Orbi and Haiku Home - Big Ass Fans - Problems

[PDaddy]

I have six Haiku Home - Big Ass Fans.  H series and L series.  The fans communicate with the wall switches over WiFi.  I can turn them on and off from my phone or tablet or from Amazon Echo or from WiFi controlled wall switches.  

I replaced my crappy Optimum provided WiFi router with an Orbi.  Sometime after a recent firmware update  the fans and wall switches started to have connection delays that make me and my family nuts.  

When I turn on a fan/light it takes between 8 and 15 seconds for the wall switch to communicate with the fan due to WiFi connection issues.  This is maddening.  I turn on the fan/light and wait for literally 10-15 seconds and eventually the fan/light comes on.  My wife is really annoyed.  

The fans are nearly a grand each and the best on the market.  The Orbi is the top of the line but it does not work properly with the fans.  I have discussed with Haiku Home folks who reproduced the problem, but cannot fix it.  The problem is not with the fans, because when I use the Amazon Echo to turn on a fan/light it happens immediately.  

For some reason there is a connectivity issue that is slowing down the wall switch commands to the fans over WiFi.  

Anyone else have this combination of hardware?  I am considering taking out the Orbi for another higher quality commercial grade system - or an Eero.  

FYI: I separately had problems with the Orbi resetting itself inexplicably.  I just replaced the hardware with a new unit from Netgear, so we will see if that fixes the resets.  But the fan to wall switch problem remains.  

Any help from Netgear would be appreciated.

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[Mikey94025]

We use Orbi with a Haiku H fan in our bedroom and haven't noticed any problems using the hand-held remote or iPhone app (we don't have a wall switch installed).  Do you also notice the same delays when using the remote?

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@PDaddy wrote:

The problem is not with the fans, because when I use the Amazon Echo to turn on a fan/light it happens immediately.

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This is surprising because doesn't the Amazon Echo also talk to the fan via wifi?  If multiple wifi devices work but not the wall switch, it's something specific between the wall switch wireless and the Orbi.  I can't think of anything related to wifi that would delay communication, maybe 2.4Ghz vs. 5Ghz or something like that?

You could try different Advanced...Wireless settings to see if it makes things better, e.g., uncheck beamforming and MU-MIMO.  I would also try different settings for 2.4Ghz 20/40Mhz coexistence.  Also re-setup one of the wall switch wireless config to see if that changes anything.

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[PDaddy]

Mikey:

The problem only occurs with the wall switch.  The handheld remote, app, and Amazon Echo control work fine.  

The Haiku home folks have duplicated the problem but have not been able to create a fix.  They have been in touch with Netgear, but not gotten any headway on that front either.  I am not sure how between the two of them, this is still a problem.  

It is truly a baffling problem.  I have not messed with the settings yet out of concern for causing other problems.  

-Pat

[Mikey94025]

There should be no danger changing wifi settings and others are running with such changes (myself included).  You really should try disabling beamforming and mu-mimo because that works for Dropcam/Nest camera dropouts.