Hi! Quick question. Seems some folks are having similar issues with posts in other forums.
970 Router and satellite are up and running. Speed test looks great. When I am in the room with the satellite I maintain a 6E connection no issues. However if I move to the room right next to where the main 970 router / base is located, I lose that 6E and I frequently drop the connection / have to manually reconnect.
I am using a Samsung ultra 23 phone.
Any ideas why the main router would not broadcast 6E whole standing next to it? Is my satellite potentially canceling our my routers signal ?
Re: 970's 6E Broadcast Issues. Router vs Satellite
Building materials are a factor in how wifi travels and can inhibit wifi signals. The signal seen by the phone and quality will cause the phone to change connections from 6Ghz to something else. It's up to the phone to make the determination of signal quality and if it needs to switch.
Also the phone may connect to a more distance RBS as well and keep connected even if you move around closer to the RBR until it's finally decides to change the connection to the better signal of your force it by disabling the phones wifi radio for 5 seconds then back ON.
How many RBS are deployed? What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR📡 and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wired or wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 🛰
Thank you! While standing in front of the main router / base and changing this setting on my Android phone, it instantly reconnected as 6E. First 6E connection I have had in this room since the initial install. Hoping it remains this way. I am guessing my phone is holding onto / prioritizing the 6E satellite connection in that other room over the main base/router? Details are below...
>> How many RBS are deployed?
1 Satellite / 1 Router
>>What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
1600 sq feet. Single story (+ another 200-300 with front and back yards). Router placed towards back of house. Satellite towards front of house. Older home, previously no connection or dropout issues with my previous Orbi 850s and the "regular" Wifi6 connection. 6E makes a substantial speed difference for me. When connected to 6E, I get 1.2gb/s on my phone via wifi. When it's "regular" 6, that drops down to 400mb/s.
>>What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR📡 and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wired or wirelessly connected.
About 45-50 feet. There is a clear path via a hallway to that other room. Live in a relatively busy area, with lots of routers / wifi traffic, which is why Wifi 7/ 6E was appealing. Typically can see 10+ other wifi network connections in our living room
Re: 970's 6E Broadcast Issues. Router vs Satellite
For that size of home, 1600sq ft maybe to small to have a RBS. One thing I wish NG would bring back and hope they do, is power adjustments. Having this helps with a smaller size home and having too much wifi signal in a small space with having additional RBS deployed.
Re: 970's 6E Broadcast Issues. Router vs Satellite
Thanks for the pro-tips on those settings!!
If it continues on I may have to lose the satellite BUT it's a bit of a double edge sword with 6E. From what I have read / can tel, 6E broadcasts tend not to broadcast too far. Eagerly awaiting Wifi 7 protocols and deployment for next year. I have one of the few phones which could take advantage of that signal
Re: 970's 6E Broadcast Issues. Router vs Satellite
Ya 5 and 6Ghz are impacted by building materials and wifi travel is impacted by that. Why I tend to run my RBS ethernet connected for backhaul and let the client device pick what signal they decide to connect to.
Re: 970's 6E Broadcast Issues. Router vs Satellite
Still experiencing frequent disconnects throughout the day with the few portable wifi 6 devices that we have. Without moving around in the house, just 3-4 feet from the router, the devices will jump from a 6 to 6E connection and then outright disconnect. At times, it shows a failed re-connection attempt and will remain disconnected until I reset the connection. Other times the device will ask for the SSID password reentered (which seems strange).
I grabbed an older phone and placed the new 6E capable device on the same desk. Old phone on a 5ghz connection shows a 600 mb/s speed test via a mobile browser. The new phone while on a 6E and 6 connection and that same browser/test get 2 mb/s. When there are not issues and everything seems to be working, that connection has routinely been at 1.2Gb/s (!!)
My first support call was pretty great and they transferred me to someone that really seemed to understand potential problems and solutions. We made a few changes to the broadcast channels and it for two days it was pretty okay!
Today we are back to frequent disconnects. I called back up with my case # and I haven not been able to speak to anyone too helpful. Phone support was asking me to change the channels of the 6Ghz broadcast, but that is not option with the 970s. I had to send screenshots of the router admin page to prove that 6Ghz settings were not an available setting / option with this product. This support person said they would flag it because "that setting should be there".
