I just upgraded my old Orbi rbr/s 50 system to the 960 router with 2 satellites. I was expecting faster speeds and better range vs the old mesh. However, so far while speeds look good, I have had range issues and frequent dropouts. We have a wired system that drives the network with an old Linksys ea9500 as a switch. It worked fine with the old Orbi, but I'm now having dropouts. I'm wondering if the old Linksys is the culprit of the issues I'm now having.
To address this, I just bought a Netgear gs116 v2 switch which I haven't hooked up yet.
My really dumb question is this...to install/use the gs116, do I just take all the ethernet cables from our wired network, including the line to our Orbi 960 and the line from our Xfinity cable modem, and plug them into the gs116? Does the switch just figure out all the data traffic regardless of how the inputs/outputs are plugged in?
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? There a router at this point? Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6A STP is recommended.
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 wired or wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 🛰
Are you connecting the RBS to the RBR wirelessly or via ethernet?
Yes, connect the GS switch to the back of the RBR, using one of the 1Gb LAN ports in back of the RBR to the GS switch. Then move and connect all ethernet cables to this switch. The switch just passes thru all data from devices to the connected router.
I chatted with Netgear support around configuring this. They suggested running a line from Xfinity Cable Modem into Orbi 960 router, running a line from the Orbi Router to the switch, and then plugging all our wired connections into the switch. I will likely try this configuration in the next day or so, hopefully that improves things. The Linksys ea9500 should be able to handle gigabit speeds, but maybe it is showing its age with the new, faster wifi mesh.
Right now the satellites are connected wirelessly to the router. That being said, I was considering getting a third satellite and connecting that via one of the wired ports in our house. I would locate that satellite where we are having range issues currently.
Our house is a 4000 sq ft ranch. Difficult configuration, but we have not had any issues with dropouts until I installed the new 960 mesh. One satellite is about 30 feet away, the other one is about another 30 feet away. Dumb question but do the satellites only connect to the router, or can they connect via the next closest satellite? One of our issues is that the cable modem is at one end of the house, so we struggle with connectivity at the other end. We still are, even with the 960 mesh. That's why I was thinking of getting a third satellite and connecting that via one of our ethernet ports at the other end of the house.
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? There a router at this point?
Yes RBS can be daisy chained, wireless or wired to each other.
For that size of home, the RBR and just one RBS should be enough, if running two RBS, I would set the power level to 50% or maybe even 25%. I have a 5k sq ft home multi level and have two RBS, generally set 25% here. Great coverage.
Maybe draw up a floor diagram on mark where the modem, RBR and RBS are placed on it and let us see this.
