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Orbi AC3000 generally unhappy
hi, I am struggling with a few issues with wifi on my Orbis: I have six Phorus PR5 receivers (these are hard-wired to an amp which is connected to wired ceiling speakers around the house and al...
Final update: I bought the Nintendo Ethernet adapter (above) for all the PR5s and they have been rock solid since.
Given that the MBP does not always appear in the list of AirPlay devices, plus the iPad issue when connected to the Orbi satellite, plus the drop outs on signal on the Orbis, I will lay the blame on the Orbis, but it is not 100% proven.
Done messing with this, and shame i had to throw money at the issues.
Hello Stinky_W_Teats ,
Welcome to the NETGEAR Community!
I understand that you are having issues with your Phorus PR5 Receiver connecting to the 5Ghz band. This may be caused by the Phorus PR5 Receiver compatibility. The Phorus PR5 Receiver is compatible with the 802.11a/n Wi-Fi wireless protocol. The wireless standard needed for 5Ghz compatibility is 802.11ac.
Best,
Kevin
Community Team
802.11ac is backward compatible with 802.11n
Hello CrimpOn ,
Thank you for your response!
The ac standard lives entirely in the 5GHz spectrum. While some more modern routers broadcast 802.11n in 5GHz as well as 2.4GHz they remain relatively rare.
Best,
Kevin
Community Team
I still disagree. By supporting 802.11ac on the 5G channel, Orbi routers are also compatible with every previous standard for 5G WiFi, including 802.11a and 802.11n. Yes, 802.11ac makes possible greater speed, but if a device supporting only 802.11n connects, the Orbi will communicate with it at 802.11n. This has been true for every router since 802.11ac was finalized in 2013.
Both the Original Poster (OP) and myself have connected the PR5 to Orbi routers. The Orbi Attached Devices shows they are connected at 5G, and they function. (Orbi does not display which 'flavor' of 802.11 each device is using.)
Phorus probably used 802.11n in the PR5 product because (a) the chip is less costly, and (b) they are receiving audio signals. The amount of bandwidth needed for audio is tiny. There is no need for the greater capacity of 802.11ac.
During the WiFi connection process, both user device and WiFi access point communicate the speeds and features that they support and determine which will be used. It will be an interesting experiment to capture the actual Probe, Association, and Authentication packets for the Pr5 and compare them with those of a product with 802.11ac. (Will take some time to haul out the gear I use to capture WiFi management frames.)
