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Constantly dropping connectivity

orbi_woes
Aspirant

Constantly dropping connectivity

Hi All

 

I bought an Orbi RBR50 at end of November '18. The intention was to use the satellite to connect to an outside office I was building and also to an invertor I was installing once the building work was completedorbi layout.jpg. I bought it then to test the distance and it seemed fine. The building work is just completed, I have tried to set it up but have issues. However, because it is 90+ days since purchase it seems I need to throw a question out into the wilderness rather than having a Netgear representative to speak with. Even more gawling is the fact that I may need to buy another satellite to resolve the problem, with no real clue if that would even work. Is there nobody I can speak with first hand? Do I need to rely on the good will of other Orbi sufferers to tap in to their experience and expertise?

 

Anyway, my problem is this. I have an RBR50 connected (red circle) which doesn't seem to be able to reach a connection to a Solaredge inverter (approx 25-30 feet away - red square). I have a satellite which I cannot ascertain if the invertor can connect to it or not as it keeps trying to connect to the main router. Is there any way I can push the invertor to the RBS50? (yellow square)

 

 

Problem two. The green arrow points to the office (approx 20 feet from satellite). Outside my office I have full wifi on my phone. Inside it, the connection totally drops. If this is the case with my phone, is it any more likely that a second satellite will connect to the first?

 

Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 1 of 29

Accepted Solutions
SW_
Prodigy
Prodigy

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

The 2.4GHz is the backaul connection.  The client still can make 5GHz connection to Satellite regardless of the backhaul back to the main Router.  Since your max download speed is 45Mbps, it's still within the range of 2.4GHz bw and you won't benefit from 5Ghz bw in this case.  A "Poor" backhaul connection in this case won't have performance impact on your setup unless you upgrade to Gbits download speed.  If you are able to get 45Mbps in all area of interest, then you are golden.

 

View solution in original post

Message 29 of 29

All Replies
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

What FW is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?
Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode?

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.

 

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. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Message 2 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

HI,

 

Thanks for your speedy response, really appreciated.

 

What FW is currently loaded? >> BT provided fw (MacAfee I believe?)
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too? >> (BT Smart Hub - Type A)
Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode? >> Router mode

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? >> Has a footprint of about 1200 square feet


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.>> one satellite installed - about 25 - 30 feet apart. There is a cavity wall in between master and satellite router. From master router to the invertor there is an external wall. The invertor is in an IP rated metal enclosure. Stood next to the metal cabinet, on my iphone I have '2 bars' on my wifi, but keep dropping in and out.  I have now moved the satellite to the room on the other side of the wall to the invertor and now have good connection from the invertor (the Solaredge portal software is now updating - it wasn't previously (though I did see their device in my attached devices list)).

 

However, this new set-up now moves the satellite away from the outside buildings. I would have expected a better reach than what I am receiving. I would have expected the master router to reach my invertor and the satellite to be installed in the outside office and give good coverage. The way things are looking I may need a second satellite in place where I previously had the first one AND a third satellite in the home office (can I even run 3 satellites?)

 

orbi layoutnew.jpg

 

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.

 

2.4GHz Channel: 06

5GHz Channel: 36

 

(I ran in to issues with Ring door bell so had to set 2.4Ghz to channel 6 to resolve.)


Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? One neighbour, about100 feet away. I don't pick up their SSID. I live in rural location so very little interference.

 

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings - done.

 

Best Regards!

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 3 of 29
Chuck_M
Mentor

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

What version of firmware (FW) are your Router and satellite on? 

Message 4 of 29
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

This metal cabinet can be a possible issue. 

 

WiFi single from the Orbi base should reach about 30-40 feet from where is placed, however depending upon building materials, this will dictate how far the signal goes. 

Message 5 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

firmware.jpg

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 6 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

What is interesting is that 9 times out of 10 the invertor will connect just fine to the master router. If I check statrus on the mobile app it shows full strength connection (is there a way to check the connection status via web app?)

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 7 of 29
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

You can see connected devices on the routers web page. 

Message 8 of 29
Chuck_M
Mentor

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

@orbi_woes --  What version of firmware are you on for router and satellites

 

If you dont know, log onto your Orbi via web gui (typically 192.168.1.1) and look in top right hand corner.

 

Let us know what that version is.

 

The newest version of RBR50 RBS50 that came out over the last day or so is 2.3.1.44.  It reportedly has resolved several issues which may be related to what you are seeing.  Perhaps an update may help you out.

Message 9 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

On occasion I can see the Solaredge invertor on the web app status page but NOT on the mobile app. What I meant with my last query was more relating to if there was a way to see the strength of the connection via the web page. 

 

On related note, I've noticed some devices connecting to the master router, obtaining weak signal strength, rather than hooking on to the satellite, which would be closer to them offering a better signal. Is there a way to assign a device to a specific router?

