Satellite (RBS50) Does Not Broadcast 5GHz

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Orbinate wrote:

 

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Instead, they all connect to the router, using the 5GHz band, even though the router is farther away from where the satellite is relative to those devices.

I used a WiFi scanner software to see what WiFi signals look like in my house and in the area.

 

I noticed two 5GHz sources and 2.4 GHz sources.

 

 

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If you see two 5GHz networks and two 2.4GHz networks then -most probably- both Router and Satellite are transmitting correctly.

It can be that you have much noise in the area that you have the Satellite on the radio channel that you are using. I would suggest you to try other 5 GHz channels one by one until you get your devices to connect to the correct (nearest) point.

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials.

 

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

 

If you updated to recent FW v.210, try enabling Daisy Chain. Some have mentioned that this seems to be working in reverse order, enabling means disabled actually.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Firmware-2-2-1-210-and-connection-problems-Skybell/m-p/1649275/highlight/true#M43001

 

Try a Manual FW load:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Firmware-2-2-1-210-released-as-of-10-3-18/m-p/1647303/highlight/true#M42416

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Orbinate wrote:

I have the AC3000 system: One RBR50 (Router) and one RBS 50 (Satellite).

 

The 5GHz backhaul connecting the satellite to the router is working fine.

 

The problem that I seem to be having is that my wireless devices or mobile devices are not connecting to the satellite even when they are inches away from it.

 

Instead, they all connect to the router, using the 5GHz band, even though the router is farther away from where the satellite is relative to those devices.

I used a WiFi scanner software to see what WiFi signals look like in my house and in the area.

 

I noticed two 5GHz sources and 2.4 GHz sources.

 

So does that mean that the satellite is also transmitting and receiving 5GHz and 2.4GHz?

 

If that's the case, then why is it that none of my mobile devices are connecting to the satellite even when they are inches away from it and instead prefer to stay connected to the far away router?

 

For the record, I've set 2.4GHz channel selection to Auto and picked one 5GHz channel out of the 4 or 5 Netgear offers in the dropdown menu.

 

I'm also using the latest firmware, ending in .210.

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So after updating the firmware 3 times, the satellite is communicating with wireless devices again.

 

The strange thing is that the firmware seems finicky at best. If I change one, just one, setting, like checking the MIMO-MU box, applying the change and then unchecking it and then applying the change again, the entire system goes haywire and some devices disappear from the iOS App.

 

 So to get the system to work, a firmware update is needed after changing any setting, be it changing the channel number or other settings.

 

 The entire issue started three weeks ago when I noticed my wireless devices stopped getting a strong signal throughout the entire house.

 

After a little tinkering and research, I found out that there was a new router in the neighborhood that was on the same 5GHz channel as mine. So I changed the channel to an unused channel and then the signal was strong again, but all my wireless devices kept connecting to the router, even though the backhaul between the router and satellite was working just fine.

 

 

Anyway, after all the firmware updates (same firmware every time) I finally got things to work as they should, but I'm still running into a strange scenario where the satellite doesn't seem to be transmitting as powerful a signal as the router. Either that or there is more interference closer to the satellite.

 

 

2700 square feet (Regular sheet rock material. One wall between the router and the satellite. About 30 feet apart)

 

2.4 GHz on Auto (Neighboring routers overlap on this band all the time. It's saturated)

 

5 GHz on channel 40 (No other routers on this channel within reception distance)

 

 Also, I don't know if it's a feature of the new firmware or not, but the router no longer appears in the list of connected devices as it used to before. Yes, the app shows that one satellite is connected, but the satellite doesn't appear as a device in the device list anymore.

 

By the way, my understanding about beamforming is that the Orbi system has explicit beam forming built in. So enabling Implicit Beamforming is actually a drawback.

 

Are the antennas on the broad side of the router and satellite? Perhaps positioning each one sideways creates a null and that's why the signal is stronger in some parts than it is right above or just next to the satellite. Just speculating.

 

Overall, it seems that the Orbi system's performance has decreased since I first installed it earlier this year.

So how can I tell if the Daisy Chaining is on or off if checking the box is not an indicator to go by?

 

Am I going to notice performance improvement? What should I look for?

 

I only have one satellite.