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Orbi RBK852 – Wired via Satellite drops from ~700 Mbps to ~50–80 Mbps until reboot
I’m trying to figure out an issue with my Orbi RBK852 setup.
I have gigabit fiber (Verizon), and when everything is working properly I get around 600–700 Mbps up and down, which is great. The problem is that after some time (could be hours or a day), my speeds drop significantly to around 50–80 Mbps. The only thing that fixes it is rebooting the router by going through the ip address and doing a reboot.
My setup:
Orbi RBK852 (router + 1 satellite)
-Router is on the main floor, hardwired to the ONT
-Satellite is on the top floor, about 2 floors above the router
-My desktop is wired via Ethernet into the satellite (no WiFi on the PC)
Important detail: even though my PC is wired, it’s still dependent on the wireless backhaul between the router and satellite.
Things I’ve already checked:
-Firmware is up to date
-QoS is off
-UPnP is on
-DoS protection is off
-Channels are manually set
-Speeds are normal right after reboot every time
So the pattern is:
1. reboot → ~700 Mbpsafter some time → 50–80 Mbps
2. reboot → back to normal
This keeps repeating.
I’m trying to figure out whether this is:
- A wireless backhaul issue (satellite is 2 floors above, so maybe the connection degrades over time) but then why does it work perfectly for short time. Right now I am at 80Mbps after rebooting it 2 days ago.
-Are there any other settings I need to change?
Thanks
17 Replies
Does this happen if PC is ethernet connected at the RBR?
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?
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router 📡 and satellite(s)🛰️? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR 📡 and RBS 🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wired or wirelessly connected.
What channels are you using? Try 1 and 40 or 11 and 48
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
DoS protection should be enabled.
Is IPv6 enabled?
- I have never tested directly into the router as it is down in my basement and I am using a desktop so I would have to carry everything downstairs and try to set it up that way.
- It is a Verizon box that I am unsure about the model # but I know it is capable of spitting out 600/700 mbps as I have seen it before.
- Roughly 1800 square feet house. It is a townhouse and so there are 2 floors splitting where router is and the satellite is. so for sure over 30 ft.
- Currently channels are 01 and 44. (Still having same issue) Previously it was 5 and 36 with same issue.
- 5 other townhouses in area with couple houses around. Not an apartment with multiple tenants thought. Probably ~10 other Wifi networks.
- DoS is enabled and DHCP is on
Something to try, can you bring the RBS a bit closer to the RBR? Lets try at 25 feet then at 30 feet.
Is this the only device connected behind the RBS that exhibits this issue? Happen to have another ethernet device you could try with by chance?
Do wireless devices connected at the RBS see same slower speed when doing a speed test?
Also the Verizon ONT Box is a I-211M-K
- A wireless backhaul issue (satellite is 2 floors above, so maybe the connection degrades over time)
My guess is that the backhaul is switching to 2.4 ghz. Look at the satellite connection details on the web admin page ("attached devices"). Note the connection type and status when the speed is good and check it again when the speed drops.
Checking under Attached Devices I see the Satellite as 5Ghz connection connected to the router with a "Good" Backhaul status and the desktop is "Wired" to the Satellite.
Looking under Attached Devices I see the Satellite with a connection type of 5Ghz and a backhaul status of "Good" - this is also with the speeds being ~80Mbps
Please clarify...
my speeds drop significantly to around 50–80 Mbps
This is the speed measured on the PC, correct?
The next time this happens, it might be useful to perform a Speed Test using either the Orbi web interface or the Orbi 'app' and see what the router reports. i.e.
- If the router continues to report full speed, then the issue is probably the WiFi connection between router and satellite.
- If the router also reports a very low speed, that would point to "something else".
StephenB may be right. i.e. We know nothing about how Netgear coded the WiFi backhaul interface. It is certainly possible that if the backhaul link appears to be inadequate and the system switches from 5G to 2.4G, there is no process to evaluate the link over time and go back to 5G. (It is also possible that there is an internal timer that periodically looks at the backhaul, "wonder if 5G will work now?" We just don't know.)
The 5G backhaul uses channel 157 in North America and 108 in the reset of the world. Where are you located?
Correct, the speed test I ran on my PC - I live near Philly and I ran the Orbi Speed Test as well as just a basic web speed test and got the following: Download: 97.80 Mbps and Upload: 93.32 Mbps. When I run a speed test on my phone in same office where my desktop is, I get: Download: 82.6, Upload: 90.7
I ran the Orbi Speed Test as well as just a basic web speed test
The Orbi speed test runs on the router (no matter whether it is invoked using the web interface or the Orbi 'app'). If the router is seeing speed under 90Mbps, then any device connected to the system cannot possibly get a higher speed.
This puts attention on the Orbi-ISP link rather than on the router-satellite link.
Another bit of information to gather the next time this happens is to navigate to the web interface Advanced Tab and click on Show Statistics.
Next to the WAN port, does it say 1000M/Full or 100M/Full. ?
The CAT cable was what was provided with Verizon which was a AWM E212689 Style 20276 80'C 30V 28AWG CAT.6A Cable. This is going straight from the ONT to back of the Orbi Router into the "Internet 2.5G/1G" Yellow port on back of Router.
Might try a different cable if you have something just to test to see if the WAN port can get back to 1000Mpbs.
Alright, I swapped it with a KASIMO CAT8 - 2000MHz S/FTP PIMF Patch Cable PVC... It switched to 1000M/Full and speeds went up to 500/600 Mbps. I will keep eye on it and see if it goes down in the next couple of days.
