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Antievil's avatar
Antievil
Follower
Feb 02, 2020

Orbi Satellite RBS50 pulsing white forever

So up until Thursday (January 30th, 2020) our wifi was working fine. On Friday our family started to notice some issues. Occassionally the wifi would just cut out and not be discoverable for a few minutes on devices upstairs (which rely on satellites to get wifi) and then be fine on about a 90 minute cycle. 

Today I've finally had some time to actually tackle what's up as the designated "google what's wrong" person of the house. Found out that one of the satellites has been offline for the last day or two. 

I'm gonna start this by stating I'm not a great tech person. I understand how to factory reset, power cycle and check things, but none of that seems to be working. 

At first we just reset the satellite but it wouldn't sync, so we tried it again closer to the router, less than a foot away. At this point I tried to factory reset but I never got the red flash that the manual talks about, and instead now it sometimes flashes green between the white pulses. 

According to the app all of the satellites and the router are on the same firmware (2.3.5.30). 

So yeah I'm at a loss on what to do at this point. The satellite is still technically discoverable if the app is to be believed but it just won't sync up. 

Is this just a busted unit now? 

5 Replies

  • The "app" shows the satellite and claims it is "online" or "offline"?

    Are you able to use a web browser to look at the Orbi web interface "Attached Devices" page?

    Which light is it that sometimes shows "green"?

    https://kb.netgear.com/31030/What-do-the-LEDs-on-my-Orbi-mean 

     

    I had an RBR50 that I "locked up" recently (did something dumb), and going through the "Factory Reset" procedure worked.  It takes a lot longer than I like for the power LED to begin to flash amber, and I am not a patient person.

     

  • I have exactly the same issue.

    RBR50 is working fine only the RBS50 keeps pulsing white signal and WIFI doesn't work (on the satellite).

     

    I have a backhaul ethernet connection and I do see the satellite in the Orbilogon/Basic/Attached Devices tab. The sattelite backhaul status is good and the devices that are connected with a UTP cable to the sattelite work fine.

     

    When I go to Orbilogon/Advanced/Firmware Update, the satellite is listed. Current version is the same as the router (2.5.1.8) but the status mentions "Waiting for connection".

     

    Tried to reset, manually succesfully again uploaded the latest firmware with tfpt, ... but no difference.

     

     

     

     

    • DimitriM's avatar
      DimitriM
      Aspirant

      For some reason, it's working again. Kept the satellite running/starting up and this morning I got a WIFI signal.

      Orbilogin also indicated a working satellite. The only difference that I see with the situation before is that the Orbilogin/Attached Devices overview now shows the satellite with an Orbi icon. Before it used to display a Linux Tux icon. 

       

       

       

  • 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-router

     

    What 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 maynot 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).

     

    Has a factory reset been performed since last FW update? 

    Reset and then synce the RBS while in the same room as the RBR. 


    Antievil wrote:

    So up until Thursday (January 30th, 2020) our wifi was working fine. On Friday our family started to notice some issues. Occassionally the wifi would just cut out and not be discoverable for a few minutes on devices upstairs (which rely on satellites to get wifi) and then be fine on about a 90 minute cycle. 

    Today I've finally had some time to actually tackle what's up as the designated "google what's wrong" person of the house. Found out that one of the satellites has been offline for the last day or two. 

    I'm gonna start this by stating I'm not a great tech person. I understand how to factory reset, power cycle and check things, but none of that seems to be working. 

    At first we just reset the satellite but it wouldn't sync, so we tried it again closer to the router, less than a foot away. At this point I tried to factory reset but I never got the red flash that the manual talks about, and instead now it sometimes flashes green between the white pulses. 

    According to the app all of the satellites and the router are on the same firmware (2.3.5.30). 

    So yeah I'm at a loss on what to do at this point. The satellite is still technically discoverable if the app is to be believed but it just won't sync up. 

    Is this just a busted unit now? 


     

  • Let us know if any of the suggestions help. Please give feedback to the questions presented...


    Antievil wrote:

    So up until Thursday (January 30th, 2020) our wifi was working fine. On Friday our family started to notice some issues. Occassionally the wifi would just cut out and not be discoverable for a few minutes on devices upstairs (which rely on satellites to get wifi) and then be fine on about a 90 minute cycle. 

    Today I've finally had some time to actually tackle what's up as the designated "google what's wrong" person of the house. Found out that one of the satellites has been offline for the last day or two. 

    I'm gonna start this by stating I'm not a great tech person. I understand how to factory reset, power cycle and check things, but none of that seems to be working. 

    At first we just reset the satellite but it wouldn't sync, so we tried it again closer to the router, less than a foot away. At this point I tried to factory reset but I never got the red flash that the manual talks about, and instead now it sometimes flashes green between the white pulses. 

    According to the app all of the satellites and the router are on the same firmware (2.3.5.30). 

    So yeah I'm at a loss on what to do at this point. The satellite is still technically discoverable if the app is to be believed but it just won't sync up. 

    Is this just a busted unit now?