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Forum Discussion
Orbi RBK50 Satellite Issues
I have the RBK50 orbi system with one router and one satellite connected wirelessly. Both updated to latest firmware and set up with minimal interference. Router is in the basement and satellite is approximately 30 feet away on 1st floor in the living room next to our TV. The TV is connected over ethernet to the Orbi Satellite but the TV is only getting speeds of ~90-100Mbps. If I disconnect the satellite all together I get speeds of ~200-225 Mbps on the TV over wifi. I have 1 gig service from Fios.
Is this type of performance normal for an Orbi system? I would think the wired connection from the satellite would be much closer or even faster than the regular wifi performance from router to TV. I've tried to reconfigure based on previous posts (enabling beam forming, MU-MIMO, etc.) but still haven't been able to break 100 Mbps when connected to the Satellite. I also tested phones connected to the satellite and saw similar 100 Mbps performance. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
7 Replies
Its the tv thats the bottleneck. Most tv's only come with a 10/100mbps ethernet port on them because its cheaper and the tv doesn't need faster speeds than 100mbps hardwired. Most streaming maxes out in that 25-40mbps so having a gigabit port that is more expensive isn't worth it for the tv manufacturer.
You even see it on the newer Amazon fire box that they put 6E (6ghz) capability on it but only a 10/100mbps port.
Ahh, makes sense! Do you think that a wired 100Mbps would get more stable performance than the 225Mbps over wifi? I was having buffering issues with the built in netflix app while using the wired from satellite and content not loading to full quality - was dropping down to 720P and below it seemed like at times. I also do have the ability to do a MOCA set up directly to the router but not sure if that is overkill. For additional context, the set up I have is an LG C2 and PS5.
I did another test of speeds on the ps5 which has a gigabit ethernet port and it matches performance I was seeing on the TV. Have tried with a couple ethernet cables (all are cat 5E) Speeds below:
Wired from satellite: 50-60 Mbps
Wifi from satellite: ~225Mbps
Wifi from router (satellite disconnected): ~225Mbps
I'm getting ~850-900Mbps down and up at my router.
The "devil is in the details" for this discussion.
- A speed between 90 and 100MB/s is highly suspicious. The Ethernet chipset on the satellite has negotiated "100/Full" speed with the TV because:
- As pointed out, it is very common for manufacturers to save a few cents on the Ethernet chipset in their product because the TV simply doesn't need more speed to stream even the highest quality video. or,
- The Ethernet cable between satellite and TV doesn't support 1GB speed.
- If the specs on the TV claim to support GB Ethernet, then I would try a different cable.
- Factors like MU-MIMO and Beam Forming affect only WiFi connections, so changing any of these sort of parameters will not affect a wired connection.
- The mention of "phones" introduces a different set of issues. Is this an IP phone where the base unit is connected to the network with Ethernet cable? Or, is it a cell phone with WiFi?
- A speed between 90 and 100MB/s is highly suspicious. The Ethernet chipset on the satellite has negotiated "100/Full" speed with the TV because:
