is that if I turn off the AX73 router, my real network of course disappears from all my devices.  However, somehow as if by magic this mystery network still shows up on phones, TV's etc. as available.  But then to get even weirder, when I check the network monitor on my computer while the router is off both networks show zero activity.  So I'm forced to conclude this phantom network must be somehow related to the AX73.  I've never tried to connect to the unknown network because I don't want to do that with some weird unidentifiable Wifi signal.

As I've mentioned due to the location of where I live (literally in the middle of the woods on a mountain) there simply cannot be a Wifi signal coming from a nearby neighbor or business or anything like that.  Also there is nothing else in my home that should be throwing out a Wifi signal.  I do realize how incredibly weird and hard to follow this is, and I'm probably awful at explaining it.  Thanks for trying to follow it and help me though.

I don't know if it matters but all my equipment is Apple, like iPhones, Macbooks, etc.  I'm not a diehard Mac lover and PC hater, that's just how it worked out.  :)