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Forum Discussion
Video call jitters / latency
My config
Cable modem
Router RBR750 / 4.6.14.3
2x Satellites, both RBS750 / 4.6.9.11
Cat5 backhaul
WMM enabled for both bands
CTS/RTS 64 for both bands
Distance of iMac from satellite — 7m
Concrete property.
My problem
Facetime calls from all devices (Mac, iPhone, iPad) are poor quality via satellite wi-fi. Video freezing. Occasional audio freezing. Enough to make you want to end the call as soon as possible.
Here's how it looks with a wired connection to the router or a satellite:
https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat?test-id=ce60a9ec-1da5-48d9-a80e-a849afe5e62b
This drops to a C grade over wi-fi. Waveform classifies a C as good for everything except video calls and low latency gaming. I have no interest in the latter, but pain-free video calling is a must.
Any and all ideas most welcome. Thanks in advance.
31 Replies
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router and backhaul to RBS. CAT6 is recommended. CAT5 is not officially supporting of 1000Mpbs connection rates.
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?What channel configurations are currently set on the router?
Also the RBS FW should be at same FW version level as the RBR. You can manually update them:
Be sure to disable any MAC Address randomizers on phones and pads while at home:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-App/NETGEAR-Mobile-Applications-and-Apple-Devices-FAQ/td-p/2220016/jump-to/first-unread-messageThanks for your questions FURRYe38
The modem is a Ziggo (Netherlands) ConnectBox.The backhaul is cat5e. I appreciate 6 would be preferable, but 5e is what we have. 100Mbps is good enough for our needs. The Waveform report gave me an A grade with a wired connection to a satellite with cat5e backhaul. The fact it dropped to a C grade when connecting wirelessly to the satellite indicates a wi-fi issue I think, but then let's face it you know just a teeny weeny bit more about these things than I do 😆
We have four floors of 50sqm (540sqft) each. The RBR router is on the ground floor (let's call it 1 for clarity). There's one RBS satellite at the front of the house on floor 3, and the other at the back of the house on floor 4.The channels settings are 11 (2.4) and 44 (5).
I have updated the RBS firmware to match the RBR. Thanks.
Finally, thanks for the heads up about Apple's randomising. We're mostly interested in our larger screens here: the Macbook and the iMac, but I will bear this in mind if, after fixing the big screens, we still have some trouble with the little ones.
psheld wrote:
Cat5 backhaul
Concrete property.
Distance of iMac from satellite — 7m
If a device wired to a satellite does not exhibit the problem, then the specific cable used for backhaul may not be the cause. The description does not mention any switches between router and satellites, so it would be helpful to double check the cable by looking at the Orbi web interface, Advanced Tab home page, blue box titled "Show Statistics".
Does it report the LAN ports that are connected to satellites as "1000M/Full" ?
The post mentions concrete property. Surely there is not a concrete wall between the satellite and iMac?
Hi CrimpOn, thanks for jumping in here.
I agree with you ... I don't think the backhaul cable is the cause here for the reason you present (see reply to FURRYe38).
I have no switches.
My first time looking at statistics. Interesting ... well I say that, I don't really know what I'm looking at!
I'm guessing it's showing three LANs because it's including our doorbell as well as the two satellites.
You ask if the LANs are 1000M/Full, and clearly one of them is 100M/Full. Does this relate to the cat5e backhaul to the satellite on floor 4?
I should note that I've just learned on closer inspection that the cabling to the satellite on floor 3 is in fact cat6. So that's nice!
And to your question about concrete, every wall and every floor / ceiling in this place is solid concrete. This is why I was so keen to invest in an Orbi mesh as you might imagine. There is a concrete stairwell between the iMac at the front of floor 4 and the satellite at the rear of floor 4, but the computer reports c. 117 Mbps connection, which is greater than the backhaul so that's OK I think. There is no way to move the satellite to the front (we didn't install the sockets in this place).
Thanks again.
psheld wrote:
I'm guessing it's showing three LANs because it's including our doorbell as well as the two satellites.
You ask if the LANs are 1000M/Full, and clearly one of them is 100M/Full. Does this relate to the cat5e backhaul to the satellite on floor 4?
I should note that I've just learned on closer inspection that the cabling to the satellite on floor 3 is in fact cat6. So that's nice!If the link between router and satellite should be 100 Mb/s only, common cause is not the CAT5e label on the cable. In general, a Gigabit Ethernet link requires for correct wired pairs. Impossible to say what is connected, you are much nearer to your installation - briefly disconnecting the link in question would answer what is connected.
Just updated the firmware on both satellites and then the router to 7.2.6.21 ... which is a weirdly big leap in numbering from the previous stable firmware (4.6).
I've just run a Waveform buffer bloat test on my Macbook-2metre-cat6satellite and it still gets a C grade. No experience yet of external calls, but will report back mid-week with a report.
In the meantime, if anyone has any other things I can try to fix this problem, please don't wait until then!Cheers.
I recommend a power OFF of the Orbi system and ISP modem for 1 minute then back ON with the modem first then Orbi system. Test for the video call problems.
If problems persist, factory reset and setup from scratch. A complete pull of the power adapters for a period of time after the factory reset then walk thru the setup wizard and setup from scratch with a wired PC and web browser. https://kb.netgear.com/22697/How-do-I-install-my-NETGEAR-router-using-the-router-web-interface
Recommend setting the default DHCP IP address pool range to the following after applying and a factory reset: 192.168.#.100 to 192.168.#.200.
https://kb.netgear.com/24089/How-do-I-specify-the-pool-of-IP-addresses-assigned-by-my-Nighthawk-router
https://kb.netgear.com/25722/How-do-I-reserve-an-IP-address-on-my-NETGEAR-router
I would power OFF the ISP modem for 1 minute. Factory reset the Orbi router and power it off. Power ON the ISP modem and let it sync. Then power ON the Orbi router and walk thru the setup wizard again using a wired PC and a web browser.
Press the back reset button for 15 seconds then release.
https://kb.netgear.com/31486/How-do-I-reset-my-Orbi-system-to-factory-default-settings
https://kb.netgear.com/000062081/How-do-I-erase-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System < prefer using this method.I've been using this version for a while and have not seen any video issues in Zoom meetings I have had nor phone calls. I asked some others to test with and without SIP ALG enabled and saw now issues here either.
You may want to check your devices and PCs for issues.
Thanks FURRYe38.
I may have time on Wednesday to give this a go.
I can respond I think to the alternative you raise: "You may want to check your devices and PCs for issues."
With a wired connection to either satellite, all video calls from any device work a treat and Waveform gives an A grade. It's only wireless that has the problem, and I think it's very much more likely that the corresponding problem lies in one product — the Orbi — than all the others separately.Thanks again and I'll be back here as soon as I can.