They mentioned this device requires special support but was unable to connect me to them at this time. Waiting for a future call back.
Feels like this was not quite ready for prime time, they may be working off incorrect support documents. Starting to second second guessing my eagerness to jump in feet first with this new Wifi7 product lines.
I'm not sure if I am only noticing now, but there are quite a few other Wifi6 broadcasts on my block...Wondering if that is causing the issues?
Re: 970's 6E Broadcast Issues. Router vs Satellite
Have spent 2-3 hours with support. Learned there is a "Tiger Team" working on support for this router / satellite.
At the moment, they believe it could be an issue with running WPA2-PSK & WPA3 mixed mode. Which would make sense, as my phone has frequently asked me to re-enter my password and I never encountered that before. Googling around, it seems certain wifi chips do NOT handle WPA2/3 mixed mode well. I imagine I'll likely just just switch everything over to WPA2 soon.
At the moment I am now running ONLY with WPA3 and using WPA2-PSK for the "IOT" broadcast signal and taking notes for support. So far, i noticed a significant improvement.
I am still disconnecting every now and then. I am rarely connecting to the 6Ghz (6E) channels even when super close. I'll be 4 feet from the router for hours and it will remain a 5Ghz connection. I am wondering what the next step could be to have my phone or other mobile devices which are 6E capable, default or search for the 6Ghz connection. It seems my phones prefers to connect to the 5Ghz signal.
Other note : In a few different rooms, the IOT broadcast is far better / stronger / faster. I will get WILDLY different connections and speed test results between my SSID and the "IOT". Weirdly, the IOT broadcast is the faster / better one.
Previous replies w/ detailed notes on 6E issues were being deleted. Let's try here on a new account!
In short, there have been severe connection issues with mobile / portable devices which move around the house (laptops, tablets, mobile phones etc). These are devices from various manufactures and operating systems (ie both Android and Apple OS)
An elevated support team believes there are potential issues with the default WPA2/3 mixed security mode. After some quick googling, it appears several Wifi chip manufacturers have issues with the mixed mode. Which may explain why I am often asked to re-enter my SSID / wifi password when reconnecting.
I am currently running *ONLY* WPA3 and I am experiencing far fewer disconnects across my mobile/portable products. This has been helpful! Unfortunately, that means many of my older devices are unable to connect. From my limited understanding, WPA3 is necessary for any 6Ghz band. Which I believe means, 6E connections would *not* be possible if I enable WPA2 security.
I believe the only solution at this time would be to enable a separate "IOT broadcast" running across both 2.4 and 5Ghz bands. This could be a likely preview as to what to expect fo eventual Wifi 7 broadcasts & Setups.
Other notes. At least on my mobile device (Samsung Ultra 23) there are still occasional connection issues. Using a wifi monitoring app I can see I rarely connect via 6E/6Ghz, even when being right next to the main router for hours. The connection is almost always via a 5Ghz channel. It appears my phone prefers the 5GHz signal.
I have also noticed the IOT wifi broadcast seems far better / stronger / faster. While sitting in the same room, about 15 feet away from the main router, the IOT broadcast signal is far stronger, and I have a faster connection (482 Mbps down / 321Mbs up). When I switch to my regular SSID (the WPA3 one), the signal strength drops and I get slower speeds (102Mbs down / 45 Mbs up). What stands out to me in this case, the SSID and IOT connections are via the same channels on a 5Ghz broadcast. Ie it's not a 6E / too far away from the router issue.
There are several posts echoing similar problems in various Samsung forums. I didn't spend to much time but I was researching other Wifi 7 routers and this seems to be fairly common. Lots of 6E issues...
I do not use Apple or Mac products so I am generally unaware of her settings or the functions of her devices. However I can confirm that she does experience the same connection issues as I do. Today both her laptop and cell dropped connection during a work video call....
Prior to this, we did not have any issues or dropouts with our Orbi 860 product.
