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RBS50 Orbi satellites do not have IP address, do not show up in GNU do have blue light

acky
Tutor

RBS50 Orbi satellites do not have IP address, do not show up in GNU do have blue light

I have the Orbi RBK50 with 2 satellites (RBS50). The two satellites are connected (have a blue lights on both) but do not show up in the GNU as connected satellites and are running old Firmware with signal drop.


Using the setup wizard they show when searching for satellites but cannot get an IP address (says "Waiting for connection") during the wizard setup and won't ever let me even see the firmware version. Once you finally skip that setup you don't see them connected again in the GNU. 

 

In the list of connected devices in the GNU it will show devices connected to "Unknown" Orbi with "Unknown" MAC address.

 

I can also connect via Cat 5 cable to the satellites and get internet through them so they are passing traffic at good speed.

 

That said, I know the firmware on both satellites are out of date and they drop connection at random. 

 

The router is running V2.0.0.74. 

I have a modem with Orbi plugged into it. 

 

Here is what I have tried: 

  • Cycling satellites and router (too many times to count)
  • Moving satellites closer to the router
  • Resetting both the satellites and router back to factory settings (this is where it will see them in the wizard but are unable to get IP addresses and show the firmware - have to eventually skip this step to continue setting up the network). 
  • Changing between AP/Router mode
  • Setting reserved IPs for the satellites with MAC address to see if I could get them to show up that way -- they seemingly never grabbed those IP addresses as my cable connection to the satellites weren't on the IP I reserved
  • Turned off DHCP. Turned it back on. Rebooted the entire system
  • Factory reset router and satellites. Turned off DHCP. Turned it back on.  Factory reset router and satellites again. Did wizard setup - same thing. Will see the satellites but not get an IP address or be able to see the Firmware and have to skip the step. 

So my question is... how can I get the satellites to connect to the GNU directly (without the router) so I can update the firmware and then hopefully the router will see them. 

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 1 of 6

Accepted Solutions
st_shaw
Master

Re: RBS50 Orbi satellites do not have IP address, do not show up in GNU do have blue light

Good.

 

Go to the Netgear website and download the RBS version of the software (there's a firmware load for the router and a different load for the satellite.) Save it to your computer.  Unzip it if necessary.

 

Then use a web browser to navigate to the satellite.  http://<IP ADDRESS OF SAT>  Use the IP address you just found.

 

Login.  You might need to use the default password combo (admin/passsword) if your own password doesn't work.

 

Click on firmware update.  Upload the file you downloaded earlier.

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Message 4 of 6

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st_shaw
Master

Re: RBS50 Orbi satellites do not have IP address, do not show up in GNU do have blue light

A couple questons. When you did the reset, did you hold in the button with a paperclip for 30 - 60 seconds until the power LED started blinking amber?  Did you go through the "add orbi satellite" process on the router GUI after the reset?

 

You should be able to find the IP address of the satellites (assuming they have one) from a laptop or desktop.  Open a command window and type  "arp -a" and you will get a long list of known IP address and mac addresses.  This works on Windows or OSX.

 

The satellite's mac address is printed on the label on the bottom of the satellite.  The 2.4 and 5 GHz radios each have a mac address.  On mine the mac for the 5 GHz is the same, except for the last two digits, which are higher by 2.  Example, 2.4G: 00:01:02:03:04:AD and sat:00:01:02:03:04:AF

 

If you can find the IP address this way, then you can log into the satellite directly and manually update the firmware.

Message 2 of 6
acky
Tutor

Re: RBS50 Orbi satellites do not have IP address, do not show up in GNU do have blue light

Thank you for your help!

 

I did hold the reset with the paperclip for 30-60 seconds for the reset until it was blinking amber. 

 

I've tried "Add satellite" through both the GNU and the app. It can't find it either way but if I unplug it and plug it back in it will connect with a blue light on its own. 

 

Found the IP address - matched it to the MAC address. 

 

How do I use the IP address to now log into the satellite to try and update the firmware? 

Message 3 of 6
st_shaw
Master

Re: RBS50 Orbi satellites do not have IP address, do not show up in GNU do have blue light

Good.

 

Go to the Netgear website and download the RBS version of the software (there's a firmware load for the router and a different load for the satellite.) Save it to your computer.  Unzip it if necessary.

 

Then use a web browser to navigate to the satellite.  http://<IP ADDRESS OF SAT>  Use the IP address you just found.

 

Login.  You might need to use the default password combo (admin/passsword) if your own password doesn't work.

 

Click on firmware update.  Upload the file you downloaded earlier.

Message 4 of 6
acky
Tutor

Re: RBS50 Orbi satellites do not have IP address, do not show up in GNU do have blue light

FANTASTIC!!!!

 

Both satellites are running firmware that matches the router's version and they both now appear in the connected satellite list!!!

 

Thank you so much for your help!!! 

 

 

Message 5 of 6
st_shaw
Master

Re: RBS50 Orbi satellites do not have IP address, do not show up in GNU do have blue light

You are welcome! Great to hear you got it working.

Message 6 of 6
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