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Orbi coverage - How can a Linksys re3000W be better than Orbi?
Hello,
i have a two floor home with a 100 square meters on each floor and I am using a RBR50 in the base floor and a RBS50 in the first floor which are connected through ethernet backhaul. On the first floor the RBS50 is located in the first room and my bedroom is on the opposite side of the house. With rbs50 connected to my phone i can barely connect.
The signal is too weak so i tested an old Linksys re3000W https://www.linksys.com/gb/p/P-RE3000W/ which cost me about ~30€. Guess what, i got better coverage with this cheap AP than my expensive Orbi Sollution.
Does anyone have similar problems? It supposed to cover up to 1400 square feet (130 sq meters) on each floor. Does this indicates a faulty one?
P.S. I am using orbi an AP mode. My setup is a Cisco Router followed by a Linksys switch and then the Orbi takes care the Wifi.
Thanks & BR,
Ok, so the sollution for this was in Regional Settings.
I have chosen Europe, and that limited the txpower to max 18 dBm (63 mW). I have changed the region to Canada for testing and that gave me much more txpower and better Wifi connection to the bedroom. I will play with the settings to see what is the best for me. Maybe i choose Canada and put it on 75% or put it manual with iwconfig.
root@RBR50:/# iwlist ath0 txpower
ath0 8 available transmit-powers :
0 dBm (1 mW)
5 dBm (3 mW)
9 dBm (7 mW)
13 dBm (19 mW)
17 dBm (50 mW)
21 dBm (125 mW)
25 dBm (316 mW)
29 dBm (794 mW)
Current Tx-Power:29 dBm (794 mW)Thank you guys for your suggestions!I really apreciate it.
BR and be safe from the covid-19.
12 Replies
cramm wrote:Hello,
i have a two floor home with a 100 square meters on each floor and I am using a RBR50 in the base floor and a RBS50 in the first floor which are connected through ethernet backhaul. On the first floor the RBS50 is located in the first room and my bedroom is on the opposite side of the house. With rbs50 connected to my phone i can barely connect.
The signal is too weak so i tested an old Linksys re3000W https://www.linksys.com/gb/p/P-RE3000W/ which cost me about ~30€. Guess what, i got better coverage with this cheap AP than my expensive Orbi Sollution.
Does anyone have similar problems? It supposed to cover up to 1400 square feet (130 sq meters) on each floor. Does this indicates a faulty one?
P.S. I am using orbi an AP mode. My setup is a Cisco Router followed by a Linksys switch and then the Orbi takes care the Wifi.
Thanks & BR,
What FW are you using? Some have reported problems with the AP mode. If you don't have to run the other router, try the Orbi by itself.
I am using the latest. 2.5.1.8 but how can the routing interfere with the coverage?
Search this forum for switches. The Orbi is biased to certain types of switches and/or those switches have to have certain features turned off.
Can you pull the switch out of the mix for now and connect the Orbi directly to your modem and see how that works?
I don't have any problems with connectivity but with coverage. How can a switch interfere with the coverage?
FURRYe38 already answered this in the Post 4 above.
If the switch is behaving in certain ways, the Orbi has problems. If you are on a playground, and a kid is a bully or hogging the swing, it will impact your ability to get on the swing. Same thing with the network switch and the Orbi. With regards to switches, the Orbi can only play with certain "kids". I recommend following the advice and recommendations given prior.
cramm wrote:I don't have any problems with connectivity but with coverage. How can a switch interfere with the coverage?
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
Be sure your switch you use is non green ethernet featured. This seems to cause problems with Orbi systems. Non managed is preferred. If managed switch, be sure all IGMP protcols are disabled on the managed switch. This only needs to be configured if you have the switch in between the RBR and RBS.
cramm wrote:Hello,
i have a two floor home with a 100 square meters on each floor and I am using a RBR50 in the base floor and a RBS50 in the first floor which are connected through ethernet backhaul. On the first floor the RBS50 is located in the first room and my bedroom is on the opposite side of the house. With rbs50 connected to my phone i can barely connect.
The signal is too weak so i tested an old Linksys re3000W https://www.linksys.com/gb/p/P-RE3000W/ which cost me about ~30€. Guess what, i got better coverage with this cheap AP than my expensive Orbi Sollution.
Does anyone have similar problems? It supposed to cover up to 1400 square feet (130 sq meters) on each floor. Does this indicates a faulty one?
P.S. I am using orbi an AP mode. My setup is a Cisco Router followed by a Linksys switch and then the Orbi takes care the Wifi.
Thanks & BR,
The Orbis between them are connected through a wired connection. I don't think it has to do with distance between RBR and RBS since their connection is wired!
The RBS is connected directly to RBR. No switch between them. The problem once again is on wifi coverage.
You have two friends that can talk to each other via a land line telephone. Those same friends are then shouting out different instructions. If those friends are close enough, you would find it challenging to distinguish what a given person is saying. The friends can talk to each other fine as they have a private line. You as a third party however, because your friends are so close, would be challenged to understand either of them.
The same applies to your Orbi router and satellites. The are all shouting "connect to me" and other things. If they are too close, it can have a negative effect on your network. Hence Netgears recommendations for spacing.
cramm wrote:The Orbis between them are connected through a wired connection. I don't think it has to do with distance between RBR and RBS since their connection is wired!
The RBS is connected directly to RBR. No switch between them. The problem once again is on wifi coverage.
cramm wrote:The signal is too weak so i tested an old Linksys re3000W https://www.linksys.com/gb/p/P-RE3000W/ which cost me about ~30€. Guess what, i got better coverage with this cheap AP than my expensive Orbi Sollution.
Does anyone have similar problems? It supposed to cover up to 1400 square feet (130 sq meters) on each floor. Does this indicates a faulty one?
You are, of course, correct that switches (etc.) have nothing to do with WiFi "coverage". Do you have a means of measuring WiFi signal strength? (I like an app such as WiFi Analyzer on my Android's. Actually, almost any WiFi network monitor will do the same thing.) It would be useful to know the measured signal strength on both 5G and 2.4G channels at the bedroom location. The Linksys is a 2.4G only device, so the proper comparison is between it and the Orbi 2.4G channel.
Would love to see the values comparing Orbi to Linksys.
My guess is that the coverage problem is a combination of distance and building materials.
Please bear in mind that descriptions of WiFi "coverage" are marketing statements, much as "Miles per Gallon" on automobiles. Ordinary radio antennas have a roughly circular pattern (technically a torroid?). So, if a radio is located in the exact center of a building that is about 40 ft. square and has no major obstacles inside it, there should be excellent coverage everywhere. I purchased an Orbi because my house is rectangular (not square) and the internet connection is in one corner upstairs. WiFi coverage was terrible at the far corner downstairs. Over half of my WiFi coverage was "outside", and thus not very useful. I had no practical way to move the WiFi to the center of the house. I replaced my WiFi router with an Orbi and put a satellite about 25 ft. away and downstairs. Now have excellent coverage downstairs and extending to the front patio.
Sorry to ramble on and on.
