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Forum Discussion
RBE971 Router and 6 RBE970 satellites
I have the same issue with my RBE971 Router and 6 RBE970 satellites. After first time set up all 6 satellites and 35 connected devices were all nicely connected. Then in the middle of the night I lost internet. Comcast 1GB modem is online, but I have no internet. Unplugged modem and router to reboot. After rebooting all satellites show disconnected, but all are online and transmitting Wi-Fi signal to all my devices. Majority of the 35 devices are wireless (Ring Cameras, TV's, iPhone, Roku Sticks, Laptops etc.), all show WIRED connected. (never seen an iPhone wired to internet). Rebooted and reset to factory defaults several times and sometimes all satellites show up, sometimes one or two and only some of my devices show up, but all are connected. Spent three days with Netgear support. Updated the Firmware several times, still same results. Last firmware update result showed all satellites connected, but only 11 devices showed connected (this time all connected via Wi-Fi). Waited overnight to see if system would recognize rest of my devices, but then early in the morning all satellites and router went offline with no internet again. Comcast modem is online. About 15 minutes later they all came back online, still showing all satellites connected and 11 wired devices. This time some of my Ring devices could not reconnect to my network. I waited couple of hours and unplugged the modem and router several times and all satellites were showing disconnected, and 25 devices were showing all WIRED. My home is 4000sq ft, but my network covers 3 buildings and front gate. I have several wired and wireless cameras on my property. The map of my setup is as follows: Orbi Router connected via WAN port to Comcast modem (5' CAT 6 cable). Only three of the 2.5G ports at the back of Orbi Router are being used. First 2.5G Port - 95' CAT 6 cable to First Netgear GS308 switch. From this First switch - 5' CAT 6 cable to Orbi 1 Satellite. From this same First switch 75' CAT 6 to Orbi 2 Satellite. From this First same switch 105' CAT 6 to Orbi 4 Satellite. Now, from Orbi 2 Satellite - 65' CAT 6 to Second GS308 switch. From this Second switch - 80' CAT 6 cable to Orbi 3 Satellite. Then from second 2.5G port on the Orbi Router 70' CAT 6 to Third Netgear GS308 switch, from this Third switch - 20' CAT 6 connecting to Orbi 5 Satellite. From the third 2.5G port on the Orbi Router 90' CAT 6 to Orbi 6 Satellite. All Satellites are approximately 65’ to 75’ apart from each other and the router.
2 Replies
It would be useful to know if the Orbi router logs these loss of internet events. (The log is cleared when the router reboots, so it is important to look at the log before rebooting the router.)
And, if the router log does show loss of internet, does that correspond to events in the modem log?
A substantial investment in networking gear and wiring. With WiFi access points 65-70 ft. apart, there may be area with poor 5G coverage and marginal performance.
It may turn out that any time the router is rebooted, the satellites should also be powered off and then restarted one at a time. (Perhaps a question for Netgear support.)
Must_Function what is the topology of your house - floors, square footage etc.? A 971 router and 6 satellites is rated for over 20,000 square feet, and approximately. 450 devices! If your house/building is not that big, you will see poor performance. Each node transmits very strong Wi-Fi signals (each Orbi device has a range of about 3300 square feet, and having them myself, that is no exaggeration), and when too many are placed in close proximity, their coverage areas heavily overlap. This creates excessive co-channel and adjacent-channel interference, where devices and mesh nodes spend more time negotiating airtime, backing off, and retransmitting instead of moving data. Clients may also roam poorly, constantly switching between nodes or clinging to a farther one because the signal is still “good enough,” leading to higher latency, packet loss, and inconsistent speeds. On newer bands like 6 GHz, oversaturation can break the clean-spectrum advantage entirely, negating one of its biggest benefits. In short, with powerful mesh systems, fewer, well-placed nodes almost always deliver faster, more stable Wi-Fi than blanketing the home with hardware.
If you don't have a good justification for that many devices, can you try testing from the minimal and then expand - star with a router - how do things work in its range? Then add one 970 - test again, etc.
