How to properly reboot Orbi RBR20 with 2 satellites

[circadianswing]

I have an RBW20 unit with 2 RBW30 units, and I'm curious the proper way to reboot the system, so my devices hit the closest beacon.  Currently my Orbi wifi drops out when moving from room to room, and the house is only 2400 sq feet.  Prior I had a regular wifi router that was more stable and appeared to have continual coverage.  My security cameras are constantly falling off this network.  why isn't an RBR20 listed in netgear models?

[FURRYe38]

What FW is currently loaded?

What is the distance between the router and satellite? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials.

The Orbi and satellite should not be contant rebooting.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Try disabling the following and see:
Beamforming, MIMO, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite.

[circadianswing]

Thanks for the quick reply... firmware is V2.1.4.16 across all 3 units.  devices are indeed at least 30 feet apart. I just changed the "auto" to channel 6 for 2.4ghz, and the default channel 48 for 5ghz to 44.  I hope that makes a difference.  I got some warning about 20/40mhz and 192mbs when I was hitting the save changes button (no option to make something 40mhz as suggested.  MIMO, beamforming, fast roaming were already off. If daisy chain is off, won't that screw up the idea of the backhauling for between units?

[FURRYe38]

If your only using the satellites in Star configuration. If your piggy backing, you can leave Daisy Chain enabled.

[circadianswing]

The router and satellites continue to exhibit this "drop off" behavior.  I fix it on my mac by turning on/off the wifi, as well as on an iphone/ipad.  Going to take the unit off line for a couple months, and put the synology router back.  lets hope the firmware upgrades in a few months can address the situation so many have posted about here.

[waynealight]

on my setup i have fast roaming enabled.  after i get the system fully booted  all the devices will slowly switch to the best connection.  usually happens within a day for stuff like thermostats and smart devices.  things like computers and phones will switch sooner.  but turning off and on wifi will force the reconnect.  

[circadianswing]

I purchased the whole system to provide better coverage around the house, and now it's like having cell towers.  you can drop a connection between 2 rooms.  wifi devices attach to the main router even if it's further distance away than a satellite causing poor performance. I continue to have no coverage in my garage, even though a satellite unit is on the wall next to the garage.  I feel the system would work better as a standalone router, but it's not worth it.

[waynealight]

if you are able to return i would.  then upgrade to a rbk40 or 50 system.  I have the rbk50. so one router and one satellite.  3k sqft. router upstairs, satellite down stairs,  full strength anywhere in the house, garage and anywhere on my 1/4 acre property.  I would add an outdoor unit if i had more land. 

[FURRYe38]

After you upgraded to v.16, did you reboot all the Orbi devices or just apply the update? 

As Last resort, I would do a full factory erase on the router and satellites, then setup the router and just 1 satellite from scratch. Run the router and just 1 satellite for time being and see if the problem continues. Then lets go from there...

Others have reported that doing a full erase and setup from scratch helped them...

Im hoping that your system just isn't bad...

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@circadianswing wrote:

The router and satellites continue to exhibit this "drop off" behavior.  I fix it on my mac by turning on/off the wifi, as well as on an iphone/ipad.  Going to take the unit off line for a couple months, and put the synology router back.  lets hope the firmware upgrades in a few months can address the situation so many have posted about here.

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[circadianswing]

@FURRYe38 I did reboot the router and satellites, but continued to see drops/performance issues.  

Based on posts I see here, I'm not willing to go through a full reset as I don't think that will solve the issue.   In the meantime, my synology is back out, and everything around the house is completely stable (security cameras, light switches, pool equipment, etc)

I do hope Netgear solves it with firmware (hate to see them say current models were problematic).  For now I'll invest in a $19 wifi extender for the garage. 

[FURRYe38]

Hope it will keep working for you.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-MR-2-1-Update-3-23-18/m-p/1548414/highlight/true#M27868
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/speed-slows-down-Orbi/m-p/1551822/highlight/true#M28289
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Is-2-1-3-4-in-auto-update/m-p/1553979/highlight/true#M28616
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-Satellite-RBS50-Not-Connecting-via-Ethernet/m-p/1556692/h...

Good Luck.