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Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

JPPMD
Guide

Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

I would appreciate some help and advice from this community (and the experts like furry and any Netgear folks) on how to get my network faster and more stable. Here are the details:

 

Comcast Gigabit Internet through their proprietary gateway. Tests at like 800-900 when hard wired.

 

Gateway is set up in Bridge mode and Wi-Fi OFF.

 

Connected with a known good Cat6 patch cable to my Orbi RBR50, set up with DHCP/NAT, the usual 192.168.1.2-256 addressing, with 3 address reservations and port forwarding for key devices.

 

The RBR50 is connected by a known good Cat6 patch cable to an UNmonitored Netgear ProSafe 16 Port Gigabit switch.

 

These 3 devices are in a downstairs room in my multi-level house (and connected to an UPS).

 

The switch connects to lots of Cat6 cable running around my new construction 5000+ sq. ft. multi-level house. I have a number of ‘hard wired’ devices (Apple TVs, Alarm system, DVR, Synology NAS, Lutron Caseta, SolarCity monitor, Denon AV receiver), as well as many Wi-Fi devices (3 iPhones, 2 iPads, 2 Amazon Echos, 2 cars, etc).

 

To extend my Orbi network, I have 2 RBS 50 satellites. One is 2 floors up and slightly off axis from the router (about 30-40 feet), and communicating through radiant heated floors (so floors have water lines and 2” concrete slabs, but no rebar). This is currently connected by 5G wireless backhaul (Good connection). The 2ndRBS50 is in an office only 1 floor up from the router, but off axis and maybe 30-40 feet from the router. This is currently connected by 5G wireless backhaul (Good connection), but interestingly is daisy chained to the upstairs unit (not in a ‘star’ topology when I check the app).

 

All Orbis are on firmware 2.1.4.16. All have been rebooted since firmware update.

 

On the RBR50, I do have Enable Daisy Chain Topology ON (but thought that this only worked for 3 or more satellites). I also have Beam Forming, MU-MIMO, and Fast Roaming ON.  My RBR50 is grabbing channels automatically, and is utilizing Channel 4 (my neighbors have devices on 1, 6 and 11, so maybe the Orbi knows what it is doing).

 

When standing next to the router, on my Mac I get like 500-600 Megs download speed (great). At the office satellite, I get like 250-300. This is even if I switch Wi-Fi off and on, to be sure the Mac grabs a new connection to the satellite.

 

So here are my questions/issues:

 

If I unplug a satellite to move it, or have a power outage, the whole Orbi system does not seem to gracefully self-reboot and recover. The satellites don’t seem to easily find the router. Lots of blinking lights on top, some purple and orange lights, and after many crossed fingers, I get the blue light and a backhaul connection. Once the network seems to be connected, the Wi-Fi is constantly connecting and disconnecting (drops out frequently). It takes like a half a day before everything stabilizes. Is this a ‘feature’? Why so unstable and hard to reboot/reconnect?

 

I would like to use wired backhaul for my Orbi system, as I assume that it would improve my Wi-Fi speeds when devices connect to a satellite. But when I try to attach a good Cat6 patch cord from the satellite to my home network (connected through the Netgear switch to the router), there seems to be a whole lot of trouble getting the router to connect over Ethernet, and in the meantime my satellites go brain dead (is the router trying to re-negotiate a connection to the satellite?). Is there a magic sequence to connect and reboot devices (router, satellites) to get wired backhaul working? From what I read here on the community forums, wired backhaul is kind of sketchy. And if I do get a wired backhaul working, will it gracefully recover after a power outage?

 

When Comcast Internet goes down (regrettably more frequently that I would like), it seems like when it comes back, the router does not always find the Internet/IP? Is the RBR50 smart enough to try to grab a new lease?

 

Sorry for the long post, and all of the questions. I really need a robust bulletproof system. I have migrated from Apple Airport since it is legacy and EOL, and thought that the Orbi would be a more modern upgradeable and stable system.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice and assistance.

Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 1 of 26
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

What is the model# of the ISP Modem your using with the Orbi? 

What is the model# of the non managed switch? 

 

Seen others express problems with the orbi operation after a power outage. Something I have not experienced thus far. However i won't discount anything right now. 

I recommend disabling MIMO, Daisy Chain and run some tests. If your wanting to use wired back haul, definately disable Diasy Chain as it's not needed when wired back haul is used. 

