ORBI RBK53 Fails to Connect to Epson Workforce 845 Wireless Printer

[granvillea]

I recently replaced my Netgear Nighthawk 1700 Router and Extender with an ORBI RBK53 Mesh Router and 2 Satellites to get better WIFI Coverage throughout my chopped up Brick House.  It is working great in providing the strong wireless signal throughout my house but I have an Epson Workforce 845 MultiFunction Printer that worked great with the Nighthawk but will not maintain a connection with the ORBI System.  It is very close physically to the Router but I need all 3 Wired Output Ports for other devices (2 for a hardwired backhual to the Satellites and 1 for a Security System that does not have a wireless connection.  I have been unable to figure out how to make the Orbi Router give me a consistent Wireless Connection with the Epson Workforce 845 Printer.  It will connect initially and then drop the connection almost immediately.  It also sees 3 seperate ORBI Systems (I assume the Router and the Satellites) and none of them will connect reliably.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  I am running the latest Firmware for the ORBI 2.2.1.210, and the most recent Firmware for the Epson Workforce Printer.  I am running a mixed environment (Mostly MacOS Mojave 10.14.1 (an iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook), iOS 12.1.1 (2 iPhone X, 1 iPadPro 10.7, 1 iPad Gen 4, 1 Apple TV 4K) I also have 2 Windows 10 Devices (a Lenova All-in one and a HP Workstation)  I also have various other devices 3 Samsung TVs, 2 Amazon FireTV, 3 Amazon Echo Speakers, Ring Doorbell and Eufy Security System, Steam Connect System and the Epson Workforce 845 Printer.  

All except the Epson 845 Connect great to the ORBI System and seem to maintain a seamless connection as you wonder through the house.  Unlike previously where you constantly had to connect to the nearest Nighthawk Router or Extender.  So in that regard I love the new ORBI RBK53 Router and 2 Satellites and they seem to do exactly what I had hoped they would.  But I cannot seem to get the Epson Printer to maintain a connection.  I also cant seem to figure out how to check or change any of the Router Settings.  This Printer seems to only offer a 2.4 Connection.  Thanks for any help, if you need further information please let me know.  I try to keep my OS's and Firmware up to date at all times.

[ekhalil · Accepted solution]

---

@granvillea wrote:

........ I assume it is probably because the 2.4 Radio chip on the Printer is older and does not support some of the newer channels above 11 while the ORBI is constantly trying to optimize to the best.  I did just use Auto but am unsure how to get to the setup that allows me to choose channels or other advanced feature setup. ............

---

As explained above, please use orbilogin.com to change the 2.4 GHz channel to 11 🙂

I believe tht this will help with this pronter.

[granvillea]

For some reason although I selected the RBK53 ORBI System the above note says at the bottom RBK52W which is not correct.  I definitely have the RBK53 Orbi Router RBR50 and 2 RBS50 Satellites.

[ekhalil]

- I see that this printer supports WPS, have you tried to set it up using WPS and pressing the Sync button on the nearest Orbi unit?

- If the issue is just radio coverage, you can try the following:

1. Make sure the channel you select for 2.4 GHz band in Orbi is not used by many other neighboring networks.

2. You can also try "Enable 20/40 MHz Coexistence" to allow using 20MHz channel bandwidth in case of bad coverage.

3. Try "Implicit BEAMFORMING" which will improve 2.4 GHz wifi range.

[FURRYe38]

What FW is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

Apple wireless issues:
Advanced Wireless Settings both 2.4GHz and 5GHz changed CTS/RTS Threshold to 2307.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-RBR40-RBS40-V2-1-4-16-mesh-network-drops-connection-to/m-...
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Have-to-keep-rebooting-my-RBR50/m-p/1658603/highlight/false#M4...
Change the CTR/RTS threshold values for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (2341 and 2345 respectively), changed preamble modes to long preamble, and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only.

