×

Introducing the Orbi 970 Series Mesh System with WiFi 7(BE) technology. For more information visit the NETGEAR Press Room.

Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
Reply

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

BabaOrbi
Aspirant

Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

Hi,

 

I recently purchased a NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home Mesh WiFi System (RBK13) 1 Router & 2 Satellites. Installed the Orbi app and followed all the steps for setup of this new system. I put one of satellite in on of my bedroom and the other in the basement.

I am not sure why I am not able to connect my devices to the Orbi satellites, I have tried all the options of updating the firmware, syncing up the router and satellites rebooting the route and satellites.

 

I was hoping when to see that my mobile phone to connect automatically or manually to one of the Orbi satellite placed in the basement bedroom and this is not happening.

 

The Network map on the Orbi map shows both the satellties and none of the satellite shows any devices connected.

 

What is the best way of getting the devices connected to satellites?

 

 

Thanks,

Baba

Model: Dual Band
Message 1 of 13
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 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.

 

Netgear has set up a community forum specifically for the Orbi AC products. Most of the people who watch that forum are more likely to have experience with Orbi (WiFi5 RBK10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 Series). Might be more likely to find someone who has a solution if the question is posted there:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/bd-p/Orbi


Please use this link to the main forum product list to review and choose where to make your posts. 
https://community.netgear.com/t5/NETGEAR-Forum/ct-p/en-netgear


Thank you.

Message 2 of 13
BabaOrbi
Aspirant

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

Hi,

I have the firmware V2.7.3.22. I have xFinity as my internet service provider and I am using the NETGEAR C6900-100NAR Nighthawk Dual Band AC1900 Cable Modem Router.

 

The size of the home is 2500 sft, upper floor 1250 sft and the finished basement is of 1000 sft. So the setup i had was the Orbi router placed next to the Modem-Router, One of the satellite in the basement bedroom and the other satelllite placed in between the basement bedroom satellite and the Orbi router.

 

Thanks,

Baba

Message 3 of 13
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite


@BabaOrbi wrote:

Hi,

I have the firmware V2.7.3.22. I have xFinity as my internet service provider and I am using the NETGEAR C6900-100NAR Nighthawk Dual Band AC1900 Cable Modem Router. Is the modem in router or modem only mode? Modem only mode is recommended. 

 

The size of the home is 2500 sft, upper floor 1250 sft and the finished basement is of 1000 sft. So the setup i had was the Orbi router placed next to the Modem-Router, One of the satellite in the basement bedroom and the other satelllite placed in between the basement bedroom satellite and the Orbi router. What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? is the modem and RBR in the basement or on the main level?

 

 


 

Message 4 of 13
BabaOrbi
Aspirant

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

I saw the Netgear community and they do not recoommend to put the Router-Modem in modem only mode.

 

The distance between the router and satellites in not long, because I was testing to if distance was the issue by placing all the satellites with in a 20 feet distance from the router. And the Orbi router and my cable router-modem are on the first floor sitting side by side to each other.

 

 

Message 5 of 13
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite


@BabaOrbi wrote:

The Network map on the Orbi map shows both the satellties and none of the satellite shows any devices connected.

What is the best way of getting the devices connected to satellites?


The way WiFi networking is engineered, the device scans the radio spectrum looking for WiFi access points and exchanges "management frames" with each to determine which access point seems to be the "best fit". The device then issues a connection request.

(This process is a bit technical.  For example, this explanation: https://netbeez.net/blog/how-wifi-connection-works/  The point is that it is the device that asks to connect.)

 

The discussion is further complicated because the people who engineered the WiFi software in devices made lots of different choices.  Devices that are clearly intended to be mobile (phone, tablets, laptops) usually scan the WiFi networks almost constantly looking for indications that a different access point would be a better connection. Devices that are definitely not intended to move around (TV's, refrigerators, garage door openers, security cameras, speakers) may 'stick' on whatever WiFi access point they connect to and quit looking.  Nobody publishes details about how their device is programmed.

 

The best way to get devices connected to a satellite is to:

  • Have the device closer to the satellite than the other Orbi units.
  • "Forget" the Orbi WiFi in the device network settings.
  • When the list of available WiFi networks refreshes, select the Orbi SSID, enter the password, and connect.

Device connections do not update instantly on the Orbi Attached Devices web page or on the Orbi 'app'.  (It can take several minutes.)

 

Are there any other devices which can be (temporarily) relocated close to one of the satellites?  Maybe a Nest Mini or Amazon Echo Dot, Sonos One, etc.  What happens when one of them is relocated and plugged in?  Are there any portable devices that can be connected to WiFi using WiFi Protected Setup (WPS)  See page 15 of the User Manual:

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK12/RBK12_13_14_UM_EN.pdf 

Instead of using the WPS (which labelled 'sync') button on the router, use the WPS button on the satellite.

Message 6 of 13
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

 

 


@BabaOrbi wrote:

I saw the Netgear community and they do not recoommend to put the Router-Modem in modem only mode.