 

I would use manual channel 1, 6 or 11 regardless of others being on same channel, just pick a channel that has less neighbors on it or farther away. 

Once you get wired back haul workng, you can lower the power out put of the radio on the router from 100% to say 75% and see how that does since you have neighbors near by. 

 

I would do this first to get wired back haul working, First get a satellite in the same room with the router and make sure it's added via wireless. If the top led comes on BLUE, then connect a LAN cable directly from the back of the router to the satellite. Give 5 minutes time and the top LED should come on PInk the BLUE. If you get BLUE, then you know the satelllite is working on wired back haul. ALso means that the connection between the router and satellite is good on wired back haul when no switches are in the middle. Power OFF the satellite then back back into remote location with LAN connection. Power ON and wait for the top led to turn on BLUE. if it doesn't this means there is a problem between the remote location and the router. Possible bad cabling or switch issue. 

 

Message 2 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Furry:

 

Many thanks for the prompt reply. First, to answer your questions:

 

Netgear JGS516 16 port gigabit unmanaged switch

The Xfinity/Comcast Gig gateway seems proprietary, so no model number. Here is a photo of the plate:

 

Comcast.jpg

 

As you directed, I first turned off MIMO and changed the channel to 6. Things seemed stable. I then turned OFF Daisy Chain (remember that my satellites are in fact daisy chained with Good backhaul status). This rebooted by system. After this, once the system came back up and the satellites reconnected, the configuration was now a star topology, and the satellite on the main floor (the one previously at the end of the daisy chain) now showed Poor backhaul status. My WiFi speed at the main floor satellite really suffered (now 25-40 compared to 75-100).

 

OK, so now to try the wired backhaul. Per your instructions, I took the main floor Satellite down, plugged it next to the router, waited for the blue light. Then I connected a good patch cable from the satellite to the back of the router. Waited for the pink light, then the blue light. However, the orbilogin page never saw a wired backhaul established. I tried this again several times, and got the pink-blue lights. So I bought this unit back to the main floor and plugged it in with the ethernet LAN cable connected. Now I could not connect, and the router was struggling (WiFi dropping in and out). I gave up, pulled the ethernet cable from the satellite, and got the wireless backhaul back working.

 

I then tried the satellite on the 2nd floor. Same drill--plugged it in next to the router, waited for pink-blue. Again, no indication on the orbilogin page that I had a wired backhaul. But I brought it back up to the 3nd floor and tried to connect it to the LAN. No joy. Just would not connect well, and the router was having trouble (intermittent dropout and WiFi cutting in and out).

 

So I disconnected the ethernet LAN cables from the satellites. Now I had a system with Poor wireless backhaul to the main floor unit (remember I turned OFF Daisy Chain). So I turned Daisy Chain back ON, allowed the system to reboot, and power cycled the satellites. Unfortunately, now the main floor satellite won't daisy chain to the 2nd floor, and my wireless backhaul is Poor.

 

So now if anything I am worse off then I was. Still on wireless backhaul, but not daisy chained, and poor wifi on the main floor. Still manually set to 2.4 gig WiFi Channel 6.

 

Is there a Netgear tech on the forum? Any ideas? I'm very frustrated.

 

Message 3 of 26
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

You can try with Daisy Chain enabled. Power cycle the satellites and router after re-enabling the Daisy chain. 

 

I would try the wired back haul again. Wired back haul will be preferred if your lan cabling between the router and satellite is good. If your switch is non managed this shouldn't effect the connection either. 

 

Did you get a GOOD status when you has the satellite wired connected first near the router. You have to either refresh the web page or log out then back in to see a change in the status after getting the satellite wire connected. 

 

Regarding your isp gateway:
Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge mode. Then use the Orbi router in router mode.
2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ for the IP address the Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Orbi router in Router mode.
3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the Orbi router to the modem, LAN to LAN and configure AP mode on the Orbi router.

Message 4 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Furry:

 

I did power cycle all units after re-enabling Daisy Chain ON. Still have a star topology.

 

My Comcast gateway is in Bridge mode and WIFi off--just a 'dumb' box providing raw unfiltered Ethernet. I need the Orbi router to do 'router mode' and handle DHCP/NAT and fixed IP addresses and port forwarding.

