NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
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...
Newest firmware loaded. iPhone 15 Pro Max keeps dropping WiFi especially if I move around the house. I have 4 units (router and three sats). This system just doesn’t know how to do handoffs well. And yes my home may be saturated with so many units (under 6k sqft), but it doesn’t seem to me that too much coverage should be a problem …
0tis saturation of signals is very much a possible problem. When there is over saturation, banding/node decisions are frequent and wrong.
Do a Google search on 'mesh nodes too close to each other' and you'll see both reddit, manufacturer sites, and other articles that mention this. Have you used a WiFi signal analyzer on a Mac or PC to check signals from each of the Orbi nodes throughout the house? Note, in my house I have 5000 square feet across a 4 floor house (basement plus 3 floors), and I have only 2 satellites. I get 900 Mbps d/l speed in the second floor, using the MLO 5GHz+6GHz connection, to the router in the basement - and each floor has 15 foot ceilings. That's a powerful WiFi signal to get 5GHz+6GHz two floors away!
I just checked here at my desk on the 3rd floor, and it sees -70dBm signals on the 5GHz band from the basement router - again across 15 foot ceilings and concrete flooring infrastructure. That is an "Okay" signal - rated for email and web browsing, "minimum signal strength for reliable packet delivery". But it shows how powerful these Orbi 971 and 970s are.
You didn't mention how far apart your Orbi nodes are, Netgear recommends a minimum of 30 feet. The technical info on the 970 series also states the range of the 971 and 970 is 3300 square feet. So you could have a lot of competing signals in some areas of your house.
If you are interested in checking your node placements using a signal analyzer, I wrote a short document on how to do it on one of the NG forums.
I am not saying this is the only problem you have, but I have found WiFi dropping to 5G cellular or connections with no internet has improved about 90% on this FW release. I even have my iPhone 16 Pro set to Wifi 6E='Automatic' and Private WiFi addressing back on now! You may get a clearer picture of what problems are outstanding if you analyze the placement of the necessary satellites in your house.