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Forum Discussion
Consistent Internet drops
Hi - I recently purchased the Orbi 870 series (router plus 3 satellites) and I currently have 2 satellites hard wired to the 871 router and 1 satellite connected wireless. On a regular basis my internet connection will slow to a crawl (download speeds of 1-2 MB and upload speeds the same) for several minutes. I have had to power cycle the router or occasionally the closest satellite to resolve the issue. Sometimes other satellites and router do not have the issue and it is isolated to one satellite. This happens fairly often to me, but I could not find anyone else with the exact same issue. I upgraded to Orbi 870 from an Alien Amplifi system and I absolutely loved Alien, but they stopped making them so I needed to transition to something that had longer term support. My home internet is a 2GB plan with kinetic and when the Orbi is working it is fantastic, but this dropping/slowing has been happening so often that it has become really frustrating since both my wife and I work from home most days.
Here is my system info:
RBE871 - Router
RBE870 - Satellite #1 - Wireless
RBE870 - Satellite #2 - Hard wired
RBE870 - Satellite #3 - Hard wired
Kinetic 2GB Internet
I have looked at logs and verified I am on the latest firmware, but this issue has been persistent and there doesn't seem to be any obvious causes so I am here for some help. Let me know if I need to provide some more information/screenshots/etc...
Thanks,
Trent
17 Replies
Yes, what FURRYe38 said x 100, trentloyd ! You have a 5000 square foot home, 4 satellites and an 870 router would be rated combined for a 15,000 square foot house with an Orbi 870 system! More is not better when it comes from saturated/conflicting radio signals - devices can get totally confused and experience all kinds of symptoms from the interference. Follow Furry's advice on a test plan, but imho as he said 2 satellites AT MOST in your final config! If you still have a dead spot or two but everything is stable, we can recommend free Windows or Mac tools to see radio strength and place satellites more optimally, if needed.
If you want some reading material on this, here is some:
- TP-Link article on risks of deploying too many access points (same function as satellites in the Netgear world) -
https://www.tp-link.com/us/document/13323/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- This Netgear notes that FOUR satellites is the maximum recommended -
https://kb.netgear.com/000062035/How-many-satellites-can-you-add-to-a?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Good luck and keep us posted!
- TP-Link article on risks of deploying too many access points (same function as satellites in the Netgear world) -
Hi -
Here is my updated system info:
RBE871 - Router
RBE870 - Satellite #1 - Wireless
RBE870 - Satellite #2 - Hard wired
RBE870 - Satellite #3 - Hard wired
RBE870 - Satellite #4 - Wireless
Kinetic 2GB Internet
My devices still are experiencing periods of extremely slow connection. I have noticed that for some reason my devices are connected to a mesh point that is not optimal from a signal strength perspective and I'm unsure why that happens. I've done some searching and it appears that I am unable to assign devices to certain mesh points, but often one will find itself connected to a mesh point that is so far away that the upload/download speeds drop to about 1mb. From what I can find the only resolution is to either restart the router or unplug the offending mesh point and replug it in. The periods of slow connection have decreased slightly when I introduced a fourth wireless satellite, but I think the problem is the oddity around connecting to a mesh point that is not close. Is there some sort of mesh hierarchy?Appreciate any insight/thoughts.
it appears that I am unable to assign devices to certain mesh points, but often one will find itself connected to a mesh point that is so far away that the upload/download speeds drop to about 1mb. From what I can find the only resolution is to either restart the router or unplug the offending mesh point and replug it in.
You are correct that Netgear mesh systems do not include a feature to link devices to specific wireless nodes. At least one mesh product does, but not Netgear.
Whereas devices that are intended to be mobile typically keep scanning for the best WiFi access point, some devices that are expected to remain in place appear to "latch on" to a WiFi access point and stop looking. If the WiFi connection is broken, however, then the device will begin scanning again. Over the years, users have reported this sort of problem with Orbi systems, which often seems to relate to the Orbi router and satellites becoming 'active' one after the other. The device may have linked to a WiFi access point before a satellite that is closer (and has a much stronger signal) becomes active.
There are several solutions:
- As you have discovered, powering off the satellite that the device is using will cause it to connect to the strongest of the remaining signals. When that satellite is powered on again, the device is no longer seeking a connection.
- Another solution is to power cycle the device. When it turns on again, it will compare the various WiFi access points and select the best fit.
It is really annoying to go through this process every time a power failure causes the entire Orbi system to reboot, so many users connect their entire Orbi system to UPS devices so that very short power outages do not cause the Orbi system to reboot.
