"[SSID] 2" seen but not [SSID]

[Inayat Bunglawala]

Hi everyone,

I have an issue at an overseas branch office where we are advertising an open SSID. The problem is that users do not see the SSID which we advertise but see "[SSID name] 2" advertised instead. When they connect to this duplicate SSID they cannot get any connectivity.

I recall seeing this issue a couple of years back but I can't remember how we resolved it! Has anyone else come across this issue previously? Grateful for any tips on how I can make this duplicate SSID go away and the original SSID to reappear. Thank you.

[Inayat Bunglawala]

Sorry: forgot about the usual background information. We are running 1142 LAPs at this branch office and the open SSID is anchored to a 4400 series WLC in the DMZ. This SSID appears to be working fine everywhere else.

[Scott Fella]

I do not recall ever swing something like that on the forum. As long as the SSID is open and broadcasted you should see the SSID. Now since other locations are fine then if you are using AP groups, make sure this AP is in the correct AP group.

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[David Watkins]

Agree with Scott; this isn't anything common or known issue.  If you "know" you do not have an SSID named "[SSID] 2" on your WLC at all, then this is not your WLAN/AP (at least not from the WLC in question)

You can see if you detect this in your Rogue APs list.  Or, with someone on site, using something as basic as InSSIDer to see the SSID names and MACs to "verify" the bssid is not your own.

Something seems fishy.

[networkadmins@Hit]

Old thread but it's the only one I've found that's close...

We are seeing this also. We have a broadcasted SSID called "Hit-Guest", but at 2 of our locations (maybe more), it shows up as "Hit-Guest 2". We do NOT have a "Hit-Guest 2" SSID in the WLC. All APs at these locations are in their own AP group (by location). Any thoughts? Thanks!

WLC: 3502 v. 8.10.171.0

APs:  2802e

[networkadmins@Hit]

Could this be as simple as a sticky Windows registry entry? I will try forgetting the network, and refreshing my wifi network list and report back.

[networkadmins@Hit]

Just wanted to circle back and report resolution...

The"Hit-Guest 2" SSID was a "ghost" SSID stuck in the Windows registry. Fix was to forget the SSID, then re-open wifi on the laptop. At that point, the correct "Hit-Guest" SSID was displayed for that WLAN.