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Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

krf007
Star

Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

I got the Orbi system when it first came out and it has worked perfectly and I was amazed how my devices switched from router to satellite (and back) as I walked aroung the house.  Yesterday, the system did an automatic firmware upgrade.  My devices are not switching between the two any more and tend to stay on whichever one they first detect.

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 1 of 22

Accepted Solutions
st_shaw
Master

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

You probably need only the router plus one satellite to cover your home. You said it works from across the street, so that should indicate you have more than enough (probably too much) coverage.

 

if your devices get the throughput they need, then there is no problem.  However, you should probably turn your radio power down, especially on 2.4G. This will help devices switch to the strongest satellite. It will also be considerate of your neighbors, who will see your Orbi as interference. 

 

With that many Orbis, you could also consider turning off 2.4G, assuming all your devices are 5G capable.

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Message 21 of 22

All Replies

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite


@krf007 wrote:

I got the Orbi system when it first came out and it has worked perfectly and I was amazed how my devices switched from router to satellite (and back) as I walked aroung the house.  Yesterday, the system did an automatic firmware upgrade.  My devices are not switching between the two any more and tend to stay on whichever one they first detect.


 

hi

 

they have changed the threshholds of the 2.4 and 5 gig and you may find yout router and sat are now too close together , try moving the sat further away 

 

pete

Message 2 of 22
krf007
Star

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

Thank you, but as I have it set up now, they are as far apart as possible........

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 3 of 22
k9kids
Guide

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

How about elaborating on the threshold changes??? 

 

Since they only sold it as a base/satellite unit, kind of makes it a even pricier base only unit. 

Message 4 of 22

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite


@k9kids wrote:

How about elaborating on the threshold changes??? 

 

Since they only sold it as a base/satellite unit, kind of makes it a even pricier base only unit. 


 

cant elaborate as all i know is what the change log stated , but you do also have the power level control , so if it is the case you might need to lower the power output

 

best way to visulize the wifi coverage is to get inssider or other wifi analyzer on a portable device and do a site survey , the mid point between router and sat should be no less than -50 to - 60DB , if lower than that they are too close or need power reducing 

 

pete

Message 5 of 22
rjbones
Guide

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

Hi krf007,

 

How did you know that devices are not switching from router to satellite ? Did you base it on the router's attached devices page? I don't know if you noticed that the attached devices page has changed on the latest FW update. The new update will only show one list of connected devices and will not show you which signal they are connected to, until you go to the orbi debug page and enable the advanced view of attached devices.

Message 6 of 22
krf007
Star

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

How did I know my devices were not switching?
1. I did do the debug as soon as I read about it, so looking at which devises were connected to either the router or the satellite was easy.
2. Once I set up my Orbi, I started to do a lot of repetitive testing looking at the satellite location and what were both my internet speed and what my wifi signal speed was. Where the satellite ended up meant that most of the devices I used were connected through the satellite. I was using my main computer (hardwired to the router) and while I was waiting for a program to run, I checked the speeds on my phone. The internet speed was what I expected, but the wifi signal speed was not what I expected and thus had to be from the satellite and not from the router which I was only 3 feet away from. Thus, that device was not switching. Prior to the firmware upgrade, all of my devices switched easily and seamlessly between the two units.

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 7 of 22
rjbones
Guide

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

I see.. Did you perform factory reset after the FW update? There were some instances that a hardware shows strange behavior after an update, resetting it may be necessary 🙂

Message 8 of 22
krf007
Star

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

No, I did not do a Factory Reset.  I did do a "reboot" which helped, but not the Factory Reset.

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 9 of 22

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite


@krf007 wrote:

No, I did not do a Factory Reset.  I did do a "reboot" which helped, but not the Factory Reset.


then at least its worth trying a factory reset 🙂

Message 10 of 22
Quazimodo
Aspirant

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

 

I am also seeing the same problem, and reboots and resets don't help. 

 

My understanding from the technical description of the product is that a moving device would automatically change its connection from router to satellite and vice versa, based on best connection. While testing this feature I've noticed that the only way I could get the connections to switch is by manually disconnecting and reconnecting my mobile devices as I move them about the house. I've tested this a large number of times with several devices. When I disconnect and reconnect I cleanly get a connection to the closer of the router or the satellite. If I do not disconnect I remain attached to the same station even if I am now in a better range for the other. This seems to defy the purpose of the Orbi system. Is there a router configuration I should turn on to enable automatic transfer between router and satellite?

 

[I've noticed with the latest firmware (1.4) the default listing of attached devices does not distinguish between router and satellite anymore.  However if you manually go to the router page: http://www.orbilogin.com/DEV_show_device.htm you get to see the which device is connected to router and which device is connected to the satellite. That is how I am determining which station I am connected to.]

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 11 of 22
rhester72
Virtuoso

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

Note that Orbi (and _most_ other mesh routers, Ubiquiti Unifi being a notable exception) support steering but not true seamless roaming.  If your client device isn't willing to take a hint on when it should switch connection points, nothing is going to force it to.

