RBK50 dropping connection with new modem Motorolla mb8611

Question

I have been running the RBK50 with two Satellites (spoke mode) and the Motorolla MB8611 for a few years without problem. My kids have been complaining about slowness and so I looked into changing my Comcast plan from 800mb to 900mb, and then thought about going to 1200mb and ~34 upload. Problem is my whole house is wireless except a few items are wired.

I have all the wifi settings on and the ORBI performance reporting around 900mb and 24mb upload. I went and purchased a mb8611, and worked with Comcast to make it my new router. All configurations are working, but the wifi continually drops, about 10-20 times a day. So I turned off all the wifi settings like Enable Daisy-Chain, Enable Beamforming, Enable MU-MIMO, and Enable Fast Roaming. I turned these all off and the wifi is still dropping constantly.

Two questions:

1) If my whole house is wireless, was it even worth upgrading to gigabit speed? My speed test is never over 900mb/24mb so I have not yet gotten even close to the advertised gb speed....so is it even worth upgrading the plan.

2) Does the ORBI RBK50 have an issue with the MB8611? I wasn't having these drops, in fact it was rare if I had one drop in a month and now it is 10-20 times a day?

Thank you,

CrimpOn · Answer

Perhaps there is a typo somewhere?
jaybytez&nbsp;wrote:
I have been running the RBK50 with two Satellites (spoke mode) and the Motorolla MB8611
.....
&nbsp; I went and purchased a mb8611, and worked with Comcast to make it my new router.&nbsp;

The previous modem (not router) was an MB8611 and the new modem is an MB8611?&nbsp; Was the point simply to avoid the monthly charge from Comcast?
&nbsp;
jaybytez&nbsp;wrote:
Two questions:
1) If my whole house is wireless, was it even worth upgrading to gigabit speed?&nbsp; My speed test is never over 900mb/24mb so I have not yet gotten even close to the advertised gb speed....so is it even worth upgrading the plan.
2) Does the ORBI RBK50 have an issue with the MB8611?&nbsp; I wasn't having these drops, in fact it was rare if I had one drop in a month and now it is 10-20 times a day?&nbsp;&nbsp;

The RBR50 router internet port (WAN port) has a maximum connection speed of 1GB.&nbsp; Over this Ethernet link, the maximum data throughput is 900+MB/s (in both directions).&nbsp; You are indeed "close" to the advertised GB speed. Paying for more than 1GB is not going to realize any improvement.
&nbsp;
If there were complaints about performance when the quoted rate was 800MB/sec, then the issue is not likely to be the Comcast download speed.&nbsp; Some other factor is responsible.

jaybytez · Answer

Thanks a ton.&nbsp; Sorry, the previous modem was the Motorola MB8600.&nbsp; The complaint is probably related to how I have the wireless setup and the speeds I am getting upstairs that probably degrades gaming.&nbsp; So I went the route of upgrading to the MB8611, which appears to be causing connection issues with my Orbi setup.&nbsp;On the plan side, I may just downgrade my plan because I was already getting great speed, I was just trying to increase my upload speed and it doesn't get better than 24 until I go to their 1200 down plan.&nbsp;If the 8611/Orbi combo continues having issues, I may just downgrade the modem and try again.&nbsp; I do have the very latest firmware on the Orbi.&nbsp;I could try running them in a daisy chain again.&nbsp; I have one downstairs (the router) by a side of my house because that is where the Xfinity cable comes in.&nbsp; Then I have a satellite on the other part of my downstairs and one a satellite upstairs directly above the main router.&nbsp; So one router and two satellites with a sq ft of 2800.

CrimpOn · Answer

I struggle to see how a standard DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem could cause WiFi interruptions.&nbsp; It is probably worth a few minutes double checking the Comcast/Xfinity list of approved modems: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/list-of-approved-cable-modems&nbsp;
Motorola's web site seems to think that it is compatible.
https://www.motorola.com/us/mb8611/p&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Directly above is a bit ambiguous.&nbsp; Generally speaking, there should be some horizontal offset between router and satellite.&nbsp; There is so much hidden inside walls and ceilings that can degrade WiFi signals that it is often useful to experiment with moving satellites around a bit.&nbsp; Unless there is a need to access WiFi from outside, little is gained by locating the satellite across the house against an outside wall. Half of the WiFi signal it going "out there" where it may not do anything for you.
&nbsp;
I would probably want to look at the Link Rates of those gaming devices and the Link Rate between router and satellites:
&nbsp;

