Connecting Orbi to iAquaLink pool system

raven_au Just switched it to that security setting, reestablished connection between iaqualink and the orbi, immedately punted the connection when trying to access the app.

Switched back the security setting and connected back to the AP and solid stable connection.

To recap, what we have tried so far with no luck is the following:

1. Set the ISP router to DMZ+
2. Enable IPv6 in Orbi as it was enabled on ISP router
3. Disable 5 GHz band in Orbi
4. Change security settings to WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]

More things to check/test:

1. Change Orbi to AP Mode and make ISP router as main router (remove DMZ+ settings from ISP router).
2. Check the ISP lease time and see if this is related to the periodic dosconnections. As the iaqualink app establishes a VPN through both routers, it can be good to check this:
   1. Can you please check the ISP lesse time (Lease Obtained)under >> ADVANCED >> ADVANCED Home >> INTERNET PORT >> CONNECTION STATUS
   2. Monitor also the Lease Expire and see if this has to do with the disconnections.

Lease obtained 10 min

Lease expires 5 minutes

Can this be changed?

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silver123 wrote:

Lease obtained 10 min

Lease expires 5 minutes

 

Can this be changed?

 

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Orbi is getting the lease from the ATT router. You should be able to change it in the ATT router. If your router is 5268AC then this is how you can change this time according to the router's manual:

Before I change anything ekhalil  let me ask you this, if the lease protocol is coming from the att router, but the iaqualink never had stability issues when connected to the att router, doesn that eliminate it from being the cause?

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silver123 wrote:

raven_au Just switched it to that security setting, reestablished connection between iaqualink and the orbi, immedately punted the connection when trying to access the app.

 

Switched back the security setting and connected back to the AP and solid stable connection.

 

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Oh boy, that's odd!

Could you have been a little impacient?

Could the later stabe connection have been a result retianed context from the previous security change?

Have you checked what security encryption standards the iaqualink device actually supports?

raven_au Considering I've connected this iaqualink (which requires me to go outside, upen up the device, flip a dip switch off then on, close the device, then come back inside 30 times over the past two days, to be honest, I'm over it.

I've received a lot of suggestions, I've tried them all, at this point I'm done, the AP works fine, spending more time trying to figure this out just isn't going to give me any satisfaction anymore so, since I have a stable connection I will not be returning for more experimentation but I appreciate all the help thus far.

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silver123 wrote:

raven_au Considering I've connected this iaqualink (which requires me to go outside, upen up the device, flip a dip switch off then on, close the device, then come back inside 30 times over the past two days, to be honest, I'm over it.

 

I understand completely, using an AP connected to the satelite (IIRC) sounds like a good way to go.

I also think this needs to be reported to the Netgear engineers (some how) so they can forward the info. to Qualcomm, perhaps the compatibility problem will be fixed at some point by them.

But we might not see it fixed on the Orbi since Netgear is likley reluctant to update the Qualcomm delelopment kit they use because that could easiliy cause even more problems with such things as people needing to do a full factory reset and reconfigure on update.

raven_au  I called orbi tech support before posting here, you know what they did, after about 2 minutes of questions they blamed my computer and said it would be $200 to have someone fix it......guess what, I could remove my computer from the house and it has no bearing on whether the iaqualink stays connected to orbi, so my thought is Netgear really doesn't care much about fixing something like this, it's not like they have 100,00 customers impacted so not worth their time.

BUT, now my wifi calling doesn't work, one of the changes I've done to the router at everyone's recommendation has messed with it.

The symptom is after 2-18 seconds the microphone stops accepting sound / transimtting the other end of the call....they can hear me initially then I go silent, but I can still hear them.

What changes that I've done could cause this so I can undo it?

As a quick safety precaution I unplugged the att router, orbi and sat then plugged them all back in and I believe that resolved it.   I suspect the changes that impacted it were the following which changed them back to factory yesterday but even though the router did restart after the changes, I suspect unplugging / plugging back in got it to fully update the changes

If you unplugged the Orbi and back in and previous settings were not saved, thats a problem. Any power OFF, unplug or just a reboot of the router, settings should persist thru these operations. 

