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Forum Discussion
LeifA
May 15, 2021Apprentice
Loosing WiFi connection ORBI RBR50
Hi! In an location somewhat in between the router and two satellites I keep loosing contact with the wIfI on my iPad after a while. Get the message "wrong password" for the Orbi wifi. I never happen...
CrimpOn
May 18, 2021Guru - Experienced User
LeifA wrote:In an location somewhat in between the router and two satellites I keep loosing contact with the wIfI on my iPad after a while. Get the message "wrong password" for the Orbi wifi. I never happens closer to the router Orbi. Rebooting the iPad sometimes helps. If my iPhone is in the same location.it works with the same wifi. Haven't checked if it also gets problems after a while.
The satellites seems ok and connected in the Orbi app.
It may be useful to know (a) which Orbi unit the iPad was connected to before displaying that message and (b) more about the router/satellite connections.
On the technical side, Orbi provides a way to display the signal strength between router and satellites using telnet. (If you are not comfortable using telnet, do not feel compelled to go down this rabbit hole.)
i.e. On the Orbi debug page, Enable Telnet (http://orbilogin.net/debut.htm)
Use a telnet client to connect to the Orbi router and log in using the administrative credentials ("admin" and password).
Type the command satelliteinfo wifi
This is what my Orbi looks like:
root@RBR50:/# satelliteinfo wifi
[
{
"mac address" : "A0:04:60:xx:xx:xx",
"hop" : "1",
"bridge mac" : "A0:04:xx:xx:xx:xx",
"backhaul conntype" : "5GHz",
"backhaul rssi" : "-68",
"backhaul macaddress" : "A0:04:60:xx:xx:xx",
"backhaul phytxrate" : "780",
"backhaul phyrxrate" : "780",
"backhaul parentmac" : "A0:04:60:xx:xx:xx"
},
{
"mac address" : "14:59:C0:xx:xx:xx",
"hop" : "1",
"bridge mac" : "14:59:C0:xx:xx:xx",
"backhaul conntype" : "5GHz",
"backhaul rssi" : "-59",
"backhaul macaddress" : "",
"backhaul phytxrate" : "866",
"backhaul phyrxrate" : "650",
"backhaul parentmac" : "A0:04:60:xx:xx:xx"
}
Notice the RSSI signal levels are pretty good and the transmit/receive rates are also pretty good.
The topic of "how far" Orbi satellites can be from the router is somewhat contentious. There is obviously not much benefit if the satellite is really close to the router because that will add very little to the amount of total WiFi coverage. If the satellite is too far from the router, there will not be a strong WiFi signal between them and the "Ring Light" at the top of the Satellite will turn orange when it powers up, rather than blue. (the light goes out after about 2 minutes). In typical residential construction, somewhere around 30 feet appears to be the sweet spot. (neither too near nor too far). The total WiFi coverage can be 50-60% greater while the backhaul link remains "Good". In an open warehouse, the satellite could be 100 ft. away and still get a good connection. If there is a 2-ft. solid concrete wall between router and satellite, even 5 ft. apart will not work.
The point is: what color does the satellite ring light turn when the satellite is powered up?
None of this explains an iPad losing WiFi and announding "Wrong Password." What this sounds like (to me) is that the iPad decided to connect to some WiFi network that it does not have a password for - which is just goofy.