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Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Nightrider23
Guide

Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Hello,

 

So I bought the Nighthawk Mesh Wifi 6 with 1 satellite about 1.5 years ago and I'll be honest it has given me troubles since day 1.  The connection is strong and stable for periods of up to a week or 2 and then it would go roug and it can be hard to get a stable wifi download speed.  It always connects just fine but the download speeds is always waivering. It got so bad this week that I couldn't even watch Netflix or Amazon Prime and it just sits there buffering.  I did my usual unpluggin the model and router and let it all reset and then I check my devices and everything seems to work fine for about 15 minutes and then the download speed beginning waivering again.  Like I am down to 15 Mbps download and I have 200Mbps internet plan that I pay for.  Has anyone else had problems with this unit and if so what did you do to get the wifi connection steady?  I have even moved the satellite all around my home and still no improvement.  Do you think these are just bad?  Should I upgrade to a different router and satellite?  It would suck to since I just bought these not that long ago but if it fixes the problem I will.  I'm at the point of throwing these out on the road and letting someone run them over lol!  Its literally that frusterating becasue I had to continuelly reset the modem and router everyday.  Anyways please let me know how you can help.  Also everything is up to do.  All firmware is up to date as well.  My IP has confirmed I have 100% service and that checks out wired as well so its defintely the MR60.  Thanks for any help before I toss them to the curb.

Message 1 of 19
plemans
Guru

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

A couple things to check.

Does the issue happen with devices that are connected to the satellite? Or devices connected to the router? or both? 

Does it happen to only wireless devices?

Are wired devices stable?

what modem/gateway do you have? 

Message 2 of 19
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite


What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

 

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS📡 to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.

 

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

 

Basements are not recommended placement locations for main wifi routers. Concrete and steel will cause problems with wifi singal coverage. This could be one root cause. 

Message 3 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Hello!

Appreciate the reply. So here my answers to your questions.

 

A couple things to check.

Does the issue happen with devices that are connected to the satellite? Or devices connected to the router? or both? 

It seems to happen to both.

Does it happen to only wireless devices?

It only happens to wireless devices.  

Are wired devices stable?

Wired devices are stable!

what modem/gateway do you have? 

I have the Netgear Nighthawk CM1200.  The modem and the router and satellite were installed at the same time about 1.5 years ago.  

Message 4 of 19
plemans
Guru

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

I'd start at square 1 for testing. . 

For testing, power off the satellites and just see if devices are stable (might not be fast) if connected directly to the router. 

that'd be key for me to figure out if I was in your shoes because if its not stable with just the router, the satellites aren't going to be stable either because its a dual band system without the dedicated backhaul the tribands have. 

 

Message 5 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Hello,

 

I appreciate the help.  Here's my answers to your questions:

 

What Firmware version is currently loaded?

MR60 Firmware Version: V1.0.6.116

Satellite Firmware Version: V1.0.6.116
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

Modem is a Nighthawk CM1200.  Everything was installed together 1.5 years ago brand new.

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?

Roughly 2000 Sq Ft.  Include a main floor, 2nd floor and basement.
What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS📡 to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.

The modem and router are on the 2nd floor and the satellite is on the main floor in the livingroom at about 30ft from what I just measured right now.

 

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

I'm not sure what channels I'm on.  My guess is its on auto because I didn't change any settings from the inital setup.  There are only 1 other wifi that pops up when I search for my router so not really much traffic in the area.  Also I usually run about 14 devices across 2.4 and 5Ghz.  10 on 5Ghz and 4 on 2.4Ghz.

Basements are not recommended placement locations for main wifi routers. Concrete and steel will cause problems with wifi singal coverage. This could be one root cause. 

Modem and router on the the 2nd floor and I only have 1 device that jumps on the internet once in a while in the basement.

