Re: Limited Channel selection on Orbi RBR50 in AP mode?

mlg250 · ‎2020-09-07

I have an Orbi RBR50 wired to my Fios Router with the Gigabit Fios plan. The Orbi is in AP mode with two RBS50 satelites.

The Orbi RBR50 offers the standard 1-11 channels for 2.4 GHz. BUT it only offers channels 36 - 48 for the 5 GHz band.

I've tried turning wifi on/off on the Verizon Router and it makes no difference in what is available on the Orbi RBR50. I tried leaving wifi on in the Router and setting the 5 GHz channel on the FIOS router to 139. But the options for the Orbi 5 GHz remain the same 36-48 only.

Do I have something set incorrectly on the FIOS router or the Orbi? Why are my options so limited? When I check there is less crowding in my building on channels above 100 or so and I would like to be able to move.

Thanks for any suggestions.

michaelkenward · ‎2020-09-08

Do you actually experience wifi problems? Or is this a theoretical exercise?

The short range of 5 GHz wifi is such that reports of interference are rare.

mlg250 · ‎2020-09-08

I experience problems and these are what made me pursue the channel issue to begin with. Zoom goes in and out of having a fine and stable connection. It suddenly freezes, voices break up and I receive a notice that the connection is unstable. This happens on an average of twice per hour. My smartphone suddenly starts breaking up and people conplain. The hardware I'm using is more than adequate to the tasks.

When using Zoom in my home office I'm getting a signal from one of the satellites and I have to work in that part of the house.

FURRYe38 · ‎2020-09-08

What Firmware version is currently loaded?

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

Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz. Higher 5Ghz channels are used by the Orbi WiFi Backhaul radios between the RBR and RBS when they are wireless connected. These are not user configurable.

Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or may not be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, Circle, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

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

@mlg250 wrote:
I experience problems and these are what made me pursue the channel issue to begin with. Zoom goes in and out of having a fine and stable connection. It suddenly freezes, voices break up and I receive a notice that the connection is unstable. This happens on an average of twice per hour. My smartphone suddenly starts breaking up and people conplain. The hardware I'm using is more than adequate to the tasks.

When using Zoom in my home office I'm getting a signal from one of the satellites and I have to work in that part of the house.

mlg250 · ‎2020-09-08

Hi,

Firmware V2.5.1.16 - it says there's no newer firmware

The distance between the router and the satellite is 27 ft. This is a very old apartment building (1903) and the walls are unbelievably thick. When the satellite is further away I can't find the router and turns magenta.

Channels were set to 4 and 36. Now set to 11 and 36 since very few 5 GHz channels are available.

There are 90 apartments in the building and each apartment has at least one router. When I scan for wifi signals I usually pick up at least 15 with decent signal strength.

I already had MMO, Beamforming and WMM selected.

I don't have any mention of Armor.

I just now disabled daisy chain and fast roaming. Also just changed preamble from Auto to Short.

I was unable set Coexistence to 40 because it's only listed as a checkbox which offers 20/40. Also IPV6 has always been greyed out and as a result I couldn't adjust that setting.

I'll be using it for work tomorrow and will check in to update any differences.

Thanks very much for your suggestions.

Mstrbig · ‎2020-09-09

@mlg250 wrote:
Hi,
Firmware V2.5.1.16 - it says there's no newer firmware
The distance between the router and the satellite is 27 ft. This is a very old apartment building (1903) and the walls are unbelievably thick. When the satellite is further away I can't find the router and turns magenta.
Channels were set to 4 and 36. Now set to 11 and 36 since very few 5 GHz channels are available.
There are 90 apartments in the building and each apartment has at least one router. When I scan for wifi signals I usually pick up at least 15 with decent signal strength.
I already had MMO, Beamforming and WMM selected.
I don't have any mention of Armor.
I just now disabled daisy chain and fast roaming. Also just changed preamble from Auto to Short.
I was unable set Coexistence to 40 because it's only listed as a checkbox which offers 20/40. Also IPV6 has always been greyed out and as a result I couldn't adjust that setting.

I'll be using it for work tomorrow and will check in to update any differences.
Thanks very much for your suggestions.

90 possible routers in 1 building can be a challenge. However once you find the proper WIFI channels you chould be ok.

