Wifi padlock and secure wifi

DCE

I have had a Fizz router/modem for several years but always have the wifi turned off. (I use an ethernet connection exclusively.) When I turned on the wifi today for a specific and brief purpose via cusadmin (CODA 4680), the network connections symbol on my computer (bottom right hand corner) showed my wifi as one of the wifi networks in my area, but the icon for mine was not padlocked. Also, when I checked wifi networks on my flip phone, mine also showed as not requiring a password, unlike all the others. (I have never linked my flip phone to my Fizz wifi network or to my computer.)

I have always had a password for my Fizz wifi under the cusadmiin wifi functions, even though the wifi has always been off. My password shows on the cusadmin wifi screen.

Question: (1) Shouldn't my wifi network be a padlocked icon to show that it is password protected?

When I then tried to turn off the wifi again under cusadmin settings (choosing OFF for "Wireless Enabled), the network connections symbol on my computer screen showed my wifi network as still open. The message on the screen was "Nothing has changed." I waited a couple of minutes. My wifi icon was still unpadlocked. I then managed to close my wifi network only by completely rebooting my Fizz modem.

Question: 2) Shouldn't I be able to switch off my wifi again by choosing "Wireless Enabled" to OFF?

My settings: Network, Broadcast SSID and WMM are all ON. The WPA2 Personal and and WPS2-PSK are activated for 2.4G and 5G and the encryption is AES. Guest Network is OFF. I have no "managed devices".

I don't have access to the Fizz app, because I have a TCL flip phone that does not accept apps or GooglePlay, so please don't suggest anything using the Fizz app.

G225 code IRSGE

Hi,

There are two known behaviours with the CODA‑4680 modem that explain what you observed, and they do not mean that your Wi‑Fi was actually open.

1) Why your network appears without a padlock even though it is secured
When Wi‑Fi is enabled on the CODA‑4680, the modem sometimes broadcasts the network name (SSID) before it broadcasts the security information (WPA2). During this short delay, some devices may temporarily show the network as open, even though the WPA2‑AES password protection is active.

This is only a visual delay.
If your modem is set to WPA2‑PSK / AES, your network is secured, even if the padlock icon does not appear immediately.

2) Why turning “Wireless Enabled → OFF” does not always disable Wi‑Fi immediately
The CODA‑4680 also has a known issue where disabling Wi‑Fi in the cusadmin interface does not always shut down the radio right away. The modem may display “Nothing has changed” and continue broadcasting the SSID.

In these cases, a full reboot of the modem is required for the Wi‑Fi radio to turn off completely.
This is a firmware limitation of this model, not a configuration mistake.

3) Your configuration is secure
With the following settings:

WPA2‑Personal

WPA2‑PSK

AES encryption

Guest network disabled

WPS PIN disabled (worth verifying)

…your Wi‑Fi is properly secured, even if you only use it occasionally.

4) Most reliable method to enable/disable Wi‑Fi on this modem
To avoid inconsistent behaviour:

Enable Wi‑Fi in cusadmin.

Wait 30–60 seconds for the security information to broadcast correctly.

Use Wi‑Fi as needed.

Disable Wi‑Fi in cusadmin.

Reboot the modem to ensure the Wi‑Fi radio turns off.

DCE

Thank you very much.