The Orbi app will display the Link Rate of each device.&nbsp; Often the device itself will report the LInk Rate.
The maximum user data rates on 2.4G and 5G are shown on the "hidden_info" web page:http://orbilogin.net/hidden_info.htm&nbsp;I would expect it to report 400MB/s on the 2.4G connection and 866.7MB/s on the 5G connection.
For the router-satellite connection, I have to use telnet to access the router.&nbsp; The RBR50 is compatible with this Python script for enabling telnet: https://github.com/bkerler/netgear_telnet&nbsp;I use a telnet program, such as PuTTY (Windows) to access the router by IP address.Enter the regular credentials ("admin" and password).Then type satelliteinfo&nbsp; wifi
The RBR50 product data sheet says the maximum communication rate between router and satellite is 1,733MB/s.
That might be possible if they were sitting two feet apart.&nbsp; Once there is some distance and a few walls/floors between them, it is typical to see a much lower value.&nbsp; This is what mine show:

&nbsp;
root@RBR50:/# satelliteinfo wifi
[
  {
    "mac address" : "A0:04:60:xx:xx:xx",
    "hop" : "1",
    "bridge mac" : "A0:04:xx:xx:xx:xx",
    "backhaul conntype" : "5GHz",
    "backhaul rssi" : "-68",
    "backhaul macaddress" : "A0:04:60:xx:xx:xx",
    "backhaul phytxrate" : "780",
    "backhaul phyrxrate" : "780",
    "backhaul parentmac" : "A0:04:60:xx:xx:xx"
  },
  {
    "mac address" : "14:59:C0:xx:xx:xx",
    "hop" : "1",
    "bridge mac" : "14:59:C0:xx:xx:xx",
    "backhaul conntype" : "5GHz",
    "backhaul rssi" : "-59",
    "backhaul macaddress" : "",
    "backhaul phytxrate" : "866",
    "backhaul phyrxrate" : "650",
    "backhaul parentmac" : "A0:04:60:xx:xx:xx"
  }

&nbsp;

jaybytez · Answer

Thank you, I will run through these debugging settings.It's weird because I had this issue when I initially went to the MB8600 and the Orbi together.&nbsp; But then I ran those for about 2 years with no connection drops, just speed that is probably more the house and distance.&nbsp; Since I upgraded the MB8600 to the MB8611, the connection drops about 10 times a day for the last 2.5 weeks.&nbsp; There have been no other changes.&nbsp; The modem sits right next to the Orbi router and the router is about 15-20 ft from me when I test wirelessly.&nbsp; I also have a roku lan'd into the Orbi router and it constantly drops as well.&nbsp; In fact, while writing this email, it has dropped the connection 3 times.&nbsp;Just trying to figure if I need to downgrade the modem.&nbsp; Just frustrating, does an Orbi really requirement this level of network expertise to get it properly run with a modem?

FURRYe38 · Answer

What is the distance between the modem and RBR? Too close and this could cause problems. 6ft is recommended in between the modem and RBR.&nbsp;
What CAT# lan cable do you have connected between the modem and router? CAT6 is recommended.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Does the top ring LED turn on when internet is lost? If so, this means the router lost connection with the modem. I would check the modem and have the ISP check the signal up to the modem as well.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Have the ISP check the signal and line quality UP to the modem.&nbsp;Be sure the ISP provisions the modem correctly.Be sure there are no coax cable line splitters in the between the modem and ISP service box.&nbsp;Be sure your using good quality RG6 coax cable up to the modem.&nbsp;Be sure to power OFF the modem for 1 minute then back ON.https://community.netgear.com/t5/Cable-Modems-Routers/General-info-and-Troubleshooting-for-Cable-Modems/m-p/1530376#M12853
https://www.duckware.com/tech/solving-intermittent-cable-modem-issues.html
&nbsp;
jaybytez&nbsp;wrote:
Thank you, I will run through these debugging settings.
It's weird because I had this issue when I initially went to the MB8600 and the Orbi together.&nbsp; But then I ran those for about 2 years with no connection drops, just speed that is probably more the house and distance.&nbsp; Since I upgraded the MB8600 to the MB8611, the connection drops about 10 times a day for the last 2.5 weeks.&nbsp; There have been no other changes.&nbsp; The modem sits right next to the Orbi router and the router is about 15-20 ft from me when I test wirelessly.&nbsp; I also have a roku lan'd into the Orbi router and it constantly drops as well.&nbsp; In fact, while writing this email, it has dropped the connection 3 times.
&nbsp;
Just trying to figure if I need to downgrade the modem.&nbsp; Just frustrating, does an Orbi really requirement this level of network expertise to get it properly run with a modem?

&nbsp;

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RBK50 dropping connection with new modem Motorolla mb8611

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