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Forum Discussion
Netgear Orbi RBK50 with 2 Satellites - Patchy / Slow Wifi performance
Hey, I have had the RBK50 around a year now and it has been amazing since day one. However in the last week or so the Wifi has been terrible. Its been slow, patchy and all round frustrating. ...
I've got an RBK50 setup as well - ran completely fine from April 2017 until the last week at which point wifi just started to misbehave horribly.
It seems worse on the 2.4Ghz bands - phones can't seem to connect reliably orat any sustained speed to wifi. The 5Ghz band is also unstable.
I loaded the latest firmware last week tottry to see if this resolved issues, but rolled back and did a full factory reset. No love.
I'm running an EdgerouterLite 3 firewall so the orbi is just running in AP mode. Connectivity to the public internet looks fine by ethernet, it just looks like wifi is toast.
I'm going to try swapping out the Orbi with a newer smaller RBK20 set today. I'm pretty sure at this point something just fried the wifi circuits.
It seems worse on the 2.4Ghz bands - phones can't seem to connect reliably orat any sustained speed to wifi. The 5Ghz band is also unstable.
I loaded the latest firmware last week tottry to see if this resolved issues, but rolled back and did a full factory reset. No love.
I'm running an EdgerouterLite 3 firewall so the orbi is just running in AP mode. Connectivity to the public internet looks fine by ethernet, it just looks like wifi is toast.
I'm going to try swapping out the Orbi with a newer smaller RBK20 set today. I'm pretty sure at this point something just fried the wifi circuits.
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
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-router
What 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 enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot 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. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Throttling-Devices-RBK53/m-p/1858561/highlight/true#M81925
crankycder wrote:
I've got an RBK50 setup as well - ran completely fine from April 2017 until the last week at which point wifi just started to misbehave horribly.
It seems worse on the 2.4Ghz bands - phones can't seem to connect reliably orat any sustained speed to wifi. The 5Ghz band is also unstable.
I loaded the latest firmware last week tottry to see if this resolved issues, but rolled back and did a full factory reset. No love.
I'm running an EdgerouterLite 3 firewall so the orbi is just running in AP mode. Connectivity to the public internet looks fine by ethernet, it just looks like wifi is toast.
I'm going to try swapping out the Orbi with a newer smaller RBK20 set today. I'm pretty sure at this point something just fried the wifi circuits.
House isn't very large. ~1700sq ft townhome.
Distance between RBR to RBS is ~20 ft from main floor to basement. Just drywall and wood between.
Is there a way to scan which channels are being used by neighbors or should I just try each channel?
Is there any particular reason I should use 1, 6 or 11 for 2.4Ghz?
Specific points:
- Armor, Circle
I don't use either of these. I've got a dedicated Edgerouter firewall and just use the Orbi in AP mode.
- Daisy Chain
There is just one satellite. Daisy chain should have no effect.
- Fast Roaming,20/40 Coexistence
I've enabled Fast Roaming and disable the coexistence.
- IPv6
IPv6 isn't relevant as I'm using this in AP mode only.
I'll try setting explicit channels on the 2.4Ghz bands. There are neighbors around, it's possible something new was introduced by a house near by.
I've also reduced the CTS/RTS down to 1500/2300 for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.
crankycder wrote:House isn't very large. ~1700sq ft townhome.
For this size of home, having a RBR with two RBS maybe too much. Try turning OFF ALL RBS and run just the RBR alone. Then try just 1 RBS.
Distance between RBR to RBS is ~20 ft from main floor to basement. Just drywall and wood between.
Distance is too close, 30 feet is minimum distance between the RBR and RBS.
Is there a way to scan which channels are being used by neighbors or should I just try each channel?
For a android or apple pad, there are wifi analyzer apps free for download that you can use to see what signals are near by and what channels they are using.
Others are:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/network-analyzer-lite-wifi/id562315041?mt=8
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html
https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/wlan-software/wlan-scanner-acrylic-wifi-free/
https://lizardsystems.com/wi-fi-scanner/screenshots.php
http://nutsaboutnets.com
http://www.metageek.com/products/inssider/Is there any particular reason I should use 1, 6 or 11 for 2.4Ghz?
These are primary channels that users should use. All other channels are sub channels used by the wifi system.
Specific points:
- Armor, Circle
I don't use either of these. I've got a dedicated Edgerouter firewall and just use the Orbi in AP mode.
- Daisy Chain
There is just one satellite. Daisy chain should have no effect.
- Fast Roaming,20/40 Coexistence
I've enabled Fast Roaming and disable the coexistence.
- IPv6
IPv6 isn't relevant as I'm using this in AP mode only.
I'll try setting explicit channels on the 2.4Ghz bands. There are neighbors around, it's possible something new was introduced by a house near by.
I've also reduced the CTS/RTS down to 1500/2300 for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.
You might change this back to default after trying the suggestions from above.
FURRYe38 wrote:
crankycder wrote:House isn't very large. ~1700sq ft townhome.
For this size of home, having a RBR with two RBS maybe too much. Try turning OFF ALL RBS and run just the RBR alone. Then try just 1 RBS.
Distance between RBR to RBS is ~20 ft from main floor to basement. Just drywall and wood between.
Distance is too close, 30 feet is minimum distance between the RBR and RBS.
I'm pretty sure the distance between RBR to RBS is. It's been fine for almost 3 years.
Is there a way to scan which channels are being used by neighbors or should I just try each channel?
For a android or apple pad, there are wifi analyzer apps free for download that you can use to see what signals are near by and what channels they are using.
Others are:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/network-analyzer-lite-wifi/id562315041?mt=8
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html
https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/wlan-software/wlan-scanner-acrylic-wifi-free/
https://lizardsystems.com/wi-fi-scanner/screenshots.php
http://nutsaboutnets.com
http://www.metageek.com/products/inssider/Thanks - I've pushed the signal to channel 6 which seems less occupied and things appear to be better. I'll post back here in a day or two for follow up.
Is there any particular reason I should use 1, 6 or 11 for 2.4Ghz?
These are primary channels that users should use. All other channels are sub channels used by the wifi system.
Specific points:
- Armor, Circle
I don't use either of these. I've got a dedicated Edgerouter firewall and just use the Orbi in AP mode.
- Daisy Chain
There is just one satellite. Daisy chain should have no effect.
- Fast Roaming,20/40 Coexistence
I've enabled Fast Roaming and disable the coexistence.
- IPv6
IPv6 isn't relevant as I'm using this in AP mode only.
I'll try setting explicit channels on the 2.4Ghz bands. There are neighbors around, it's possible something new was introduced by a house near by.
I've also reduced the CTS/RTS down to 1500/2300 for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.
You might change this back to default after trying the suggestions from above.