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Forum Discussion
Orbi RBR50 & Bose Soundtouch Wave music system III - cannot get them to work together
Our internet provider just installed a new router: ORBI RBR50 at our home and suddenly my Soundtouch Wave music system III is not working anymore. It used to work just fine with the old but now broken router before being replaced by the Orbi. I have already read previous discussions on this and could not find someone who was able to make it work. I am already frustrated as I've spent hours reading and reading and trying out all means and ways to get it to work to ano avail. Please help. Here are some key details:
- I am able to access the router login successfully.
- 2.4GHz Channel: AUTO
- 5GHz Channel: 36
- I have the latest Bose Soundtouch app on all my devices. I have tried countless times to install via wi-fi and usb connection. All failed. They cannot find the speaker.
- I have directly connected the Soundtouch to the Orbi router via ethernet cable and I was able to make the soundtouch work successfully. However, this is not a solution I'm looking at as the router's location in my apartment is not near where I need to place the soundtouch speaker. I am unable to change this as this is a rented apartment. Besides, I want the soundtouch to be accessible via wifi and not ethernet. I just simply tried if ethernet could work (it did).
- I have already factory resetted the soundtouch a few times, read all their troubleshooting guides to no avail. The fact that it was working fine with the old router means the Orbi might have an issue with compatibility to the Soundtouch.
- Firewall is turned off while setting this up
Any other information you might need just let me know. Please help.
Thank you.
10 Replies
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too? This have a built in router?
Modem Combo Units:
Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge mode. Then use the Orbi router in router mode. You'll need to contact the ISP for help and information in regards to the modem being bridged correctly.
2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ for the IP address the Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Orbi router in Router mode.
3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the Orbi router to the modem, configure AP mode on the Orbi router. https://kb.netgear.com/31218/How-do-I-configure-my-Orbi-router-to-act-as-an-access-point and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LOcJ8GdDo&app=desktop
jiac wrote:
Our internet provider just installed a new router: ORBI RBR50 at our home and suddenly my Soundtouch Wave music system III is not working anymore. It used to work just fine with the old but now broken router before being replaced by the Orbi. I have already read previous discussions on this and could not find someone who was able to make it work. I am already frustrated as I've spent hours reading and reading and trying out all means and ways to get it to work to ano avail. Please help. Here are some key details:
- I am able to access the router login successfully.
- 2.4GHz Channel: AUTO
- 5GHz Channel: 36
- I have the latest Bose Soundtouch app on all my devices. I have tried countless times to install via wi-fi and usb connection. All failed. They cannot find the speaker.
- I have directly connected the Soundtouch to the Orbi router via ethernet cable and I was able to make the soundtouch work successfully. However, this is not a solution I'm looking at as the router's location in my apartment is not near where I need to place the soundtouch speaker. I am unable to change this as this is a rented apartment. Besides, I want the soundtouch to be accessible via wifi and not ethernet. I just simply tried if ethernet could work (it did).
- I have already factory resetted the soundtouch a few times, read all their troubleshooting guides to no avail. The fact that it was working fine with the old router means the Orbi might have an issue with compatibility to the Soundtouch.
- Firewall is turned off while setting this up
Any other information you might need just let me know. Please help.
Thank you.
- I could not find any wifi specs for the product that you provided a link for in your post..
- Does this system operate on 2.4 as well as 5 GHz bands?
- What is the procedure that you follow to connect the system to wifi, I could not see this in the link you provided? In which stage during the setup do you see issues?
- I could not find any wifi specs for the product that you provided a link for in your post..
From Bose's website, I got this:
- Broadband internet with 802.11b/g/n* compatible Wi-Fi network (*802.11n is compatible with SoundTouch 20/30 Series III and SoundTouch 10 systems)
- Your network name and password
- iOS or Android device, or a Windows or Mac computer on the same network as your SoundTouch system
And from another guide from bose:
If your SoundTouch system is not Bluetooth-enabled, do not set your router to "N-Only / 5 GHz Only" mode. Use 2.4 GHz or 2.4 / 5 GHz mode (sometimes called “B/G/N” or “Mixed” mode)
- Does this system operate on 2.4 as well as 5 GHz bands?
I'm not sure. I think I can infer from the information above that it does.
- What is the procedure that you follow to connect the system to wifi, I could not see this in the link you provided? In which stage during the setup do you see issues?
I have done the following:
- tried connecting Bose soundtouch via USB cable setup (from my computer to Bose soundtouch device) - failed, several times
- tried using the alternative Bose soundtouch setup via soundtouch app, both from an ipad and from my android mobile device - failed several times, cannot see the device
- tried connecting via ethernet cable directly from Orbi router to Bose Soundtouch device - succeeded, Soundtouch worked and I could wirelessly play music while it was connected via ethernet cable to router. However, this is just a temporary solution as mentioned - router and soundtouch locations are different and far apart from each other. This is not a feasible solution for me. I need it to be wireless connected.
Previously with my old (but now broken) router, I had no issues. So I am inferring the problem must be some incompatibility with the Orbi and Bose systems. I am currently trying to update my Orbi RBR50 router firmware to the latest version but it is also failing. See my other post regarding this separate issue: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-RBR-RBS50-Firmware-Update-firmware-file-is-incorrect/m-p/1692168#M50258
Still stumped.
Have you tried to first reset the SoundTouch (On the back of the SoundTouch, press and hold the control button for about 10 seconds) and then connect your computer to the wifi from the SoundTouch, when connected you can continue with the setup steps here:
https://www.bose.com/en_us/support/article/connecting-to-a-wi-fi-network-alt-setup-wave-st.html