I've got an RBR50 router & 2 x RBS50 satellites; all three devices are V2.7.4.24. The RBR50 is set up as a router (not just an AP). One of the RBS50s has a scuffed up case (I'll name it "Scuffed") and the other a nice clean case ("Unscuffed").
I've moved into a new house which is cabled for ethernet so I'd like to use a wired backhaul, star topology, no switch. The RBR50 is on the ground floor, RBS50 "Unscuffed" is the level above that (in the living room) and RBS50 "Scuffed" is one more level up ("Upstairs")
The RBR50 <-> Scuffed (Living Room) connects over ethernet just great ✅
The RBR50 <-> Unscuffed (Upstairs) won't connect over ethernet ❌, instead…
The Unscuffed connects to Scuffed with "Poor" wireless reception 😩
I've got a cheap cable tester so checked for continuity and that seems fine. First I connected Unscuffed directly to the RBR50, bypassing the house cabling, worked great. Re-tested house cabling, looked to be working, put Scuffed back into position, once again it used a wireless connection.
Next I swapped Scuffed/Unscuffed devices (kept all power/patch cables the same). This is where things get extra interesting. For a minute it seems to work, both devices establish wired connections:
Unscuffed is now in the living room and it establishes a connection, gets an IP address and does its job
Scuffed is now upstairs, it established a connection but it said something like "setting up connection" and logs showed an IP address being allocated, but then it gave up and went back to wireless
I tried power cycling Scuffed and it went straight to wireless this time
I'm running out of ideas — anybody got some pointers?
Well, it's working… both satellites are now connected by ethernet and in the right location. I'm not sure what fixed it - in the end I factory reset everything and also changed to a different socket in the upstairs location.
Had the classic game of Orbi satellite hide and seek during setup, but after many, many sat restarts it eventually "just worked".
Problems with Ethernet backhaul connection are almost always related to the cable path between router and satellite.
In this case, it is probably one length of in-wall wiring with an RG45 jack on each end plus two Ethernet patch cables with RJ45 connectors.
The debugging process was comprehensive
Verifying that when connected directly to the router with an Ethernet patch cable, both satellites function correctly.
Verifying that it is the upstairs location that is the issue by swapping the satellites.
Alas, consumer grade continuity testers are not sophisticated enough to verify that the RJ45 jack connections and patch cable crimps are perfect.
Another verification step is to substitute a different Ethernet cable for the in-wall wiring. A 100 ft. Ethernet cable is under $20 on Amazon. I pick a time when the family will tolerate me stringing the cable from the router to that upstairs satellite and verify that "it works". (Perhaps when they are all fixated on Paw Patrol or Curious George.) If this cable "works" and the in-wall cable does not, it is almost certain to be one of the cable terminations.
Problems with Ethernet backhaul connection are almost always related to the cable path between router and satellite.
In this case, it is probably one length of in-wall wiring with an RG45 jack on each end plus two Ethernet patch cables with RJ45 connectors.
Yes, that does seem the most likely cause. That said the upstairs location has two, 2-gang wall plates. They're labelled D2 and T2. I tested continuity between those and a 4-gang plate in the server cabinet also labelled D2 & T2. I've tried both of those connections with the same results. I can (and probably will) try the other wall plate (D1 & T1) in the same room to see if they work better, but the chances that I'm dealing with two bits of bad cable/connectors feels less likely.
Another verification step is to substitute a different Ethernet cable for the in-wall wiring. A 100 ft. Ethernet cable is under $20 on Amazon. I pick a time when the family will tolerate me stringing the cable from the router to that upstairs satellite and verify that "it works". (Perhaps when they are all fixated on Paw Patrol or Curious George.) If this cable "works" and the in-wall cable does not, it is almost certain to be one of the cable terminations.
What's the thinking with this test? I've been able to verify effectively the same thing with a short patch cable, is there a chance that <something, something> means my setup just hates long(er) cable distances? (Happy to try anything BTW, just trying to understand what I'm looking for.)
The purpose of trying an ordinary cable directly between the router and the upstairs location is to entirely bypass the in-wall cabling and jack terminations and the two patch cables. If the in-wall cabling is at least Cat5E, then it should be good up to 90 meters (almost 290 ft.) I love the idea of also trying the D1/T1 cables. (great idea by the installer. One T jack for telephone and one D jack for Data.)
Distance is definitely not the issue inside a typical house.
Well, it's working… both satellites are now connected by ethernet and in the right location. I'm not sure what fixed it - in the end I factory reset everything and also changed to a different socket in the upstairs location.
Had the classic game of Orbi satellite hide and seek during setup, but after many, many sat restarts it eventually "just worked".