 

I would say the items that have the most problems from my devices is usally my garage door opener and  Xbox Series X.  The crazy thing is I can get 200Mbps on my iphone at times and then go over to my Xbox and its only showing 10Mbps and I'm standing right next to the Xbox with my iphone.  Its unfortunately really doesnt like my Xbox for some reason.  I literally couldn't even stream netflix on the xbox because it wouldn't go higher than 10Mbps download but then I try to fire it up on my iphone and it works.  So there's definetly something going on.  Also should say that I just installed the Xbox Series X which replaced my xbox one.  

 

Appreciate the help,

 

Chris

Message 6 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Sounds like a good a first step. I'll try that right now.

Message 7 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Ok so all of the devices are usable except the Xbox Series X.  Much slower speed but I'm able to stream a video fine on my iphone anywhere in the house but the Xbox Series X is only at 11Mbps download it says which is pretty bad.  It won't even play a video on Amazon Prime.  Xbox is on the main floor and is roughly 30ft from the router.  I was telling other guy I replied too that I just installed this Xbox Series X this week and that's when things even got worse as far as wifi stability.

Message 8 of 19
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

There are some known issues with series X consoles. MS networking has never been that good. Seen some posts about Series X causing networking issues.

Can you ethernet connect the xbox and test? 

Message 9 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Sure. I'll bring the Xbox Series X upstairs and ethernet connect and test it and report back.

Message 10 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

So I just fired up the Xbox right next to the router and tried the wireless test first and holy cow, its showing 232.89 Mbps Download Speed which is exactly what my iphone gets.  Its like night and day faster.  Its like a rocket with absolutely zero hesitation on streaming amazon prime or netflix now.  

 

Now what can I do to get this same speed downstairs that's roughly 30 feet away from the router???

Message 11 of 19
plemans
Guru

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

You have 2 satellites? 

Since its stable with just the router, try firing up one (just one) of the satellites. Maybe use that to hardwire in the xbox.

see if thats stable. If its not, try swapping satellites. Maybe the problem can be isolated to a specific satellite or device. 

Message 12 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite


@plemans wrote:

You have 2 satellites? 

Since its stable with just the router, try firing up one (just one) of the satellites. Maybe use that to hardwire in the xbox.

see if thats stable. If its not, try swapping satellites. Maybe the problem can be isolated to a specific satellite or device. 


Yes I'm thankful that I found out the router is working good!  Maybe it is the satellite?  So I put the Xbox back downstairs and plugged the Satellite back in and did another test yesterday.

 

I moved the router to the ground on the 2nd floor which put it closer toward the Xbox. Then I moved the satellite to where its 10 feet from the Xbox, and at this spot the satellite was roughly 17 feet from the router.  

My download speed jumped up to 90 Mbps download speed which was the highest I've seen it so far on the main floor in the living room.

So my question is.....do you think the satelite is the cuprit here?  Should I try to move the router ever closer on the 2nd floor?  If I did, could I use a longer Coax cable than the one Spectrum used? I could probably move it another 10 feet with a longer coax cable.  I might have one laying around.

 

As far as connecting to the Satellite.  You're saying that I can run an Ethernet from the Xbox into the Satellite?  Thanks!

Message 13 of 19
plemans
Guru

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Something to keep in mind with the MK60 set. Its a dual band set and doesn't have the dedicated backhaul the triband setups have. 

So if a device is connecting through the satellite, its going to take a roughly 50% speed hit because it doesn't have that dedicated backhaul (unless you hardwire in the satellites for a wired backhaul).

That happens because the satellite has to use the same chip to go router<---->satellite  and then satellite<---->devices. And they can't do it at the same time. 

 

From the sound of it you have a 200mbps plan? 

and you're going to get some speed loss because of distance/obstructions with the satellite. 

so hitting 90 mbps over the satellite on wireless is pretty reasonable if you're starting from a 200mbps plan. 

 

Wired you should be faster speeds because the satellite is only going router-----satellite and isn't have to rebroadcast the data over wifi. 

Message 14 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite


@plemans wrote:

Something to keep in mind with the MK60 set. Its a dual band set and doesn't have the dedicated backhaul the triband setups have. 

So if a device is connecting through the satellite, its going to take a roughly 50% speed hit because it doesn't have that dedicated backhaul (unless you hardwire in the satellites for a wired backhaul).