Current setup as suggested by support was to have the main SSID with only WPA3 security mode selected. No "mixed mode". And now a separate "IOT" SSID using both 2.4 and 5ghz (and I assume WPA2 security)
I believe the issue has to do w/ WPA3-P and the 6Ghz signal.
To illustrate this a bit, I can give this example right at this very moment where my phone is continuing to connect / disconnect.
I am currently about 4 feet my my rain router in an office. Using a wifi monitor app and the Orbi app itself, I can confirm that I am connected to the main router (not the satellite). It shows I am connected via a 5Ghz signal. I can force a disconnect, forget network, reset etc. My phone will NOT re-connect to the 6E/6Ghz band.
The connection to this main SSID (using WPA3) appears as a Wifi 6 connection on my phone (not 6E)
My signal strength is -70dBm / 5Ghz band. That seems HORRIBLE given I am only an arms length away.
Speed test yields, 117Mbs down / 84 Mbs up.
Without moving, I disconnect from the main SSID and then force a connection to that side "IOT" SSID.
The IOT also shows as a Wifi 6 connection (but not 6E).
The IOT connection shows my signal strength is -19dBm / 5Ghz band. Which seems correct / accurate.
Speed test yields 593Mbs down / 686 Mbs up.
Still not moving around and remaining seated. After a few minutes being connected on the IOT, I disconnect. Then manually reconnect to my main SSID (the WPA3 one).
It now it appears as a 6E connection. -38dBm signal strength. Confirmed 6Ghz band connection.
Speed test yields 1076Mbs down / 1436Mbs up.
I havent moved once in the room over a fairly short time period. I started this process / taking notes as my phone was connecting and disconnecting over and over. It seems it is only solved by disconnecting for a time period, not allowing the device to auto-reconnect to the main ssid (wpa3), manually connect to that alternate IOT broadcast, wait 5 minutes, and THEN I am able to reconnect and get on that wpa3/6ghz channel.
6GHz is limited to Low Power Indoor due to FCC regulations at the moment. This has been the case since FCC release 6GHz spectrum for wireless devices to connect. Therefore, 6GHz range is less and clients such as GS23 will self roam to 5GHz when they move away from the node. Now if you will like the client to go back to 6GHz, try locking your phone for 3-5minutes. Then unlock your phone and see if your phone is connected to 6GHz. Please note phone might move back to 5GHz if it is far away from the node.
Please watch your message inbox @Hmmmm523@Sagnew, we will be messaging privately shortly.
I really appreciate your prompt response. Thank you very much! I will try the lock screen and report back.
I have a question for you, I spend most of my day in my office, which is only 4 feet away from the main router, and it's in here I've been experiencing frequent disconnects on the 6E/6GHz band in this room.
However, when I'm in areas of the house that are connected to the satellite (like the living room and bedroom), I rarely experience any disconnects. Speed tests are great. Connection signal is strong. It seems like my satellite connection is relatively problem-free, and the issues seem to be isolated to the main router's own 6Ghz broadcast.
I'm wondering if this particular main router unit might be a faulty unit with broadcasting 6GHz? Or...is it possible that being too close to a 6GHz signal source could be causing the problem? (could such an issue exist!)
Fwiw, we are the only 6Ghz signal on the block, so I do not think it's 6Ghz cross-channels
No problem. Interesting that you are 4 feet away and experiencing disconnects. We will be reaching out to you privately to see if a few things will help you out.
Previously my main router was on my desk, about hip height. Right next to my desktop and monitor. Just arms length away from me and my phone.
This morning I unplugged it, moved the router to a shelf just a few feet away. Almost the exact same height as before. Satellite has not moved.
The 6Ghz/6E signal strength / Dbm reading from the router has improved (despite it being further away?) So far this morning I have yet to disconnect or have my phone switch to a 5 or 2ghz signal. When walking around the house I can actually see where/when the mesh network switches to the satellite. It's near instant (ie do not have to turn my phone off for 2-3 minutes).
Other possibilities : Perhaps it's not the position of the router in the room but simply the unplugging / reset of the router.
We'll see! I'll keep an eye on the connection for the next few days.
Any idea if a 6Ghz broadcast would need a bit more room to "breathe"?
