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Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

danall22
Aspirant

Orbi WiFi speed slow

Please help... I have the orbi rbk50 set up and was fine. However recently I have noticed the speed is slow. When I test in the orbi app it thinks it is 50mb but when I test on mobile I am getting about 15mb. I plugged directly into the router and got 51mb. So this tells me the issue is the WiFi... However I have no time dea how to solve this. Seems to be when I added more sonos speakers.
Message 1 of 24
st_shaw
Master

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

The Sonos inter-speaker links can interfere with the Orbi 5 Ghz backhaul.  The Sonos mesh network (Sonosnet) can interfere with the Orbi 2.4 GHz client radio.

 

1. Move your Sonos speakers a few feet away from the Orbi. In fact, don't put anything close to any Orbi unit.

 

2. If you have any Sonos device plugged into Ethernet, then Sonos will use its private mesh network--Sonosnet.  You need to manually set Sonos and Orbi to use non-overlapping channels.  Set Sonos to use Channel 11 and Orbi to use Channel 1, or vice versa.  To set the Sonos channel, see Settings, Advanced, Sonosnet Channel in the Sonos controller. To set the Orbi channel, log into the Orbi management GUI and go to Advanced, Setup, Wireless Setup.

 

Message 2 of 24
danall22
Aspirant

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

Thanks for the reply... Not convinced that sonos is the issue now as unplugged them and still an issue. Sonos net channel is on 1 and orbi on 11. It is odd as when on WiFi speed test gives 11mb down and 17up....if it was interference wouldn't the up be affected? As wired I get 50mb down and 17up which is what is expected.

It must be something else or the orbi unit itself? It is like something is draining all the bandwidth on the wifi.
Message 3 of 24
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

What FW is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the IP modem the Orbi is connected too?
What Devices are you using to test wireless? What other app are you using to test wireless speeds besides Orbi App? Turn OFF ALL other wifi sources, included SONOS before wireless speeds testing. 

 

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?


Try disabling the following and see:
MIMO, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).


@danall22 wrote:
Please help... I have the orbi rbk50 set up and was fine. However recently I have noticed the speed is slow. When I test in the orbi app it thinks it is 50mb but when I test on mobile I am getting about 15mb. I plugged directly into the router and got 51mb. So this tells me the issue is the WiFi... However I have no time dea how to solve this. Seems to be when I added more sonos speakers.

 

Message 4 of 24
ekhalil
Master

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

- When measuruíng the speed on mobile, do you know if the mobile is connected to 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz? The 5GHz gives more bandwidth. Switch off Wifi and switch back on to change the band.

- Is the device you use for measuring connected to the router or the satellite? Do you see a difference if the device is connected to the router or the satellite?

- Does restarting the router/satellite improves anything?

- What device do you use for measurement? An iPhone?

- Do you see any difference if you get closer to the router/satellite?

Message 5 of 24
danall22
Aspirant

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

When I measured the mobile was connected to 5ghz and was connected to the router. Seems to give a slight bit more when connected to the router rather than satellite but not much in it. Can get 20mb if I get right next to it but even that is no where near the 51 on wired and I used to get 50odd on wireless anywhere in the house! I am using android to measure.
Message 6 of 24
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

Test with other devices if you can to compare. 


@danall22 wrote:
When I measured the mobile was connected to 5ghz and was connected to the router. Seems to give a slight bit more when connected to the router rather than satellite but not much in it. Can get 20mb if I get right next to it but even that is no where near the 51 on wired and I used to get 50odd on wireless anywhere in the house! I am using android to measure.

 

Message 7 of 24
danall22
Aspirant

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

Just updated fireware to latest one today in the hope that would help... It has been doing it for a few days now so not the new fw to blame. The router is a Vodafone one supplied from isp. I am using the speed test app on android to test speed and ironically it is the same service that the orbi uses and the speeds are so different. The home is 1200sft I am using channel 11 on 2ghz and 40 on 5ghz.

Will look at changing those settings and see if that works.
Message 8 of 24
danall22
Aspirant

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

Tested with iPad and different android phone and still the same on all 3.
Message 9 of 24
ekhalil
Master

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

Yes, make a scan to see if others in the neighbourhood are using the same channels and choose an unused channel if possible.

Message 10 of 24
danall22
Aspirant

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

Yes I have, quite congested but I am on a free 5ghz channel and the least congested 2ghz channel too so I am on the best that I can be.
Message 11 of 24
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

1200 sqft? Are you using the Router and satellites in the home? 1200 sq ft, you only need the router. You may have too much singal sources over lapping for this size of home. The router alone can cover up to aroud 2000sq ft. Turn OFF the satellites for now and do some speed testing with the Orbi router alone. 

 


@danall22 wrote:
Just updated fireware to latest one today in the hope that would help... It has been doing it for a few days now so not the new fw to blame. The router is a Vodafone one supplied from isp. I am using the speed test app on android to test speed and ironically it is the same service that the orbi uses and the speeds are so different. The home is 1200sft I am using channel 11 on 2ghz and 40 on 5ghz.

Will look at changing those settings and see if that works.

