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Re: RBK50 with BGW210 optimal settings? Problems with many aspects

dwhite77
Aspirant

RBK50 with BGW210 optimal settings? Problems with many aspects

I have an orbi RBK with two addtional satellites that I purchased on sale form Costco. I have ATT Fiber with the Arris BGW210 router/modem gateway. I have several nest products currently and plan to add several ring products soon. I have a large two story home, roughly 4000 sq ft, and wanted a system that covered all areas and the Orbi I purchased claims 7500 sq ft of coverage. Since setting up I have noticed several problems I will list below. I spoke with Netgear support initially, and they directed me to change from "passthrough mode" on the BGW and running the Orbi in router mode, to now I am running the orbi in AP mode. I will say my IT knowledge is limited, and I am learning as I go, so please explain any solutions in layman terms.

 

1. My system doesnt seem to be offering the coverage strength it should. Many of my connected devices show one or two bars of strength when I look at connected devices on the orbi app or on orbilogin.com, and many of them are connected to 2.4 when they are capable of 5 ghz and very close to a satellite. I would like to know how someone with the same setup is running their system to get good coverage, speeds and devices accurately switch to the closest satellite to get optimal coverage.I proably need to factory reset both the BGW and Orbi and setup my system from scratch and dont know the easiest way to acomplish this.

 

2. I am having some problems with streaming services such as netflix constanly buffering and when running a speed test from netflix, it is only getting 20 mbps or so from the orbi. I am streaming these services through an app on my vizio smart tv. I never had an issue when the same tv was connected to the BGW and no orbi. It seems that other smart devices such as my nest cameras are not getting a great signal either with a sattelite within 5-10 feet from them.

 

3. I bought a myQ smart garage device to be able to manage my garage door remotely through an app. It will only run on 2.4ghz and orbi does not differentiate between the two bands. I have been unsuccesful in setting the myq up through the orbi. I am trying to connect the myq using my iphone and with enough distance from the orbi so that it is connected to 2.4ghz and still have been unsuccesful in getting it to connect. 

 

All in all with my limited IT knowledge, it just seems I am not getting the coverage and ease of use from the orbi that I read so many others have. I have called netgear several times and tweaked settings enoguh that I need to start from scratch and set the BGW and orbi up to run as well as it can. I have considered retunring the orbi and trying something else, but I think if setup correctly, it will accomplish what I want. I want to be able to connect several smart devices and cameras (nest and ring) to run smoothly, I want to be able to stream from many different apps (smart tv, apple tv, etc.) without buffering and freezing, and I want to have consistent coverage throughout all rooms (upstairs and down). I would appreciate advice from someone running the same setup and using several different products without problems and how it was accomplished. Many thnaks in advance!

Model: RBK53|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System
Message 1 of 5
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK50 with BGW210 optimal settings? Problems with many aspects

What Firmware is currently loaded?

 

Modem Combo Units:
This would be a double NAT condition which isn't recommended. https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT
https://kb.netgear.com/30187/How-to-fix-issues-with-Double-NAT
Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge or modem only mode. Then use the Orbi router in router mode. You'll need to contact the ISP for help and information in regards to the modem being bridged correctly.
2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ/ExposedHost or IP Pass-Through for the IP address the Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Orbi router in Router mode.
3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the Orbi router to the modem, configure AP mode on the Orbi router. https://kb.netgear.com/31218/How-do-I-configure-my-Orbi-router-to-act-as-an-access-point and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LOcJ8GdDo&app=desktop
https://kb.netgear.com/19863/Ping-Test-to-determine-Optimal-MTU-Size-on-Router

 

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.

 

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

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

Message 2 of 5
dwhite77
Aspirant

Re: RBK50 with BGW210 optimal settings? Problems with many aspects

Thanks for posting FurryE38 but I have read this exact same reply in several other posts and it realy doesnt address what I was asking. I originally had ti in router mode with the bgw in ip passthrough. Had problems and that is where a netgear tech rep had me switch it to AP mode. SO both ways I have had it configured avoid the double nat situation. So I have tried both ways and multiple different settings, and both ways avoided the double nat situation. I was asking how to specifically factory reset the bgw 210 and the orbi and someone running the same exact systems to respond with what settigns exactly work best for them to have the desired coverage, avoid the streaming issues with netflix, etc., and to be able to connect smart devices and those perform correctly. Additionally, I have set 2.4 ghz channel to 11, 5 ghz on 40, the additional satellites are at the recommended range and show the blue ring, and the advanced setting such as beamforming have been tried in multiple different configurations. Therefore, I would like to hear someone who is successfully operating with at&t fiber with the bgw 210 and streaming and everything is working correctly. If that is possible I need to configure it that way from scratch, or try soemthing different than the orbi. Thanks. 

Message 3 of 5
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK50 with BGW210 optimal settings? Problems with many aspects

Reason for posting was asking to see how you had it configured. And to give you information incase you didn't know about those suggestions which we didn't know about.

 

Thanks for letting us know. 

 

Hopefully someone will post there experiences. 


Good Luck. 

 

 

Message 4 of 5
dwhite77
Aspirant

Re: RBK50 with BGW210 optimal settings? Problems with many aspects

Thanks FURRYe38, and that is my hope. Your post was very helpful the first iem I read it before posting to get it in router mode initially. The netgear customer service reps I have gotten have not been very helpful at all. It is just frustrationg because I was really hoping the orbi would be the answer, and I heard many great things about it. All I want is good even fast coverage throughout my home, and havign fiber I should be able to accomplish that without so moany issues. Before the Orbi I had the bgw210 with two of the at&t extenders and the coverage was weak in many areas of the home. The orbi has dramatically increased the range, but now I just need to get it working optimally and have it setup to avoid the issues I mentioned. Thanks. 

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