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RBR50 and RBS50 stability issues
Hello everybody. I hope some of you might be able to help. First time post so be nice :)
I bought a large house last year that is about 6000 sqft over 3 levels with brick walls. I knew wifi was going to be an issue so after much research I went for the Orbi RBR50 with three RBS50 satellites. It seemed to consistently get top reviews.
I have been running the system for over a year now and I am not very happy with the reliability and stability of the signal. It is not terrible - it is quite possible to watch netflix or youtube for example, but I have noticed that devices drop momentarily from the network. My phone (S8) is where I notice it most, as I can see the wifi signal drop away, but also on computers in the house (Asus Chromebook and Surface Pro 3). Drop outs only last 10-30 seconds I would say.
I've just been putting up with the problem until recently when I got a wifi enabled baby monitor (Arlo Baby). This being unreliable is simply not acceptable as we cannot hear her cry from the other end of the house. I am pretty sure it is not a problem with the baby monitor as it works in other houses with other wifi networks and I have also spent time on the phone with Arlo support.
I don't really have any technical knowledge about routers and wifi so I have been googling to try and find solutions to the problem:
- I have switched channels on the router (2.4ghz is running on 6 and 5ghz is running on 36). There are no other wifi networks nearby so there shouldn't really be any congestion. No DECT phones in the house. Wifi on the Sky box is off. There are several Sonos devices using their own sonos network (one is hardwired to the orbi).
- The firmware appears up to date (V2.5.0.38).
- Orbi app shows good backhaul albeit satellites 2 and 3 are connected through satellite 1.
- I have reserved IP addresses for the three satellites and the baby monitor and the 2 mobile phones in the house. This has defnitely helped stability of the baby monitor but it is still not perfect.
There are so many settings available for the Orbi and it cost so much money that I don't feel I should be putting up with this unreliabilty. Can anybody recommend things I can try? If it is technical you will have to spoon feed me a little bit - sorry!
In my opinion, the problem is the firmware version you are running. 2.5.0.38 has been pulled by Netgear due to problems you've mentioned. I would revert back to 2.3.5.30. After that reversion, do a factory reset and run the setup wizard from scratch. It is a bit of work but should get you a more stable WiFi enviroment.
7 Replies
In my opinion, the problem is the firmware version you are running. 2.5.0.38 has been pulled by Netgear due to problems you've mentioned. I would revert back to 2.3.5.30. After that reversion, do a factory reset and run the setup wizard from scratch. It is a bit of work but should get you a more stable WiFi enviroment.
Thanks tucsontico I shall give this a try.
I hadn't actually realised that it was possible to roll back firmware.
Do the satellites have to be updated separately or can it all be done at the same time? Do you know if there is a walk you through it guide?
To do the reversion properly you MUST revert the satellites first then do the router. You will lose connectivity to the satellites while the process is running and your WiFi will drop out also. Its best to do all the firmware work with a computer hardwired (etehrnet cable) to the router and NOT via WiFi.