RBR50 - My #1 device gets lowest link speed

[Andy_Whitby]

Hi, 1st time poster (my tech support period ran out). I have 10-15 attached devices, Ipads, Iphones etc. But my most important device is my LG Oled TV (802.11ac). My Orbi is in my 1st floor office, TV is 2nd floor adjascent to the office, my satellite is just outside the room the TV is. There are many devices in much worse positions than this TV but I notice the TV is always getting 2.4GHz (it would seem to me that would make more sense for a device in the remote corner of the house no?) and yesterday it was connected to the main router on 1st floor (I check via app), the TV was having trouble playing a 45Mbps 4K video (buffering a lot).  Link speed on the app was 75Mbps, but that may have been on avg. hence the buffering. Today, I see connection is still 2.4 but this time to the satellite, now link speed says 145Mbps, I tested and the 45Mbps file played wo buffering.

Questions:

1) Is there any functionality for me to prioritize my TV (there are other devices with 600-700Mbps link speeds)?

2) Any idea why the TV always seems to be on 2.4 while almost all other devices are on 5? (Ok as I write this I see the TV has now switched to 5G and link speed says 650)...

3) I saw some msg boards say these LG TV's prefer a fixed channel such as 40, rather than leave on Auto...can I do that with Orbi? Would it have adverse affects on the mesh network overall?

Thank you in advance!

Andy

[CrimpOn · Accepted solution]

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@Andy_Whitby wrote:

1) Is there any functionality for me to prioritize my TV (there are other devices with 600-700Mbps link speeds)?

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No. Netgear has no method to prioritize (a) a device, or (b) a type of service or protocol - i.e. streaming.  There appears to be some type of Quality of Service (Qos) mechanism buried in the Orbi firmware, but users have no access to it and no one seems to know much about what it does (or if it does anything at all).  Customers frequently ask for this sort of capability.

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@Andy_Whitby wrote:

2) Any idea why the TV always seems to be on 2.4 while almost all other devices are on 5? (Ok as I write this I see the TV has now switched to 5G and link speed says 650)...

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The device controls (a) which access point it connects to and (b) which channel (2.4G or 5G).  Vendor software varies tremendously.  Some devices appear to switch very quickly and other appear to 'stick' to the first access point they find, despite there being better connections available.  What seems to work for some people is to power the device off and back on with the entire Orbi network active.

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@Andy_Whitby wrote:

3) I saw some msg boards say these LG TV's prefer a fixed channel such as 40, rather than leave on Auto...can I do that with Orbi? Would it have adverse affects on the mesh network overall?

---

I would have to see a link to these comments.  Most WiFi routers these days survey the 2.4G spectrum from time-to-time and may decide, "The channel I am on has too many other WiFi access points.  I will move to another channel."  With all the nearby routers doing the same thing, this appear to be a "no win" situation.  In the US and EU, there is only one choice for an 80mb wide 5G WiFi channel, so there is no flexibility.  Page 156 of the Orbi user manual describes the 5G "fronthaul" and "backhaul" frequencies used in North America and in Europe and Japan.

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK50/Orbi_UM_EN.pdf 

Maybe you will get lucky and the TV will remain connected at 5G and stream correctly.

[CrimpOn · Accepted solution]

---

@Andy_Whitby wrote:

1) Is there any functionality for me to prioritize my TV (there are other devices with 600-700Mbps link speeds)?

---

No. Netgear has no method to prioritize (a) a device, or (b) a type of service or protocol - i.e. streaming.  There appears to be some type of Quality of Service (Qos) mechanism buried in the Orbi firmware, but users have no access to it and no one seems to know much about what it does (or if it does anything at all).  Customers frequently ask for this sort of capability.

---

@Andy_Whitby wrote:

2) Any idea why the TV always seems to be on 2.4 while almost all other devices are on 5? (Ok as I write this I see the TV has now switched to 5G and link speed says 650)...

---

The device controls (a) which access point it connects to and (b) which channel (2.4G or 5G).  Vendor software varies tremendously.  Some devices appear to switch very quickly and other appear to 'stick' to the first access point they find, despite there being better connections available.  What seems to work for some people is to power the device off and back on with the entire Orbi network active.

---

@Andy_Whitby wrote:

3) I saw some msg boards say these LG TV's prefer a fixed channel such as 40, rather than leave on Auto...can I do that with Orbi? Would it have adverse affects on the mesh network overall?

---

I would have to see a link to these comments.  Most WiFi routers these days survey the 2.4G spectrum from time-to-time and may decide, "The channel I am on has too many other WiFi access points.  I will move to another channel."  With all the nearby routers doing the same thing, this appear to be a "no win" situation.  In the US and EU, there is only one choice for an 80mb wide 5G WiFi channel, so there is no flexibility.  Page 156 of the Orbi user manual describes the 5G "fronthaul" and "backhaul" frequencies used in North America and in Europe and Japan.

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK50/Orbi_UM_EN.pdf 

Maybe you will get lucky and the TV will remain connected at 5G and stream correctly.

[Andy_Whitby]

Thank you for the quick reply, my question was I think not a common one...having a better understanding of how it all works will leave me with less frustration the next time my TV has trouble w a 45Mbps file while my wifi speed measuring app (on my ipad) is showing speeds well above 100Mbps everywhere I test!).