 

Yes. when I brought each satellite down next to the router and power cycled, all showed Good backhaul status in the orbiologn page. All went through the pink-blue light bootup sequence. And all satellites showed Good backhaul status on orbilogin when set up at the router, whether in wireless or wired mode, but at no time did the orbilogin page actually show either satellite in wired backhaul mode. And, yes, I did refresh the orbilogin page, logged in and out, even disconnected and reconnected WiFi (since the router is very unstable when trying to get things re-connected).

 

If I want to try wired backhaul again, can I just connect an ethernet patch cord to each satellite and plug it into my LAN, and just wait? Do I need to reboot the Satellite, or the modem, after I plug it in? Will I see the pink and then the blue light?

 

Thanks for sticking with me here...I would really like to get this all wrung out.

Message 5 of 26
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Just connect the wired LAN cable between the router and satellite. Wait 5 minutes. Top led should turn on BLUE. Connect a wired PC to the back of the satellite and test internet connection after you see BLUE. 

Message 6 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Furry:

 

So after my last post, I just waited a couple of hours for everything to settle down. I then unplugged both sattelites, and did a soft reboot of the router via the orbilogin page. I waited about 10 minutes, then plugged in the main floor satellite. Waited until a blue light and all stable. Waited another 10 minutes. Then plugged in the upstairs satellite, and waited for it to boot, with blue light. Waited a bit, saw Good wireless backhaul. Then went ahead and connected up the main floor satellite to the LAN. Got a Wired backhaul connection almost immediately. Then went upstairs and hooked up that satellite to the LAN. Almost immediately got the Wired backhaul connection. All good and stable. And getting 600-650 megs on my MacBookPro on WiFi next to the main floor satellite. Spectacular.

 

Many, many thanks for all of your help and advice. I hope this stays stable, but now I know that maybe just being patient and rebooting everything slowly and in order mades a difference.

Message 7 of 26
Cmo1
Apprentice

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

This is a tough one to really get to do what you want it to do.  I have a similar setup in my home.  

1.  I found more stability if I used the Orbi in access point mode and allowed my router to handle the assignments and routing on my Comcast Gigabit connection.  I leave wireless off on the router but enable only dhcp and NAT and then put the orbi into access point mode.  I find my speeds faster and my connection stability better.

2.  The wired backhaul is extremely buggy right now.  I've had to reboot and unplug the hard wires from the main router anytime it loses the internet connection.  Otherwise it completely freezes and does nothing.  If you look at the logs, for some reason the Orbi main router sees the satellites hard wired connection after a reboot as a denial of service attack and basically becomes unusable.  So the only solution for that is to unplug the hard wires from main orbi, allow the wireless backhaul to sync, and then plug hard wires back and allow 5 minutes for wired backhaul to sync.  This doesn't always work on the first try either in my experience.  I've had to reboot up to 5x and repeat this to get it to work.  This is one of the main issues that really irks my soul and I cannot understand why Netgear has been absolutely and totally unresponsive in all firmware updates about fixing it.  To answer your question regarding speed, yes the wired backhaul will produce faster connection at the satellite.  I get the same connection speeds at all satellites with wired backhaul operating.  Usually I get in the neighborhood of 500-600 down and 45 up.  If you have a power outage with the wired backhaul right now, my guess is Orbi will freeze just like it does now unless you do the manual unplug/wait /replug routine.   I see above you did get wired backhaul to work with time, so maybe that's your answer.

3.  Try turning off fast roaming.  This may be different for you with the size of your house, because mine is only about 2000 sq ft and the issue I have is that with it on, some units will default to the 2.4 ghz band instead of 5 ghz.  Obviously 5 ghz is faster and so you want that in most instances.  If this seems to make things worse or doesn't really change anything when you test it, I see no harm in leaving on.

4.  Try reducing the wireless power for the 2.4 ghz band down to 25% and set the preamble on both bands to short preamble.  Short preamble will send less info over the network and as such should make response time a bit better.  The reduction in the 2.4 ghz power level is due to the fact that the Orbi does not manage connecting to the 2.4 and 5 ghz bands well.  There should either be an option to default to the 5ghz band when available or the algorithim in the firmware should automatically do that, however it does not.  As a result you will often have devices connecting to 2.4 ghz when the 5 may be available due to the fact that the 2.4 ghz signal will be slightly stronger and connect further.  When I place 2.4 ghz at 100% power the speed and performance has always suffered.  In your case with a larger home, you may need it at 50%, but start at 25 and test.

