The Two SSIDs Thing

[TMW949]

I have an RBR40 and two RBS20s.  Orbi and my Nest Outdoor Camera can't maintain a connection.  They are about a foot apart with only a pane of glass between them for testing.   I think this is because the Nest keeps promoting itself to 5 GHz and dropping out. I need a robust connection (distance - not speed) here.  The latest firmware for the Orbi has discontinued the Telnet access feature, so the Telnet hack to configure two SSIDs won't work without downgrading firmware, which I am reluctant to do.  I need to replace the Orbi and I keep getting recommendations to stay with Netgear.  (Is this insanity?)  I need to know which (if any) modern Netgear routers support separate SSIDs for 2.4 and 5 Ghz in the application user interface.  Nearly all of my 20+ devices connect to the RBR40, so mesh may not be a requirement.  The house is 2400 square feet on two floors with a stucco exterior.  

[CrimpOn]

That 'hack' for creating separate SSIDs for 2.4G and 5G ceased to work some time ago, so gaining telnet access is no longer useful.

The situation is a bit puzzling because (apparently) the Google Nest WiFi system also has only a single WiFi SSID and cannot be made to create separate ones: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Nest-Wifi/How-to-separate-2-4GHz-and-5GHz-on-google-nest-wifi...   Are not Google Nest WiFi and Google Nest cameras from the same company?

Can you please specify the specific model of Nest camera?

It is on the other side of a pane of glass from (a) the router, or (b) one of the satellites?

What does the Orbi Attached Devices web page say about the camera?  Does it appear to be "Attached"?

[FURRYe38]

What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try Auto and 48 on 5Ghz. Or try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or may not be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, Circle, Traffic Meter.

Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Also try turning down the power output of the RBRs wifi radios from 100% to 50% and see if this changes anything. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Move the camera farther away. 1foot is too close. 3-6 feet is starting distance between devices as Orbi systems. 

One User Experience/Configuration:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Most-Stable-Orbi-Configuration/m-p/1941087/highlight/true#M970...

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@TMW949 wrote:

I have an RBR40 and two RBS20s.  Orbi and my Nest Outdoor Camera can't maintain a connection.  They are about a foot apart with only a pane of glass between them for testing.   I think this is because the Nest keeps promoting itself to 5 GHz and dropping out. I need a robust connection (distance - not speed) here.  The latest firmware for the Orbi has discontinued the Telnet access feature, so the Telnet hack to configure two SSIDs won't work without downgrading firmware, which I am reluctant to do.  I need to replace the Orbi and I keep getting recommendations to stay with Netgear.  (Is this insanity?)  I need to know which (if any) modern Netgear routers support separate SSIDs for 2.4 and 5 Ghz in the application user interface.  Nearly all of my 20+ devices connect to the RBR40, so mesh may not be a requirement.  The house is 2400 square feet on two floors with a stucco exterior.  

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[Mikey94025]

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@TMW949 wrote:

I need to know which (if any) modern Netgear routers support separate SSIDs for 2.4 and 5 Ghz in the application user interface.

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The RBKE963 wi-fi 6e, top of the line Orbi router does have a separate IoT SSID that you can configure separately to be only 2.4Ghz.  It's a convenient way to publish a 2.4Ghz-only SSID for the subset of IoT devices that otherwise struggle during initial setup or otherwise.

Separately, is it possible that your satellites are too close and interfering with the RBR wifi?  You can do a quick experiment by disabling the RBSs and seeing if your Nest camera still has issues.  I have 7 Nest cameras and they did not have any issues connecting to the 5-series, 7-series, 8-series, and 9-series Orbi routers I've owned over the years.