×

Introducing the Orbi 970 Series Mesh System with WiFi 7(BE) technology. For more information visit the NETGEAR Press Room.

Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
Reply

Ethernet cable from satellite? And should I change channel?

iantr
Aspirant

Ethernet cable from satellite? And should I change channel?

I'm sorry if this is a silly question: I have a RBR20 plus one satellite. I've found this setup quite unstable and unreliable since installing. It seemed to get a bit better when I turned off the wifi broadcast from my service provider's modem (to which the RBR20 is connected), but still seems to drop out randomly. I have just gone through a few posts here and changed some wireless settings, and I'm hoping that will help.

 

But, in the meantime I bought an athernet cable and plugged my laptop into the modem, which has been rock-solid since. Now I've bought a new computer and am moving where the new iMac is in the house, to the room in which the satellite lives. Is there any point in plugging the iMac into the satellite and turning off the wifi? Would that bypass any of the instability I've experienced on the wifi network?

 

And a second question: running Wifi Explorer, I see a number of nearby 5GHz  networks also are on channel 36 - six networks show up on channel 36, five on 44, one on 48, and one on 108. Would it be a good idea to change channel? 

 

Thanks for any answers!

Model: RBR20|Orbi AC2200 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 1 of 4
Mstrbig
Master

Re: Ethernet cable from satellite? And should I change channel?

WIFI should be stable on your system. What could cause issues is satellite too far or close to router or other satellite, Definitely WIFI interference.

So make sure your RSSI signal is not too high and change both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz channels to ones less used.  

Message 2 of 4
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Ethernet cable from satellite? And should I change channel?

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

 

What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/000036466/How-far-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite-from-my-Orbi-router

 


One User Experience/Configuration:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Most-Stable-Orbi-Configuration/m-p/1941087/highlight/true#M970...

 

https://kb.netgear.com/000051205/What-is-Ethernet-backhaul-and-how-do-I-set-it-up-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-Sy...


@iantr wrote:

I'm sorry if this is a silly question: I have a RBR20 plus one satellite. I've found this setup quite unstable and unreliable since installing. It seemed to get a bit better when I turned off the wifi broadcast from my service provider's modem (to which the RBR20 is connected), but still seems to drop out randomly. I have just gone through a few posts here and changed some wireless settings, and I'm hoping that will help.

 

But, in the meantime I bought an athernet cable and plugged my laptop into the modem, which has been rock-solid since. Now I've bought a new computer and am moving where the new iMac is in the house, to the room in which the satellite lives. Is there any point in plugging the iMac into the satellite and turning off the wifi? Would that bypass any of the instability I've experienced on the wifi network?

 

And a second question: running Wifi Explorer, I see a number of nearby 5GHz  networks also are on channel 36 - six networks show up on channel 36, five on 44, one on 48, and one on 108. Would it be a good idea to change channel? 

 

Thanks for any answers!


 

Message 3 of 4
iantr
Aspirant

Re: Ethernet cable from satellite? And should I change channel?

Thanks for your response. I'm not sure on the modem model, and am at the other end of the house right now. It's a generic one supplied by our ISP, EE (UK) - logging into the control panel gave no information about model or make, though maybe it is on a label on the device.

 

As to distance: the house is a fairly typical UK Victorian terrace house, and the satellite is probably - in a straight line - less than 20 metres away from the Orbi router.

 

What has happened in the past is that I'm on a Zoom call, say, and suddenly the call fails and the router starts pulsing white. I've been in the room and connected not by wifi but by Ethernet, and my call has continued but my wife has lost her wifi connection in the next room. There was a time when this was fairly predictable around the same time every day, but it's been a bit better recently. But because it happened yesterday when I was on wifi and my call dropped, I wanted to get it sorted as soon as possible.

 

I am expecting this is to do with all the neighbour networks that are also using channel 36. I've now changed ours to 48, and it's been more stable today (I've had a steady connection to an all-day Zoom training session).

 

I also bought a TP-Link powerline adaptor today, but it's looking like that connection is just not fast enough for my needs. We have 80 Mbps fibre broadband, but I'm only getting 16.5 Mbps via the TP-Link, whereas right now on Cloudflare's speed test I'm getting 60 Mbps on the wifi connection.

Message 4 of 4
Top Contributors
Discussion stats
  • 3 replies
  • 419 views
  • 0 kudos
  • 3 in conversation
Announcements

Orbi WiFi 7