Orbi Rbk50 - WiFi devices not roaming correctly

[cyberguts]

Recently set up my Orbi RBK50, and everything was working brilliantly.

Everywhere I went, I was getting 100% strength, and over 500mbps connection speed according to the WiFi Analysis section of the Orbi App.

But recently I've noticed a massive drop in speed, and quality strength.
In the bathroom (one floor up and other end of the property) and where I was getting the said speed and quality is now only getting 77% and around 77mbps.... And it looks like the phone I'm testing on isn't connecting to the satellite in the room opposite. Similarly can be said regarding my WiFi Printer.
The printer is literally next to the Satellite in my second bedroom, but yet according to the Orbi app; it's connecting to the Router......

I've tried with Enabling Beamforming and Fast Roaming, full reboot of the entire network; but I'm still not getting the roaming handover.

Any ideas?
Also, I've even tried the beta version of the FW (2.3.5.34) with no luck

[FURRYe38]

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. Placement and distance of RBS from RBR is key.

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?

Most wifi devices choose which single to connect to based on signal, quality and range, regardless of distance from signal source. 

You can help some of this by lowering the power output of the RBRs radios from 100% to say 75% or 50%. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

[Retired_Member]

What has changed since the last time your Orbi was working fine?

[CrimpOn]

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@cyberguts wrote:
the phone I'm testing on isn't connecting to the satellite in the room opposite. Similarly can be said regarding my WiFi Printer.
The printer is literally next to the Satellite in my second bedroom, but yet according to the Orbi app; it's connecting to the Router......

I've tried with Enabling Beamforming and Fast Roaming, full reboot of the entire network; but I'm still not getting the roaming handover.

---

You describe two issues.  Phones are supposed to be designed to roam.  Printers are not.

I have tested Fast Roaming on my RBR50/RBS50 system (firmware 2.3.5.30).  With a Sony Xperia and a Galaxy Tab A, both take about two minutes to switch from router to satellite or satellite to router as I go from near one to near the other.  For me, Fast Roaming works.  So, there may be an issue with the specific phone.

Things getting "stuck" on an Access Point that is (to us humans) clearly incorrect is a well-known issue.  Since their software is not programmed to roam, once they attach they tend to stay attached until they lose the signal completely. The procedure that seems most likely to work is to tell the device (printer) to "forget" the WiFi, turn the transmit strength on the Orbi band the printer uses down to 25%, then go into the printer setup and connect to WiFi again, chosing the Orbi SSID.  Once the printer is connected, the transmit power can be returned to normal.

Perhaps you can try this procedure on the printer and see if it works for you.  As far as the phone, does someone in the house have a different phone you can experiment with?

[cyberguts]

Satellite around 28ft away, on second floor and most opposite end of the property. Walls are solid brick throught the house.

Channel is set to 6, which is great according the the Wifi Analysis with Orbi App, and 36 for 5GHz.

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. Placement and distance of RBS from RBR is key.

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?

Most wifi devices choose which single to connect to based on signal, quality and range, regardless of distance from signal source. 

You can help some of this by lowering the power output of the RBRs radios from 100% to say 75% or 50%. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

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As said, initially the speed and quality was perfect; then all of a sudden I'm getting a degradation and all devices, regardless how close I am to the Satellite. According to the UI, Satellite backhaul is good.

I tried your advice regarding reducing the power output but initially 25%, but caused the backhaul connection from the Router to the Satellite to go from good to poor; and hampered the speed even more.

[FURRYe38]

"Walls are solid brick throught the house." This would be one reason why devices connect to preferred signals than what you think they should be connecting too. 

[cyberguts]

Nothing has changed since it was good, only what I have changed to remedy the issue by changing setting like enable Beamforming, Fast Roaming, install Beta FW.

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@Retired_Member wrote:

What has changed since the last time your Orbi was working fine?

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[cyberguts]

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@CrimpOn wrote:

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@cyberguts wrote:
the phone I'm testing on isn't connecting to the satellite in the room opposite. Similarly can be said regarding my WiFi Printer.
The printer is literally next to the Satellite in my second bedroom, but yet according to the Orbi app; it's connecting to the Router......