5.  Believe it or not, 4th Gen and prior apple tvs do NOT have a gigabit LAN port onboard.  As a result, it's better to let them connect wirelessly as they will actually connect faster. If you have 4k apple tvs, they DO have a gigabit port so you can hardwire without performance suffering.

6.  Don't allow Orbi to auto select channels.  It switches constantly and causes unstable connection.  I use channel 48 for 5 ghz and channel 11 for 2.4 ghz.  I know you said your neighbors are using 1,6 and 11, so you may want to play with that a bit and try different channels.  Same with the 5 ghz if they use channel 48.  But again, don't leave in auto.  That is no doubt some of the instability, dropping and reconnecting constantly.

7.  I don't enable the guest network, it seems to cause stability issues.

8.  I'm unsure if the daisy chain topology helps things in either wired or wireless setups, because my router is in the middle and my satellites are at both ends, so I haven't ever tested the daisy chain.  I turn it off for me.  Maybe someone else here will chime in about whether that feature actually works or not.

9.  I haven't heard you mention the QoS feature, but I can tell you it is broken.  Don't go to the tab and don't run a speedtest from it, it will mess up network speeds royally.  Another feature Netgear promised will work, but never has.

10.  I know you mentioned some port forwarding rules and address reservations.  I have a few and again I let the router/gateway handle as well since Orbi disables those in ap mode.

Your post may have been long but I feel like my response was so much longer...lol.  Sorry for all the reading, but I hope maybe some of this will help you.  What it boils down to is that Netgear really hasn't released a firmware yet that completely addresses all these issues.  The hardware is best on trhe market, but without good firmware to drive it, you have tio tweak constantly.  Hopefully, they will hear our complaints and fix this stuff soon but I'm not holding my breath.


@JPPMD wrote:

I would appreciate some help and advice from this community (and the experts like furry and any Netgear folks) on how to get my network faster and more stable. Here are the details:

 

Comcast Gigabit Internet through their proprietary gateway. Tests at like 800-900 when hard wired.

 

Gateway is set up in Bridge mode and Wi-Fi OFF.

 

Connected with a known good Cat6 patch cable to my Orbi RBR50, set up with DHCP/NAT, the usual 192.168.1.2-256 addressing, with 3 address reservations and port forwarding for key devices.

 

The RBR50 is connected by a known good Cat6 patch cable to an UNmonitored Netgear ProSafe 16 Port Gigabit switch.

 

These 3 devices are in a downstairs room in my multi-level house (and connected to an UPS).

 

The switch connects to lots of Cat6 cable running around my new construction 5000+ sq. ft. multi-level house. I have a number of ‘hard wired’ devices (Apple TVs, Alarm system, DVR, Synology NAS, Lutron Caseta, SolarCity monitor, Denon AV receiver), as well as many Wi-Fi devices (3 iPhones, 2 iPads, 2 Amazon Echos, 2 cars, etc).

 

To extend my Orbi network, I have 2 RBS 50 satellites. One is 2 floors up and slightly off axis from the router (about 30-40 feet), and communicating through radiant heated floors (so floors have water lines and 2” concrete slabs, but no rebar). This is currently connected by 5G wireless backhaul (Good connection). The 2ndRBS50 is in an office only 1 floor up from the router, but off axis and maybe 30-40 feet from the router. This is currently connected by 5G wireless backhaul (Good connection), but interestingly is daisy chained to the upstairs unit (not in a ‘star’ topology when I check the app).

 

All Orbis are on firmware 2.1.4.16. All have been rebooted since firmware update.

 

On the RBR50, I do have Enable Daisy Chain Topology ON (but thought that this only worked for 3 or more satellites). I also have Beam Forming, MU-MIMO, and Fast Roaming ON.  My RBR50 is grabbing channels automatically, and is utilizing Channel 4 (my neighbors have devices on 1, 6 and 11, so maybe the Orbi knows what it is doing).

 

When standing next to the router, on my Mac I get like 500-600 Megs download speed (great). At the office satellite, I get like 250-300. This is even if I switch Wi-Fi off and on, to be sure the Mac grabs a new connection to the satellite.

