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Forum Discussion
RBK50 satellite connected via Ethernet. Nearby wifi devices shown as Wired?
Hi all –
Just bought an Orbi RBK50 router plus one satellite. After a bit of fiddling around I got it to work and it seems to be working very reliably with the satellite connecting to the router via wifi.
When I looked on the PC interface and on the “Network Map” of the Orbi app they both showed the satellite backhaul connection as good and indicated which wifi devices were connected to the satellite.
I’ve since decided to try connecting the satellite to the router via Ethernet instead as I have CAT6 cables going through the roof.
When I plugged in the satellite and connected the ethernet cable to it, all seemed to go OK, the satellite’s LED turned blue for a while before going off.
Everything seems to be working OK, and all devices have good wifi connectivity, but something is odd with the config tools:
- The “network map” in the iOS version of the Orbi app shows the satellite has a magenta dot next to the Satellite and under Details it says the satellite’s connection type is “Offline”
- However, in the PC router interface, under Attached Devices it shows the satellite as having a Wired connection with backhaul status = Good
- No devices are listed as connected to the satellite, all say they are connected to the Orbi router, however one or two wifi devices (often but not always those closest to the satellite) are marked as having a Wired (rather than 2.4 or 5 GHz wifi) connection, though they are clearly operating on wifi as they don’t have any ethernet cables plugged into them.
I have the latest firmware for both devices (router = V2.5.1.32, salellite = V2.5.1.16)
Does this mean that my satellite is operating normally on Ethernet backhaul, or should I be concerned about anything?
6 Replies
The router and satellite must have the same version of firmware installed in order to work properly. Note that the latest version of firmware for the satellite is also 2.5.1.32. Recommend you update the satellite and do a factory reset, then reconfigure your system from scratch. Good luck!
tucsontico wrote:The router and satellite must have the same version of firmware installed in order to work properly. Note that the latest version of firmware for the satellite is also 2.5.1.32. Recommend you update the satellite and do a factory reset, then reconfigure your system from scratch. Good luck!
Bizzarely it now says that 2.5.1.16 is the latest firmware for both Router and Satellite!! Did they roll back 2.5.1.32 for the router, and if so should I put the older firmware on?
OK. My mistake! Evidently Netgear pulled the 2.5.1.32 firmware from the downloads page. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. I did not notice this until you pointed it out this morning. My advice is to roll back the router to 2.5.1.16 to match the satellite and do a factory reset of both router and satellite, then reinitialize your system from scratch.It can be a PITA to do this but it is necessary to get the best perfomance from your ORBI. DO NOT use a backup config file! This could introduce configuration errors from the 2.5.1.32 firmware. Good Luck!
FYI, I found that with v32 loaded on both my RBR and RBS50s, my one RBS50 that was ethernet connected displayed as wireless instead of wired on the RBRs web page. While my RBS20 that was on v16 that was ethernet connected to the RBR was showing wire connected.
I have since reverted back to v16 on the entire system and now both RBR and RBS50 show correct wired status on the RBRs web page.
I recommend you revert back to v16 the the RBR and RBS. I downgraded and didn't factory reset and the system is working well. IF you sell this a problem, factory reset the RBR and RBS and setup from scratch. I recommend syncing the RBS first via wireless, Configured a IP address reservation for the RBS on the RBR. Then ethernet connect each RBS.
NG pulled v32 from the public download due to finding problems with it.
jammalees wrote:Hi all –
Just bought an Orbi RBK50 router plus one satellite. After a bit of fiddling around I got it to work and it seems to be working very reliably with the satellite connecting to the router via wifi.
When I looked on the PC interface and on the “Network Map” of the Orbi app they both showed the satellite backhaul connection as good and indicated which wifi devices were connected to the satellite.
I’ve since decided to try connecting the satellite to the router via Ethernet instead as I have CAT6 cables going through the roof.
When I plugged in the satellite and connected the ethernet cable to it, all seemed to go OK, the satellite’s LED turned blue for a while before going off.
Everything seems to be working OK, and all devices have good wifi connectivity, but something is odd with the config tools:
- The “network map” in the iOS version of the Orbi app shows the satellite has a magenta dot next to the Satellite and under Details it says the satellite’s connection type is “Offline”
- However, in the PC router interface, under Attached Devices it shows the satellite as having a Wired connection with backhaul status = Good
- No devices are listed as connected to the satellite, all say they are connected to the Orbi router, however one or two wifi devices (often but not always those closest to the satellite) are marked as having a Wired (rather than 2.4 or 5 GHz wifi) connection, though they are clearly operating on wifi as they don’t have any ethernet cables plugged into them.
I have the latest firmware for both devices (router = V2.5.1.32, salellite = V2.5.1.16)
Does this mean that my satellite is operating normally on Ethernet backhaul, or should I be concerned about anything?
