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Forum Discussion
Orbi RBK40 Light and Connectivity Malfunction
Hi,
I haven't ever had an issue with my Orbi Wifi Mesh system until I noticed my Orbi Satellite had been disabled. By this I mean, the satellite had power but was not connected to my router and was not producing a signal. I attempted to troubleshoot by doing numerous power cycles of my whole system, including my separate modem. I tried to sync them and found no success either. I even tried resetting my satellite but the satellite didn't seem to do that either...the power light just stayed green and the LED did not come on once.
Has anyone experienced this? The strangest part seems that the LED light on top of the satellite has no shown up once. Is this a defective satellite and can/ should I get a replacement satellite?
Thanks for the help,
Josh
6 Replies
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode?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-routerWhat 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 may not 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).One User Experience/Configuration:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Most-Stable-Orbi-Configuration/m-p/1941087/highlight/true#M97026Be sure that CTS and RTS values are changed to 2347 under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
Be sure to check your CTS and RTS values. If they are at 64, please change both to 2347. Set any Fragmentation Length to 2346. Reboot both RBR and wireless devices. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
"We used RTS=64 by default as it help on reduce on re-transmission and contention in noise environment and help when client is at location far from Orbi device. If your environment is not congestive or clients are not far away, RTS=2347 should be better."WiFi 6 put to the test! 802.11ax iPhone 11 any good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unc36O66Ef0&feature=youtu.be&t=1062If this still fails, Please contact the forum moderator if your having problems with the lastest version of FW:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/ORBI-RBR850-frequent-disconnects-to-WoW-server/m-p/1871943/highlight/true#M1693Above suggestions working:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Throttling-Devices-RBK53/m-p/1858561/highlight/true#M81925
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-Satellite-Drop-Connection-time-to-time/m-p/1890341/highlight/true#M88026v16 working:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-SOAP-and-Excel/m-p/1901857/highlight/false#M90178
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/RBR20-RBS20-2-5-1-16-firmware-observations/m-p/1897766/highlight/true#M89405You can try Voxels FW for Orbi:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Voxels-FW-available-for-50-series-Orbi-only-available/m-p/1883615#
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-a-la-faq.65224/
You can revert back to stock FW if it doesn't work out for you.
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-1-17sf-hw.63554/page-5#post-583877
https://hackingthenetgearorbi.wordpress.com
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-SOAP-and-Excel/m-p/1918823#M93082
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Attached-Devices-Sorted-by-IP-Number/m-p/1941711#M97170
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/bandwidth-monitoring-on-orbi.63561/#post-586720Thanks for letting us know. Glad all is working well now. Be sure to save off a new backup configuration to file. Saves time if a reset is needed.
Enjoy.
Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?Hi there,
Thanks for the help. I am currently running V2.5.1.16 on both the Router and the Satellite. I have a CM600 Cable Modem through Cox. The Orbi system is running in Router mode. The Router and Satellite have slightly more distance than 30 ft but has never been an issue up until now. The CTS and RTS values were already set to 2347.
I have have made the following changes:
-Enabled Beamforming
-Enabled MU-MIMO
-Disabled daisy-chain topology(since we only have one satellite and one router)
-I have also done numerous power cycles of the whole system as well as attempting to reset the satellite via the paperclip numerous times. Each time, the green LED power light on the Satellite has remained green indicating no factory reset.
In all, the Satellite still does not work.Thanks,
Josh
Pressing the reset button the back of the RBS for 15 seconds then release. Look at the top ring LED, it should start blinking WHITE, the slowly pulsate WHITE. IF this doesn't happen, the RBS maybe faulty. I would make contact with NG support to see what your options are.
Josh2264 wrote:Has anyone experienced this? The strangest part seems that the LED light on top of the satellite has no shown up once. Is this a defective satellite and can/ should I get a replacement satellite?
The "Ring LED" at the top of the unit only shows a light during the initial startup:
https://kb.netgear.com/31030/What-do-the-LEDs-on-my-Orbi-mean
f you power the satellite off, wait 30 seconds, then power it on and no Ring Light appears, this is not good.
Netgear warranties the Orbi product for one year. If this unit is less than one year old, then it can be replaced under warranty.
If the unit is more than one year old, it is out of warranty and there are some "last resort" things that an be tried.
There is an alternate method for "Factory Reset" that has worked for some:
- Press paperclip in reset hole for 30 seconds
- Keep pressing paperclip while removing power
- Keep pressing paperclip for another 30 seconds while apply power
If this does not cause the power LED to flash amber, there is one "Hail Mary" that has worked for me.
Download the firmware file for the satellite from the Netgear support site.
Unpack (unzip) the file to extract the firmware image.
Follow the steps to use the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) to force the firmware onto the satellite:
https://kb.netgear.com/000059633/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-TFTP-client
https://kb.netgear.com/000059634/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-Windows-TFTP
Hi there,
Thanks for the reply. I am outside of the warranty replacement period, so this is my only shot before going out and buying another one. :( As far as I am aware, my system is currently updated V2.5.1.16 on both the Router and the Satellite. Should I still go ahead with your recommendation? I believe I would simply just be flashing the same firmware onto itself again.
Thanks,
Josh
Josh2264 wrote:Hi there,
Thanks for the reply. I am outside of the warranty replacement period, so this is my only shot before going out and buying another one. :( As far as I am aware, my system is currently updated V2.5.1.16 on both the Router and the Satellite. Should I still go ahead with your recommendation? I believe I would simply just be flashing the same firmware onto itself again.
Thanks,
Josh
I had a similar experience right after a new install. We had a power glitch and 1 of the child nodes would not connect to the master. I reset the node in question, but it did not help. Factory resetting the entire system and reconfiguring from scratch fixed it for me.
So I suggest factory resetting both Orbi devices. Then run the setup from the beginning, following the exact instruction that come with the units. You can backup your settings before factory reset, which helps save some time with configuration.
