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Despite trying all advice from various threads, my Orbi 50 system wifi speed is very low
Hi, I have been very pleased with my Orbi system for a long time, but recently I have discovered that my WiFi speed has dropped dramatically - even standing right next to the Orbi base station, the download speed caps out at 10-12 Mbps (last I checked I saw 200-300 Mbps). My fiber into the house delivers 500 Mbps, and the speed test built into the Orbi app measures it at that speed.
I have a setup with 1 RBR50 base station and 3 RBS50 satellites, running firmware 2.5.1.16.
I run a couple of Macs (at the very latest OS version), quite a number of IoT devices (light bulbs, thermostats, etc.), and my wife and I use iPhones and iPads around the house. The house is about 200 m2, built out of wood.
As the heading says, I have tried most advice I could read from various threads about slow WiFi; turning on/off various settings related to beamforming, MU-MIMO, fast roaming, etc., but nothing has helped.
I am really running out of ideas - is there anything else that can be done?
8 Replies
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
What are your wired speed results?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between RBR and RBS to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/000036466/How-far-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite-from-my-Orbi-routerWhat channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?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).Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?
Press the back reset button for 15 seconds then release.Hi Furry, thanks for responding!
Let me first answer your questions:
What Firmware version is currently loaded? 2.5.1.16
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? Zyxel P2812ac
What are your wired speed results? 500+ Mbps up and down
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? About 30 feet between the RBR and two of the RBSs, probably around 45 feet to the third RBSWhat channels are you using? 11 for 2.4 and 36 for 5 GHz
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? We live in a very rural area so I can only barely detect the neighbor's network
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).Should I try them all at once or one at the time? I did something to these once earlier, but at some point my Home Connected washing machine would no longer be able to connect - any idea which, if any of these, causes that issue?
Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update? No, would that involve a lot of effort? I mostly fear having my smart home devices getting into trouble, but I guess resetting and setting the same network name/password won't cause much trouble?
You modem is a router and wifi built in. This would be a double NAT (two router) condition which isn't recommended. https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT
https://kb.netgear.com/30187/How-to-fix-issues-with-Double-NAT
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=desktopYes, when doing a reset, one can use the same SSID name and PW.
Load WiFi Sweetspots on a mobile device to see the connection rate with a device connected to the RBR.
