Our SoHo business is in a small cottage type house, barely 1,800 sq.ft. Problem is it is 3 floors. (Basement, main floor and attic space) Our coverage for the third floor (attic) is slowly getting worse. Our neiborhood is very congested WiFi wise...Our base unit is in the basement, all the way to one side...the Attic station is as far to the other side of the house as we can put it.verticle distance is about 30', Horizontal distance is about 60'.we have routine drop outs, and then it will clock in at 150Meg...My partner is begging me to run a hardline.I need some help, ideas, suggestions, something....The diagnostics available on the Orbi are nonexistent, and Netgear is useless for support. I am very close to tossing it out and trying something new that has support, or at least some diagnostics...

Get the Orbi RBR base out from the basement and on to the the main floor. Basements are not good places for wifi routers. Concrete and steel will inhibit good signal travel. What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.Also try turning down the power output of the RBRs wifi radios from 100% to 75-50% and see if this changes anything if you are in a wifi congested area. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

We are on on Comcast with a Arris Surfboard SB6190 and 300/12MbpsI switched to channel 11 and 44my "Backhaul" on the flakey satalite is "Poor" and is toggling between 2.4 and 5G The basement is where all the servers are and we have access...we have limited paths between floors as no closets line up, the stairway is not straight, and the perimeter was foamed so trying to snake something would be difficult. May have to go outside to run a hard line. right now we have the base in the basement, a satalite at the other end of the basement because that workstation has no wifi option. The other satalite is in the attic, and that is the one with poor backhaul.can I put a repeater on the 1st floor to help the backhaul? as I said, the attic goes between no connection and 180M...

Basements are not recommended locations for any wifi routers. Concrete and steel will cause problems for wifi singles. Main floor or 2nd level are recommended locations for main wifi routers.

If you don't want to move everything, you can use Powerline Ethernet to use your mains circuit to extend the Ethernet network. You could use Powerline to connect a modem in the basement to the Orbi router in a more central location. I have an Orbi router (in AP mode) feeding from an Netgear router. The Orbi then feeds an array of satellites to deliver wifi around the place. You could also use Powerline to connect things like PCs and TVs that you don't move around the place and that could work with a permanent LAN connection.

I’ll echo what michaelkenward says about using powerline ethernet. It’s a good choice in some instances where wifi or cabling restrictions provide limits on coverage. I’ve used it to provide ethernet to TVs, Roku’s, and other equipment in a couple of rooms where wifi and standard ethernet cabling are not options. The performance is more than adequate. The suggestion to use powerline ethernet to properly locate your RBR base out of the basement and on to the main floor is a good one. I’ve used Extollo LanSockets but there are several great choices on Amazon or the supplier of your choice. Based on the info you provided, I think that might solve your wifi coverage problems.

Vertical coverage problems | NETGEAR Communities

15 Replies

FURRYe38
Guru - Experienced User
Jun 14, 2020
Get the Orbi RBR base out from the basement and on to the the main floor. Basements are not good places for wifi routers. Concrete and steel will inhibit good signal travel.

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Also try turning down the power output of the RBRs wifi radios from 100% to 75-50% and see if this changes anything if you are in a wifi congested area. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
- Ninovan
  Star
  Jun 14, 2020
  We are on on Comcast with a Arris Surfboard SB6190 and 300/12Mbps
  I switched to channel 11 and 44
  my "Backhaul" on the flakey satalite is "Poor" and is toggling between 2.4 and 5G
  
  The basement is where all the servers are and we have access...
  we have limited paths between floors as no closets line up, the stairway is not straight, and the perimeter was foamed so trying to snake something would be difficult. May have to go outside to run a hard line.
  
  right now we have the base in the basement, a satalite at the other end of the basement because that workstation has no wifi option. The other satalite is in the attic, and that is the one with poor backhaul.
  can I put a repeater on the 1st floor to help the backhaul?
  
  as I said, the attic goes between no connection and 180M...
  - FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User
    Jun 15, 2020
    Basements are not recommended locations for any wifi routers. Concrete and steel will cause problems for wifi singles. Main floor or 2nd level are recommended locations for main wifi routers.

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Vertical coverage problems