Orbi RBR20 unstable internet during video calls

[jlurbanik]

Using an Orbi RBR20 AC2200 and Spectrum cable internet for my home office.  99% of the time it works great but during video calls using Zoom, esp. with more than 5 ppl on the call, I get an warning message that my internet is unstable.  Within a few seconds my video call drops but then re-starts in about 30 seconds.  I contacted Spectrum and they tested the line said it was fine and suggested changing the channel on the Orbi.  I have done that a bunch of times and it seems to fix the problem for a little while, but then it comes back.  Any suggestions?    The only time that this internet instability is obvious is during these Zoom calls.  It may happen other times e.g. slow connections etc., but it is most obvious, and annoying, during these calls.  Time of day doesn't seem to have any correlation to the issue but haven't tracked that explicitly.  Have no issues streaming movies on weekends or during evening hours.  Ideas?

[FURRYe38]

What Firmware 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 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

What channels are you using? 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?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot 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. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

[jlurbanik]

Thanks for the detailed reply.  

I have the latest firmware (V2.3.5.26) - did a check for updates and I'm up to date

The modem is from Spectrum (couldn't find a mfr), Model E31T2V1

2600 SF home, satellite probably 15-20 feet away from router.  it is on 2nd floor by my office,  Router is one floor below about 2 feet from cable modem.  standard wood stud/drywall construction - no stone or brick between the floors.

Currently on channel 8 for 2.4Ghz and channel 40 for 5 GHz.  how can i find out if a channel is unused?  I have tried various combinations of channels in the past.  some work better than others.

bunch of wifi neighbors - at least 10 show up when i look

i enabled Beamforming and MIMO.  WMM already enabled.

Armor and Circle and fast roaming and IPv6 already disabled.  did not change Daisy Chain because when i saved other changes, the system lost the IP address and locked up until I reset everything.  not anxious to go thru that again.  The 20/40 Mhz coexistence is checked but i don't see a way to set it to 40 Mhz only.  how do i do that?

thanks for your help.  i have a small video call tomorrow and a bigger one next week.  will see how it behaves.

[albertopm]

I'm experiencing similar issues:

• unstable network errors and interruptions during Zoom calls
• other apps seem to work fine, when doing VoIp calls on Telegram, Facetime, Whatsapp etc. I do not experience such issues, although I suspect it's because Zoom is more demanding in terms of bandwidth due to video streaming 
• happens on wifi, using wired Ethernet cable connected to the Satellite I never have any issues
• I have tried changing most settings as suggested but still happening
• I have just changed to a new 2.4Ghz channel to see if it helps, but I don't think it's that. I don't have many wifi networks and there are no channel collisions whatsoever.

My setup:

• Netgear Orbi RBR50 — Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
• Latest firmware (V2.3.5.30)
• Satellite on wired backhaul connection 

I have just realized I have double NAT - my ISP router is doing NAT + Orbi is doing NAT. Could this be related, perhaps?
I haven't experienced any issues with downloads, Netflix streaming or playing videogames on PS4.

Any pointers appreciated.

[albertopm]

I resolved the double NAT issue by configuring the ISP router in bridge mode, but I'm still experiencing these issues.

[FURRYe38]

"satellite probably 15-20 feet away from router." <This is too close. 30 feet between RBR and RBS is minimum. 

Try setting channels 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz. These are primary channels to use. All other channels are sub channels used by the system and shouldn't be set as a primary channel. 

"bunch of wifi neighbors - at least 10 show up when i look" Which channels are they using? You may need to lower the power output of the Orbi radios from 100% to say 75 or 50% and see if this helps any. There maybe some interferences coming from your nieghbors. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

"The 20/40 Mhz coexistence is checked but i don't see a way to set it to 40 Mhz only.  how do i do that?" Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings, uncheck the 20/40Mhz check box then select apply. 

Disabling of Daisy Chain should not lock up or loose IP addressing. It should apply and reboot the RBR. You may need to power OFF the RBS for 30 seconds then back ON. 

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@jlurbanik wrote:

Thanks for the detailed reply.  

I have the latest firmware (V2.3.5.26) - did a check for updates and I'm up to date

The modem is from Spectrum (couldn't find a mfr), Model E31T2V1

2600 SF home, satellite probably 15-20 feet away from router.  it is on 2nd floor by my office,  Router is one floor below about 2 feet from cable modem.  standard wood stud/drywall construction - no stone or brick between the floors.

Currently on channel 8 for 2.4Ghz and channel 40 for 5 GHz.  how can i find out if a channel is unused?  I have tried various combinations of channels in the past.  some work better than others.

bunch of wifi neighbors - at least 10 show up when i look

i enabled Beamforming and MIMO.  WMM already enabled.

