Nearby device will not connect to satellite

[Jeff837]

I have the main router on Floor 1, and the satellite on Floor 2, which is 5 feet from the front door.  I have installed a Ring Doorbell on the front door.  However, it only connects directly to the router a floor away, rather than to the satellite a few feet away (as shown in the Attached Devices screen).  Yet the doorbell often reports poor network connectivity.

Why is it doing this?

How can I force the Ring Doorbell to connect to the nearby satellite?

[st_shaw]

The Attached Devices screen is wrong on the latest firmware release--it shows almost everything connected to the router, regardless of the real connection.  So, your dorobell might actually be connected to the satellite. You need the new v2.1.2 beta to correct the attached devices bug.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/OrbiOS-2-1-1/td-p/1476960

Power-cycle the doorbell after you reboot Orbi and the doorbell should connect to the nearest AP.

[webminster]

Curious about your settings for beamforming and MU-MIMO... thought I'd heard rumors that one or the other of those could cause issues with Ring.   I have them turned off, and my Ring connects at 5G to my satellite on same floor, about 25 ft. away.

[aaz]

I have both beamforming and MUMIMO on and my two ring doorbells connect just fine.

[Glennr]

What model of Ring do you have?  I have the original and support told me that it would only connect at 2.4.

[Retired_Member]

I have the same problem with my Skybell doorbell, if I update the firmware or restart the router, the doorbell will always reconnect on the router, I need to do an soft reset on doorbell for force the device to connect on the satellite, a method for to force specific device to connected on the router or satellite is missing and should be a good thing 

[FURRYe38]

maybe the Doorbell maybe choosing the "better" signal and thinks the router signal is better than the Satellite.

What version of FW are you using?

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@Retired_Member wrote:

I have the same problem with my Skybell doorbell, if I update the firmware or restart the router, the doorbell will always reconnect on the router, I need to do an soft reset on doorbell for force the device to connect on the satellite, a method for to force specific device to connected on the router or satellite is missing and should be a good thing 

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[Glennr]

The problem is two fold.  One, Orbi is NOT a mesh nework and two, Netgear has not figured out how to show the correct connections.  There was a firmware that was supposed to fix it but it was "recalled".  The latest 2.1.3.4 still has the connection display problem.  One way to test this is to connect something by cable to a port on the satelite.  If that shows as connected to the main Oribi you will have the answer.

[Retired_Member]

Never, when connected on router the signal is poor and on satellite is good

[Retired_Member]

My Skybell application show me signal quality, when connect on router signal is poor and good on satellite also for me the Orbi app show properly where my device is attached.

[Glennr]

What firmware do you have?  The 2.1.2.x firmwares fixed the display issues but is no longer available.  When I went to the latest available of 2.1.3.4,  I show everything connect to the router when I know it isn't because it is connected by cable to the sat.

From the 2.1.2.18 release notes:

Bug Fixes:

• Fixes an issue which causes high CPU on Orbi routers.
• Fixes the issue where the attached devices do not display correctly on the Attached Devices page.
• Fixes a WiFi issue if the WiFi password contains special characters,  
• Fixes the issue where the satellite sometimes are shown as disconnected on Attached Devices Page.

[Retired_Member]

Firmware version 2.1.3.4 on both(Router & Satellite)

[FURRYe38]

Did you reset both router and satellite after updating then setup from scratch?

[Retired_Member]

Any reason to setup at scratch after an firmware upgrade?

[st_shaw]

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@Retired_Member wrote:

I have the same problem with my Skybell doorbell, if I update the firmware or restart the router, the doorbell will always reconnect on the router, I need to do an soft reset on doorbell for force the device to connect on the satellite, a method for to force specific device to connected on the router or satellite is missing and should be a good thing 

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This happens because the Orbi router always comes up before the satellites upon a reboot or power cycle of the Orbi system. Devices that do not roam, such as OSX laptops or desktops and many IP cameras, will connect to the first device they see and never switch. There is no way to force devices to connect to a given Orbi unit, so to connect to the nearest Orbi, you may need to power cycle your non-roaming devices after every time Orbi reboots.

[Glennr]

Some non-roaming devices like doorbells are not easily power cycled.  I wonder if power cycling just the router might do it?

[st_shaw]

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@Glennr wrote:

Some non-roaming devices like doorbells are not easily power cycled.  I wonder if power cycling just the router might do it?

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I don't think that will work, because the sats will go down when you power cycle the router.

[cheshbr]

Orbi is a mesh network if you enable “Daisy chain topology” under

Advanced>Advanced setup>Wireless settings

otherwise is a star topology. But if you have only a router and a satellite then it doesn’t matter

[wilbo83]

I seem to have this same issue with ring products connecting to router and not satellite.  My Router is on floor 1 and my satellite is on the ground floor about 20 feet away from the Ring Chime Pro, yet my chime pro is connecting to the Router when I would have expected it to connect to the satellite.

The RSSI on the Ring Chime Pro is also no better than it was before I setup the Orbi, showing in the region of -60.  I have a Spotlight cam and doorbell connected to the chime pro.

I am running the latest firmware version V2.1.4.10.

[DarrenM]

Hello wilbo83

Do you have fast roaming enabled on orbi if not could be the reason why the devices are sticking to the main routers connection.

DarrenM

[wilbo83]

I didn't have it turned on but logged in and turned it on, left it for a few hours like that and checked the connection between the Ring Chime Pro quite a few times and it remained connected to the Router.  Perhaps that has the strongest signal, just seems strange when the satellite is on the same floor in the next room as opposed to the router being 1 floor away diagonally.

[cheshbr]

It is usually necessary to power-cycle the device connected to the wrong Orbi.  Try disconnecting, then reconnecting, the power to the Ring device, then refresh the Connected Devices list to see if it roamed to the correct Orbi.  Portable devices like phones, iPads, laptops, watches etc will roam from one Orbi to another as you take them around your house.  

This can be confirmed by referring to the BSSID MAC address of the connected Orbi when using an app like Network Analyser. (A MAC address is the Machine Access Code of a network device. It is a 12 digit code showing pairs of numbers separated by colons). Don’t worry about the 12 digit code itself, just note when it changes because that’s the point at which your portable device roams from one Orbi to the other. 

By contrast, a fixed device, like a printer, smart light bulbs, a smart TV, and your Ring don’t roam around your house, so the Orbi they lock onto is sticky and won’t release the attached device unless you force it to “roam” by switching it off and on again.

The Netgear Genie’s Network Map is your friend here too.  Touch the icon for each connected device on the map and look at signal strength. A good connection shows 100% unless it is a long way to your nearest Orbi. 

So power your Ring device off and on again, ,view the outcome on the attached devices list on the Orbi web interface, and check it on the Genie’s  Netwok Map

Good luck

[Glennr]

Good ideas except that it is not easy to power cycle a ring doorbell (not sure about a light).  The device has to be unscrewed with a special tool and removed from the wall in order to reset it.  There is no on/off switch.

[cheshbr]

Power cycling is the best way to force a network device to see the nearest Orbi.  

But here’s an alternative - try power cycling your Orbi Satellite.  When it restarts it is likely to gather to it’s bosom all the devices within its range, including the Ring.  

Whenever I power off the Satellite, then power it on again, it comes up with a logical list of nearby attached devices.

[SumoMan]

I just installed my Orbi RBK50 and had the same issue with my Ring Pro connecting to the router. 

All I had to do was power cycle the Orbi Router.

The Ring Pro is now on my satellite and my RSSI signal has improved.