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Forum Discussion
ORBI 370 Poor Download Speeds
Hi - Just replaced my 8 year old ORBI RBR50WiFi 5 system. My WiFi speeds are no better most of the time than with that older model. Have 2 satellites, each on a different floor from my router an...
Thank you. I did as you directed. Speeds are closer to 700 up and down right near the router.
Moving to satellites and waiting for the phone to connect to them, I get low 300s at best.
Is this a satellite issue?
Moving to satellites and waiting for the phone to connect to them, I get low 300s at best.
Is this a satellite issue?
The speed could be limited by the backhaul connection between the satellites and the router. You can check this by connecting a PC to a satellite with ethernet, and then running speedtest on the PC.
Is there anything on the pathway between the router and the satellites that could be blocking the signal? For instance
- a chimney
- a plumbing stack
- appliances (stove+vent, refrigerator, etc)
You could try some different locations for the satellites.
If you are prepared to spend more, you could exchange the 370 for a 770. That adds a 6 ghz channel, which could give more spectrum for the backhaul (which can use 5 ghz+6ghz).
There are about 20 WiFi networks near me (standalone house in a city), but I have never had any major issues with interference.
FWIW, I see a lot of competing wifi networks also, but none interfere. Although my devices detect them, their signal strength is low. This isn't easy to check in an iPhone, but there are some free network analyzer packages you can get for Windows PCs that will give you signal strength. No idea on what's out there for Macs.
But I am thinking this is not interference.
Thank you. Of course there are appliances and plumbing stacks between the router and the satellites. It's a house - one with an open floor plan. There is almost line of sight between the router on the top floor and the satellite on the main floor. Only an open stairwell in the way.
The satellites are in the same exact spots as the old ORBI routers were, which gave the best performance they were capable of. I would expect that out of the 370.
I used a Mac network analyzer - the using Ethernet at the satellites is a good suggestion which I will try.
I am not prepared to spend nearly 2x the money for 6Ghz. I understand the additional channel for backhaul purposes but my issue here is that Netgear has sold me a product that allegedly fits my needs (we have 25 devices total in our home, half of them TVs or other similarly rarely used items Only 2 people). We're only active on 2 phones and 3 computers. Plus we 'only' have 1GBps fiber, I have no need for more speed. I just want the ORBI to live up to the promises Netgear makes.
I asked to be escalated to level 2 support with Netgear but just heard crickets on that.
Just realized I can't hook up the MacBook Air to the satellite - no ethernet port.
Just realized I can't hook up the MacBook Air to the satellite - no ethernet port.
Yeah.
FWIW, there are some third-party USB hubs that claim to be compatible with Macbook Air and have ethernet ports. Some are around $25 USD.
I am not prepared to spend nearly 2x the money for 6Ghz.
Understood. Some people are willing to spend more, so I thought I'd point out the option.
Another path (which also costs) is to run cat 6a ethernet between the router and one (or both) satellites. If you have a long enough cable already, you could test this between the router and the main floor satellite (running the cable down the stairwell as a test).
You could also try changing locations - even though the current locations maxed out the RBK50 performance, there might be other possibilities that would work better with the 370.