RBR10/RBK13 and 2 Satellites no performing as expected.

[ZBarnett22]

Hi,

I have this mesh system with firmware V2.6.2.104. My router is in the basement, with a satellite stacked on top on the 1st floor (about 12 ft apart plus building materials), with another satellite on the 2nd floor (another 12 ft apart plus building materials). I would expect the network map to be daisy-chained (R-S-S) but it either sets itself up as a hub-spoke (S-R-S) or it'll even some times daisy-chain itself from the basement(router)-2nd floor-1st floor.

Another issue is that the 1st floor satellite always connects as 2.4Ghz instead of 5Ghz. I thought it might be a hardware issue so I tried swapping the satellites but the same issue occured. I tried moving the 1st floor satellite further away but that didn't seem to help either. I tried lowering the transmit power control to 50% but I didn't notice any change. 

My house is about 2,300 sqft, so I probably don't even need 2 satellites to begin with. I don't know much about networking, but it just doesn't seem logical to me that the 1st floor satellite is weaker than the 2nd floor.

Should I just go with the single satellite on the 2nd floor?

[plemans]

Problem could be a distance issue. 

the satellites should be roughly 30ft away from each other and the router. 

To close and devices don't roam properly and the you can get an improper configuration

What is your home materials made of? both in the floor and the walls? (certain materials block wifi very well)

You can also try moving the positions around a bit. I've found floors/ceilings tend to have things like hvac (metal) that blocks wifi well. Sometimes a lateral move can help more than moving closer/futher away. And if only the 2.4ghz is connecting, it could indicate something blocking signal. 2.4ghz broadcasts futher and through more materials than 5ghz but is much slower. 

I've never used the dual band systems so i can't comment on the 2.4ghz/5ghz connection between satellites. With the triband you have the dedicated backhaul.

[ZBarnett22]

Thanks for the response! The material between the basement and 1st floor is just wood. There is probably some duct work between 1st and 2nd. Since my original post, I've tried moving the 1st floor satellite to a guest bedroom over the garage, so now it is configured like an upside down L, with the bottom of the upside down L being the router, the middle point being the 2nd floor loft, and the end point being the guest bedroom (also 2nd floor). The guest bedroom is is trying to connect via hub-spoke to the router, but it should definitely be connecting via daisy-chain, which I do have enabled. Do you know if there is a way to force it?

Edit: Since this reply, they have daisy-chained themselves. This is probably the best configuration for my home. I didn't actually measure the distance between points before and I was grossly over-estimating. Writing this post forced me to break out the measuring tape, so I bet this will work well now.

[plemans]

Hope it works well for you!

I usually caution people with daisy chaining on the single/dual band systems as it drops speeds and increases latency more than in the triband systems

[ZBarnett22]

Ok thanks, with that information I may consider going with just the one satellite.

[plemans]

I'd try multiple setups. 

I probably moved my satellites around once a week for a month or 2 just to find the optimal placement for coverage and daisychain/direct connection.