 

Rodney

Message 12 of 22
Quazimodo
Aspirant

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

 

Thanks Rodney, that explains it.

 

Otherwise the system is working for me but the shortage of ethernet ports (which I was aware of) and the complication we are discussing are somewhat painful to deal with. I've tried a number of mobile devices from ultrabooks, tablets, smartphones, etc. but none were truly seamless with Orbi. On the plus side the firmware stability has definitely improved. 

 

 

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 13 of 22
whsbuss-1
Apprentice

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite


@rhester72 wrote:

Note that Orbi (and _most_ other mesh routers, Ubiquiti Unifi being a notable exception) support steering but not true seamless roaming.  If your client device isn't willing to take a hint on when it should switch connection points, nothing is going to force it to.

 

Rodney


I disagree with that assumption. UniFi provides a min-RSSI setting for each node. That would force a client below that setting (higher -dBM) to be disconnected from that node.

Message 14 of 22
rhester72
Virtuoso

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite


@whsbuss-1 wrote:

@rhester72 wrote:

Note that Orbi (and _most_ other mesh routers, Ubiquiti Unifi being a notable exception) support steering but not true seamless roaming.  If your client device isn't willing to take a hint on when it should switch connection points, nothing is going to force it to.

 

Rodney


I disagree with that assumption. UniFi provides a min-RSSI setting for each node. That would force a client below that setting (higher -dBM) to be disconnected from that node.


 

Perhaps I worded it poorly...we're saying the same thing (though UniFi is considerably more complicated than that, that's one piece of it).

 

Rodney

Message 15 of 22
dleute
Apprentice

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

I am having a different issue. My iphone 7 plus will not stay connected to orbi. I've had upwards of 75 disconnects during conference calls this morning. Normally I use my laptop, but I had to use the iPhone today. Yes, every few seconds it would cut out of wifi. I basically stayed in the wifi section of settings and tapped orbi.

I am not moving around, and the signal would have been good enough from the router or the two satellites. In fact, I couldn't stay connected long enough to bring up the orbi admin interface from the phone.

I have reset network settings on the phone, restarted it etc. I believe this is happening on another iPhone as well, but it is not mine.

The orbi has been my wifi network for a couple of weeks. I do not know if it has been otherwise stable as I rarely do things on my iphone that behave differently if it falls back on 4g. Today I turned off cellular data for the apps I was using and found myself constantly without internet.

Anything I can try?

Message 16 of 22
dleute
Apprentice

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

Looks like this isn't an orbi issue. My iPhone is incapable of having my bluetooth headset connected *and* stable wifi. Apple sucks.

Nevermind!

Message 17 of 22
whsbuss-1
Apprentice

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite


@dleute wrote:

Looks like this isn't an orbi issue. My iPhone is incapable of having my bluetooth headset connected *and* stable wifi. Apple sucks.

Nevermind!


 

Hmmmm my iPhone 7+ is connected all day with my Bose headset connected as well.

Message 18 of 22
dleute
Apprentice

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

It's probably specific to my plantronics headset, but still frustrating. At least I know it's not orbi.

Message 19 of 22

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

I am checking to see if my mobile phone changes to closest satellite when i move around the house and it doesn't. I even move across the street and nothing. The only way my phone connects to the nearest satellite is when i turn my phone's wifi off and on. Then it catches the nearest satellite signal. 

 

I am checking this by an android app called Wifi Connection Manager Pro. I checked which satellite i am connected to by the mac address it says it's connected to according to this app. I've tried many other wifi analizying apps and it shows the same results. 

 

I can assume that my non mobile devices(i.e.ps4, tvs, xbox one, ect.) connected to the nearest satellites for best signal. 

 

I have the latest firmware update, I have rebooted the router, and even upplugged and plugged all orbi devices. didn't help

 

I can see that they improved the distance between router to satellite, but there might be something wrong with the ability to change mobile devices according to it's location. Even if there's nothing wrong with the ability to change from mobile device location to satellite. There should be an option to manage this issue on the fly according to a customers home square footage.

 

Maybe it should be implemented in the the future firmware updates in case it doesn't work automatically. So one can do it manually on the fly via app.

 

all in all it's not that of a big deal issue. It's just that if it worked better, it would be nice.

 

I have 3 Satellites plus router, maybe it's too much for a 5 bedroom, 2 story home.

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 20 of 22
st_shaw
Master

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

You probably need only the router plus one satellite to cover your home. You said it works from across the street, so that should indicate you have more than enough (probably too much) coverage.

 

if your devices get the throughput they need, then there is no problem.  However, you should probably turn your radio power down, especially on 2.4G. This will help devices switch to the strongest satellite. It will also be considerate of your neighbors, who will see your Orbi as interference. 

 

With that many Orbis, you could also consider turning off 2.4G, assuming all your devices are 5G capable.

Message 21 of 22

Re: Devices not switching between Orbi Router and Satellite

Thank you for your advice. Will try this option. Thanks again

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 22 of 22
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