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Sug's avatar
Sug
Guide
Dec 22, 2016

Orbi 2gh Issues with Smart Devices and Hubs that are 2gh Only

Orbi Smart Devices and Hubs Problems
Problems with smart hubs and devices that require the 2gh only.
Hi I tried past stand alone wifi routers (Asus,Linsky) priced over $300 and now the Orbi.
My home is over 4200 Sq Ft. on the Orbi speed test show great speed up and down no matter where I maybe be in or out of the house (Down Load 238 MHPS Upload 35.33 are the avg)
The house has over 40 wifi devices smart devices lights,, tv, Ring door bell, harmony hubs and others.
The 2 gh devices work intermittently other’s 2gh smart devices cannot access my network, since Orbi selects what the band automatically , this is very frustrating.
Not allowing to select the band ,makes some 2gh devices useless or having them to be reset more then not.
Hubs Harmony, Ring, Obit Sprinkler are just a few that have the issue or will not work at all.
New router’s are coming to market but fail, when it come to smart homes.
Im curious if you have tested for smart devices on the other similar router’s to Orbi,.
Thanks
I would be more then happy to provide further info on request.

16 Replies

  • Have you tried disabling beamforming? That worked well for me with my smart devices/hubs. No problem since I disabled that feature on my Orbi on the latest firmware.
    • Sug's avatar
      Sug
      Guide

      Thanks 

      just turn it off and got some devices up and running

      Still have issues with others will keep trying

      Harmony Hubs are still hit and miss some times they log in ok, but other times there  is a great delay and connet to the cloud in place of my network. (they worked fine with the Giant Asus router,but did not cover my house, hence Orbi)

       

  • Encountering similar issue with my son's Nintendo 3DS device. Won't connect unless the SSID is only 2.4 ghz.

    This is a benefit of Open-Mesh. You can create multiple SSIDs, designate their band(2.4/5/Both).

    • Miles267 wrote:
      Encountering similar issue with my son's Nintendo 3DS device. Won't connect unless the SSID is only 2.4 ghz.

      This is a benefit of Open-Mesh. You can create multiple SSIDs, designate their band(2.4/5/Both).

      If that were the issue, it would also fail with eero, Luma, and Google Wifi.  I suspect you have a different problem.  There was virtually no reason to have separate SSIDs five years ago (except the chipset drivers weren't mature enough to do it), and even less so now.

       

      Rodney

  • Good point. Though it's definitely an issue with the 3DS inability to connect to Orbi. When setting up the 3DS, can see all 4 Orbi SSIDs. Main network 2.4, 5.0 and Guest 2.4, 5.0. Even if I attempt to manually select each of them and enter the encryption key, the 3DS is unable to connect.

    Whereas if I define a specific SSID in Open Mesh and only allow it to broadcast on 2.4 ghz with same SSID and password, it works without issue.
  • That could certainly be the case with Orbi's 2.4 ghz band. No, Open-Mesh allows you to select a band per SSID but doesn't give you the option of configuring modes (b/g) on the 2.4 ghz band.
  • It's frustrating
    My Ring door bell and other devices are new generations continue to loose connection
    Ready to return the ORBI go back and live with less coverage, but at least the devises will work
    Mesh routers are too new, spoke with Google they say expect the same issues
    Plus most don't allow use of a external HD on your network for your media
    Mesh not ready for prime time
  • I agree. I've been testing Orbi alongside my existing Open-Mesh network and will be returning Orbi. I recognize they're apples and oranges, OM being a business class solution. May revisit Orbi as product and firmware mature. Until then, it's a great for first generation hardware but isn't for everyone.
    • Our family used the "New" US 3DS (i.e. the latest model) on our Orbi network all weekend without issues, just as a data point.  I don't know what might have changed with the wireless hardware or firmware in the 3DS between revisions.

       

      Rodney

  • I'm having the same problem with my Harmony Remote Hub. It simply won't connect to the Orbi network reliably even though the signal is strong. Twenty other devices in my house work fine, but the Harmony Hub won't work. It looks like I'll have to return the Orbi. :(
    • Harmony Hubs only work with a dedicated 2.4gHz network. I was told by a Harmony tech support rep that a firmware update was in the works; however no ETA. In the interim, I may use my old router as an Access Point and disable the 5gHz network to see if that will work.  A salesman in Best Buy suggested the Netgear power line as a possible solution. I am going to call Netgear to see if the have can help me with these workarounds.

      • I am currently running 3 Harmony Hubs into a Orbi router setup.

         

        1 is connected to the router and the other 2 are connected to the satellite. 

         

        They have been up and running since last Dec/Jan. Only the one connected to the router has ever given any problems and that was a disconnection overnight but even that sorted itself by next morning.

         

        Very occasionally when trying to connect by smartphone it will not see them and try and connect via cloud, but even then if I intervene and cancel the attempted cloud connection I can connect via the network.

         

        I have both beamforming and Mu-Mimo unchecked in the router setup, but the rest is all standard setup.

         

         

  • Finnickky 2.4 ghz devices like the ring doorbell I finally got it working stable using the guest network on the Orbi 2.4 for some reason I had trouble with the main ssid. Try setting up a guest network for the finicky devices