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Forum Discussion
Slow speeds/connectivity issues
I've been using my RBR50 for a few months now without any issues but in the last week I've started experiencing extremely slow speeds, if not complete disconnection in my bedroom, which is maybe 24-30 feet from the router. I haven't moved anything nor changed any of the settings, so i'm wondering how I can troubleshoot/fix.
thanks!
7 Replies
I'm having very odd, similar issue
My wife's iMac (Latest Mac OS Sierra, all updates, 21.5", Mid-2011, 2.5GHz Intel Core i5) was until last week connecting at 300 Mbps to the Orbi Satellite sitting 6 feet away. It only has a 802.11n card so 300 Mbps is the max I can expect but that was enough to deliver full 101 Mbps of our Optimum plan to the iMac.
TODAY - the iMac will only ever connect at 144Mbps to the Orbi Satellite, sitting in the same place, 6 feet away. No changes in location of either device.
I have logged into the Satellite to confirm that the iMac is connecting to the correct near-by Orbi
Speedtest (which tested 101+ Mbps last time i tested) is now reporting only reporting 35-50 Mbps downstream to the iMac so the 144 vs 300 Mbps to the Orbi is the new bottleneck.
VERY FRUSTRATING -- wife reporting that her Mac "feels slow"
I've done "forget this network" / re-pair to the wifi on the iMac - doesn't help
Orbi and Satellite update recently to v1.8.0.6 -- is there a problem with this firmware version???
iMac reports good signal strength so why only 144 Mbps???? --- RSSI = -20dBm, Noise = -90dBm, MCS Index = 15, BUT Tx rate = 144Mbps (and never higher)
ricblue wrote:I'm having very odd, similar issue
My wife's iMac (Latest Mac OS Sierra, all updates, 21.5", Mid-2011, 2.5GHz Intel Core i5) was until last week connecting at 300 Mbps to the Orbi Satellite sitting 6 feet away. It only has a 802.11n card so 300 Mbps is the max I can expect but that was enough to deliver full 101 Mbps of our Optimum plan to the iMac.
TODAY - the iMac will only ever connect at 144Mbps to the Orbi Satellite, sitting in the same place, 6 feet away. No changes in location of either device.
I have logged into the Satellite to confirm that the iMac is connecting to the correct near-by Orbi
Speedtest (which tested 101+ Mbps last time i tested) is now reporting only reporting 35-50 Mbps downstream to the iMac so the 144 vs 300 Mbps to the Orbi is the new bottleneck.
VERY FRUSTRATING -- wife reporting that her Mac "feels slow"
I've done "forget this network" / re-pair to the wifi on the iMac - doesn't help
Orbi and Satellite update recently to v1.8.0.6 -- is there a problem with this firmware version???
iMac reports good signal strength so why only 144 Mbps???? --- RSSI = -20dBm, Noise = -90dBm, MCS Index = 15, BUT Tx rate = 144Mbps (and never higher)
-20 dBm is a crazy strong signal. It could be overdriving the receiver on the Mac. Try moving the Orbi farther from the Mac and/or reducing the output power of the Orbi. More power is not necesarily better with WiFi. I'm seeing -48 dBm 8-ft away from Orbi on 5 GHz.
I'm having similar problems. The firmware 1.8.0.6 seems to be causing a problem of connection - especially to ipads/iphones but also android smartphones. I've tried to manually update back to the older firmware 1.5 but the system seems to automatically update back to 1.8 after I've done this...
Any advice is highly appreciated!!! I just recently purchased the Orbi Ac3000 - and I'm getting a lot of flak from the family now:-)... hope to hear some positive news on new firmware solving this issue etc....
OK - update here ...
One or maybe two reboots of the iMac near the Orbi satellite returned it to full 300Mbps connection.
I would suggest to Netgear that there they need to test very carefully what happens with Orbi when power is restored after a power cut. I have a feeling that there is some issue when -- maybe -- the main Orbi boots before the (nearer) Satellite Orbi and the iMac got "locked into" talking to the Main Orbi only (50 feet away) instead of the Satellite Orbi 10 feet away. That's the symptom I saw. Is the 802.11r (or k or something) that manages the hand offs between the Orbi's being updated correctly on power-fail reboot and then "rebroadcast" to the client devices correctly.
If I had to guess the cause of the symptoms I saw, that's what I would guess
After a reboot, the iMac got the new 801.11r (or k or whatever) roaming list and homes correctly to the nearly Satellite
Hope that helps
Richard
My Orbi system was working fine - similar speeds in area covered by satellite to near main router - 11 down / 11 up. This week, I started seeting 1/10th that - 1.5 down and 0.8 up in the satellite area - and then if I move up with my tablet to the main router area, I get 11 / 11 again. Very repeatable.
I unplugged the satellite, which is as far from the router as it can be in my house (opposite sides of a 1600 square foot bungalow and in the basement vs main floor), and I get decent speeds 9 down 6 up near where the 'turned off' satellite is, as I am now connecting all the way back to the main floor router.
I looked on the forums, I have 1.8.0.6 firmware, and I backed off the 2.4 band to 25% power - no impact - same crappy near satellite results when I turn the satellite on. I have synced, turned off the router, etc. and it always goes to crappy speed (1/10 of the speed near the main router).
So, I didn't buy the expensive Orbi so I could have the Satellite turned off and just lose speed connecting all the way back to my main floor router. How do I get this resolved so I get back my satellite and the great performance in the basement?