I have an Orbi RBR50 and two RBS50 satellites, and I cannot seem to get reliable connections (with a phone or laptop) when close to either satellite.
The Orbi devices are a couple of years old, currently running firmware V2.5.2.4; but I have upgraded the firmware several times over the past couple of years, with similar connection issues with each version. There is only one somewhat close neighboring house, and if I scan for wireless networks, the only other wireless network that I see is that neighbor's and it's only showing about 1 out of 5 signal strength.
This is in a long narrow house about 60ft long by 24ft wide (2 stories), with conventional wood stud and sheetrock construction (no metal studs or concrete walls). The internet is provided through a Surfboard SB6141 cable modem router. The RBR50 is about in the center of the house on the second floor; one RBS50 is close to one end of the house on the second floor, and the other RBS50 is at the opposite end of the house on the first floor (and this one is intended to also provide signal for the back patio and the front deck at that end of the house). Each satellite is approximately 25ft from the router. I have tried moving the satellites to a few different locations in the general area where they are located, sometimes a bit closer to the router.
If I'm physically close to either satellite device (with a phone or laptop), the connection to the internet is very unreliable; it will randomly drop connection and then re-connect again shortly afterwards. I'm not sure, but I think the satellite is still keeping its connection to the base router, but it is dropping connections to devices (phones or laptops). When the loss of connection is happening - if I watch the WiFi connections on one of the cell phones, it will often switch back and forth between the primary and guest wireless networks (I have both saved on the phones), and sometimes for short periods it will show connected, but no internet; and then after a little while, it will recover and work again for a few minutes. If I'm close to the primary router, then the wireless connections are solid and stable. I encounter similar unreliable connections on both phones and also on both laptops if they are close to either satellite. When the connection is valid for a few minutes, it seems to be a good connection to the internet - for example, I can do a speedtest at fast.com and it shows me similar speeds as when I am connected sitting within a couple of feet of the primary router.
There are typically about 20 devices connected to the WiFi - 2 phones, 2 laptops, Amazon Echo devices, Roku devices, smart TVs, ceiling fans with WiFi controls, Ring doorbell, etc.
I have read several posts about similar issues, and I have tried changing many of the options suggested in some of those - such as 20/40MHz coexistence, implicit beamforming, MU-MIMO, channels, changing the transmit power control, etc. I have not been rigorously scientific about making these changes and combinations of the settings, but nothing has seemed to help.
When I have the satellites powered on, the backhaul status shows as "good"; but these days I have mostly resorted to leaving the satellites turned off. This gives me less signal strength at the ends of the house and even less outside the house, but does seem to provide a stable connection everywhere.
What is the ideal distance that a satellite should be from the router? What settings should I change to provide a reliable connection from the satellites? Is there an inherent issue in this router/satellite configuration that can't be resolved? Are there any troubleshooting steps that I can take to track down what's causing the disconnects through the satellites?
