Outdoor Orbi losing connection to router

[WineGuru]

I am dealing with an issue with my Orbi Outdoor Satellite and getting it to connect to the RBR50.  I have tried to move it, switch the settings, move the other satellite, etc. and there has been no resolution to the problem that the Outdoor looses its connection to the router and I get the dreaded Magenta Light of Doom. 

First, the details:

Cable ISP sending 200Mbps download/ 36Mbps upload (this number has been rock solid, and often the DL is higher than what I pay for).

Modem: ARRIS TM1602

Current setup:

RBR50 Firmware v2.5.1.16 Router mode

RBS50 Firmware v2.5.1.16

RBS50Y Firmware v2.3.5.32

I live in a 2,800 square foot home built in the 1960s. Basic rectangle colonial with our router somewhat centrally located on the first floor.  The RBS50 is located on the first floor as far away from the router as possible (35 feet away I would guess).  This is the new location for this satellite.  It had been in various places on that side of the home including the second floor with no issues whatsoever before I purchased the Outdoor RBS50Y.  I only moved it over there to try to help it stay out of the way of the Outdoor Sat. 

The Outdoor has been in so many places I have lost count.  Each location works ok for a day or so then when I check the Orbi app, the satellite shows as yellow or magenta.  Sometimes the device itself shows Magenta Light of Doom and the app shows the OutSat as magenta.  I purchased this to help with my yard and my patio since we are spending so much time home and outside these days.  I have had the OutSat as far away as I can move it from the centrally located router (using extension cord I moved it to 75 feet away) to as close as 20 feet.  I moved it to the opposite side of the house from the other satellite. I moved it up high, I moved it down low. I moved it outside close to router, I moved it outside far. I moved it everywhere except a jar.

Sorry.  I’ve been staring at Orbi Network maps so much I might be loopy.

Here are the settings:

2.4Ghz channel: 11

5 Ghz channel: 48

MTU Size: 1500

WMM: ENABLED

Daisy Chain: DISABLED

Implicit Beamforming: ENABLED

MU-MIMO: DISABLED

Fast Roaming: DISABLED

UPnP: ON

IPv6: DISABLED

I have tried in vain to get Netgear to support this.  For a while I was in a very delayed email conversation with a tech who had me turn a few settings on or off but when none of them helped, I put them back where they were. I last heard from them on June 27 when they asked when a "senior" advisor could call me, and since then they have disappeared.  I even tried to start a new ticket but received an email saying there was already a ticket open and they were closing this identical ticket. 

One odd thing I have noticed is when the OutSat starts up after one of the many restarts or movements to a new location is the network map will start in daisy-chain (router->satellite->outdoor satellite) then pop back to hub format.  Should I turn daisy chain on to see if the OutSat has better connections to the satellite than the router?  If so, I could move the InSat closer to the location I would like to place the OutSat to create a shorter distance for daisy-chain to OutSat and also closer to router. 

I know there is help out there. I have tried to give you as much info as I can from the many other people who have had this same issue with Orbi and their Outdoor Satellites.  Can someone please help me (with my) Orbi WAN?

[FURRYe38]

Where is the RBR located?

What is the distace between the RBR and the RBSY?

If your turn OFF The RBS50 and leave the RBSY ON, does the RBSY still loose the connection? 

Has a factory reset on the the enture system and setup from scratch been performed? 

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

[WineGuru]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Where is the RBR located?

What is the distace between the RBR and the RBSY?

If your turn OFF The RBS50 and leave the RBSY ON, does the RBSY still loose the connection? 

Has a factory reset on the the enture system and setup from scratch been performed? 

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

---

RBR is in the room we have set up as an office.  Plenty of electronics in there, but it is where all the network connections, modem, desks, etc., are located.  First floor, right hand corner of the house.  

The RBR and RBSY have been different distances over time as I've tried to fix this issue.  Anywhere from 30 feet straight back (i.e. same part of the house left-to-right wise) to the far right side of house (addition behind house adds 20 feet 'to the right' of the office) about 40 feet away.  I've tried the far left side of the patio area about 45-50 feet away.  I've moved it to the center of the patio closer to the house. All provide no joy.  

I have not tried to turn off the indoor sat to see how that works, will do and update.  

I'm hesitant to factory reset the whole thing because the router is a major hub of a home office so I would need to start the re-build at night and hope there were no issues with getting it up and running by the next morning.  Do you have quick access to the proper procedure for this so I do it right the first time? That would be most appreciated.

I know there are neighbors nearby- I am in a typical northeast suburban area with a house close on either side.  I don't currently show any other SSIDs other than my Orbi and the ADT Pulse hub (separate wireless router using my outgoing connection). Perhaps because the 2.4Ghz band is channel 11 on the Orbi so I'm not seeing the neighbors wifi?

[FURRYe38]

Let us know what how it goes with the RBS off. 

What kind of electronics are in the office? Any wifi sources there besides the RBR? 

What channels are the neighbors using?

[WineGuru]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Let us know what how it goes with the RBS off. 

What kind of electronics are in the office? Any wifi sources there besides the RBR? 

What channels are the neighbors using?

---

The RBS has been unplugged for about 8 hours (total- see below) and the Outdoor has not dropped it's signal that I have noticed.  (edit- it did drop the signal and the app showed magenta briefly and the Outdoor flashed white then went blue while I was writing this but the device has quieted and the app has returned to green status)

The office has quite a few electronics in it but no other wifi devices.   