If this is happening on your system, I would try the following, manual FW re-load using a web browser and download the FW file for the router. Apply and after it's back to ready, factory reset and setup from scratch. Make some changes and test the persistence of settings after doing a un-plug and plug back in to power it on. If the settings are not persisting, then the unit would be faulty and you should ask about an RMA. 

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silver123 wrote:

As a quick safety precaution I unplugged the att router, orbi and sat then plugged them all back in and I believe that resolved it.   I suspect the changes that impacted it were the following which changed them back to factory yesterday but even though the router did restart after the changes, I suspect unplugging / plugging back in got it to fully update the changes

Backhaul Topology

Enable Daisy-Chain Topology

Backhaul Password

Orbi can generate a new hidden password to improve security for its backhaul connection.

WARNING: Generating a new password might cause the Orbi satellite to lose connection from the Orbi router. To reconnect, use the Sync button.

Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING - Boosts WiFi speed, reliability, & range for all mobile devices

Enable MU-MIMO

Enable Fast Roaming

 

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silver123 wrote:

 

.......... the AP works fine, .....

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What do you mean by this? Have you set Orbi in AP Mode or have you connected another AP to Orbi?

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silver123 wrote:

raven_au  I called orbi tech support before posting here, you know what they did, after about 2 minutes of questions they blamed my computer and said it would be $200 to have someone fix it......guess what, I could remove my computer from the house and it has no bearing on whether the iaqualink stays connected to orbi, so my thought is Netgear really doesn't care much about fixing something like this, it's not like they have 100,00 customers impacted so not worth their time.

I wasn't suggesting that you report the incompatibility to Negear.

I wouldn't suggest anyone call telephone support myself, it's far too often a waste of time and, well, paying for that is just plain bad.

I'm suggesting that someone here that has a suitable contact forward the information to Netgear engineering.

If there's noone here able to do that then that's just bad form for Netgear!

I would also make cotnact with the Mfr of this device as well and see if they can have more of a review in to this. They should be able to help NG figure out whats going on between there device and Orbi. 

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raven_au wrote:

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silver123 wrote:

raven_au  I called orbi tech support before posting here, you know what they did, after about 2 minutes of questions they blamed my computer and said it would be $200 to have someone fix it......guess what, I could remove my computer from the house and it has no bearing on whether the iaqualink stays connected to orbi, so my thought is Netgear really doesn't care much about fixing something like this, it's not like they have 100,00 customers impacted so not worth their time.

I wasn't suggesting that you report the incompatibility to Negear.

I wouldn't suggest anyone call telephone support myself, it's far too often a waste of time and, well, paying for that is just plain bad.

 

I'm suggesting that someone here that has a suitable contact forward the information to Netgear engineering.

 

If there's noone here able to do that then that's just bad form for Netgear!

 

 

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silver123 I still think the issue is caused by the interaction between Orbi and the ISP router.

If you don't use Orbi's router functions (DDNS, VPN, parental control, .....) then please try to set it to AP Mode and see if you get improvements. From the troubleshooting that we did so far I think this will solve the issue, or at least will isolate the issue.

I have a configuration simular to yours. I have an ARRIS router with WIFI provided by ATT for fiber connection.

I have disabled the WIFI on this device and while you can't put the device into 'Bridge' mode, you can put it in 'IP Passthrough':

Manufacturer ARRIS
Model Number BGW210-700
Serial Number XXXXXXXXXXXX
Software Version 1.9.16

IP Passthrough Status On (public IP address)

My firewall/router is a pfsense black box. All NAT/DNS/dhcp is provided by this device.

I run my Orbi in AP mode (V2.3.1.60).

What allowed the Orbi to connect to my iAquaLink 2.0 WIFI was to enable "Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING".

This is under: Advanced -> Advanced Setup -> Wireless Settings

Prior to making this change, the iAquaLink would drop off the WIFI on a regular basis and experienced a 50% or better packet loss when connected.

You might want to give that setting a try and see if it won't stay connected.

I had offline problem after almost a year of it working properly. Orbi satellite would randomly come online but mostly stayed offline. I followed all the reconnect instructions and tried all the suggestions, but, in the end, I got it online after assigning a static IP address to the iAquaLink's MAC address. So far, so good.