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Forum Discussion
bsteele1123
Mar 09, 2021Aspirant
Connection issues with RBR40 and MacBook Pro with Guest network enabled
I am having issues with connectivity with my Orbi RBR40 set up in router mode with a 5 year old Macbook Pro. This seems to be the only device that frequently disconnects from wireless. We have an R...
CrimpOn
Mar 10, 2021Guru - Experienced User
bsteele1123 wrote:I am having issues with connectivity with my Orbi RBR40 set up in router mode with a 5 year old Macbook Pro. This seems to be the only device that frequently disconnects from wireless. We have an RBR40 with 2 satellite RBW30's. It seems that the issue goes away when the guest network is disabled but for a myriad of reasons we would like to maintain the guest network if possible as our kids use that and we sometimes need to shut it off but maintain our business network.
The computer is located within 15 feet of the RBR40 main router but sometimes works a little better further away or on a satellite.
If anyone has ideas how to either configure the wireless network for better success or how to better configure the Macbook pro it would be much appreciated.
I see no reason to change Wireless settings, except:
- Daisy Chain is only relevant if one satellite connects through another satellite to reach the router.
If both satellites are connecting directly to the router, then Daisy Chain can be disabled. - I see no reason to avoid Beamforming and MIMO. They only come into play if devices on the network support those features.
Does this network interruption occur when the Guest WiFi is enabled or disabled? One of the things I find annoying about Orbi is that (far too) many activities cause the Orbi to restart the WiFi radios. When I am fiddling around and click "Apply", I frequently get two emails from my home security system: (a) "lost WiFi connection", followed two minutes later by (b) "WiFi connection restored." It could be that the 5 year old Macbook Pro doesn't reconnect automatically as it should?
- bsteele1123Mar 10, 2021Aspirant
This setup is in fact daisy chained with each satelitte further than the last. First is about 30 feet away from the router and the second is about 70 feet away.
We have confirmed the Macbook Pro does reconnect automatically but it is very slow to do so. Also it does appear to work better or possibly perfectly with the Guest network disabled. I need a full day of testing to confirm but I also need the Guest network for kids during school days.
It sounds like I can at least try MIMO and beamforming without any serious downside to trying.