Problems with 5 GHz speakers losing their connection to Orbi mesh system

[andyburdick72]

I have an Orbi mesh system - 1 RBR50 downstairs, and 1 RBS50 satellite upstairs - and am having problems keeping a new pair of dual band wireless speakers (Yamaha MusicCast) connected to the wireless network. I have had the Orbi system since August 2017, and I've been very happy with the performance and stability of the network. Both the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz band share the same SSID (although I wish they didn't have to).

During initial setup, the Yamaha MusicCast speakers find my wireless network, connect to the main router on the 5 GHz band, and stay connected for an hour or so; eventually, though, they both lose their connection to the network. To get them reconnected, I have to unplug them and plug them back in. Each speaker is one room away from the main router, in my living room; I have other wireless devices that same distance away, and have no connectivity problems with them. Firmware on all devices, both NETGEAR and Yamaha, are up to date - the RBR50 and RBS50 are both running firmware version 2.3.1.60.

I have been working with Yamaha support, to troubleshoot from the speaker side; at this point, it looks like the problem has to do with the range of the 5 GHz band. Here are the data points that support that hypothesis:

• After some Google searching, I tried forcing the speakers to connect to the 2.4 GHz band by lowering the Transmit Power on the 5 GHz band down to 25%; the speakers connect to the 2.4 GHz band and stay connected
• I also tried moving the speakers into the living room, where the Orbi router is located; the speakers connect to the 5 GHz band (Transmit Power reset back to 100%) and stay connected
• I have 2 other MusicCast speakers already in the living room, where the router is, and I've never had any connectivity problems with them

Is anyone else aware of issues with 5 GHz devices not staying connected to the router, and/or any solutions? For example:

• Are there any changes I can make to the settings of the router, to increase the range / stability of the 5 GHz band?
• Is it possible to force the speakers to connect to, and stay connected to, the 2.4 GHz band?
• Is it possible to have a separate SSID for the 2.4 GHz band?

It is possible that the issue is with the speakers themselves, but before exchanging / returning them, I thought I would reach out to see if there's anything that can be done on the Orbi setup. I appreciate any and all possible suggestions for how to resolve this issue.

[plemans]

So let me get this straight. They work fine in the same room with an orbi device but not when they're between 2 devices? The Orbi devices do dynamically change which orbi the speakers connect to based upon signal strength. maybe something is interferring with this?  

couple questions. Does the satellite have to be upstairs? Or could you move it to the middle floor?

Have you tried changing wireless channels on the 5ghz?

Have you tried enabling/disabling beamforming?

the orbi system shouldn't be giving a different ip address upon changing from router to satellite but maybe the yamaha system automatically searches for a new ip upon orbi changing devices. Have you tried setting a static ip address for the music cast speakers or setting up a lan ip reservation? 

[andyburdick72]

Thanks for the response - I don't believe the satellite is the cause of the problem; at Yamaha Support's suggest earlier this week, I tried turning off the satellite and leaving it off, and it didn't make a difference: the speakers still got disconnected. It's not really feasible for me to move the satellite, anyway - I need it upstairs for my home office and other wireless devices.

It is interesting that you ask about interference - I hadn't really thought about that, but it's possible. In fact, this very morning, I noticed that my DirecTV (Genie 2, connecting wirelessly to a Genie Mini in the same room) kept cutting in and out, while the speakers were on. That makes me wonder: could the DirecTV wireless be interfering with the speakers? The DirecTV was not on this week while I was troubleshooting the speakers, so I hadn't considered it, but it's possible. I've turned off the speakers for now, to see if that helps the DirecTV; if it does, this seems like a likely culprit (at least for today).

I'll try changing wireless channels on the 5 GHz next, to see if that helps. I do have implicit beamforming on; I'll try turning that off too. Thanks for the suggestions!

[andyburdick72]

An update on this post - the solution I came up with, was to telnet into the Orbi router, and change the 2.4 GHz band to have its own SSID, and connect the speakers directly to that 2.4 GHz band. Since I did that, connectivity for the speakers has been vastly improved.