Orbi RBS20 satellite looses connection - FIXED

I wanted to share my experience here as I found so many frustrated Orbi users on the forum.

 

My Story

 

I have a medium sized home (170 m2), but it's built from solid concrete and in some places the walls are 12 inches thick. Before Orbi I had complete dead zones in about 40% of my home, including where my new office was placed. Orbi to the rescue. I got the small RBK22 kit which is running on the v2.1.4.16 firmware.

 

I was pretty happy to see that I now have connectivity in my whole house ranging from about 20-80mbs in the previous dead zones.

 

But after a few days, I noticed some issues. The satellite would lose connection about once per hour. Typically it goes unnoticed as it reconnects quickly but when I am streaming or gaming it is very frustrating, sometimes it can take several minutes to come back online.

 

I also want to point out that in my router admin area under 'Attached Devices' my satellite was always connecting via 2.4GHz and the 'Backhaul Status' would say 'poor'.

 

It would connect at 5GHz but within about 30 seconds it would drop again to 2.4GHz, I think the issue I had was connected to the fact that the signal was just not strong enough, one solution could maybe be to buy the more expensive RBK50 kit or the Orbi Pro kit.

 

My Fix

 

Anyway, I wanted to at least see how Orbi satellite performed on a 'good' 5GHz connection. I also disabled UPnP and Daisy chaining as I don't have a need for either.

 

My ISP router is where it is, I can't change that very easily. But I was able to run a 10m CAT6 cable around my living room and plug the Orbi in on the other side of the room which is right next to the stairwell in my house, which is the only place where there is no ridiculously thick concrete blocking the signal to downstairs.

 

I now have a 'good' 5GHz connection to my satellite and I have been online for over 3 hours with no disconnects. I have 210mbs in my cellar, I only pay for 200mbs down so I very happy to have that speed in a place which was previously completely dead to the outside world.

 

Fingers crossed that the connection stays online, I will report back after a few heavy streaming and gaming sessions.

 

I know maybe running a cable for some people sounds ridiculous, but I now have the Orbi system I paid for, no dead zones and a seemingly solid connection to my desktop PC in the cellar. I was not able to run a cable into the cellar originally because I didn't want to drill the wall and there are several doors which I prefer to keep closed. The cable I have just runs around some furniture and doesn't cross any doors, it just moved the Orbi to the other side of the room, which was just enough to get that good backhaul signal.

 

I know people spent a lot of money and they are unhappy that it just doesn't work as they want it to. But if that 'Backhaul Status' is 'poor' I think you need a stronger system or better placement. (Sorry) I know it may not be what you want to hear but it's not a magic kit with unlimited range and power. Consider running a cable to improve the connection between satellites if possible.