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Forum Discussion
Orbi RBR50 router and RBS20 satellites acting like different LANs, but fine as WAN?
I have an Orbi RBR50 router and three RBS20 satellites in our home. All of them have the latest firmware. Overall, they seem to be providing my house and front and back yard with a good solid wifi...
So if all RBS are turned OFF and everything connected to the RBR, do the devices work and all interact with each other?
What Firmware version is currently loaded on the RBR and RBS?
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router 📡 and satellite(s)🛰️? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR 📡 and RBS 🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wired or wirelessly connected.
If I turn off all of the satellites, and all devices only connect to the RBR50, there are no issues with what I described. The issue that happens without the RBS20 satellites is that there are some "weak spots" in the house where the signal is low maybe 2 out of 4 bars and just1 bar in the backyard.
The house is around 2,000 square feet, 2 story front yard and swimming pool in the back. The router is more or less in the middle of the house to one side where the cable modem is, then there is a 2nd satellite in the garage/gym which is near the front of the house/front yard to the other side, another is in the sunroom which is at the rear of the house backyard, and there is a 3rd satellite upstairs in the master bedroom. I really planned out well where they should go, and get the best coverage and have a strong connection to each other.
The garage satellite is probably 40 feet away from the router, the sunroom satellite is probably 40 feet away, and the upstairs one is... 20-25 feet if I drew a straight diagonal line through the floor.
I'm at my office right now so I don't know the FW versions off the top of my head, but I do know that I checked them very recently (last 30 days) and they were all up to date. I can check again when I get home.
The system works great for internet access. Every device has a strong connection signal, and the router connects as "GOOD" to all 3 of the satellites with little to no fussing. Just touch the sync buttons and they go blue, and then white. Boom. Happy.
It's the "network within a network" I'm trying to figure out. It's 100% reproducible by walking around the house. If I'm near the router, the Apple TV app connects right up from my phone. If I go into the back room (and presumably my phone then connects to the sunroom satellite) it can't find the Apple TV at all. If I get up and walk towards the router, the app then "finds" the Apple TV.
What modem/gateway are you using?
Are the satellites hardwired in or using the wireless backhaul?Any switches/AP's mixed in there?
Modem: Motorola MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 Gig-Speed Cable Modem Plus 32x8, on Cox Cable 500 Mbps plan, getting about 350-375 regularly.
The modem is Cat 6 cabled to the RBR50, everything else, including the 3 satellites are pretty much connected wirelessly. (There is a Mac Mini connected by ethernet to the RBR50, but it is powered off 99% of the time. It hasn't been booted up in months.)
No switches or access points. Just the RBR50, 3x RBS20s making one SSID that covers all of my property. We have like 40 devices connected to the system at peak times. Phones, smart TVs, tablets, smart switches, cameras, etc.
Like I said, the system works great for internet access, other than this odd issue.
Note: We have an RV that we "prep" for camping and park it in front of our house for a few days while we get it ready to take out. Its onboard tech devices happily connect to the front yard/garage satellite WIFI signal when it is parked out there on the street.
