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Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

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Re: Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

#61
post #35

It should probably be noted changing the regulatory region of an RF device may result in you using illegal frequencies in your area depending on the combination of which region you're in and which region you're setting it to.

TV is a client. If I remember correctly, it shouldn't transmit anything (unless connected) other than probe requests during active scanning. Which could still be illegal, but I don't think anyone will realistically investigate a low-power device sending a few packets occasionally.

That depends what else is on the channel that is the reason for it not being available for wifi. In some places, it's a military radar and they will definitely investigate.

Re: Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

#62

It should probably be noted changing the regulatory region of an RF device may result in you using illegal frequencies in your area depending on the combination of which region you're in and which region you're setting it to.

5 replies saying the same things appeared so I'll respond to myself rather than try to pick one:

A TV is indeed typically a client. Or station, if you want to dust off your CWNA certificate. One should still include the warning when sharing such projects/advice because of considerations like:

- With no explanations or warnings, the reader may very reasonably apply the same type of fix across several of their badly preconfigured devices. Now when they extend their Windows laptop display wirelessly to the TV over Miracast (a direct exchange this TV supports), both devices will agree they can do so on the bands in whatever region they were set to.

- It's not safe to assume only the AP needs and has a correct regulatory db or regulatory domain set. APs for the wrong region are sold/imported, do not always have correct regulatory dbs, and can also be similarly misconfigured. Clients can also peer to peer or hotspot. In general, you should fairly be warned you're removing one of the 2 sides to the safety system and "the channel I wanted appeared" is not the same thing as "I fixed the buggy channel config on the device".

- As some have pointed out, clients can perform either an active or passive scan based on, basically, what the system feels makes the most sense at the time. An active scan will result in probes across the supported channel list, so even if all of the above is true, people should be aware even a lone station can still transmit on all of the bands it is told to support.

I'm not against fixing buggy devices but I am against telling people the fix is to set it to Germany without warning they may result in using illegal frequencies in your area if not carefully considered. A muuuch cooler & safer fix might have been to patch the supported channel list for the given country to be correct rather than patch the region to be wrong, but that may have been harder to pull off.

Re: Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

#64
post #63

I have a LG TV, but I do not allow it to connect to a wifi network. I don't trust LG, and expect them to do something anti-consumer to my hardware at some point, or to spy on me. This particular failure is a blessing in disguise.

They do.

I dont understand why EU is not stepping in. LG literally spies on you by capturing screenshot of whatever you watch and send them to the mothership. This includes images and videos from your private USB drive.

Re: Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

#65
post #63

I have a LG TV, but I do not allow it to connect to a wifi network. I don't trust LG, and expect them to do something anti-consumer to my hardware at some point, or to spy on me. This particular failure is a blessing in disguise.

They do. I dont understand why EU is not stepping in. LG literally spies on you by capturing screenshot of whatever you watch and send them to the mothership. This includes images and videos from your private USB drive.

> I dont understand why EU is not stepping in.

The surveillance state is not stepping in to stop spying? This is stuff they can use to profile you. The EU Commission is very keen on Chat Control and has pushed a lot of surveillance laws.

Governments only protect privacy when there is a lot of pressure to do so.

Re: Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

#67

It should probably be noted changing the regulatory region of an RF device may result in you using illegal frequencies in your area depending on the combination of which region you're in and which region you're setting it to.

5 replies saying the same things appeared so I'll respond to myself rather than try to pick one: A TV is indeed typically a client. Or station, if you want to dust off your CWNA certificate. One should still include the warning when sharing such projects/advice because of considerations like: - With no explanations or warnings, the reader may very reasonably apply the same type of fix across several of their badly pr…

And what people also don't realize is that you can run a non-compliant AP. I am 99% certain the legal framework places the responsibility on the clients and the APs (or at least the absence of a consistent one biases towards a conservative stance: i.e. not assuming it's only the AP's responsibility). If I am a massive multinational conglomerate and I ship clients that know they're in a regulated region but connect on illegal bands anyway to APs broadcasting them, then that seems to expose me to unnecessary risk. You can bet I'm going to take measures so that if this ever gets tested in court I can say "yes our software takes reasonable measures to not transmit on channels we know to be illegal in your country, your honor".

Re: Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

#68
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds more like a legal issue with permitted spectrum use than an arbitrary LG policy.

It seems like OP lives in Iran. It seems like at least a good part of the 5GHz band is available there. [1] [1] https://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-wireless/msg262022.html

Is the wifi spec or perhaps chip required for it subject to export control?

Re: Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

#69
post #3

If LG ever removes or restricts Developer Mode, I am selling my TV the same day.

new locked down spyware TVs are so cheap, who would want to buy and move -your- locked down spyware TV?

Presumably someone who is looking for a $50 TV.

Re: Restoring 5 GHz Wi-Fi on an LG C5 by changing its webOS region

#70
post #24

Nice workaround. Feels pretty stupid that you have to do that. Sounds like they choose the easy way to comply with the regulations. They could probably just have blocked certain frequency ranges. Although I'm still fully convinced that TVs just got worse for the consumer since they became "smart". My extended family had to replace perfectly good TVs three times because the new version of a streaming app did not work…

> My extended family had to replace perfectly good TVs three times because the new version of a streaming app did not work anymore.

Were they not able to just buy a separate dongle/Apple TV-esque device to use through HDMI?

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