RBR50 - iPhone6 randomly disconnects after router set up

[Vaboy]

I’ve never had any problem with my Verizon phone service in my house. Since setting up my Orbi router, when talking on my iPhone6 the line will go dead silent for a few seconds and the person I’m talking to can’t hear me. I know my WiFi SHOULDN'T have any effect on my cell connection but it has happened on both my phone and my wife’s. Any ideas on what could be causing the interference? 

[FURRYe38]

What is the ISP Mfr and model#? 

Built in router by chance or stand alone modem? 

What FW version is currently loaded on the router? 

Any other wifi neighbors near by? If so, how many? 

Try the following:

Set manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz. Any open channels on 5Ghz.

Set WPA2 and AES only. 

Disable the following if you have these options:

Beamforming, MIMO, Daisy Chain and Fast Roaming. 

Let us know if any of these helps. 

[Vaboy]

ISP is Xfinity (Blast 200 MBS) and I’m getting good throughput. 239 mbps down and 12 mbps up. Arris SB8200 owned modem.  No gateway from Comcast. 

FW version is 2.1.2.18 on Router and satellite. 

In the country, so no other WiFi signals even being picked up. 

I set the 2.4 channel to 11 Friday and my wife’s phone dropped out this morning. 

I’ll try the changes you suggested and see if that helps. I know the first three you mentioned are enabled. Fast Roaming is not. 

And to be clear, this is my cell service dropping out I’m asking about. Of course, my WiFi comes and goes just like everyone else’s! It usually comes back pretty quick. So far I’m just living with that. 

Thanks for the suggestions. 

[RocketSquirrel]

Are you sure the iPhone doesn't have Wi-Fi Calling enabled? Look under Settings > Phone.

[Vaboy]

Good idea, but WiFi calling is OFF. 

[Vaboy]

I also noticed my 2 iPads and 2 iPhones change back and forth between a 2.4 connection and a 5 ghz connection when looking at them when I log in to to Orbi router. Could that cause a problem with my cell service since I thought (the phones at least) operated on the 2.4 band. Sometimes they all show connected on the 5 ghz band. 

[tucsontico]

You mentioned you're noticing your phones switching between 2.4 gHz and 5 gHz. Those are WiFi frequency bands. Cell phone services (voice and data) operate on 5 different bands in the US: 700 mHz, 850mHz, 1.7 gHz, 1.9 gHz and 2.1gHz. These frequencies are provider dependent and should not be interfering with your WiFi signals nor should your WiFi be interfering with your phone service if you're not using WiFi calling.

[Vaboy]

Thanks for that clear explanation and I know what you say is true. But I had a dual band router before and never had any interference on my phones at all. Dropping my cell connection while talking in my house started immediately after I set up the Orbi. We NEVER have any problem if we’re talking while we’re out.....just if one of us is on the home WiFi while we’re talking. And it’s not a crackling “bad” connection. The line just goes totally quiet for a few seconds and then the call comes back. There’s got to be some technical reason for it. We’re both going to try turning off WiFi on our phones for a while when we’re on a phone call and see if it still happens. 

[tucsontico]

I have a very similar setup to yours. My wife and I have iPhone 6's and iPads. Our cell service is with Sprint. I haven't experienced any dropouts during any calls I can remember. Neither has my wife. My ORBI is running about 25 devices at any given time. Most are on the 2.4 gHz band and are running 24/7 (secuirty cams, irrigation control, etc). When our iPhone/iPad connects to the ORBI via WiFi, it uses the 5 gHz band and stays "locked" on that band. I've not seen it cycling between bands unless I go outside the house where the 2.4 gHz signal is strongest. 

One thing that can effect your cellular signal is a microwave oven. If you're near the oven when it is on (same room) and trying to call you can get interference–not just on the cell service but the WiFi signal can be disrupted too. Good luck!

[Vaboy]

BTW, my cell provider is Verizon if that matters. 

[Vaboy]

Thanks for sharing your experience tucs. Makes sense you stay locked on the 5gHz band inside. No idea why mine cycles back and forth. We’re usually in the family room just below the router upstairs. We have a satellite in a bedroom 30’ or so from the family room. Maybe I should turn that off and see how things work then. 

[Vaboy]

To try and get a more solid WiFi connection for my iPhones and iPads to the 5gHz band, I cut the transmission power of the 2.4 band to 50%. I realize this won’t directly affect my cell phone call problems, but I was jealous tucs was getting solid WiFi connections to his 5gHz band. Maybe that’ll fix my phone call dropouts at the same time!

[tucsontico]

I've read in this forum that reducing the 2.4 gHz power can solve some issues related to interference. My WiFi stability did not come as a "plug-and-play' experience. I, too, struggled with firmware issues at first but they seem to be gone as of version 2.x.x. I also had to spend  time adjusting locations of my ORBI base and satellite to get the coverage and stability I have now. Right now my ORBI base is on the top of a cabinet in my office area. It sits about 8 feet off the floor and in the northeast corner of my single story house. The satellite is about 60' away in the guest bedroom diagonally opposite the base. It, too, is elevated on top of a cabinet about 7' off the floor. My final placement of the satellite was a move of no more than 4' closer to the base and, miraculously, I had good signals!

My house is concrete block with a stucco exterior and the interior is framed out in 2x4 with drywall covering. The satellite has three interior walls between the base and its position. I get very good signals throughout my 3000 sq ft house and about 60'-70'outside as well. The satellite serves my attached garage and it, too, has good signals (2.4 gHz & 5 gHz) through concrete block walls and about 1000 sq ft !

I live in a semi-rural area with my nearest neighbor about 100 yards away. I did do a "sweep" of signals when I was setting up the system and found the clearest channels for both bands. I'm running my ORBI with 2.4gHz on channel 1 and 5 gHz on channel 48. I also made IP reservations for all my devices and I do not have the Guest network activated. I also NEVER do a speedtest via the built-in QOS page. That is a know problem area in the firmware. I also have all the modes turned on that people have said to turn off: Beamforming, MU-MIMO, Fast Roaming and Daisy-Chain Enabled. Maybe I just got really lucky but my system has been stable and I've not noted any dropouts that appear to be the major source of complaints. Good luck!

[FURRYe38]

Also users can disable wifi callig on there phones as well and see if this helps as a temporary solution. Hope next FW update will help solve these issues. 

[Vaboy]

Thanks for the detailed write up, tucs! I really appreciate it. I’m going to try some of the things that seemed to work for you. I haven’t played with the satellite placement and I think it would work better if it and the base were farther apart. Those options you mentioned you have enabled are, in fact, disabled on mine. I think I’ll give them a chance and enable them (although they’ve been enabled until the other day). Reducing the power to 50% on the 2.4 band seemed to improve my idevices locking onto the 5GHz band. However, I dropped it to 25% and all my WEMO’s dropped of the network. 

One thing I DO know....I wasn’t getting the speed I was paying for until I upgraded my modem (now an SB8200) and my router. The 5 GHz band gets 239 mbps consistently. The 2.4 comes in much slower.