I recently purchase an RB50 setup with 1 satelite. Quite honestly, I’m less than impressed. I’ve had more dropped connections and resets in the last week than 3 years with my nighthawk. Im hopeful to get some support from NETGEAR here, as I want to believe in the promise of Orbi (plus, I want to avoid running Cat6 in winter)!On my Network, I have a Chromecast ultra that cannot seem to negotiate properly with Orbi to connect to the 5GHz band. It ALWAYS sticks to the 2.4GHz. Any ideas here? This is also happening to my 1st gen Chromecast. These are located about 10ft through a wall from the main Orbi router (not satellite) so signal is strong. Any help would be VERY appreciated so I don’t have to return my Orbi system and pick up Eero.

FYI, I don't think Gen 1 Chromecast supports the 5 ghz band. 2nd Gen and Ultra should though.

Give it some time to for things to settle down - my devices usually sort themselves out pretty fast, but it may take 30 minutes or longer for the network and devices to all settle in. Devices usually grab the first routing device and band they "see" (often the router itself, since that tends to boot up first, and often the 2.4 band since that also seems to initially have the farthest reach). But given a bit of time, devices should eventually settle down on the nearest device (router vs sta) and the best band (2.4 or 5). But that process can take a while, depending on the size and breadth of your overall network... I've heard some folks even recommend waiting a day to let it all settle. It's kind of like a crowd of people rushing into a room. Yeah, everyone gets in there initially but it's kind of a mess, yet given some time, everyone settles down in their own little space.

What firmware version are you on? Have you enabled beamforming and MUMIMO? DarrenM

Thanks for the reponse, Darren!! 1) V2.0.0.74 (tried to update FW, but was not available when I searched via GUI, skeptical due to multiple posts about increased issues)2) Yes, both are enabled* I've also disabled Daisy-Chain Topology since I only have 1 satelitte. In doing some more experimentation today (because signal dropped 4x before 2pm today), I used a wifi analyzer app on my laptop to see the local channel congestion. While I do live a pretty good distance from my neighbors, I can register signal from about 3 other wifi networks. I also noticied that the 2 chromecasts I have were broadcasting 2.4GHz wifi networks on the same channel as the Orbi 2.4GHz network. I reallocated the 2.4GHz Orbi band to an uncongested channel, and will see how that affects performance with signal drops. Despite doing so, my Chromecasts still only connect to the 2.4GHz despite very good 5GHz signal from the Orbi in those locations.

You are absolutely correct, just confirmed. My apologes! Thats not too big of a deal for me personally, as that chromecast is connected to a 720P TV in the garage (shared wall with the office, where Router is). My main concern is the Chromecast Ultra which is connected to an LG OLED 4K HDR, and streaming Dolby Vision is a necessity :) Any ideas from Netgear support? Is there a profile label I should assign to the Chromecast to get it to steer it to the correct band? Or is this a Chomecast issue that NetGear/Google need to collaborate on?

Chromecast not connecting to 5ghz band

12 Replies

DarrenM
Sr. NETGEAR Moderator
Dec 13, 2017
What firmware version are you on? Have you enabled beamforming and MUMIMO?

DarrenM
- Flausfsu
  Tutor
  Dec 14, 2017
  Thanks for the reponse, Darren!!
  
  1) V2.0.0.74 (tried to update FW, but was not available when I searched via GUI, skeptical due to multiple posts about increased issues)
  2) Yes, both are enabled
  * I've also disabled Daisy-Chain Topology since I only have 1 satelitte.
  
  In doing some more experimentation today (because signal dropped 4x before 2pm today), I used a wifi analyzer app on my laptop to see the local channel congestion. While I do live a pretty good distance from my neighbors, I can register signal from about 3 other wifi networks. I also noticied that the 2 chromecasts I have were broadcasting 2.4GHz wifi networks on the same channel as the Orbi 2.4GHz network. I reallocated the 2.4GHz Orbi band to an uncongested channel, and will see how that affects performance with signal drops.
  
  Despite doing so, my Chromecasts still only connect to the 2.4GHz despite very good 5GHz signal from the Orbi in those locations.
  - godspeed
    Apprentice
    Dec 14, 2017
    FYI, I don't think Gen 1 Chromecast supports the 5 ghz band. 2nd Gen and Ultra should though.

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Chromecast not connecting to 5ghz band