Where did you see this in the Netgear Community about not putting the modem into modem only mode? The modem should be put in modem mode if your using the MR has a host router.

 

The distance between the router and satellites in not long, because I was testing to if distance was the issue by placing all the satellites with in a 20 feet distance from the router. And the Orbi router and my cable router-modem are on the first floor sitting side by side to each other. 20 feet is too close between the RBR and RBS. 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS📡 to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. Be sure that the MR is at least 3 feet away from the modem. 6 feet is preferred. 

 

 


 

Message 7 of 13
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite


@BabaOrbi wrote:

I saw the Netgear community and they do not recommend to put the Router-Modem in modem only mode.


There may be some confusion on this topic.

 

Netgear's installation instructions for the RBK12-13-14 product are silent on this topic.

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK13/RBK13_QSG_EN.pdf 

Netgear's User Manual for the product is also silent on this topic. (See page 11):

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK12/RBK12_13_14_UM_EN.pdf 

 

The community consists of a bunch of individuals who participate in discussions about Netgear products.  Each individual may have an opinion about lots of topics, and the individuals do not always agree.

 

My opinion is that:

  • Thousands of customers connect their new WiFi system to the ISP modem/router and it "just works".
  • Many of them do no configuration at all.  They use the WiFi SSID and password on the product label.  (When I scan the WiFi systems in my neighborhood, there are a LOT of them named things like ATTxxxxx, Spectrum_Setupxxxxx, TP-Linkxxxxx, NETGEARxxx.)
  • There are specific applications which do not function when a 'router' is connected to another 'router'.  Internet search for "Double NAT" will provide numerous examples.  Netgear has a KnowledgeBase (KB) article about Double-NAT:
    https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT 
  • The applications that most often encounter problems with a Double NAT are
    Some (but not all) Internet Games
    Forwarding ports so that home resources can be reached from the internet
    Creating a VPN so that the local LAN can be reached from the internet
    (I happen to think that Netgear's article is not clearly written.  Obviously, there is no problem connecting to sebsites that use SSL.  If there were, then 99% of today's web sites would fail.  And VPN refers to using VPN to get into the local network from the internet, not using VPN to connect to places on the internet.)
  • In those specific cases, something must be done about the Double NAT.  Netgear has a KB article about that:
    https://kb.netgear.com/30187/My-NETGEAR-or-Orbi-router-is-connected-to-an-ISP-gateway-or-another-rou... 
  • A third method (that Netgear does not mention in that article) is to put the Orbi router in the "DMZ" of the ISP router.

So, my opinion is "If there's a problem, fix it.  If it ain't broke....."

Message 8 of 13
BabaOrbi
Aspirant

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

Thank you guys.

 

So I did the below exercise.

1) Of the two satellites i placed one of them in the basement bedroom

2) Took off the satellite that was placed in between my main floor and the basement(stair way)

3) After reaching the basement bedroom, i switched On and Off the Orbi wifi network and Cellular data for few minutes.

4) Placed my mobile device very close to the satellite and reconnected to my Orbi Wifi network. Refreshed the Network Map in the Orbi app and now I see that the satellites shows me my mobile device in the connected list.

5) Another exercise was to go back and forth from my main level to basement level and check if the device is getting connected to the satellite, though the Network map does not refresh the list automagically, we need to refresh it show the device list.

 

Another question is after i setup my Orbi Wifi, I am able to still connect to my old wifi network. Do I need to do something about it?

 

 

Message 9 of 13
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

If thats coming from the modem/router, then I would disable this on the modem/router.

Message 10 of 13
BabaOrbi
Aspirant

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

Yes thats coming out of my modem/router. How do I disable that?

Message 11 of 13
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

Need to log into the modems web page. You'll need to look up the mfrs support site information regarding the configuration of the modem/router. Or contact your ISP regarding this. 

Message 12 of 13
HomeInspect
Aspirant

Re: Devices not connecting to Orbi RBK13 Satellite

Been there, struggled with it.  But here is what I discovered:

-There is no need to change transmission strength levels on the router.

-There is a big difference in the information available from the app and browser page access utility.

-When I accessed the settings on the brower utility under the advanced tab and looked at attached devices, the satellites come up as an attached device.  Mine were showing "out of sync" even though the app said all was good.  This after doing firmware updates to attempt to resolve the poor performance and noticing all devices on the router (further away!).

-This is going to sound so simple!  I used the sync button on the back of the satellite and router, still didn't work once complete and it took a bit.  So I unplugged the satellite, waited about 10-15 secs, and plugged it back it.  I know, I know....computer less than 101!  But once it booted and attached, my browser utility changed from "out of sync" to "good".  And guess what....my devices started shifting to the satellite!  I did same with my other satellite and "whalla"!

 

Anyways, key was to watch the status of the satellite in the browser utility.  Hope this helps.

Message 13 of 13
Top Contributors
Discussion stats
  • 12 replies
  • 1958 views
  • 0 kudos
  • 4 in conversation
Announcements

Orbi WiFi 7