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Need Basement Help
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- Due to COVID constraints my wife has begun teaching her classes from home via Google Meets. She set up a nice work area in our finished basement, but had trouble with our WIFI there. After reading here of others' success with ORBI Outside in the basement I purchased the unit, synced it, and placed it in the basement on her work desk. Simply put, it isn't helping. While the app shows that it's connected to the router and system and her laptop is connected, she still gets error messages saying, "Move closer to router." Our system is the ORBI RBR40 router with 2 satellites plus the aforementioned ORBI Outside unit. Listing this in the MODEL box above was not an option, so I got as close as I could. This is an expensive bust right now. Can anyone help?
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Re: Need Basement Help
Basements are not good locations for the main host RBR router. All that concrete and steel will cause problems. Main or 1st level floors are recommended.
What Orbi model do you have?
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Any RBS installed as well?
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
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/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 📡
Ensure the laptops wifi adapter drivers are updated as well.
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Re: Need Basement Help
The ORBI Outside satellite is more than 30 feet from the router.
My router is an RBR40 with 2 satellites and the added ORBI Outside. The house is roughly 3,500 square feet. The modem router has been disconnected.
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Re: Need Basement Help
The error message is coming from Google Meets, correct?
What this sounds like is the connection between Orbi router and the RBS50Y satellite is too weak.
There is no benefit of placing the satellite "on the desk" with the computer if the link between router and satellite is weak.
WiFi is affected dramatically by material. It could be just your luck that the WiFi link between router and satellite is having to penetrate 20 floor joists. Or be directly behind an HVAC duct that is hidden above the ceiling.
I would try relocating the satellite close to the router and still maintain either a clear line-of-sight or have few obstacles between the satellite and teaching PC.
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Re: Need Basement Help
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
@MichaelParks26 wrote:
The router is on the main floor, next to the modem. Only the ORBI Outside satellite is in the basement.
The ORBI Outside satellite is more than 30 feet from the router.
My router is an RBR40 with 2 satellites and the added ORBI Outside. The house is roughly 3,500 square feet. The modem router has been disconnected.
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Re: Need Basement Help
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Re: Need Basement Help
Yes...you can keep tracking the status on the RBRs web page and see when it goes from Good to Poor. If you see Poor status then you can move the RBS back a bit closer to the RBR where the status shows good.
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
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Re: Need Basement Help
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Re: Need Basement Help
Your ISP Modem already has a built in router and wifi. This would be a double NAT (two router) condition which isn't recommended. https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT
https://kb.netgear.com/30187/How-to-fix-issues-with-Double-NAT
Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge or modem only mode. Then use the Orbi router in router mode. You'll need to contact the ISP for help and information in regards to the modem being bridged correctly.
2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ/ExposedHost or IP Pass-Through for the IP address the Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Orbi router in Router mode.
3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the Orbi router to the modem, configure AP mode on the Orbi router. https://kb.netgear.com/31218/How-do-I-configure-my-Orbi-router-to-act-as-an-access-point and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LOcJ8GdDo&app=desktop
I would configure option #2 on the modem to see if this helps...
@MichaelParks26 wrote:
Manufacturer: Technicolor
Model: TC8715D
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Re: Need Basement Help
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Re: Need Basement Help
@MichaelParks26 wrote:
I get the blue light when syncing, which is "strong connection" status. Do I still need to move the satellite? It's advertised as having more connection power than the typical satellites that came with the router. I thought it would be perfect for the basement.
This seems inconsistent with my understanding of WiFi. The FCC regulates the maximum transmit power of WiFi systems. It is unlikely that one model of Orbi will have stronger radios than other models.
With the satellite having a "Good" connection to the router, my focus is on that error message, "Move closer to the router."
Google Meets has modest requiements:
https://it.vcfa.edu/kb/google-meets/requirements-to-use-google-hangouts
Can you do a Speedtest measurement at the teaching location? (browse to http://speedtest.net)
Surely the PC meets those requirements.
Might experiment with using a different browser.
Finally, does your wife observe any problems other than the warning message? Are students complaining about bad video or sound?
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Re: Need Basement Help
And did you configure DMZ on the modem for the RBR?
@MichaelParks26 wrote:
Modem WIFI was disconnected about 3 years ago.
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Re: Need Basement Help
Speed test results: Ping--46, Download--224.45, Upload--11.81.
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Re: Need Basement Help
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Re: Need Basement Help
If this is a laptop, it should be possible to (temporarily) move upstairs and connect directly to the router. If the same message appears when connected to the router, then the satellite is not the cause.
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Re: Need Basement Help
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Re: Need Basement Help
Do you get any good signal in the basement with that RBS turned OFF?
What happens if you swap RBS locations, does the same problem happen in the basement still or does something else change?
https://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Networking-101-The-DMZ-137550
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Re: Need Basement Help
May I ask a question? Yesterday my wife disconnected the laptop and took it to a meeting. This morning when the WIFI was weak, I noticed that the ORBI Outdoor satellite was turned off on the app. I toggled it back on and things improved. Would the fact that she disconnected, then reconnected WITHOUT REBOOTING have something to do with the satellite turning off? Just a thought.
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Re: Need Basement Help
The RBS can only be turned off with the button in back or pull the power cord.
If you turned it back on, usually the connecting device needs to be rebooted or the wifi adapter disabled for 5 seconds then re-enabled so the laptop would see the closer signal from the RBS with out a reboot. Unless it has some good algorythm and switched to the RBS signal on it's own. Which is possible.
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Re: Need Basement Help
@MichaelParks26 wrote:
I noticed that the ORBI Outdoor satellite was turned off on the app. I toggled it back on and things improved..
As @FURRYe38 commented, I am not aware of any method in the Orbi app to "toggle" the outdoor satellite on or off. Only "devices" can be paused in the app.
Does the RBS50Y appear on the Orbi 'app' as a satellite connected to the router with a dotted line?
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Re: Need Basement Help
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Re: Need Basement Help
@MichaelParks26 wrote:
the system worked just fine when she ran it upstairs with only 1 monitor.
How do you hook up two additional monitors to one laptop?
If the error message is coming from GoGuardian, perhaps she could ask them what causes the message to appear (and the students to complain of audio/video problems)?
How many students are on a typical session when this happens?
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Re: Need Basement Help
The error message comes from Google Meets. When it was a problem this morning there were 10 students to be monitored. She says that other classes go as high as 20 students, however.
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