I've tried with Enabling Beamforming and Fast Roaming, full reboot of the entire network; but I'm still not getting the roaming handover.

---

You describe two issues.  Phones are supposed to be designed to roam.  Printers are not.

I have tested Fast Roaming on my RBR50/RBS50 system (firmware 2.3.5.30).  With a Sony Xperia and a Galaxy Tab A, both take about two minutes to switch from router to satellite or satellite to router as I go from near one to near the other.  For me, Fast Roaming works.  So, there may be an issue with the specific phone.

Things getting "stuck" on an Access Point that is (to us humans) clearly incorrect is a well-known issue.  Since their software is not programmed to roam, once they attach they tend to stay attached until they lose the signal completely. The procedure that seems most likely to work is to tell the device (printer) to "forget" the WiFi, turn the transmit strength on the Orbi band the printer uses down to 25%, then go into the printer setup and connect to WiFi again, chosing the Orbi SSID.  Once the printer is connected, the transmit power can be returned to normal.

Perhaps you can try this procedure on the printer and see if it works for you.  As far as the phone, does someone in the house have a different phone you can experiment with?

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Both phones are doing the exact same thing. My partner owned a Hauwei P20 Lite, and nine is a brand new Hauwei P30 Pro.

And regardless whether the Phones are located in the property; they seem to be latching on to the Router which is about 25ft away on the ground floor; rather than the Satellite which is literally either in the same room when in the second bedroom/office on the same floor.

Similarly goes for the Laptop (fully updated Lenovo IdeaPad S340) when I move around the house with it.

It's like they don't see it, or the Router isn't doing a handover to the Satellite.

I've even gone onto the Satellite UI (192.168.1.2) and the Satellite is connected correctly; but it says there are no connections on 2.4GHz/5GHz on teh "Status" page

[cyberguts]

That doesn't explain why it worked perfectly for a day or so when I initially set it up, getting 100% Quality and over 550mbps.

So now where I'm only getting 77% Quality and 130mbps, with it latching on to the Router rather than connect to the satellite when I'm right next to it.....

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

"Walls are solid brick throught the house." This would be one reason why devices connect to preferred signals than what you think they should be connecting too. 

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[CrimpOn]

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@cyberguts wrote:

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I've even gone onto the Satellite UI (192.168.1.2) and the Satellite is connected correctly; but it says there are no connections on 2.4GHz/5GHz on teh "Status" page

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Thanks for testing with another phone and the Lenovo laptop.  "No connections" may be significant.

Is the satellite on the same firmware release as the router?  So, if you turn the phone or laptop off, go into the room with the satellite and turn it on, the connection is not to the satellite?

[cyberguts]

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@CrimpOn wrote:

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@cyberguts wrote:

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I've even gone onto the Satellite UI (192.168.1.2) and the Satellite is connected correctly; but it says there are no connections on 2.4GHz/5GHz on teh "Status" page

---

Thanks for testing with another phone and the Lenovo laptop.  "No connections" may be significant.

Is the satellite on the same firmware release as the router?  So, if you turn the phone or laptop off, go into the room with the satellite and turn it on, the connection is not to the satellite?

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Yes, the Satellite is on the same FW 2.3.5.34 as the Router.

I have tried this method already with no avail.... Similarly with the Printer..... I reset the printer's WIFi and then reconnected the Printer using the WPS function on the Satellite (press Sync), and yet it still favours the Router as its connection.

It's mind bogging... Maybe a full reset of the entire Unit might remedy

[CrimpOn]

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@cyberguts wrote:

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It's mind bogging... Maybe a full reset of the entire Unit might remedy

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I agree.  This is weird.  Does the Lenovo have an ethernet port?  If you wire the Lenovo to the satellite, does it get internet?

[cyberguts]

No, it doesn't. But I'm waiting on a USB C to Ethernet adaptor to try it out.

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@CrimpOn wrote:

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@cyberguts wrote:

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It's mind bogging... Maybe a full reset of the entire Unit might remedy

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I agree.  This is weird.  Does the Lenovo have an ethernet port?  If you wire the Lenovo to the satellite, does it get internet?

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[FURRYe38]

If you haven't tried a reset since the FW update, this would be a next step. Setup from scratch and see what happens.