That happens because the satellite has to use the same chip to go router<---->satellite  and then satellite<---->devices. And they can't do it at the same time. 

 

From the sound of it you have a 200mbps plan? 

and you're going to get some speed loss because of distance/obstructions with the satellite. 

so hitting 90 mbps over the satellite on wireless is pretty reasonable if you're starting from a 200mbps plan. 

 

Wired you should be faster speeds because the satellite is only going router-----satellite and isn't have to rebroadcast the data over wifi. 


That is good to know about the backhaul.  Would the Orbit have backhaul? And would you think it would have better WiFi range?  Or maybe I need to get a couple more satellites?  I only have 1 satellite.

 

You're correctly I have a 200Mbps plan which is the fastest they have in the area.

 

I will move my router and then plug the Xbox into the satellite and see if that makes a difference.  

Thanks!

Message 15 of 19
plemans
Guru

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite

Its not about switching between the orbi/MK series. Its about what system you get. The tribands are going to be faster because of their dedicated backhaul between router/satellites. 

the MK60 series is a base model MK series while the MK80 is the upgraded triband version. 

Versus orbi has single and dual band systems as well. 

 

Nothing wrong with the system, its just something to keep in mind. and 90mbps should be more than enough for gaming/streaming 4k. 

 

 

Message 16 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite


@plemans wrote:

Its not about switching between the orbi/MK series. Its about what system you get. The tribands are going to be faster because of their dedicated backhaul between router/satellites. 

the MK60 series is a base model MK series while the MK80 is the upgraded triband version. 

Versus orbi has single and dual band systems as well. 

 

Nothing wrong with the system, its just something to keep in mind. and 90mbps should be more than enough for gaming/streaming 4k. 

 

 


Got it and cool I'll see how it goes with the 90Mbps download speed when streaming and gaming!  

 

So could I add one of those triband satellites to the my currrent setup just out of curiousity? Compatible with the MR60 router?  

 

Having to move my router is putting it in a weird location with cables running across the room, but at this point I'll keep the horrible looking cables running across the room in order to keep the stable download speed.  But if I get a better satellite maybe I can move the router back to where it was?  

Message 17 of 19
plemans
Guru

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite


 

 


Got it and cool I'll see how it goes with the 90Mbps download speed when streaming and gaming!  ---Might be faster if hardwired into the satellite. It doesn't take the speed hit if hardwired in. 

 

So could I add one of those triband satellites to the my currrent setup just out of curiousity? Compatible with the MR60 router?  ----No. the router has to have the dedicated backhaul as well. you can add a ms60 to the MR80 but not reverse. 

https://kb.netgear.com/000063029/Which-Nighthawk-Mesh-products-are-compatible-with-the-Nighthawk-Tri...

 

Having to move my router is putting it in a weird location with cables running across the room, but at this point I'll keep the horrible looking cables running across the room in order to keep the stable download speed.  But if I get a better satellite maybe I can move the router back to where it was?----possible. Or moving the modem with the router. I've swapped my primary router/modem's location around a few times to try to optimize.


 

Message 18 of 19
Nightrider23
Guide

Re: Nighthawk mesh Wifi 6 MR 60 and satellite


@plemans wrote:

Its not about switching between the orbi/MK series. Its about what system you get. The tribands are going to be faster because of their dedicated backhaul between router/satellites. 

the MK60 series is a base model MK series while the MK80 is the upgraded triband version. 

Versus orbi has single and dual band systems as well. 

 

Nothing wrong with the system, its just something to keep in mind. and 90mbps should be more than enough for gaming/streaming 4k. 

 

 


Well I decided to upgrade to the MK83 Tri-band because I need the wi-if range to be stronger.  I found a used one for half the price, and should get here next week.  

 

I believe you said I could use my current satellite with the MK83?  I'll try it first without it and if I'm good to go I'll just sale the MK60 set.  Appreciate the help.  Had I known there was an MK83 option I would of bought that one in the first place.  Thanks!

Message 19 of 19
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