Armor and Circle and fast roaming and IPv6 already disabled.  did not change Daisy Chain because when i saved other changes, the system lost the IP address and locked up until I reset everything.  not anxious to go thru that again.  The 20/40 Mhz coexistence is checked but i don't see a way to set it to 40 Mhz only.  how do i do that?

thanks for your help.  i have a small video call tomorrow and a bigger one next week.  will see how it behaves.

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[albertopm]

>"satellite probably 15-20 feet away from router." <This is too close. 30 feet between RBR and RBS is minimum. 

My satellite is connected via wired ethernet connection.

>Try setting channels 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz. These are primary channels to use. All other channels are sub channels used by the system and shouldn't be set as a primary channel. 

I have switched to channel 1 and will report. 

I have also replaced the ethernet cable from Orbi to my ISP router with a higher category one. A badnwidth test reports up to 400 MBit/s.

[jlurbanik]

Thanks for all of the help. Today i made your recommended changes -  I moved the satellite to increase distance from router.  Changed the 2.4 GHz channel to 11.  put power output to 75% for both 2.4 and 5 GHz.  Unchecked 20/40MHz coexistence.  disabled daisy chain.  rebooted probably 4 times thru this process.  Have a big video call tomorrow - will see how it works.  I have been having instability issues the last few days but my calls didn't completely drop like they used to.  I will know tomorrow what these most recent changes did.  Thanks so much!

[FURRYe38]

Hoping something will fix this. Let us know how it turned out. 

[jlurbanik]

hi folks - had a big zoom call this morning and it went off without a hitch.  I will wait for a few more weeks to see if these new settings work on-going, but for now things look promising.  The only other odd thing I've noticed is my wireless dropping out from time to time (not during video calls - just normal work on my computer or tablet - email, working on a document, websurfing) but it immediately comes back on line.  have not been able to connect it to any particular activity - just notice or get an alert that my internet access was dropped.  Thanks again for all of your help.

[FURRYe38]

Glad the video call was good. 

Try some of the suggestions. A factory reset maybe needed. MIght manually re-load FW on to the RBS and RBR, factory reset and setup from scratch. IF this connection drop continues, I would file a support ticket. An RMA maybe needed. 

[Rajeshvis]

Hi,
I have RBR20 with one satellite.
I have placed the router and satellite in L shape in different rooms .they are about 30 feet apart . I have same issue of video calls dropping. But wired connections from satellite works fine.
I noticed from logs, DHCP IP assignment was happening frequently. I have modified by giving static IP. Still connection drops in video calls are there .enabled beam forming, disabled Daisy chain (it shudnt matter for one sat)

[jlurbanik]

good morning - my system has been alot more stable since I made the changes recommended in this thread a few months ago.  I do get the occasional lag during video calls -esp. during lockdown because so many ppl in my neighborhood were working/schooling from home - and sometimes the issue seemed to be with Zoom vs. my system.  Issues are intermittent now and tolerable.

[FURRYe38]

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

Daisy Chain is enabled by default in FW. So be sure to disable it. 

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

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot 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).

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@Rajeshvis wrote:
Hi,
I have RBR20 with one satellite.
I have placed the router and satellite in L shape in different rooms .they are about 30 feet apart . I have same issue of video calls dropping. But wired connections from satellite works fine.
I noticed from logs, DHCP IP assignment was happening frequently. I have modified by giving static IP. Still connection drops in video calls are there .enabled beam forming, disabled Daisy chain (it shudnt matter for one sat)

---

[Rajeshvis]

Hi,
I have cat 6 cable landing to my house. So no modem.LAN cable directly connected to my orbi. I had all settings as suggested above except preamble.have modified that too. Let me see tomorrow. Video calls near the satellite don't have issues. How can I detect if there is interference between router and satellite ? I have logged the issue with Netgear support as well.
Thanks a lot for your inputs

[FURRYe38]

Try installing some wifi analyzer apps on a pad to see whos near by. 

[FURRYe38]

You may see problems here and there since everyone is working from home now days and more people are online. Hopefully the system will be godo for you. Keep checking with the ISP to ensure the line is good up to the modem. 

Enjoy. 

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@jlurbanik wrote:

good morning - my system has been alot more stable since I made the changes recommended in this thread a few months ago.  I do get the occasional lag during video calls -esp. during lockdown because so many ppl in my neighborhood were working/schooling from home - and sometimes the issue seemed to be with Zoom vs. my system.  Issues are intermittent now and tolerable.

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