I just purchased the RBK 753 3 unit Orbi package from Costco and am having some connectivity issues with it so far.
The issue that occurs most frequently is my Chromecast will lose connectivity. Sometimes it will say connected with no internet. Other times it will disconnect from wifi altogether and I have to go choose the network to reconnect again. One of the satellite units is just a couple feet from the Chromecast.
The Orbi is installed in an apartment that is around 1000 square feet. The router unit is in the middle with one satellite on either side. There are tons of other wifi networks within range.
Is this distance too small for the Orbi to work well? Does the Orbi not work well in the presence of a lot of other networks? Is this a known issue? Did I possibly get a lemon?
Disappointed that such an expensive mesh router is performing so much worse than the years old cheaper individual unit it replaced.
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. https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite
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?
Try disabling the following and see: Armor, Traffic Meter.
Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set CTS to 2347. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
What Firmware version is currently loaded? v3.2.18.1_1.4.14 What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? Spectrum Cable Model Docsis 3.1 Model E31T2V1
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? 1000 sqft 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. https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite
~20 feet though a wall with sound proofing material installed.
What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz. So far I haven't manually adjusted any channel settings. Given the large number of wifi networks surrounding me I figured the best option would be to allow it to choose the best one on its own. Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? Yes. Depends on where I am and when I look, but I currently see 18 other SSIDs.
Try disabling the following and see: Armor, Traffic Meter. I just disabled Armor. Traffice Meter was already disabled.
Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set CTS to 2347. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings I don't see an explicit 40Mhz only option. I unchecked the "Enabled 20/40 MHz Coexistence" option. Does this have the same effect? Also I applied your suggested CTS/RTS and preamble settings to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Is this correct?
What Firmware version is currently loaded? v3.2.18.1_1.4.14 What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? Spectrum Cable Model Docsis 3.1 Model E31T2V1
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? 1000 sqft 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. https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite
~20 feet though a wall with sound proofing material installed. 20 feet maybe to close, even with sound proofing. 30 feet is starting distance.
What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz. So far I haven't manually adjusted any channel settings. Given the large number of wifi networks surrounding me I figured the best option would be to allow it to choose the best one on its own. Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? Yes. Depends on where I am and when I look, but I currently see 18 other SSIDs.
These maybe causing some interference issues. Try turning down the power output of the RBRs wifi radios from 100% to 50% and see if this changes anything. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
Try disabling the following and see: Armor, Traffic Meter. I just disabled Armor. Traffice Meter was already disabled.
Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set CTS to 2347. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings I don't see an explicit 40Mhz only option. I unchecked the "Enabled 20/40 MHz Coexistence" option. Does this have the same effect? Yes, that sets 40Mhz when unchecked. Also I applied your suggested CTS/RTS and preamble settings to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Is this correct? Yes.
Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?
20 feet maybe to close, even with sound proofing. 30 feet is starting distance.
Perhaps the Orbi isn't the best option for my situation. I wasn't aware of the minimum distance when purchasing. Would the satellite being too close cause connected devices to lose their connectivity?
I know my apartment is smaller than the typical use case. I decided to upgrade for a couple reasons. My existing router is old enough that it's no longer receiving updates, and in certain parts of the home I wouldn't receive a great connection. I suspect at least partially due to the many other networks around me. I was hoping the several mesh units might help with this.
I will try your suggestions and see if it helps. Though given the minimum distance requirement I'm wondering if maybe I should return and try a different solution, or maybe see if it's feasible to rearrange and scale down to a single satellite.
Do you happen to know if this minimum distance requirement is common to other mesh solutions?
Try turning OFF one or both RBS. For that size of home the RBR alone should work well for wifi coverage. I have a 5000sq ft home and most of the time use 1 RBR and 1 RBS.
These maybe causing some interference issues. Try turning down the power output of the RBRs wifi radios from 100% to 50% and see if this changes anything. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
Still seeing disconnects after the Coexistence, CTS/RTS Threshold and Preamble changes. I just changed the Transmit Power Control to 50%. Not sure if it should be necessary, but I also power cycled the satellites again as well.
Haven't yet tried turning off either of the sattelites. Haven't yet seen another drop after reducing the Transmit Power Control. If I do I can give that a try.
I was still experiencing drops with the reduced power. I then unplugged first one, then both, of the satellites. I am still seeing the same behavior. It happened yesterday to a second Chromecast device in a different room. This is the model without a remote. I just had to wait it out and it eventually connected. It has also been happening with my phone occasionally as well (Samsung S21). I managed to catch a screenshot this last time. As you can see the signal strength appears to be fine. Even with the satellites disabled. Yet it lost its connection to the internet.
Yes, the CTS/RTS is still set to 2347. As are all the other setting you suggested. Though I did try boosting the transmit power back to 100% after going to the single unit.
I'll try the support route and see what they say. Maybe I'll try a factory reset first as I suspect that might be the first thing they ask me to do.
I reached back out to support and they asked me to downgrade the firmware to version V3.2.17.12_1.4.14. Just did so for the router and both satellites.
Support didn't mention it, but I'm wondering if there's anything I need to toggle to prevent the router from automatically updating to the latest firmware again on its own.
Firmware downgrade didn't fix the issue either. I'm still experiencing disconnects.
Yes, I still have my old router.