 

Regarding the firmware version, it seems I am on an old version (V2.2.1.210). However, when I run the 'check' function via the web app it says it is up to date. Will try running it again.

 

Thanks.

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 10 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

interesting development on the firmware upgrade. I checked NG site and it states the version is v2.3.0.32. The release notes for this state:

 

If you’re manually updating the firmware using a browser, you cannot update the firmware directly to v2.3.0.32. You must first update the firmware to v2.2.1.212.  After updating the firmware v2.2.1.212, your Orbi router will reboot, and then you can update to v2.3.0.32.   

 

However, when I try manually update the satellite with v2.2.1.212 I get knocked back, with error message telling me it is the incorrect version. It knocked me back 7 times. Eighth time it accepted it. Bonkers!!!

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 11 of 29
Chuck_M
Mentor

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Now that you are on version .32, go to your web gui and click ADVANCED and then ADMINISTRATION and then FIRMWARE

 

It will then give you the opportunity to update to version .44 or something like that.  Do it.

 

Will be interested in knowing if it resolved your issues.

 

Please let us know.

Message 12 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Well that was painfully slow. Done. Both now on V2.3.1.44

 

Once I got updated to 2.3.0.32 the web app actually auto updated the main router. I only needed to kick off the update for the satellite.

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 13 of 29
Chuck_M
Mentor

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Good deal  0-0   Can you reboot all modem, router, etc (from high to low) and see if your problem still exists?

Message 14 of 29
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Might try changing the host name on the device to something simple, just a few characters, if this is possible on the device. 


@orbi_woes wrote:

On occasion I can see the Solaredge invertor on the web app status page but NOT on the mobile app. What I meant with my last query was more relating to if there was a way to see the strength of the connection via the web page. 

 

On related note, I've noticed some devices connecting to the master router, obtaining weak signal strength, rather than hooking on to the satellite, which would be closer to them offering a better signal. Is there a way to assign a device to a specific router?

 

Regarding the firmware version, it seems I am on an old version (V2.2.1.210). However, when I run the 'check' function via the web app it says it is up to date. Will try running it again.

 

Thanks.


 

Message 15 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

So I have updated all firmware, rebooted all modems etc, turned the satellite OFF to push the invertor over to the master router..... no joy. Although the Orbi app/website shows the Solaredge. Inverter connected, the SolarEdge portal stops updating straight away. As this did work previously I’m going to try a new approach. I’m going to try get an external antennae for the inverter to see if that will carry the signal to master router.

 

Back to the satellite. Riddle me this, Orbi gurus. When I had the satellite positioned on the north side of my house, towards the outside office, I received a waivering Wi-fi signal outside on my iPhone. As soon as I stepped inside my office the signal dropped off completely. Building to building it is exactly 23ft, with external cavity walls separating them. I have an old iPhone 5s so not the greatest. Before I go out and buy another satellite, is it reasonable to expect the two satellites to Ben able to communicate effectively with each other? If not, can anyone offer another solutions? Hard cabling unfortunately is not an option.

 

many thanks.

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 16 of 29
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Depending upon building materials, the distance should be good for signal nowever placement is key and you maybe getting signal or trying to get connected to farthest satellite or router. Is this the only device that does this? 

Message 17 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Tbh the iPhone is the only one I’ve tried in the office. It’s a good point, will try laptop later.

 

This bring some me nicely back to a question further up the thread. Is there any way to assign a device to a specific router to prevent this happening? The web app has an ‘allow’ section in connected devices but I see nothing beyond that.

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 18 of 29
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

No, it's based upon the devices detection and handling of the signal and where it connects too....

Message 19 of 29
SW_
Prodigy
Prodigy

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

@orbi_woes wrote:

>> If not, can anyone offer another solutions? ...

 

Not a solution, just someting that you could explore if you are out of other option.

 

1. Find the highest point/place in the house that you can place the Router/Satellite.  This will allow signals to avoid going through all the walls so that both Router/Satellite signals can travel/spread further outward.  Hopefully, one of these signals will reach the inverter that way.

 

2. Depending on your house electrical wring, you can try Powerline Ethernet adpaters.  If the inverter is wireless only, find an old router or get cheap router to set it up as AP mode to bring WiFi signals closer to the inverter.  Due to noise in the electrical wiring in the house, you can try connecting the powerline adapter to Satellite if the powerline connection to the Router does not give sufficient bandwidth to the inverter.  That will be the simplest solution if you can't move the Router/Satellite easily.

 

Good luck!

Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Message 20 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

thanks all for feedback and suggestions.

 

It's a shame you can't allocate device to router. It seems the devices aren't smart enough to make the correct choice at times.

 

Tried moving satellite to upstairs bedroom - it was too far from the master router and had a poor backhaul.

