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Alixer's avatar
Alixer
Aspirant
Apr 16, 2020

Devices don’t connect to the nearest satellite

I appologize if this has already been answered but I have spent a lot of time on the forums now and each topic just ends up being a rabbit hole.

 

First, my setup. I am running a RBR50 with one indoor satellite and one outdoor satellite. My home is about 3700sf and the the satellites are about 30-40' away from the main router. I'm running in router mode with v2.5.1.8. I am in a star formation but the Daisy chain option is enabled as this option seems to be reversed (and I've seen others in this forum saying the same). If I disable this option then the satellites move into a daisy chain as far as I can tell, which is not the configuration I want and one of the satellites cannot connect.

 

So now my problem. I have 3 devices in particular that are sitting near my satellite and yet they connect to the main router. 2 of the devices are literally 1 foot away from the satellite and 30'-40' away from the router and yet they still connect to the router. The 3rd devices is 10' away from the satellite and 40'-50' away from the main router. I really don't care which device they connect to as long as they work. But this 3rd device does not have a reliable connection. It is an echo dot and some times it struggles to connect and other times it does not. But always it shows as connected to the main router (according to the Orbi app) with a weak connection. Oddly I have a SkyBell door bell in the same vincinity that connects to the satellite as expected on the 2.4ghz channel so I know some devices connect. Also there is an Apple TV connected to that satellite on the 5ghz channel.

 

I have Beamforming disabled. I tried enabling it but then I started getting dropped connections on devices I care about a lot more than that echo. I turned on MIMO (or what ever that acronym is) but then my entire network was hosed. I tried resetting the network connection on the Echo as well but that didn't help. 

 

Any other ideas would be much appreciated. Thank you

7 Replies

  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User

    30 feet 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 any unused channel on 5Ghz.
    Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

     

    Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings. You can turn down the power output of the RBR to see if this helps any. 
    .

    Try disabling the following and see:
    Armor, Circle, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

     

    Try a factory reset and setup from scratch to see if this changes the Daisy Chain behavior. 

    https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Throttling-Devices-RBK53/m-p/1858561/highlight/true#M81925
    https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-Satellite-Drop-Connection-time-to-time/m-p/1890341/highlight/true#M88026


    Alixer wrote:

    I appologize if this has already been answered but I have spent a lot of time on the forums now and each topic just ends up being a rabbit hole.

     

    First, my setup. I am running a RBR50 with one indoor satellite and one outdoor satellite. My home is about 3700sf and the the satellites are about 30-40' away from the main router. I'm running in router mode with v2.5.1.8. I am in a star formation but the Daisy chain option is enabled as this option seems to be reversed (and I've seen others in this forum saying the same). If I disable this option then the satellites move into a daisy chain as far as I can tell, which is not the configuration I want and one of the satellites cannot connect.

     

    So now my problem. I have 3 devices in particular that are sitting near my satellite and yet they connect to the main router. 2 of the devices are literally 1 foot away from the satellite and 30'-40' away from the router and yet they still connect to the router. The 3rd devices is 10' away from the satellite and 40'-50' away from the main router. I really don't care which device they connect to as long as they work. But this 3rd device does not have a reliable connection. It is an echo dot and some times it struggles to connect and other times it does not. But always it shows as connected to the main router (according to the Orbi app) with a weak connection. Oddly I have a SkyBell door bell in the same vincinity that connects to the satellite as expected on the 2.4ghz channel so I know some devices connect. Also there is an Apple TV connected to that satellite on the 5ghz channel.

     

    I have Beamforming disabled. I tried enabling it but then I started getting dropped connections on devices I care about a lot more than that echo. I turned on MIMO (or what ever that acronym is) but then my entire network was hosed. I tried resetting the network connection on the Echo as well but that didn't help. 

     

    Any other ideas would be much appreciated. Thank you


     

    • Alixer's avatar
      Alixer
      Aspirant

      Thanks, switching to channel 11 may have done the trick. I'm going to run like this for a day or so and see how it goes.

       

      As I mentioned enabling Beamforming and MIMO caused other issues so I have those disabled. 

      • FURRYe38's avatar
        FURRYe38
        Guru - Experienced User

        Ok, Let us know how it goes. 

        Beam forming could be enabled at some point. Might try this after a few days to see if anything changes. 

        v2.5.1.8 works well for me and others. 


        Alixer wrote:

        Thanks, switching to channel 11 may have done the trick. I'm going to run like this for a day or so and see how it goes.

         

        As I mentioned enabling Beamforming and MIMO caused other issues so I have those disabled. 


         

  • Retired_Member

    What do you mean "your firmware is bad"? This is the latest firmware as far as I know. 

     

    Also, I don't care where devices connect as long as they work. In this case it is not working which is why I care.

    • Retired_Member's avatar
      Retired_Member

      Alixer wrote:

      Retired_Member

      What do you mean "your firmware is bad"? This is the latest firmware as far as I know. 

       

      Also, I don't care where devices connect as long as they work. In this case it is not working which is why I care.


      do a search on 2.5.1.8.......................lots of complaints

       

      from your OP:

      So now my problem. I have 3 devices in particular that are sitting near my satellite and yet they connect to the main router.

       

      to me that sounds like they are connected.....the ones that may not connect.....have they ever connected??

       

       

      • Retired_Member's avatar
        Retired_Member

        "v2.5.1.8 works well for me and others. "

         

         

        while dozens and dozens of others report otherwise.  so is your statement saying it should work for ALL????