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Forum Discussion
mapotter99
Jul 09, 2024Apprentice
Possible Fix for iPhone Dropping WiFi
I have an RBE973S system. think I have identified the reason my iPhone keeps dropping WiFi, and I wanted to share so others can see if it solves their issues. On your iPhone, go to Settings>Cellula...
Roc1
Aug 05, 2024Luminary
kjx, I’m old and your question about the weird IP messed with my mind. It finally dawned on me, during the flips, when I went to look at details on the main SSID that was still shown as “connected” in iPhone Settings while 5G and cell strength was being displayed, there was no WIFI IP connection info populated, it was all blank.
I’m not in my web gui, but my ATT 5G fiber ONT/Modem/router/Gateway (I’m using Pass-Through to the 971) has a 168 or 169 IP that is shown in the Gateway gui as the “Router (ATT Gateway router) IP” if I recall correctly.
Would that make sense? Could some IP address from your ISP somehow get involved in your iPhone settings if your Orbi Router IP wasn’t available when the cellular provider’s 5G service tried to connect when the Orbi Mesh hand-off went south??
And when the flips first started happening to me 2-months or so ago,(I just installed my new Orbi’s the last week of May), I mistakenly assumed since the SSID was shown in iPhone settings as my WIFI connection, that when the router woke up from its nap, it would reconnect. Wrong! I got within 4’ of the 971, it never connected on its on. I had to do your trick.
I like the way your solution was short and sweet, “do this . . .” and everything is right with world (again!). Not!
Before I started my “back-up” routine, I might be typing a 3-page reply here on the NG Community. Remember, I would have been logged into the Community from the internet connection from my Router. I noticed the 5G Cell icon pop-up several times as I typed my reply. My NG Community reply window was still open on my iPhone and I was just typing away!
Finally finished typing, let me just hit “Post”. What??? Error (of some kind)?? Why did that happen? Oh well, I’ll just refresh my browser and repost. What??? It wiped all my reply text clean!!
So I started the reply I opened with my browser on the 971. When it flipped to 5G cell server, it had no idea what I was trying to do!! Just like trying to reply to an email from your Server, but if the device looses the connection to the server and you just keep “replying”, the network doesn’t know what you’re replying too!
After this WiFi-drop 5G-Cell-flip happened during another post and it wiped the post clean, now, when I finish and before I Post, I Select-All, and Copy to the clipboard. If it wipes me because I didn’t see the “flip”, I just Paste, then Post!
Keep that in mind if you get into drop/flip cycle and your not moving around (Those several times it happened to me, I hadn’t moved from the chair once, and when I started the Post, I had full WiFi strength).
That’s another reason I think the Orbi mesh hand-off doesn’t complete. The satellite says, here it comes, but the Router’s on a coffee break!!
I’m not in my web gui, but my ATT 5G fiber ONT/Modem/router/Gateway (I’m using Pass-Through to the 971) has a 168 or 169 IP that is shown in the Gateway gui as the “Router (ATT Gateway router) IP” if I recall correctly.
Would that make sense? Could some IP address from your ISP somehow get involved in your iPhone settings if your Orbi Router IP wasn’t available when the cellular provider’s 5G service tried to connect when the Orbi Mesh hand-off went south??
And when the flips first started happening to me 2-months or so ago,(I just installed my new Orbi’s the last week of May), I mistakenly assumed since the SSID was shown in iPhone settings as my WIFI connection, that when the router woke up from its nap, it would reconnect. Wrong! I got within 4’ of the 971, it never connected on its on. I had to do your trick.
I like the way your solution was short and sweet, “do this . . .” and everything is right with world (again!). Not!
Before I started my “back-up” routine, I might be typing a 3-page reply here on the NG Community. Remember, I would have been logged into the Community from the internet connection from my Router. I noticed the 5G Cell icon pop-up several times as I typed my reply. My NG Community reply window was still open on my iPhone and I was just typing away!
Finally finished typing, let me just hit “Post”. What??? Error (of some kind)?? Why did that happen? Oh well, I’ll just refresh my browser and repost. What??? It wiped all my reply text clean!!
So I started the reply I opened with my browser on the 971. When it flipped to 5G cell server, it had no idea what I was trying to do!! Just like trying to reply to an email from your Server, but if the device looses the connection to the server and you just keep “replying”, the network doesn’t know what you’re replying too!
After this WiFi-drop 5G-Cell-flip happened during another post and it wiped the post clean, now, when I finish and before I Post, I Select-All, and Copy to the clipboard. If it wipes me because I didn’t see the “flip”, I just Paste, then Post!
Keep that in mind if you get into drop/flip cycle and your not moving around (Those several times it happened to me, I hadn’t moved from the chair once, and when I started the Post, I had full WiFi strength).
That’s another reason I think the Orbi mesh hand-off doesn’t complete. The satellite says, here it comes, but the Router’s on a coffee break!!
FURRYe38
Aug 05, 2024Guru - Experienced User
Just FYI, any 169 IP addressing is APIPA and means the devices isn't able to get a normal IPv4 IP address from the servicing DHCP server/router:
- Roc1Aug 06, 2024LuminaryMy 6E iPhone started “flipping” numerous times this afternoon again after not doing it for almost a week, but I think Community member ajx below in this thread gave us some good insight into what’s possibly causing this “6E” issue.
He removed his RJ45 wired connection on 1 satellite and went with the RBE wireless backhaul. I don’t know if you have wired or wireless (I use wired, and I’m not switching to wireless with my two satellites!), but the other thing ajx did, he repositioned his satellite inside the room, which apparently reduced band interference between that satellite, and the 971 router.
