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device not connecting to closest satellite
It looks like many have a similar problem. I have an RBR50 along with 2 satellites. My router is on my main floor with 1 satellite upstairs and 1 satellite in the basement. In my master bedroom, I...
Hey, just popping in to say this thread was really helpful and I've solved my particular issue. My Ring doorbell (and really, most of my devices, including my smart plug) were connecting to the main router in the basement and not either of the satellites. For example, my smart plug was connecting to the router (I have the Orbi RBR50) one floor down and across the house inside a little room, instead of the satellite that was literally 10' away. As others have mentioned, I see mobile devices (e.g. cell phones, laptops, tablets) shift between the router and satellites as they are moved within the house. The doorbell was a problem, though, because I can't move it (obviously) and by connecting to the router in the basement instead of the closest satellite its performance was sorely lacking. I was able to get my Ring to connect to the satellite by moving that satellite closer to the doorbell and then forcing the doorbell to disconnect from and reconnect to the internet (for my Ring model, I simply removed the faceplate, pushed the button to send it into setup mode, then pushed it again to exit setup mode.)
FWIW as I was messing with this I also ended up power cycling the smart plug, which - when it reconnected to the internet - decided it wanted to join a closer satellite, as well.
Now, I am almost certain that any time we lose power to the main router and the system reboots, the doorbell will automatically re-connect to the router (since the router will boot up before the satellites). However, hopefully I can just recalibrate by performing the same trick I did today. Not ideal, but it worked. Hopefully this helps someone else as well.
Glad you got it working. Please mark your thread as solved so others will know.
Enjoy. :smileywink:
- I think that the lowering of the transmission power could be helpful for me as well, given that I have one device that connected to the router over 30ft away, meanwhile, the satellite is next to it with only 3 feet in between. When lowering the transmission power, can you lower it for specifically the router, or for a specific satellite?
The router only.
- I'm not sure what is with my devices' obsession is with connecting only to the far away router, but even after setting it to 25% and restarting the cameras that are next to the satellite, they still went to the router. Any other ideas to force these cameras to connect to the satellite?
testuserguy wrote:
I think that the lowering of the transmission power could be helpful for me as well, given that I have one device that connected to the router over 30ft away, meanwhile, the satellite is next to it with only 3 feet in between. When lowering the transmission power, can you lower it for specifically the router, or for a specific satellite?Lowering the power is not the issue. also, why would you want to lower the power unless your environment is too small for your system and your satellite is too close to the router?
The issue that has been continuously reported in this thread is usually due to the router holding memory of the specific satellites and devices.
As an example I have a TV that always wants to connect 2.4Ghz to a satellite, when it support 5Ghz and is 10 feet from the router. The scheme used by the router probably determines the device signal is too strong so it connects 2.4Ghz to a satellite that is 25 feet away. I also have 1 camera and 1 thermostat that always wants to connect to a satellite that is 30 feet away, when there is a satellite 10 feet from the camera and thermostat.
I found going into the device and forgetting the network, then rebooting the router and devices clears the cache and fixes the issues of devices connecting to the wrong router or satellite. Sometimes it takes more than once to correct the connections.
Also make sure "Enable 20/40 MHz Coexistence" is unchecked.
Mstrbig wrote:The issue that has been continuously reported in this thread is usually due to the router holding memory of the specific satellites and devices.
The router does neither remember nor control where the client does connect to. This is a myth.
Mstrbig wrote:
As an example I have a TV that always wants to connect 2.4Ghz to a satellite, when it support 5Ghz and is 10 feet from the router.
...
I found going into the device and forgetting the network, then rebooting the router and devices clears the cache and fixes the issues of devices connecting to the wrong router or satellite.
This makes some sense: It's initially 100% up to the client to select from the list of BSSID identified by the same SSID, and attempting to establish the wireless association.
Each radio/SSID pair has a unique BSSID - take it as an individual radio MAC for each SSID. On a new connection, the client does look out for SSID and does start acquiring the BSSID. Some clients try to connect to the first occurrence, some clients try to find two BSSIDs for both bands. Algorithms and results vary. Advanced clients (mesh capable clients) build a list of BSSIDs for the same SSID, and create a priority list or qualify each BSSID (signal level, band preference, channel usage, ...) and connect to the BSSID with the highest result. This process is continuously repeated, if other BSSID show up with better results, the client will roam to the better BSSID.
The Orbi router does just collect the information from it's local AP or the satellite AP to show to which band, and to which AP, and to which radio the client is connected to. Anything else is a myth again.
Mstrbig wrote:
Sometimes it takes more than once to correct the connections.
The WiFi adapter algorithms implementation vary - so can the results. The older or less sophisticated the wireless client is, the worse the results. And the higher the risk that it can't take the advantage of what makes up a wireless Mesh.
When a device connects to an access point serving both bands, the access point will determine it's dual-band capability. If positive, the access point will "motivate" the device to connect on 5 GHz BSSID by rejecting any attempt connecting connect to the 2.4 GHz BSSID. This is called band steering.
If a radio is occupied to a high load, e.g. 80% or so, it might be able reject the connection attempt to both band BSSIDs, expecting it will find a better BSSID in it's list. This is called load steering - and can lead a client to connect to another AP (router or satellite) farther away.
- It’s not solved, only a cumbersome workaround.