Another solution is to provide WiFi to that device with an inexpensive WiFi Extender which has been defined with a unique WiFi SSID that only that device looks for. If it is a typical IoT device that has modest networking needs, it doesn't take an expensive WiFi extender to provide what it needs.
I would turn OFF remote RBS for now and focus on in home wifi.
Turn OFF all RBS in the home and check stability with the RBR first, then turn on 1 RBS and then test wifi stability. Ensure RBS are placed at 30 feet starting distance from the RBR.
For you sq ft of home size, you only need two RBS. I have save size home and only use two RBS. Nothing more. RBS are wireless as well, however have the ability to ethernet connect the RBS.
I would get the RBR stable with the ISP ONT with CAT6A STP cable to ensure a good connection there. If the RBR still shows PINK at times, you may need to get the ISP involved to have them check there side of the ONT to ensure all is good up to the ONT.
Try channel 11 and 44 on the RBR.
I'm currently testing my 870 series out and is working well.
Ok, I will take this approach to see if I can identify what the root cause is and hopefully it is something like I am just overzealous in my satellite adoption, but its interesting that it only affects certain devices in a certain location. The two satellites that are not hard wired both show green in the admin settings along with the hard wired ones. The hard wired one that is out at my barn is quite a ways away, but I'll see how the RBR performs by itself. I would love for this to be as simple as I over complicated my setup!
Appreciate the help!
Does the RBR front LED change to PINK or blinking white when this happens?
Are you seeing any Internet Connected or Disconnected messages in the logs?
Check the WAN port connection and uptime on the RBRs web page to see if the up time has changed.
Brand and model# of ISP modem the RBR is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6A STP is recommended.
Is IPv6 enabled on the RBR?
Using ISP detected DNS or custom DNS?
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.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 🛰
Does this happen with the RBS turned OFF?
Are RBS ethernet connected directly to back of RBR or is there a LAN switch or LAN patch panel in between them?
CAT# LAN cable used between RBR and RBS?
Di you first wireless connect the RBS to the RBR then ethernet connect them?
What channel configurations are currently set on the router?
Hey Furrye38 -
The LED has changed to pink for some of these issues, but oftentimes there is no LED indicator at all and the issue still manifests. I will check the logs during the next incident and share them here. I have looked at the WAN ports uptime and it appears that this is an Orbi issue and not a WAN issue.
- I'll get the modem info tomorrow and share it
- LAN cables are made and tested by me so I can confirm they are good. I'll double check, but pretty sure i'm using Cat6 although will confirm if it is CAT6A STP
- ISP detected
- Home size is ~5000 sq ft
- distance between all is 30 feet or more
- i've been unable to connect or do anything on the router so thinking it happens whether on or off
- ethernet is connected directly to router
- will get the CAT# tomorrow as well
- Yes, I followed the instructions provided to do the wireless sync before connecting via ethernet cable
For wireless, 2.4 and 5 ghz are both set to auto.
OK if PINK is being seen at the RBR on some of these issues, means the RBR isn't getting good internet services from the modem or ISP services. Can also be LAN cable caused. Seen these odd issues with CAT6 UTP cabling here and there, even though they are good cables. Higher speed connection rates can be problematic here and there. Why I switched to CAT6A STP cabling years ago. Haven't seen these odd ones since.
Also try some custom DNS like Cloudfare or Quad9. Been known issues crop up with ISP detected DNS here and there.
Try some manual channels as well for WiFI on the RBR. 1 and 40 or 11 and 48.
The LED has changed to pink for some of these issues, but oftentimes there is no LED indicator at all and the issue still manifests. I will check the logs during the next incident and share them here. I have looked at the WAN ports uptime and it appears that this is an Orbi issue and not a WAN issue.
I'll get the modem info tomorrow and share it
LAN cables are made and tested by me so I can confirm they are good. I'll double check, but pretty sure i'm using Cat6 although will confirm if it is CAT6A STP
ISP detected
Home size is ~5000 sq ft
distance between all is 30 feet or more
i've been unable to connect or do anything on the router so thinking it happens whether on or off
ethernet is connected directly to router
will get the CAT# tomorrow as well
Yes, I followed the instructions provided to do the wireless sync before connecting via ethernet cable
For wireless, 2.4 and 5 ghz are both set to auto
Are you using Cat 6 cable to hardwire the satellites?
Yes, but the issue happens on the wireless satellite point as well.
A little more context, this issue just happened and some devices are unable to connect to the wifi at all while others are able to connect, but are unable to connect to the internet.