 

So here are my questions/issues:

 

If I unplug a satellite to move it, or have a power outage, the whole Orbi system does not seem to gracefully self-reboot and recover. The satellites don’t seem to easily find the router. Lots of blinking lights on top, some purple and orange lights, and after many crossed fingers, I get the blue light and a backhaul connection. Once the network seems to be connected, the Wi-Fi is constantly connecting and disconnecting (drops out frequently). It takes like a half a day before everything stabilizes. Is this a ‘feature’? Why so unstable and hard to reboot/reconnect?

 

I would like to use wired backhaul for my Orbi system, as I assume that it would improve my Wi-Fi speeds when devices connect to a satellite. But when I try to attach a good Cat6 patch cord from the satellite to my home network (connected through the Netgear switch to the router), there seems to be a whole lot of trouble getting the router to connect over Ethernet, and in the meantime my satellites go brain dead (is the router trying to re-negotiate a connection to the satellite?). Is there a magic sequence to connect and reboot devices (router, satellites) to get wired backhaul working? From what I read here on the community forums, wired backhaul is kind of sketchy. And if I do get a wired backhaul working, will it gracefully recover after a power outage?

 

When Comcast Internet goes down (regrettably more frequently that I would like), it seems like when it comes back, the router does not always find the Internet/IP? Is the RBR50 smart enough to try to grab a new lease?

 

Sorry for the long post, and all of the questions. I really need a robust bulletproof system. I have migrated from Apple Airport since it is legacy and EOL, and thought that the Orbi would be a more modern upgradeable and stable system.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice and assistance.


 

Message 8 of 26
RocketSquirrel
Luminary

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

tl;dr

 

I concur that Orbis kill your network after a power failure. My Motorola modem & Asus router & main Orbi AP are all on a UPS. My 2 Orbi satellites were not. A 2-second power outage required rebooting EVERYTHING, including the devices on the UPS!

 

I bought 2 more UPSes for the sats. My network never goes down now. I had a 10-minute outage the other day, and my network survived without a hiccup.

 

You can get an APC Back-UPS for US$40 or so. Well worth it.

Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Message 9 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Chris:

 

Many thanks for the long thoughtful reply--many helpful hints. Unfortunately in the process of trying to apply them, I ran into trouble.

 

First, I really don't want to use my Comcast/Xfinity gateway as my router--too many issues with Comcast. Even now it is a PITA to try to network into the gateway setup page.

 

Wired backhaul is a hot mess. Seems like witchcraft to get it to work at all. FWIW, I saw your recommendation about the 2.4 gHz power issue, so I dropped it to 50%. This of course interrupts everything Orbi. In the process of trying to get it all back up, I somehow lost my Guest network (yes, I know you advise against it, but, again, I have need of one). So trying to turn the guest network back on caused my whole Orbi system to hang. Then I had to do the unplug/plug back in/reboot dance. I never could get the wired backhaul working tonight as I was running out of time. Basically every time I would get the wireless backhaul working, and then connected a satellite to my LAN, everything would freeze/hang, and the Orbis would not offer stable WiFi.

 

I am back with a Good 5G wireless backhaul (main floor satellite daisy chained up to the upstairs unit, which is connected to the downstairs router). WiFi is OK--my speeds are back down due to the lack of a wired backhaul.

 

I sort of gave up--I did not touch Fast Roaming (still ON). I have the 2.4 G power at 75%. I did not fool with Preamble. I am on Channel 6 for 2.4 ghz (not too many neighbors on the channel), and on 48 for 5 ghz. My guest network is on Channel 11 (not sure how to select this manually).

I don't touch QoS.

 

Oh, and yes, I know about the Apple TV ethernet port speed--I have a 4K Apple TV (newest gen) on LAN in my main viewing room, and last year's one in my kitchen on LAN, and a 1st gen on Wifi in an upstairs room that is hardly used.

 

I will wait for a block of time to try to reconnect the wired LAN backhaul for the satellites and see if they magically spring to life. But first I need to go out and get some incense to burn....

 

Thanks again for the input.

Message 10 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

RS:

 

Indeed I have all of my networking stuff on UPS (gateway, modem, Orbis, switches, 1 Apple TV, Lutron Caseta hub) as well as my computers, Synology NAS, and inkjet printer. I just need to get to a solid stable configuration.

 

See my cross post to Chris--I managed to crash back tonight and am back on a wireless backhaul.

 

Thanks for the info.

