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Forum Discussion
Orbi 850 satellite low performance
I have an orbi RBS850 with one satellite. The satellite is about 60 feet from the router. Both the router and the satellite have the latest firmware updates.
My issues is, if I connect to the satellite with WIFI my speed is about 50MB/s if i connect an cat5e to the back of the satellite and to the computer the speed is about 50MB/s. if I connect to the router on wifi the connection speed is about 900+MB/s if i connect to the router with a cat5e cable i'm at 1000+/MBs.
the satellite is connecting to the router at 850+MB/s. after my firmware update yesterday I also reset the satellite and reconfigured the device to ensure I didn't miss something years ago. The laptop is the only traffic on the satellite so there is no traffic to compete with. with the link speed with the router being so high I do not see moving it closer will make a difference.
Why is my satellite so dang slow compared to the router? How do I get the speed up closer to the router speed when connecting via wifi?
14 Replies
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?When your speed testing, are you sure your test device is connected at the RBS and not the RBR?
Be sure to log into the RBS web page to check and see what devices are connected there.
I would bring the RBS to same room or near the RBR and let it sync there, then wire connect to the back of the RBS and speed test here. What do you see here?
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What channel configurations are currently set on the router?
Has the RBR been factory reset as well since FW was updated?
What Firmware version is currently loaded? 7.2.6.31
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? This is only a fiber modem. it has no wifi ability only plug into the modem.When your speed testing, are you sure your test device is connected at the RBS and not the RBR? yes I know when I'm on the router or Satellite, my slow speed is coming from the satellite.
Be sure to log into the RBS web page to check and see what devices are connected there. There is only one device during my testing, my laptop.
I would bring the RBS to same room or near the RBR and let it sync there, then wire connect to the back of the RBS and speed test here. What do you see here?
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? 1200sqft
What channel configurations are currently set on the router? since i connect at 5GHz I"m using channel 48 but I've used 44 with the same results.
Has the RBR been factory reset as well since FW was updated? No. My setup took hours and I'm not looking to live through that again.
DBATTB wrote:
What Firmware version is currently loaded? 7.2.6.31
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? This is only a fiber modem. it has no wifi ability only plug into the modem.When your speed testing, are you sure your test device is connected at the RBS and not the RBR? yes I know when I'm on the router or Satellite, my slow speed is coming from the satellite.
Be sure to log into the RBS web page to check and see what devices are connected there. There is only one device during my testing, my laptop.
I would bring the RBS to same room or near the RBR and let it sync there, then wire connect to the back of the RBS and speed test here. What do you see here?
Let us know results of this...
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? 1200sqft
For this size of home, just the RBR alone would be all that's needed. Have a RBS maybe causing some problems.
What channel configurations are currently set on the router? since i connect at 5GHz I"m using channel 48 but I've used 44 with the same results.
Has the RBR been factory reset as well since FW was updated? No. My setup took hours and I'm not looking to live through that again.
Will may need to FR and setup from scratch to check this issue with the RBS using this PDF process.
DBATTB wrote:
The satellite is about 60 feet from the router.
the satellite is connecting to the router at 850+MB/s.
60 ft. is pretty far for the WiFi connection between router and satellite. 5G WiFi performance falls off rapidly with distance and when passing through walls. The 850 Product Data Sheet proudly touts a maximum theoretical link rate between router and satellite of 2400Mbps.
https://www.netgear.com/images/datasheet/orbi/rbk852.pdf
However, as the footnote mentions
† Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE 802.11 specifications. Actual data throughput and wireless coverage will vary and be lowered by network and environmental conditions, including network traffic volume, device limitations, and building construction.
Where does the system indicate that the link between router and satellite is 850+Mbps?
If this number appears on the Orbi web interface "Show Statistics" panel, it is not clear (to me) how this number is derived.
For example, my ancient RBR50/RBS50 system proudly states on Show Statistics that the Wireless backhaul link is at 1733Mbps. (Identical to the Product Data Sheet.) That original Orbi system had a command line feature which displayed the actual transmit and receive link rates for each satellite (I have three satellites). None of them are over 860Mbps, and they are all less than 45 feet from the router. Alas, Netgear removed the command line interface when the AX products were introduced and it is no longer possible to show this information.
A relatively inexpensive experiment would be to purchase a 100 ft. Ethernet cable (under $20 on Amazon) and temporarily connect the satellite directly to a LAN port on the router. After the connection switches from 5G WiFi to 'wired', try the performance test again.
p.s. As the 850 system has only 1Gigabit LAN ports, it is categorically impossible for a laptop to record a speed test greater than 1Gbps. Around 950Mbps is the highest possible speed to measure. The Orbi router may record a higher speed because the WAN port is a 2.5G port as long as the Internet Service Provider device also has an Ethernet port that supports a higher speed.
I do have a cat8 cable which is long enough to cover the distance, I'll give that a try and see what the outcome of the speed test is. My fiber has a burst to 2.5 gig, my wireless card is wifi 7 but as we know this version of the orbi does not support the speed. if you have the command i can run to see the actual link speed that could be helpful. I'll report back my findings.
You can see link speeds of the wireless adapter connected to the RBR or RBS in the network adapter settings.
We can't see the link speed between the RBR and RBS unfortunately.
If you have 2.5Gb ISP speeds, then the RBR850 will see this on the WAN port. You may seen well over 1Gb speeds with your Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi card if it's backwards compatible with AX modes on 5Ghz. It should connect at 2400Mpbs on 5Ghz on the RBR. If it does then you could see well over 1Gb speeds on the down. You'll not see anything over 1Gb on the LAN ports since they are only 1Gb.