For 2.4Ghz I would stick with 1, 6, or 11 because they are the only non-overlapping channels. The reason why you only have channels 36, 40, 44, 48 for 5Ghz is because the higher channels are being used for backhaul. Also since 5Ghz has a smaller broadcast area, most of the time there are little to no issues with channel interference.

I have an issue where the owners on my Cul De Sac all have powerful mesh systems I installed. So I get 4 households' strong WIFI signal. I found channel 1/48 to be my best choice, after running NetSpot analyzer.

FURRYe38 · ‎2020-09-09

Try turning down the power output of the RBRs wifi radios from 100% to 50% and see if this changes anything. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

@mlg250 wrote:
Hi,
Firmware V2.5.1.16 - it says there's no newer firmware
The distance between the router and the satellite is 27 ft. This is a very old apartment building (1903) and the walls are unbelievably thick. When the satellite is further away I can't find the router and turns magenta.
Channels were set to 4 and 36. Now set to 11 and 36 since very few 5 GHz channels are available.
There are 90 apartments in the building and each apartment has at least one router. When I scan for wifi signals I usually pick up at least 15 with decent signal strength.
I already had MMO, Beamforming and WMM selected.
I don't have any mention of Armor.
I just now disabled daisy chain and fast roaming. Also just changed preamble from Auto to Short.
I was unable set Coexistence to 40 because it's only listed as a checkbox which offers 20/40. Also IPV6 has always been greyed out and as a result I couldn't adjust that setting.

I'll be using it for work tomorrow and will check in to update any differences.
Thanks very much for your suggestions.

mlg250 · ‎2020-09-11

I ask this in great frustration: do all the quality mesh systems take so many channels for their own backhaul - or for any other reason?!

I turned down the radios but then had trouble getting a stable signal when relying on a satelite.

I've spent several hours with my Android running WiFi Analyzer (tried 3 different ones) trying to find a channel that doesn't have "interfence" above 40%, particularly on the 5 GHz band. This followed my having the sound on Zoom suddenly drop for no apparent reason several times while working today. I moved the satellite around and did find a spot slightly further from the router where it worked and I seemed to get a slightly stronger signal.

Using the WiFi Analyzers I discovered there is someone named "hidden" with a signal consistently as strong as mine and often 10 db higher. I then remembered that someone very recently moved in directly above me and I'll be it's their network.

I also kept getting an analysis that addressed the level of interference on my chosen channels. It looks like I can find a place on the 2.4 GHz band away from any very strong signals. But with the limited choices Orbi offers for 5 GHz, I can't get away from the very clear interference of "hidden",

I also have the guest network turned on. It often seems stronger than the one I'm using and there doesn't seem to be a way to set the guest to a different channel.

I'm feeling disappointed with the Orbi which was an excellent system until FIOS came into the building, Spectrum increased their speeds and now there are a great number of routers close to me that also have good strong signals.

I don't understand a lot about mesh systems although I know I need one to combat the extremely thick walls. Might I have to invest in a whole new system? If so, is there a good mesh system that would give me access to most of the channels? Or - is there a Netgear solution with my existing devices?

Thanks again.

Mstrbig · ‎2020-09-12

@mlg250 wrote:
I ask this in great frustration: do all the quality mesh systems take so many channels for their own backhaul - or for any other reason?!

Thanks again.

Pretty much all mesh systems reserve higher channels for backhaul.

Turning down signal strength is more for you if you have too much signal for a smaller area. For me that defeats the purpose of the whole WIFI coverage scheme.

Moving the satellites around sometimes helps you get a better coverage.

The hidden network is your backhaul network, so ignore it.

5GHZ is not a big issue as it is a much narrower band and usually has less interference issues.

I have the RBK50 system, which is 1 RBR50 router and 2 RBS50 satellites. I wouldn't trade it for any other model or brand, as it is very powerful with great coveage. The only exception would be upgrading to WIFI 6, but I have no need for it at this time.

mlg250 · ‎2020-09-12

THANK YOU! I've been trying to get away from "hidden" and now I understand it's part of my own network!

This is long narrow very old apartment building with thick walls and you're correct when you say lowering the signal did no good at all. I am finding that moving the satellites even a little bit so as to change angle and direction is providing the best results. Appreciate the confirmation.

And, since all mesh routers use the upper channels for backhaul I can stop cursing Netgear - at least for the moment 🙂