Message 11 of 26
RocketSquirrel
Luminary

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Oddly, once I got wired backhaul finally to work, it has always worked ever after. I’m on the latest fw, but even the previous fw worked for me. Hence my conclusion that Orbi success is random.

Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Message 12 of 26
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

And you may just have a bad Orbi system which needs to be replaced. Seems like if your having this much problem, I would replace it. 

I was able to get my friends up and running with no issues, latest FW as well:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-firmware-update-v2-1-4-16-availability/m-p/1592753/highli...

Message 13 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Furry:

 

You may be right about the hardware, but my gut feel is that the whole issue is one about firmware. As Chris posted, he has similar issues as I am having. Netgear usually makes good hardware, but in this case, the firmware is lacking. It is intersting that this system is featured at Costco. Maybe 90% of Orbi buyers use it as 'plug & play' without any real issues related to satellite positioning, IP addressing, and customization. The corner cases that don't work result in a return to Costco (who gets full credit back from Netgear). I wish the Netgear folks lurking here would take ownership and see what can be done to make their system more robust.

Message 14 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

BTW, would you recommend trying to set up a fixed IP address for the satellites? Maybe that would help the Router find the satellites (and vice versa) after reboots.

 

Thanks.

Message 15 of 26
Cmo1
Apprentice

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

I personally do assign IP addresses for both the router and the satellites. It does not seem to make any difference with regards to the wired back haul though.
Message 16 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Chris:

 

If my ISP uses dynamic IP why would I assign a fixed IP to the router? I will try a fixed IP for the satellites.

 

Thx.

Message 17 of 26
Cmo1
Apprentice

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

You wouldn't.  I have mine set up wirth my apple airport assigniong and routing and my Orbi as access point only, which os why I assign router fixed ip

Message 18 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Chris:

 

Thanks for the reply. I actually was moving away from Apple gear as it is EOL. But in fact I did have the Orbi set up in Access Point mode originally as a test with my old Airport stuff still in place. It was making the leap to an Orbi centric universe that got me into trouble.

 

Since my Orbi Router grabs the .1 IP address automatically, I can leave that alone. But I will take your advice and give the 2 Satellites fixed IP addresses under the orbilogin page (like .2 and .3) instead of the ones dynamically asigned by the router. Thus maybe in a restart/reset issue, the router and satellites will find each other more qucikly.

 

I still have not had time to try this and also try to hook up Ethernet drops and attempt wired backhaul again.

Message 19 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

So I finally got time to work on the network. I first assigned fixed IP addresses in orbilogin to the 2 satellites. Had to reboot the router for this to take effect. Waited a while to see the satellites back on the network (wieless backhaul). Then attached 1 at a time to my Ethernet network. In about 5 minutes the main floor satellite got a wired backhaul connection. Good. Tried to get the upstairs one to connect. Not so good. Had to disconnect, reboot as wireless backhaul, wait a while, then reconnect to my Ethernet network. Now I have both Orbi staellites as wired backhaul. Really great speed. I will need to cross my fingers and wait to see if this is stable.

 

Thanks to all for your help. Wish that this whole system was more robust and stable and allowed for a smoother setup and config.

Message 20 of 26
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Let us know how it is in a couple of days...if nothing happens before then.

Message 21 of 26
Cmo1
Apprentice

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

I've gotten mine stable as well for the time being. The speed is not what it was prior to last firmware update. Really hoping that Netgear fixes that part.
Message 22 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

...so far, so good.

 

BTW, I forgot to mention a 'feature' when trying to set the system up. When the router would be having trouble connecting to the satellites, or I would be trying to reboot the router or the satellites, it appears that the Orbi router would be spitting out some odd traffic on the LAN. My alarm system (connected on the LAN by a static IP) would get a bunch of false alarm messages and go off. My Lutron HomeWorks lighting system (not even actively 'connected' or showing as a device in the orbilogin list, but connected to my LAN) would start randomly flashing lights off and on. I had to unplug my alarm system until I got the Orbi system to stabilize. What a house of cards....

Message 23 of 26
Cmo1
Apprentice

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

For some reason it's seen as a dos attack on the router.
Message 24 of 26
JPPMD
Guide

Re: Unstable network—need advice (warning—long)

Chris:

 

Not sure I understand...the fixed IP devices (HomeWorks & alarm system) look like DDOS attacks to the Router? The devices seem to think they are getting lots of odd packets/messages which is what causes the havoc.

Message 25 of 26
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