I don't have a good app or method to scan the neighbors channels, any suggestions would be appreciated.

In other developments, I finally got a call from a Senior Advisor today.  He told me there was a newer version of firmware for the RBR and RBS: 2.5.1.32  He said it was not pushed out to all users yet but it would be a good place to start to upload that to the RBR and RBS just in case that helps.  I did so this evening and the updates seem to have gone well.  Other than the time the RBS was plugged in to upload and test firmware, it has been powered down.  I noticed the same (relatively) solid connection between the Outdoor and the RBR before and after the firmware update.

The Advisor also suggested a full system reset on all devices.  I could not accomplish that before we needed to use the internet for work so I am waiting on that.  

Strangely, the app has started to act oddly: the devices attached list no longer shows the same number of devices.  I have a Roku stick and a Vizio TV (among other devices) that I have checked are connected but are not showing up in either the app or the orbilogin page.  For a while, my iphone was not showing up in the app- and I was using it to access the router.  The device list went from 21 to 15.  Very strange activity.

I will monitor the Outdoor connectivity (my new hobby) and the app to see if anything changes over the next 24 hours.  Then any help getting the indoor RBS to connect and make the extreme left of the house more strongly connected would be appreciated.  

[FURRYe38]

Would need to see a diagram or layout of the house foot print and locations of where your Orbi devices are placed to make any recommendations. 

Sounds like the RBSY is working with the RBS turned off. Possible odd interference with the RBS and the RBSY. 

You can upgrade as well on the RBR and RBS. I would try a full factory reset ether before you update FW or if you do update FW, reset after the update. https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/New-Orbi-50-series-Firmware-Version-2-5-1-32-FW-Release/m-p/19...

[WineGuru]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Would need to see a diagram or layout of the house foot print and locations of where your Orbi devices are placed to make any recommendations. 

Sounds like the RBSY is working with the RBS turned off. Possible odd interference with the RBS and the RBSY. 

You can upgrade as well on the RBR and RBS. I would try a full factory reset ether before you update FW or if you do update FW, reset after the update. https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/New-Orbi-50-series-Firmware-Version-2-5-1-32-FW-Release/m-p/19...

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As always, thanks to everyone for their time and effort, especially @FURRYe38 .

The firmwares of the RBR and RBS have been uploaded to the 2.5.1.32 and seem to be running smoothly.  There was a recommendation to re-flash the current firmware 2.3.5.32 to the outdoor router in case that got somehow corrupted, which I have also done.  

Due to time constraints and the household needing internet stability for work I have not reset to factory settings yet.  I am thinking to do that late tonight to avoid family conflicts.

The RBSY has been stable in its location now with only 2 minor hiccups that I have seen.  I will continue to monitor it and perhaps start moving it around to where I hope it's final location will be to see if the location affects performance at all.  

Then I will re-introduce the indoor RBS to the picture to see how/if there is a conflict between them.  

I made a crude floor plan with basic distances.  The numbers are NOT exact, but approximate.  There is about 38 feet between the RBSY and the RBR.  I measured and laid out the plan but I'm not able to spend the time to make it perfect.  The idea is there.  My hope is to add the RBS back into the picture upstairs above the "dining room" area (master bedroom).

[FURRYe38]

Where would the RBS be located in that layout? 

[WineGuru]

@FURRYe38 (See attached) The RBS would be in the far corner of the dining room (as shown) or also directly above that on the second floor.  The RBSY can be moved outside from the far right corner of the Family room to the far left corner of the Screened porch.  There are places to put it inside the screened porch against the kitchen wall as well.  
Right now, it seems stable in it's location so I am willling to wait another day then move it closer to the line in the middle of this picture that is the dividing line between the Family room and the Screened porch- the original location I thoguht would work since it is central to the house and the yard and will have unobstructed view of the entire yard I want to have coverage for.

Again, these numbers are not exact. The drawing is for the layout, not the measurements.  The house (dining room, kitchen, sitting room) is 22' deep and 33' wide.  From the back of the family room to the wall of the office is 25'.

[FURRYe38]

Try putting the RBS on the 2nd floor upstairs when you decide to put the RBS back online. I would enaure distances between the RBSs and the RBR are 30 feet, or more. 

[WineGuru]

Update:
I updated the firmware for both the RBR and the RBS to 2.5.1.32.
I re-flashed the current firmware for the RBSY to 2.3.5.32 since there was an issue loading the firmware the first time I used the device from the box that I thought had resolved itself when the firmware loaded and was running.  It could be that the re-flash helped get the RBSY to behave properly.
I did not reset to factory defaults, there were too many pressing work issues in the household to perform a re-build. If there are still issues with the connection, I will consider doing a re-build from factory default.
The RBSY had been pretty solid for over 24 hours so I moved it to the location I thought would be it's best and final destination (outside with clear view of the entire back yard) about 35-40 feet from the RBR. At the same time I moved the RBS to a location on the second floor as far away from the RBR and RBSY as possible in my house (about 40 feet away). While these were the locations I had tried in the past, they now seem to be working as hoped. I have monitored it as closely as I can and it has remained solidly connected with only one hiccup over the past 72 hours.
At this point, I hope the steps taken have solved the problem and I can enjoy my backyard fully connected. I will update if there are any changes.

My sincere thanks to @FURRYe38 for the time and suggestions. I'm sending you a virtual drink with my gratitude. Hopefully I will not need to revisit this. 

Now to my yard to watch a movie on my ipad from my hammock!