 

The outside office is on a seperate consumer unit so Powerline won't work. I used Powerline previously and thought I was upgrading by chosing the Orbi option. The way things are at the moment, two Pepsi cans attached by a piece of string would offer a better solution than Orbi 😞

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 21 of 29
SW_
Prodigy
Prodigy

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Yeah, it's not possible with Mesh/Spoke&Hub setups to partition devices.  One way to partition is to add new AP with separate/different SSIDs so that dedicated device can connect to the AP instead of Orbi in the desirable location.  Since you can't run wire, this isn't an option for you.

 

However, if you can move Satellite closer, say to another room upstair in order to get "Good" backhaul connection.  If the signal works for your inverter with that setup, then you can get a 2nd Satellite for your office.

Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Message 22 of 29
SW_
Prodigy
Prodigy

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

@orbi_woes ,

 

By the way, v210 has stronger signal than v33 & v44.  Revert to v210 and give that a try to see if you can get better backhaul connection from Satellite upstair.  It's a long shot, but worth a try before giving up.

Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Message 23 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Give up? Never! I'm too stubborn for that 🙂

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only)
Message 24 of 29
orbi_woes
Aspirant

Re: Constantly dropping connectivity

Evening all

 

I just wanted to give you an update on my issues. So, I dug deep in my pockets and bought two more RBS50 satellites (with the hope of only needing one and being able to return the other.)

I unboxed one RBS50, updated firmware, spent the next 20 mins syncing and resyncing and finally got it set up in daisy chain configuration. I positioned sat_1 just beside my front door, about 25 feet from main router, I then placed sat_2 in my new outdoor office. And, as if by magic, it worked. Interestingly though, the app said I had a good connection on sat_1 but poor on sat_2. I connected my laptop to both sats in turn, ran speedtest, absolutely no difference in returned results.

 

App_map.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The web app showed this:

 

sat2.jpg

 

Note the 2.4Ghz connection type. Confusingly though, the mobile app was showing the only device connected, my iphone, as 5Ghz connection:

App_sat2.jpg

..... but also only showing a 2.4Ghz connection when I clicked on the sat_2 router:

 

App_sat2_2.jpg

 

Even more confusingly, sat_1 which listed as a 5Ghz connection in the web app, only showed 2.4Ghz in the mobile app:

 

App_sat1.jpg

It's hard to know which app lies most - mobile app or web app!!!

Having the 2 x sat routers now in daisy chain configuration I worked on moving sat_1 to various positions around my house for optimum performance (slow and boring process). Ground floor worked best. 

 

Whilst moving the sat_1 router around I realised my Solaredge inverter had made a connection to the main router:

rbr50_solaredge_attached.jpg

 

However, a few hours later, it had dropped that seeminly strong connection and hooked on to sat_1:

sat1_solaredge_attached.jpg

 

This is really weird. If a ddevice should connect to the strongest signal then surely it should connect to the main router. It is for situations like this that it would be really useful to have the functionality to assign devices to particular routers because the current loigic doesn't work. 

A continous ping to that device now returns awful results:

 

Ping statistics for 10.0.0.3:
Packets: Sent = 100, Received = 69, Lost = 31 (31% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 5ms, Maximum = 228ms, Average = 16ms

 

To giove you some comparison on the ping results, from London, UK I can ping some servers in Chicago in 90-100ms.

 

I positioned my ipad which is connected to main router, next to the inverter, within the IP65 metal enclosure and did similar ping test:

 

Ping statistics for 10.0.0.5:
Packets: Sent = 100, Received = 100, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 2ms, Maximum = 10ms, Average = 4ms

 

Much better results. Of course this connectivity problem could be related to the solaredge inverter rather than the Orbi satellite so for giggles I pinged another device connected to sat_1:

 

Ping statistics for 10.0.0.14:
Packets: Sent = 100, Received = 100, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 5ms, Maximum = 1572ms, Average = 374ms

 

The response times were yet again pretty awful. But at least there were no dropped packets. 

 

To conclude, I think I'm going to return the unused satellite because I don't think there is much to be gained by having a third satellite. I am still waiting on the solar panel install team to return to site and fit an external antenna on to the inverter, though I'm not convinced that is going to make much of a difference. It's not the end of the world though because the inverter caches data and when it does make its sporadic connection it will update that app with the cached data. I am however pleased and impressed at the results achieved by installing sat_2 in the outside office. I am able to browse and stream tv channels without any buffering. Speedtest returns results very close to what I achieve via main router. This is despite the apps telling me I have a poor connection.

 

If anyone has any views on what I could do to boost the performance on sat_1 and increase the response times, or any feedback on the notes from above, I'd be grateful to hear back from you.

 

Regards!

 

 

 

 

Model: RBR50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Router Only), RBS50| Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi (Satellite Only)
Message 25 of 29
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