---

@granvillea wrote:

I recently replaced my Netgear Nighthawk 1700 Router and Extender with an ORBI RBK53 Mesh Router and 2 Satellites to get better WIFI Coverage throughout my chopped up Brick House.  It is working great in providing the strong wireless signal throughout my house but I have an Epson Workforce 845 MultiFunction Printer that worked great with the Nighthawk but will not maintain a connection with the ORBI System.  It is very close physically to the Router but I need all 3 Wired Output Ports for other devices (2 for a hardwired backhual to the Satellites and 1 for a Security System that does not have a wireless connection.  I have been unable to figure out how to make the Orbi Router give me a consistent Wireless Connection with the Epson Workforce 845 Printer.  It will connect initially and then drop the connection almost immediately.  It also sees 3 seperate ORBI Systems (I assume the Router and the Satellites) and none of them will connect reliably.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  I am running the latest Firmware for the ORBI 2.2.1.210, and the most recent Firmware for the Epson Workforce Printer.  I am running a mixed environment (Mostly MacOS Mojave 10.14.1 (an iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook), iOS 12.1.1 (2 iPhone X, 1 iPadPro 10.7, 1 iPad Gen 4, 1 Apple TV 4K) I also have 2 Windows 10 Devices (a Lenova All-in one and a HP Workstation)  I also have various other devices 3 Samsung TVs, 2 Amazon FireTV, 3 Amazon Echo Speakers, Ring Doorbell and Eufy Security System, Steam Connect System and the Epson Workforce 845 Printer.  

All except the Epson 845 Connect great to the ORBI System and seem to maintain a seamless connection as you wonder through the house.  Unlike previously where you constantly had to connect to the nearest Nighthawk Router or Extender.  So in that regard I love the new ORBI RBK53 Router and 2 Satellites and they seem to do exactly what I had hoped they would.  But I cannot seem to get the Epson Printer to maintain a connection.  I also cant seem to figure out how to check or change any of the Router Settings.  This Printer seems to only offer a 2.4 Connection.  Thanks for any help, if you need further information please let me know.  I try to keep my OS's and Firmware up to date at all times.

---

[granvillea]

I have tried both using WPS and just typing the network password in manually and get same results either way.  I don't know if the Printer which is older and only supports 2.4 GHz and I believe only has channel coverage to 11.  I believe the ORBI defaults to Channel 13 to avoid confilct with other older 2.4 Devices and Networks.  I hate to seem stupid, but where do I go to setup specific channels or advanced features on the ORBI Router?  I do not find any options for such in the ORBI App?  My printer gets a very strong network signal it just will not stay connected.  It is literally 5 feet from the Orbi Router.

[FURRYe38]

Need to log in to the Router using a PC and a web browser. 

You can make changes to wireless settings under Basic/Wireless Settings. 

---

@granvillea wrote:

I have tried both using WPS and just typing the network password in manually and get same results either way.  I don't know if the Printer which is older and only supports 2.4 GHz and I believe only has channel coverage to 11.  I believe the ORBI defaults to Channel 13 to avoid confilct with other older 2.4 Devices and Networks.  I hate to seem stupid, but where do I go to setup specific channels or advanced features on the ORBI Router?  I do not find any options for such in the ORBI App?  My printer gets a very strong network signal it just will not stay connected.  It is literally 5 feet from the Orbi Router.

---

[ekhalil]

---

@granvillea wrote:

I have tried both using WPS and just typing the network password in manually and get same results either way.  I don't know if the Printer which is older and only supports 2.4 GHz and I believe only has channel coverage to 11.  I believe the ORBI defaults to Channel 13 to avoid confilct with other older 2.4 Devices and Networks.  I hate to seem stupid, but where do I go to setup specific channels or advanced features on the ORBI Router?  I do not find any options for such in the ORBI App?  My printer gets a very strong network signal it just will not stay connected.  It is literally 5 feet from the Orbi Router.

---

The settings options in the Orbi app are very limited. Please login from a computer attached to Orbi, use a browser to navigate to orbilogin.com.

