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Orbi 770s wheres the transmit power option?
The documentation says there should be an option to control transmit power. Number 1 rule of setting up wifi is balancing the power transmission. Just because my device can hear the router screaming...
Yes it was scrapped before launch.
Most of the User manuals are templates for all Orbi systems and not really tuned for each Orbi model. Ya they should be. Orbi AC, AX and AXE have the power controls which reflects in the UM. BE systems don't. I don't think NG will bring it back. Unless it's a major issue causing problems for lots of users, I wouldn't look for it to return.
To force the devices to use the closer satellites I need to adjust the power.
Why do we think this is true? Shouldn't the device default to the stronger signal (i.e., closer satellite)? It's unfortunately still complex and uncontrollable because clients (phones) may be resistant to switching connections as you walk around your house.
Regardless, does it really matter as long as your phone has strong internet connectivity? I think we are getting to obsessed with speed tests and peak speeds when it's all way more than we need to browse and stream influencer videos.
Because im a network engineer and it is true I've dealt with and planned around this for years in enterprise environments. Devices tend to latch onto the first AP they associate with and will hold onto for as long as they can. To fix this we use things many tools transmit power being one of them. Ideally you want the AP to have the same transmit strength as the weakest device thats using it. That's typically going to be around 10-12 dbm. Otherwise you get to asymmetric communication links where the device can "hear" the AP just fine but the AP can barely "hear" the device. To force the device to roam it has to no longer be able to "hear" the AP that it is currently associated with.
The best analogy I can think of is if you are trying to have a conversation with someone using a bullhorn that is 50 feet away but you can only respond to them at normal speech volume. You can hear them just fine but they can barely make out what you say and you will have to repeat what you said alot for them to hear it.
So a full wifi bar on a phone does not equate to optimal settings as wireless is a two-way communications. You will notice symptoms of this particularly with laggy connections, hanging connections, etc despite having a "full wifi signal".
So in short to explain forcing the device to use the closer satellite with my above analogy, by lowering the transmit power I take the bullhorn away from the guy 50 feet away and the device will then associate with the person standing 10 feet away that can actually hear them.