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Forum Discussion

bsteele1123's avatar
bsteele1123
Aspirant
Mar 09, 2021

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...
Troubleshooting
FURRYe38's avatar
FURRYe38
Guru - Experienced User
Mar 10, 2021

Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and Orbi system been performed since last update?

 

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

 

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 wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite

 

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or may not be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

 

Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, Circle, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

bsteele1123's avatar
bsteele1123
Aspirant
Mar 10, 2021

Yes a power off and ON has been attempted with the ISP modem.  In fact recently I reset both the Orbi and ISP modem to factory settings and started over just to be sure.  They behave the same way as they always have and this issue has followed us through every Firmware revision, but only on my wifes Macbook Pro.

 

The modem is a Pace 5268AC on ATT.  Everything is basically factory settings on there except the wireless radio is turned off.

 

Our house is over 2300sq ft and the main router an satellietes are 30-40 feet apart.  The satellites are daisy chained the way it is laid out.

 

I can try the other settings although I am note sure what "Armor and Circle" are.  I hesitate to disable daisy chaining because my satellites are in fact daisy chained as the distance would be very far to reach the 2nd.

 

So far the only thing that seems to have worked is disabling the guest network so it makes me think it is something silly with the Macbook wifi radio and the power being broadcast to both networks.  Every other device on the network functions perfectly.  But alas I really need to have a separate network if possible.

 

  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User
    Mar 10, 2021
    bsteele1123 wrote:

    Yes a power off and ON has been attempted with the ISP modem.  In fact recently I reset both the Orbi and ISP modem to factory settings and started over just to be sure.  They behave the same way as they always have and this issue has followed us through every Firmware revision, but only on my wifes Macbook Pro.

     

    The modem is a Pace 5268AC on ATT.  Everything is basically factory settings on there except the wireless radio is turned off.

    This modem has a built in router. Couple of options,
    1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge or modem only mode. Then use the Orbi router in router mode. You'll need to contact the ISP for help and information in regards to the modem being bridged correctly.
    2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ/ExposedHost or IP Pass-Through for the IP address the Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Orbi router in Router mode.
    3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the Orbi router to the modem, configure AP mode on the Orbi router. https://kb.netgear.com/31218/How-do-I-configure-my-Orbi-router-to-act-as-an-access-point and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LOcJ8GdDo&app=desktop 

     

    Our house is over 2300sq ft and the main router an satellietes are 30-40 feet apart.  The satellites are daisy chained the way it is laid out.

     

    I can try the other settings although I am note sure what "Armor and Circle" are.  I hesitate to disable daisy chaining because my satellites are in fact daisy chained as the distance would be very far to reach the 2nd.

     

    So far the only thing that seems to have worked is disabling the guest network so it makes me think it is something silly with the Macbook wifi radio and the power being broadcast to both networks.  Every other device on the network functions perfectly.  But alas I really need to have a separate network if possible.

    So does disabling Guest Network make the Mac Book Pro work better? 

    What OSX version are you using on the Mac Book? You might turn OFF The RBS temporarily to see if the mac book works differently with just the RBR alone with Gues Network enabled and disabled.  

     

     

     

    • bsteele1123's avatar
      bsteele1123
      Aspirant
      Mar 10, 2021

      So today I am having more success.  The Orbi was already set to router mode with the ISP modems wifi radios turned off. 

      I made the following changes from the settings I posted before

       

      Enabled beamforming and MU-MIMO

      Set 2.4Ghz power to 25%

      CTS/RTS threshold for both 2.4 and 5Ghz was set to 500

       

      I suspect it may be just the power setting alone that might be fixing the issue as we achieved similar good results by just disabling the Guest network.  The beamforming and MIMO don't hurt anything and the CTS thresholds might be limiting in some cases so we may try and roll those back to confirm the power setting fixed it.