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Forum Discussion
RBR50: one satellite works fine; other can handle Ethernet or Wi-Fi but not both
About two years ago (in February 2020), I got an RBR50 with two satellites to use with a new Verizon FIOS connection and an existing Ethernet patch panel with Cat5 running to many rooms in my house. ...
"FW version the same on the RBS as on the RBR?" Yes--both RBS50 units have same firmware version number as RBR50.
"Try swapping RBS with each other to see of the problem follows with the one RBS or doesn't." Probably worth doing, although it seems unlikely to reveal much. The problematic RBS50 has the same problems when connected through the patch panel from separate wall jacks in 2 different rooms that are 2 floors away from the RBR50, from a family room less than 20 feet from the RBR50, and when connected directly to the RBR50 from inches away. Well, I'm guessing a little about what happens at a distance of inches; I do know that with an Ethernet between the two units, I seem to have no Wi-Fi on the RBS50.
"What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?" About 2,500 of finished space. Walls aren't anything special--only concrete is for exterior walls. The RBR50 lives in the basement next to the patch panel, the FIOS equipment, a 16-port gigabit switch, and some other stuff.
"What is the distance between the router and extender(s)?" The distance shouldn't really matter in terms of connecting the router to the satellites, as the Cat5 cable in the walls does that. I suppose that the distance might affect which unit a Wi-Fi device tries to connect to, but I'm ignorant about such subjects. The satellite with no problems is about 30 feet away plus one floor from the router. The problematic unit has been tried multiple places (see above).
"CAT6 is recommended" No doubt. But I had most of my house wired in 2000, when Cat5 was young and Cat6 a dream. Some of my wiring (not used by the wonky satellite except for some tests) dates to about 1993. Using my longest run with that ancient wire (maybe 30 feet, including twists and turns), my main computer gets a wired speedtest of over 600Mbps (according to Ookla); and higher, according to Verizon's numbers.
Thanks for the suggestions and questions. I'll try putting swapping the problematic RBS50 for the one that works and see what happens.
What is the brand and model# of the LAN switch?
CAT5 cabling or the line up to the RBS remote location could be faulty. Also CAT5 officially only supports 100Mpbs, not really rated for 1000Mbs which Orbi supports. Why swapping RBS locations to see if the problem follows or not will be helpful.
Distance between RBR and RBS is important, regardless of wireless or ethernet connected.
20feet is too close between the RBR and RBS.
For that size of home, the RBR and just 1 RBS would work, even if ethernet connected. When I run my RBK50, with RBS ethernet connected, it's covering a 5000sq ft home. No issues.