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RBS50 dropping internet connection for 2.4ghz devices but showing them as connected.
The current installed firmware is V2.7.4.24, but this has been going on for maybe a year or more through several firmware updates. Everything will be running along fine, then after a few days item...
Netgear chose an unfortunate term: Factory Reset. The actual meaning is: "Remove all customer configuration and restart with the latest firmware that has been installed on the product." The original "factory firmware" may be long gone.
When the satellite was off-line, devices that had been connected to it do not stop looking for WiFi. When they find an access point with an SSID/password that they know that meets their minimum qualifications, they connect. There appears to be a dramatic difference in the WiFi capabilities of different devices. Things that are intended to be mobile (phones, tablets, laptops) often are programmed to constantly scan for "a better WiFi connection" and will change when they find one. The 802.11r standard is designed to facilitate this. Devices that are expected to remain in one place appear to stick with whatever WiFi access point they find (and quit looking). If those devices do not switch from a "poor" connection to a "better" connection after the satellite has been in operation for a while, it might be worth attempting to restart those devices. I recently discovered that two of my Wyze cameras were connected to an RBS40V that was clear across the house rather than one that was only 10 ft away. Doing a restart, caused them to connect to the closer satellite.
If this situation has not been resolved, please comment again and people smarter than I may come up with a solution.
CrimpOn wrote:Can you please explain more about "invisible to the network"? What sort of devices are they?
Do the devices show up as connected (a) on the Orbi app? (b) on the Orbi web administration Attached Devices display? or (c) both?
As the problem appears to follow the one satellite, my first step would be to perform a Factory Reset on that satellite. i.e. hold something in that tiny Reset hole on the back of the case next to the power LED until the power LED turns amber and then begins to flash. (I unbend part of a paperclip. This often takes 10-15 seconds).
Indeed a poor choice of words on my part. "invisible to the network" meant that other devices on the network could not ping them, yet they appear on the Orbi Web Administration page for both the satellite and the main router. I did not check using the app.
Seemed to be just devices, but not all on the 2.4ghz and one was a printer and the other a camera
As the problem appears to follow the one satellite, my first step would be to perform a Factory Reset on that satellite. i.e. hold something in that tiny Reset hole on the back of the case next to the power LED until the power LED turns amber and then begins to flash. (I unbend part of a paperclip. This often takes 10-15 seconds).
Thanks for the instruction, for some reason I thought it involved rolling back to some kind of base firmware.
I did the pin reset, then removed the satellite from the main router using the admin page. I then re-added the satellite using the orbi app.
Of course now many of the devices have attached to different access points, with most of the previously problematic devices having attached to the main router which is only slightly further from them as the satellite in question. But some devices are connected to the satellite.
Nothing to do now but wait to see if the problem returns which would take at least a day in the previous circumstance.
I am hopeful that following your suggestions will clear the problem long term.
Netgear chose an unfortunate term: Factory Reset. The actual meaning is: "Remove all customer configuration and restart with the latest firmware that has been installed on the product." The original "factory firmware" may be long gone.
When the satellite was off-line, devices that had been connected to it do not stop looking for WiFi. When they find an access point with an SSID/password that they know that meets their minimum qualifications, they connect. There appears to be a dramatic difference in the WiFi capabilities of different devices. Things that are intended to be mobile (phones, tablets, laptops) often are programmed to constantly scan for "a better WiFi connection" and will change when they find one. The 802.11r standard is designed to facilitate this. Devices that are expected to remain in one place appear to stick with whatever WiFi access point they find (and quit looking). If those devices do not switch from a "poor" connection to a "better" connection after the satellite has been in operation for a while, it might be worth attempting to restart those devices. I recently discovered that two of my Wyze cameras were connected to an RBS40V that was clear across the house rather than one that was only 10 ft away. Doing a restart, caused them to connect to the closer satellite.
If this situation has not been resolved, please comment again and people smarter than I may come up with a solution.