I did notice while I was performing the firmware update that the logs showed an entry saying the Internet had disconnected. Expected during an update, but I'm also wondering if it will log this event during these other disconnects I'm experiencing. Problem is when I go to the logs interface it only displays the last ten entries. Is there a way to view the full logs?
Firmware downgrade didn't fix the issue either. I'm still experiencing disconnects.
Yes, I still have my old router.
Possible to set this up as your main host router and set the RBR for AP Mode? Would be interesting to see if RBR still sees problems. Be sure all other wifi radios on the spare router are fully disabled.
I did notice while I was performing the firmware update that the logs showed an entry saying the Internet had disconnected. Expected during an update, but I'm also wondering if it will log this event during these other disconnects I'm experiencing.
Wondering if there maybe a problem at the ISP modem level? Spectrum Cable Model Docsis 3.1 Model E31T2V1.
Have the ISP check the signal and line quality UP to the modem. Be sure the ISP provisions the modem correctly. Be sure there are no coax cable line splitters in the between the modem and ISP service box. Be sure your using good quality RG6 coax cable up to the modem. Be sure to power OFF the modem for 1 minute them back ON. https://community.netgear.com/t5/Cable-Modems-Routers/General-info-and-Troubleshooting-for-Cable-Mod...
Problem is when I go to the logs interface it only displays the last ten entries. Is there a way to view the full logs? Ya been a known problem with log logs not showing more then several entries.
As of last night I've switched back to my old router. The connection is again stable. The stability issue began and ended with the Orbi router. I think this rules out the ISP as being the cause of the issue. Unless the Orbi is somehow just incompatible with the modem or ISP configuration.
Running the Orbi in Access Point mode is tempting. Just to satisfy my curiousity. I may give this a try if I can find some time. Though even if it worked I wouldn't want this as a long term solution. One of the goals in all of this was to get rid of my old out of support router.
I'm still waiting on Netgear support to get back to me to see what else they have up their sleave, but at this point I'm unfortunately leaning toward just returning the Orbi. I was willing to spend more than I normally would on a router because of the good reviews and promise of a solid connection everywhere without having to expend a bunch of effort. However, my experience so far has been the exact opposite. It's just not worth several hundred dollars for a router that is going to require a ton of effort to *maybe* eventually give me a stable connection.
Since you bought from Costco, you also have option to buy a nice Nighthawk class router. Since your router can be centrally located and only have 1000 sq ft, unless you have a serious dead zone why go mesh?
My house is 3000 sq ft concrete construction, "U"shaped single floor and successfully used a Tri-band Nighthawk and a single Tri-band extender for 5 years. I went mesh to simplify management and to get wired ethernet ports into 2 locations to replace ethernet over power adapters for some equipment that have no wireless capabilities.
Despite the small area and the existing router being centrally located, there are still a couple spots in my home that don't perform optimally over wifi. I suspect it is due to the tens of other wireless networks surrounding me. I was hoping a mesh solution might help with this and provide me solid coverage everywhere. I wasn't aware at the time that Orbi also has a recommended minimum distance between units.
The ability to have a wired connection to the sattelite was also a bonus. I also had a similar configuration using a pair of tp-link ethernet over power adapters at one point.
I saw Costco had a nighthawk branded mesh router available at the same time I bought the Orbi. It was actually significantly cheaper. I decided to pay for the Orbi in hopes of avoiding just the kinds of problems I'm now seeing.
It sounds like you're talking about one of the stand-alone nighthawk units though (not mesh), right?
Yes, one of the standalone routers. My 5 year old r7900 Nighthawk was located at the far end of my house and still provided fair signal at 5g and strong signal at 2.4g 80' from the router through multiple walls. The extender was mostly for getting signal turned 90° to support devices down the wings of the house.
My current Orbi 753 also bought from Costco places satellites in a fairly straight line with the router. The router still at the far end of the house because that's the only practical place for the modem and router without significant re-wiring. Satellite 1 is about 25' from the router through 3 interior walls and satellite 2 is about 60' from the router through 4 interior walls. Both show good strength on the backhaul and both make direct runs to the router according to the network map. I think they're both direct to the router because I turned the father one on before the closer one. Haven't bothered to try to force them to daisy chain since everything is working.
If your in touch with NG support, see if they can get you an RMA for the RBR. Sounds like the RBR is faulty. If you can't get anywhere with NG support, I would be sure to return the system to place of purchase with in the return period.
Would be good to try AP mode on the RBR and see if the problem still happens or not.
As of last night I've switched back to my old router. The connection is again stable. The stability issue began and ended with the Orbi router. I think this rules out the ISP as being the cause of the issue. Unless the Orbi is somehow just incompatible with the modem or ISP configuration.
Running the Orbi in Access Point mode is tempting. Just to satisfy my curiousity. I may give this a try if I can find some time. Though even if it worked I wouldn't want this as a long term solution. One of the goals in all of this was to get rid of my old out of support router.
I'm still waiting on Netgear support to get back to me to see what else they have up their sleave, but at this point I'm unfortunately leaning toward just returning the Orbi. I was willing to spend more than I normally would on a router because of the good reviews and promise of a solid connection everywhere without having to expend a bunch of effort. However, my experience so far has been the exact opposite. It's just not worth several hundred dollars for a router that is going to require a ton of effort to *maybe* eventually give me a stable connection.