You can find the channel setting under>> ADVANCED >> Setup >> Wireless Settings >> and the advanced wireless settings under >> ADVANCED >> Advanced Setup >> Wireless Settings >> as you can see below:

[granvillea]

Firmware on Router is 2.2.1.210  The Satellites are not the issue the Printer is physically adjacent to the Router (within 5 feet).  I have good WIFI Signal now throughout my house where previously it was spotty and required changing between multiple networks depending on whether I was nearer to Router or Extender  This is why I got Orbi Mesh System and it has solved those issues.  This appears to be just a problem with the Epson Printer failing to maintain a connection.  I assume it is probably because the 2.4 Radio chip on the Printer is older and does not support some of the newer channels above 11 while the ORBI is constantly trying to optimize to the best.  I did just use Auto but am unsure how to get to the setup that allows me to choose channels or other advanced feature setup. Sorry to be stupid but I cannot seem In the Orbi App to find where I go to do more advanced setup?  Sorry.  I am wired to Fiber Optic Network through a local ISP BRMEMC (Blue Ridge Mountain Electrical Management Cooperative) which provides Fiber Internet in my rural community.  I currently am not having problems with my Apple Devices, My Macs or anything but the printer.  

I am happy to answer all your questions regarding size of house (2700 Square Feet Appx.) It is a brick house that has been added on to 4 times all in Brick except for latest addition which is 460 Square Foot Sun Room in Hardy Board directly off the room the Router is located in and it has Satellite.  2nd Satellite is 2 rooms away in different direction with 2 Brick Walls between it and Router.  Again though I have fine signals in all parts of the home now and printer is literally 5 feet from the router and gets a signal from both satellites as well  ( it shows 3 devices with same name).

For every device except the Printer I am getting better performance than I did with my Nighthawk 1700 and Extenders and no longer have to constantly change networks as i move from room to room.  Is it fully optimized, probably not at this point.  But it is enormously better than I had before if I can just make my Printer hook up correctly.

[ekhalil · Accepted solution]

---

@granvillea wrote:

........ I assume it is probably because the 2.4 Radio chip on the Printer is older and does not support some of the newer channels above 11 while the ORBI is constantly trying to optimize to the best.  I did just use Auto but am unsure how to get to the setup that allows me to choose channels or other advanced feature setup. ............

---

As explained above, please use orbilogin.com to change the 2.4 GHz channel to 11 🙂

I believe tht this will help with this pronter.

[granvillea]

Thank you so much for your help.  I am now logged in to the ORBI Setup in a browser window on my iMac.  I changed the Setting from Auto to Channel 11 and checked the other 3 boxes you recommended.  I now see only 2 Orbi Networks on my Printer but when I try to connect I get the following error message on the Printer Setup " A router/access point channel conflict has been detected.  If you have probelms printing or scanning improve your wireless network environment".  The WIFI Setup shows 2 ORBI85 (the Network Name) Available Connections so I presume it is seeing both the Router and at least one of the Satellites.

[granvillea]

Do I need to reboot the Orbi Router and the Satellites after making the changes?  I have powered off and powered back on the Printer.

[ekhalil]

Is there a way to reset network settings on the printer and try again? It can be that some network information is still there from previous trials.

[schumaku]

Consider adding a little Gigabit Ethernet switch - worth every penny, and no need to deal with some smart a** embedded WiFi client on the printer.

[granvillea]

Thank you very much, that seemed to solve the problem once I powered everything off and rebooted the ORBI's.  Appreciate the help sorry I was so stupid about the setup.

[ekhalil]

Glad that your pronter is working now 🙂

[granvillea]

I will probably do just that.  I like wired ethernet connections where I do not have to pull cable because I don't get the bandwidth issues or the reliability issues either.  That is why I set up the backhaul on the ORBI system as Ethernet rather than WiFi as I already had the cabling from my Nighthawk 1700 and Extenders.