My Orbi RKR850 Wi-Fi connection

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nitehawk747 wrote:

My outside cameras, which is 20ft from the router, is connecting to the satellite, which is 60ft away.

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This is one of the "Top Five" questions on the forum.  "Why does my xxx connect here instead of there (which is obviously  a better connection)?"

There are two parts to the answer:

1. WiFi devices choose which access point to use.
2. Sometimes devices decide "too quickly", choose a weaker connection before a stronger connection becomes available, and stop looking.

Every WiFi access point broadcasts something called a "Beacon Frame" 5-10 times each second. (Continuously. They never stop.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_frame 

When a WiFi device powers up, the software scans the available WiFi channels and collects information about every access point that has a signal strong enough to receive. Depending on the capability of the device, this can be quite a process.  (11 or 13 2.4G channels. A bunch of 5G channels.)   The signal strength and capabilities of each access point are recorded and the device chooses one and asks to connect.  Some devices have internal settings to "connect automatically" when they find an access point that they know a password for.  Internet search for "wifi connection process" will turn up 100's of articles, such as this one:

https://netbeez.net/blog/how-wifi-connection-works/ 

Just amazing. All this takes place in seconds (or less) !

So, what can go wrong?

One thing that seems to happen with WiFi mesh networks is that one access point may begin broadcasting WiFi before the others. The device "sees" that access point, connects, and stops looking.  This often seems to happen with devices that are not mobile. (TV's, speakers, cameras, thermostats, garage door openers, smart plugs, etc.)  Mobile devices are typically programmed to "keep looking" in case they roam away from the access point and come near a "better choice".

So, one step is to temporarily power off that satellite 60 feet away to force the camera to scan for a WiFi connection again.  The router will be the only access point available.

Another solution might be that the camera chose correctly.  There is something about the building that results in the satellite offering a better connection than the router.  There are things "hidden" inside walls that can block WiFi signals.

A good test in this case would be to power up a cell phone where the camera is and see which access point it chooses.