Re: Disappointed in CBK40 system - inconsistent and poor performance

Brooks757 · ‎2020-07-02

I purchased a CBR40 system with 2 RBS20 satellites from Costco. The system has been frustrating from day one. The system was difficult to setup with the satellites being difficult to synch. I have Xfinity 600 Mbps service, and can get up to 700 Mbps via Ethernet right at the CBR40, but my wifi speed is 1/2 that or less. I thought the point of tri-band systems with a dedicated backhaul channel was to have full throughout across wifi. Also frustrating is the vastly different speed results between the native Orbi app speed test which has never shown more than 210 Mbps while the iOS Ookla speed test application has shown up to 600 Mbps. I'm also finding my iPhones and even my Mac book pro on 2.4 ghz. Why would it do that. It also struggles to switch satellites when moving through the house often stubbornly staying on the basement CBR40 when I'm upstairs standing next to a satellite with my speed degraded below 50 Mbps. I frequently resort to plugging into my existing Ethernet network to ensure I can work which defeats the point of the mesh wifi. I'll probably return this to Costco, but I'm so disappointed. I really had high hopes for this. We are in a three level 3000 sq ft home with the base in the finished basement then a satellite on each floor. Is there any hope to get better wifi speed and more consistent performance with this system or do I need to move up to a wifi6 system?

plemans · ‎2020-07-03

@Brooks757 wrote:
I purchased a CBR40 system with 2 RBS20 satellites from Costco. The system has been frustrating from day one. The system was difficult to setup with the satellites being difficult to synch. I have Xfinity 600 Mbps service, and can get up to 700 Mbps via Ethernet right at the CBR40, but my wifi speed is 1/2 that or less.----wifi isn't as fast as ethernet connections. It has more overhead and interference. gettign 300+mbps over the CBR40 wireless setup is a fairly decent speed over wireless. I thought the point of tri-band systems with a dedicated backhaul channel was to have full throughout across wifi.-----you do have full throughput. Again, wireless isn't as fast as wired and has more interference. There's also a difference from throughput speeds to link speed. My experience has shows a roughly 55-65% difference due to overhead/interference. With a 866mbps backhaul link. you're throughput is giong to be less than that. And distance plays a part in it too. 866mbps is the optimal backhaul link speed. Also frustrating is the vastly different speed results between the native Orbi app speed test which has never shown more than 210 Mbps while the iOS Ookla speed test application has shown up to 600 Mbps.----that's because the built in speedtest app picks the closest server and not always the fastest server. I'm also finding my iPhones and even my Mac book pro on 2.4 ghz. Why would it do that.----maybe because it bases which band devices should be on on several factors. These are distance, rssi strength, bandwidth used, and bandwidth currently being used. It bandsteers. It also struggles to switch satellites when moving through the house often stubbornly staying on the basement CBR40 when I'm upstairs standing next to a satellite with my speed degraded below 50 Mbps. ---how far apart are the satellites and router? they need a minimum of 30ft. Or they don't roam properly. I frequently resort to plugging into my existing Ethernet network to ensure I can work which defeats the point of the mesh wifi. I'll probably return this to Costco, but I'm so disappointed. I really had high hopes for this. We are in a three level 3000 sq ft home with the base in the finished basement then a satellite on each floor.---I've got a similar setup with a RBK53 system. I get similar speeds depending on if I'm connected to 5ghz or 2.4ghz. But my mobile devices don't need >200mbps over 5ghz for what I'm doing. Is there any hope to get better wifi speed and more consistent performance with this system or do I need to move up to a wifi6 system?---You can try doing some optimizing on placement or even try enabling/disabling beamforming, fast roaming, mu-mimo. Another though is the primary router's best placement it so centrally locate. Put the actual router portion on the middle floor and move the satellites with one upstairs and one downstairs. I've done the same and I've hardwired in my satellites when possible. Its still all based on wireless. Orbi wasn't designed for the best peak performance. It was designed for the best overall coverage and average throughput. My CAX80 or RAX200 will stomp my orbi system in peak speeds but venture out into the bedrooms/basement in my home and my orbi stomps the other 2 in terms of speed due to interference from other wifi networks, distance, and reduced speed from walls/objects around my home.