 

Message 12 of 24
st_shaw
Master

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow


@danall22 wrote:
Thanks for the reply... Not convinced that sonos is the issue now as unplugged them and still an issue. Sonos net channel is on 1 and orbi on 11. It is odd as when on WiFi speed test gives 11mb down and 17up....if it was interference wouldn't the up be affected? As wired I get 50mb down and 17up which is what is expected.

It must be something else or the orbi unit itself? It is like something is draining all the bandwidth on the wifi.

Sonos might not be your only issue, but the steps I outlined are necessary to avoid interference.  You could have multiple issues.

 

In addition to channel management, please make sure you follow my other advice and do not place any other devices within a few feet of Orbi.

 

As I sit here writing this, I measure 520 Mbps down and 420 Mbps up with Orbi WiFi, from the satellite. Something is seriously wrong with your environment if you only get 17 Mbps. Your problem is not likely a setting on Orbi, as there isn't much you can change on Orbi.  It's more likely something in your RF environment, or maybe an issue with your WiFi client.

Message 13 of 24
ekhalil
Master

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

You can try the following:

- Test another 5 GHz channel

- Do you have old devices connected to the network to use Long Preamble Mode which will lower the max speed for other devices if you Have Auto Mode (difference should not be that big as you see though). Try to set the Preamble Mode to Short and see if this will improve.

- As a last resort, try "calibrating" the CTS/RTS Threshold. Test with values like 2341/2345 for the 2.4GHz/5GHz.

Message 14 of 24
cahiatt
Tutor

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

I had a similar issue today playing with settings. I'm on a gig connection and could get no better than about 21meg or up on any wireless device. While toying with wifi power, channels and other settings I had turned OFF the WMM (wi-fi multimedia settings) under Advanced, Wireless Settings for both 2.4 and 5ghz channels. Not sure why but once I turned this off my wi-fi bandwidth just wouldn't go past about 20meg. Turned WMM back on and am getting about 400 meg on my cell phone now.

 

Check you WMM status also and switch it to see if it changes anything.

Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 15 of 24
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

WMM should be enabled most of the time. 


@cahiatt wrote:

I had a similar issue today playing with settings. I'm on a gig connection and could get no better than about 21meg or up on any wireless device. While toying with wifi power, channels and other settings I had turned OFF the WMM (wi-fi multimedia settings) under Advanced, Wireless Settings for both 2.4 and 5ghz channels. Not sure why but once I turned this off my wi-fi bandwidth just wouldn't go past about 20meg. Turned WMM back on and am getting about 400 meg on my cell phone now.

 

Check you WMM status also and switch it to see if it changes anything.


 

Message 16 of 24
danall22
Aspirant

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

Ok...an update... So I plugged the ethernet cable into my routerand solid upload but then I plugged it into the main orbi which is connected to my router and it have the same poor download speed which must mean it is the router that is at fault here then? Maybe a new router would fix it or replace with modem and have orbi be the router?
Message 17 of 24
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

If you have a router infront of the Orbi, this would be a problem...

Modem Combo Units:
Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge 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 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.


@danall22 wrote:
Ok...an update... So I plugged the ethernet cable into my routerand solid upload but then I plugged it into the main orbi which is connected to my router and it have the same poor download speed which must mean it is the router that is at fault here then? Maybe a new router would fix it or replace with modem and have orbi be the router?

 

Message 18 of 24
ekhalil
Master

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

It can also be a software issue. Try to eliminate this option before considering HW changes:
- Have you tried to restart the router and see if this will improve anything?
- Try a factory reset to remove any data corruption
Message 19 of 24
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

This would not be a SW issue...lets get the modem configured for one of the options...Then go from there. 

Message 20 of 24
cahiatt
Tutor

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

And just discovered why. On the surface you would think WMM is just a QOS thing for voice and video. Not a lot of warnings about disabling it pretty much also kills AC and N protocols making your WiFi basically as slow as generic 2.4g. This is probably one feature that could use a better description or even a name change in the menu.
Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 21 of 24
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

https://kb.netgear.com/221/WMM-WiFi-Multimedia


@cahiatt wrote:
And just discovered why. On the surface you would think WMM is just a QOS thing for voice and video. Not a lot of warnings about disabling it pretty much also kills AC and N protocols making your WiFi basically as slow as generic 2.4g. This is probably one feature that could use a better description or even a name change in the menu.

 

Message 22 of 24
danall22
Aspirant

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

My set up is already as number 3, my router has WiFi off and the orbi is in ap mode connected to the router via ethernet.

It is now making me think there is something wrong with the orbi then as the router is suppling the 50mb but that is not coming out of the orbi. I will try resetting but I did do that yesterday with no luck.

Or could it be the router? At least I have established the issue is not WiFi.
Message 23 of 24
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi WiFi speed slow

Has the Modem been powered off then back on along with the Orbi?

I would try option #2 in the suggestion list about your modem.


@danall22 wrote:
My set up is already as number 3, my router has WiFi off and the orbi is in ap mode connected to the router via ethernet.

It is now making me think there is something wrong with the orbi then as the router is suppling the 50mb but that is not coming out of the orbi. I will try resetting but I did do that yesterday with no luck.

Or could it be the router? At least I have established the issue is not WiFi.

 

Message 24 of 24
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