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Forum Discussion
jsteigel
Jun 11, 2023Aspirant
ORBI RBR50 DHCP loading
I have a RBR50 with 2 RBS Satellites running V2.7.4.24 Firmware in an multi OS environment, Windows 10, MacOS Monterey, IOS and Android. Currently 47 devices connected to the system at all times with upto 64 specific devices that may connect at any one time over a period of a month, when my immediate family members visit.
Periodically, once per month, I found the need to reboot the router as my connectivity would slow down while streaming. Afterwords things were fine for another month.
More recently I ran into a problem with my Roborock E5 Mop Robot Vacuum, where it's connectivity would decline over night. I would reboot it and it would connect and run until the next day. The app to control it has a network diagnostic that displays signal strength, RSSI and packet loss. Packet loss after rebooting would be 0, but the next day it would be 49%, with signal strength at 98%. I spent a couple of weeks working with the mfg, trying to resolve the issue, with no resolution. By the way, the Roborock parks 8 feet from the RBR50.
What I did that seemed to resolve the issue was reduce the number of devices that would have IP's assigned by DHCP, currently at 2. Since doing that I haven't had packet loss issues for the last two weeks. I don't know if I solved the issue, there is no way for users to see resource utilization on the Orbi so I have no means of validating that what I have done, has had any real impact. All current Orbi products emphasize that systems are limited by number of high performance, high data rate devices, nothing to do with the system managing the number of devices connected by DHCP. I have seen that others have had issues with DHCP with previous verstions of the firmware but have since been resolved.
I've also read the issues people have had with IOS connectivity, which I have never experienced, though I had not read this before I manually defined all of my IP addresses. So I have not tried the solutions that FURRYe38 has defined.
My network is tied to Spectrum 500/20 Mbps, using a Hitron E31N2V1 modem. The house is 3300 sq ft, single story. The satellites are 50-60 feet from the main router with at best 3 interior walls separation from the main router. (It sure would be nice if the Orbi app had a means of measuring the signal strength of the backbone radio between two Orbi devices.) On my Samsung S7 phone I have an app, "Wifi Analyzer", version 3.11.2, that can give you a measurement of the 2.4/5 GHz WiFi signals and from the main router the satellites come in from -65 to -80 db. My nearest neighbor has 2 WiFi SSID's that come in from -85 to -100 db. Other neighbors are visible from the satellites but not the main router.
I use WPA2 and AES only, 2.4 GHz is set as auto but currently uses channel 6 and the 5GHz is defined as channel 48.
Power is set at 100% on both frequencies.
20/40MHz coexistence is enabled.
Preamble mode is automatic.
CTS/RTS is at default values of 2347.
Implicit BEAMFORMING is enabled
MU-MIMO is enabled
Fast Roaming is enabled
Daisy chaining was checked, I've unchecked it though I have no need for it atm.
IP addresses are configured as follows:
1-15 for WiFi router/satellites, zibee hubs, NAS, printers and inhouse computers
16-31 DHCP
32-50 Phones, tablets, watches, immediate family laptops
64-87 Media devices, TV, Echos, Firesticks, WiFi cameras
96-103 light switches
120-127 Plugs
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
5 Replies
- FURRYe38Guru - Experienced User
FYI:
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 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 wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 🛰️What channel configurations are currently set on the router?
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, Smart Parental Controls or Circle, Traffic Meter.Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router been performed since last update?
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.One User Experience/Configuration:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Most-Stable-Orbi-Configuration/m-p/1941087/highlight/true#M97026Has the system ever been factory reset and setup from scratch?
- jsteigelAspirant
Spectrum supplied modem Hitron E31N2V1 connected to the router using a CAT 5e cable. I have ordered some CAT 6 cables.
With the garage and shop the square footage is approx. 3700 sq ft.
I'm attaching a pdf that shows the layout. The farthest satellite is approx. 50' from the main router. On the layout the main router is located in the Study with the light green dot. The satellites are dark blue dots in the shop and the Master Bedroom. The red dots identify WiFi devices, media players, TV's, FireSticks, Smoke detectors, printers and switches.
Using an iPad with speedtest I measured download speeds of 350Mbps - 500Mbps through most areas of the house. The 3 yellow dots are areas where download speeds were between 80Mbps - 150Mbps, (Dining Room, Master Bath and Master closet).
I did the manual upgrade to 2.7.5.4 on all three units.
I've set the channels for the WiFi to 11/48.
There are only 2 WiFi signals intermittently visible from the main router and they are registering -85 - -100db.
Armor and Smart Parental Controls were all ready disabled. I've also disabled Traffic Meter.
The system has not been reset for years, If memory serves me right, the main router was replaced during the initial warranty period.
Based on your link to the Most Stable Orbi Config I've also:
Disabled Fast Roaming
Unticked logging of DoS attacks and Port scans
Haven't figured out how to disable IPv6 yet.
- KevinLiTNETGEAR Moderator
Hello jsteigel ,
Thank you for your post!
I understand that you are having stability issues with your RBR50. This may be caused by the conflicting preamble types between your Roborock E5 Mop Robot Vacuum and your router. Long-preamble is usually used for older devices, areas that have low signal or far connection distances. Please change your preamble type to long and check for network stability.
Please let us know if you need additional assistance!
Best,
Kevin
Community Team
- jsteigelAspirant
So I made the change on the 2.4GHz frequency from Auto to Long Preamble. I saw no improvement. I've made the changes in FURRYe38's post. I've also copied the RoboRock's tech support on what I've done and sent them a link to here. The issue is that it changes, so sometimes it has high packet loss that results in it taking a long time to connect. Then I will look a couple hours later and it's fine.
I do have a question that bugs me, when I look at the WiFi signals for 2.4GHz each router/satellite has two 2.4GHz signals with it's own MAC address and the only difference in the MAC address are in the 1st group of 2 hex digits. The other 5 groups are the same. Why are there two signals?