I’m going to try moving the satellite I think that’s causing my “flipping” issue, but I’ll have to reroute a Cat 7 cable, so I didn’t get to it today.
But I do think ajx (I hope I’m not using the wrong name, but once you start typing a post, you can’t scroll through the thread to recheck the Community member’s “name”, and I already forgot it after I checked it before starting my Reply!).
Since he went to wireless backhaul, and the drop/flips cleared-up (or reduced?) it might be an internal Orbi mesh node-to-node hand off issue that causes our 6E instability to drop devices, and flips into 5G cellular. Maybe the Orbi hard/soft ware can more easily accomplish a wireless backhaul and mesh node transfer easier than a wired backhaul and mesh node transfer, so it drops the WiFi connection during a “wired backhaul” node transfer.
Then in my case, (is your 6E device going to a cellular connection?) cellular 5G jumps in, as it should if WiFi is not available!
I’ve been blaming this for a few months on mesh instability, but I think it might be more of an Orbi device location, and WiFi band strength issue.
It appears my mesh “instability” and flips to cellular 5G occur when I’m stationary in a specific area of the house (possibly an area that has a strong WiFi signal from more than 1 mesh node. After re-evaluating my Orbi deployment locations, I think two (or maybe even all three Orbi devices “thinks” one of the other mesh devices has a stronger WiFi connection to my 6E device, so it drops it’s WiFi connection to my 6E iPhone. If the 2nd mesh nodes “thinks” the same thing, so it decides it shouldn’t offer a WiFi connection to my 6E device, and I flip into 5G cellular.
I’m going to re-orient one of my satellites so I’m not caught in an area where 2 (or more!) mesh nodes think the other node has me, and I end up not connected to any node!
This would be easier to validate/correct if the Orbi 971/970 (and 860 Orbi version also) had the ability to adjust WiFi band power. This was originally a config option in the 860 GUI, and it was in a beta version of the 971 (as I understand from Community member Furrye38), but NG had some kind of issue(s) with band power option on the 860, so they removed the capability with an 860 firmware update, and then did not include it in the 971’s when released (even though the 860/971 Orbi Operator Manuals still have not been updated to remove band power config GUI options!
I’m going to see if I can re-locate the mesh nodes within my home so there won’t be spots where the mesh nodes don’t know who should connect to the device. On the 971 mesh series, the router and satellites each have 12 antennae, so this might not be possible without reducing 5Ghz WiFi band power, or adding a large addition on to my home!!
Since 6GHz band is still being used for non-WIFI purposes by other agency/users, the FCC will not allow any power adjustments on 6GHz at this time.
If any Community member’s are familiar with the NG MR6550 Mobile Router that uses a cellular SIM Card for internet connection, it includes all 3 WiFi bands. But, the FCC apparently prohibits the “mobile” (I.e. vehicular) use of 6Ghz band on that MR6550 for fear of interfering with the other users that have not yet moved off this frequency. NG accomplishes this restriction by only activating the 6Ghz band on the MR6550 when the internal battery is removed, and the unit is plugged into a power outlet (vehicular use could be accomplished with an inverter, or other work around).
This specific MR6550 configuration using 6Ghz band would work great at home where the unit would provide home internet with a cellular data plan, and could be plugged into power full-time the with internal battery permanently removed, which would then activate the 6Ghz WiFi band.
I said all that to say, currently NG can’t allow us to make power changes that might help our WiFi 6E device stability if my theory is correct (maybe not!) about location and WiFi mesh node hand-off confusion.
I’ll update Community after I try moving my nodes around and see if that corrects mesh node hand-off drops, and eliminates 5G cellular service flips. - donawaltAug 06, 2024Mentor - Experienced User
an update from me on the Wifi->5G flip problem that others have reported on other threads too - trying to keep it all here!
As others have tried, this weekend I moved one of my RBS 960s across the hall to another place that seemed better - less blockage from walls. My signal tests before/after proved this to be true, in areas that had a weaker WiFi signal. The RBS is still wired backhaul.
For about a day I had no 5G flip problems! But yesterday I had at least 3 - it always gets back to WiFi in about a minute. So the problem is not solved.
This morning I turned off the 'WiFi 6E: Automatic' setting on my iPad and iPhone, both which have had the 5G flip problem. My current theory is it's a WiFi 5 -> 5G -> WiFi 6E transition issue (or the other way around) - the device/router are trying to figure out whether to go from WiFi 5 to 6E or Cell, or to go from WiFi 6E -> 5 or cell. It picks cell for some reason.
I'll report back on results!
- donawaltAug 08, 2024Mentor - Experienced User
Results - on both the 960 and 970 series, with Wifi 6E - 'Automatic', WiFi flipping to cellular/5G does happen. However, on both Orbi routers, if Wifi 6E - 'Off', no flipping.
- Roc1Aug 08, 2024Luminarydonawalt, since I relocated what I suspected was the offending satellite from the living room into a bedroom (actually I just “added a wall” between the “offender” and the other two Orbi mesh nodes) I haven’t flipped to 5G cell once in the last 3-days since I made that change.
Also, my 6Ghz WiFi band symmetrical speeds from 971 to my 6E iPhone increased from 1200-ish Mb up to 1400-ish Mb.
At the same time I made the satellite physical rearrangement, I turned off IPV6 in the RBE 971 as I have no equipment actively using that version, (that I know off) and others on the Community have advised it might help with a few IoT on-boarding issues I’ve had. I haven’t tried to on-board any IoT’s since I turned off IPV6, but I wouldn’t think that change would increase my iPhone WiFi speeds, I think it was related to WiFi interference from the one satellite.