RBR750 Satellite flapping between router and satellite for backhaul

nicetranslady
Guide
Jan 04, 2022
I've no idea of the sq.ft. area of the house, but there are brick walls all over the place and it's L-shaped. The signal between satellites goes through two external double-brick walls and two internal walls (one lath and plaster, the other plasterboard), and the same plus a brick stairwell and a ceiling/ floor when it decides the router is a better bet. The straight-line distance is around 30ft and 45 ft respectively. Some home automation, an Echo 5, the boiler control and a SONOS speaker had flaky connections out that way, which is why this satellite has been installed-modifying the thermostat temperatures used to fail all the time. It doesn't now. Calls also dropped as you enter the room below. Very annoying!

I did not reconfigure from a factory reset after the latest updates as frankly, that as a requirement is insane. I use a /30 subnet to uplink to my router, and quite a lot of reservations-for home automation/ IoT hubs and various other bits of config. Why would I consider resetting to factory, unless the software is shoddy?

Sky Fibre broadband router via ONT, using their router with all IPv6 configuration turned off, all Wi-Fi and any other service turned off with the exception of ALG/SIP, DNS, NTP, routing and a LAN port configured to use the other address in the /30.

2.4Ghz: Auto
5Ghz: 36

I can see only 3 other SSIDs when I scan.

I assume that I'd only lower the 5Ghz radio, we connect from 90ft down the garden to the satellite, which probably uses 2.4Ghz). I need to keep that.

I'll try the radio output reduction now and see if that helps. I could also look to move the satellite that is flapping further away and down another floor and see if the backhaul still connects at 5Ghz. That would be about 60ft away then.

Thank you.
- FURRYe38
  Guru - Experienced User
  Jan 04, 2022
  Might try swapping RBS and see if the problem follows or remains at this one locations.
  
  Is there built in wifi and a router at the ISP modem or ONT?
  - nicetranslady
    Guide
    Jan 04, 2022
    Swapping the satellites is an interesting thought.
    I will also try moving the router further away from the satellites.
    Moving the other two satellites isn't an option as my primary and secondary Sky Q boxes use wired connections to them, they get a lot of drops using the default config on the Sky Hub.
    
    ONT -> Sky Router (Wi-Fi and services not required turned off, as above) -> RBR750 (Router Mode)
    Internet -> 192.168.0.0/30 -> 192.168.1.0/24
    No VLANs configured. There are two unmanaged switches connecting other equipment physically connected to the router and one of the satellites. Which work brilliantly. 👍
    
    There's typically 35-40 devices online. OMG! That seems huge when you write it down! 🤣
    I blame the cat!
- CrimpOn
  Guru - Experienced User
  Jan 04, 2022
  Random thoughts:
  
  nicetranslady wrote:
  
  I use a /30 subnet to uplink to my router, and quite a lot of reservations-for home automation/ IoT hubs and various other bits of config.
  
  Sky Fibre broadband router via ONT, using their router with all IPv6 configuration turned off, all Wi-Fi and any other service turned off with the exception of ALG/SIP, DNS, NTP, routing and a LAN port configured to use the other address in the /30.
  
  /30 is an interesting (and unusual) IP subnet for a residential setting. The Orbi in router mode uses only a single IP address from the Sky router, no matter how large the Sky router IP subnet is. Wondering what the reasoning is behind that decision.
  
  nicetranslady wrote:
  
  Why would I consider resetting to factory, unless the software is shoddy?
  
  "Desperate time call for desperate measures". I, also, find a Factory Reset tedious and it is my "last resort" after trying everything else. There are two forms of Factory Reset:
  
  Saving a copy of the config file reduces the total time to under 30 minutes. Save the config. Do the 'reset'. When it the router comes up, go into the web config only to the point of being presented with a choice of (a) continue to config, or (b) load a saved configuration. Do not bother to change anything you are not forced to. Do not change the WiFi SSID/password. Make any device reservations, etc. Just get to that point and upload the saved configuration. The router restarts and the entire configuration is restored. Why do this? Sometimes trash has accumulated in memory and this process erases it. (Sometimes not).
  
  If the config restore did not resolve the problem, the truly last resort is to Factory Reset and define the whole config from scratch. In my case, this takes over two hours.
  
  nicetranslady wrote:
  
  I'll try the radio output reduction now and see if that helps. I could also look to move the satellite that is flapping further away and down another floor and see if the backhaul still connects at 5Ghz. That would be about 60ft away then.
  
  It is not clear to me that reducing the Transmit Power has any effect on the backhaul radio link. The RBR750 uses two 5G frequency bands in the UK: 5.18-5.24 (A Band: channels 26-48) and 5.5-5.7 (B Band: channels 100-140). The maximum transmit power for unlicensed use in the UK is 0.2W for A Band and 1W for B Band.
  
  https://www.4gon.co.uk/solutions/technical_reference_section.php
  
  My reasoning is that Netgear would want the highest signal strength possible between Orbi units. One could test this hypothesis by reducing Transmit Power and observing the signal strength of the "hidden SSID" access point.
  
  You mention in a previous post that there appears to be no method to enable/disable Daisy Chain for satellite connections. The original (2016) Orbi had this option, but that was dropped when the AX models came out. The default was "on" so that customers could easily add another satellite without regard to placement. Maybe Netgear decided there was no logical reason to keep Daisy Chain an option?
  
  I think moving that satellite around is your best option. If moving the satellite doesn't help, might also consider doing something to "block" the backhaul connection to the router. (this is the one that goes across the "L"?) Maybe a pile of bricks or put a baking sheet directly in the path.
  - nicetranslady
    Guide
    Jan 04, 2022
    There is a /30 network configured because I do this for a living and the network has been planned. It's a habit, and it also means that if something else gets plugged into the Sky Router, there are no more addresses available which reduces the chance of things getting screwed up. We have little people that visit with all kinds of devices frequently - they're getting older and more likely to experiment (I know I did). They demand BANDWIDTH 🤣
    
    Urgh! I'll reserve it for an absolute, cannot resolve scenario. I have been there before with older routers, but it's something I hate doing. For example, if I have a connection issue, I'm more likely to disconnect and reconnect the router from the console rather than pulling out cables or power - again, probably a habit. Sometimes you need to, I understand that.
    
    Vendors taking options out of the "Advanced" configuration is infuriating. Especially for this type of technology. Being able to configure the satellites independently of the router would also be nice.
    
    I hate wires being on show, I'm not sure I'll be able to function well with a stack of bricks or a baking sheet shield on show! 🤣

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RBR750 Satellite flapping between router and satellite for backhaul