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djbunk's avatar
djbunk
Aspirant
May 28, 2020

Wifi 6 Orbi RBS750 satellite 5ghz not working well

TL:DR - Getting different behaviour on 5ghz satellite connection between Iphones and Laptops vs. my Old Pixel 2 phone....Connection doesn't work on the former devices, but it works on the pixel.  Suggestions to look into?

 

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I'm having connection issues on my brand new RBK752 satellite. It is specifically related to the 5ghz spectrum. My router and satellite are separated by 2 floors on opposite ends of the house. The backhaul status is good (connected via 5g to the router). Devices wired directly to the satellite fast and stable. All settings are default except for Trasmission power which I've had at both 50% and 100% and I have changed 5gthz to every channel which made no difference in issues below.

 

The issue only affects 5gthz on the satellite only. Here are the troubleshooting steps I've gone through:

 

  • Iphones (have tried 2 XR's and one iPhone 6...all with the same results) will connect to wifi (5ghz) on satellite...however the speed is either too slow to be usable (<1Mbs) or it does not detect an internet connection at all. The few times I saw the iphones connect to 2.4ghz on the satellite (before flipping to 5g), they connected well and were decently fast on speedtest (70Mbs).
  • My Win10 laptop I'm able to force the wireless network adaptor to use 2.4 or 5  ghz. When I connect to the satellite, 2.4 immediately connects and i'm getting ~70Mbs. When I force the laptop to 5ghz, it will rarely connect, but when it does it is very slow <2Mbs.

That said...when I go near my router and connect to that instead of the satellite, I'm getting the best speed my internet (soon to be upgraded) is capable of (200+ Mbs on laptops  and phones). I've reached out to Netgear support and after going through many troubleshooting steps over the course of 3+ hours, it was agreed that they would replace the satellite to hopefully fix what seems to be an issue with the 5ghz antenna on the satellite.

 

Here's the wierd thing... I remembered I have an older android phone (pixel 2) I use for work, but only use the mobile service. Just for the heck of it, I turned on the wifi and connected to the satellite. It connected to 5g and is getting 120Mbs?!?! Assume it's not hitting 200+ because of hardware limitations on the phone. I don't know what to think. Any ideas? 

 

Hopeful the new satellite resolves this, but wanted to put this out to the community to see if anyone is seeing weird results similar to this on their Orbi 6 devices. It is extremely frustrating when the family's iDevices flip from the router to satellite (on 5g) and apps or internet no longer function.

 

 

 

8 Replies

  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru
    May 28, 2020


    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 distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between RBR and RBS to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/000036466/How-far-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite-from-my-Orbi-router

     

    Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). Be sure that CTS and RTS values are changed to 2347 under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

     

    • djbunk's avatar
      djbunk
      Aspirant
      May 28, 2020

      Hi FURRYe38 -- Thank you for the reply.

       

      -I'm on firmware V3.2.15.25 on both router and satelite. Orbilogin page shows no updates are required since i'm on latest version.

       

      -Cable modem i'm using is a Netgear CM600 (DOCSIS 3.0)

       

      -Router and satellite is at least 30ft if you were to go in a straight line...through 2 plaster ceilings and some walls. Router is on 1st floor and satellite is on 3rd floor. Connection between the two shows status as good and the wired connections to the satellites (on my desktop) are at my maximum speed Speedtest.

       

      I'll try the Coexistence and Preamble modes once my spouse is off their zoom call! Fingers crossed.