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Using signal strength detection to place Orbi Satellites FAQ
This document describes how to use signal strength detection of Wi-Fi signal to optimally place Orbi satellites – location AND number of satellites. It is a common problem for users to place more satellites than they should – the common thinking is “the more the merrier”. But the opposite is true! Houses that have too much saturation of Orbi units have too much overlap of Wi-Fi signals, causing all kinds of disconnect problems, inability for devices to properly switch Orbi units as they are moved around the house, and more. In the mesh world, often deploying LESS units are the better solution! To do this right, you need a software app that shows real time Wi-Fi signal strength. There are several free ones. I use a Mac laptop and walk around the house running either/both of 2 tools - Wi-Fi Explorer Lite and iAnalyzeWiFi. Both are free and in the Mac App store. I am sure there are comparable tools in the Windows world, if not more of them. Both Mac tools will give a real time view of ALL signals in your house where you are standing. As a bonus, you'll even see neighbor's signals if they are close enough. So, if you choose, it is easy to determine channels to set up with the NETGEAR routers for 2.4GHz and 5Ghz so that contention between your network and your neighbors’ networks is minimized. Now there's two options with how you do this – it depends on whether a given satellite (RBS)’s backhaul is to be wired or wireless. With wired backhaul, you want to pick the WORST signal area that you can get a wire to, to increase the house coverage. Think about it – you don’t have to worry about poor Wi-Fi coverage in that location because you will use wired backhaul for the RBS, and it will bring a strong satellite signal to an area of the house that did not have it! On the other hand, with Wi-Fi backhaul, you should pick a STRONG signal area so the backhaul connection is fast and reliable. But you want to choose the fringes of a strong signal area if possible – again, the theory being to bring satellite signal into an area of the house that did not have it. So in summary of the theory, it’s a waste to place an RBS with wired backhaul in an area with a strong Wi-Fi signal, and it’s also a waste to place an RBS with a Wi-Fi backhaul in an area with very weak signal. Do the opposite! You will determine these strong/weak areas by walking around with a laptop displaying real time signal strength. Take some notes so you get a picture of the signal strength throughout the house, starting with JUST the router running, and then as you add satellites one by one update your diagram. I would recommend first power down everything but the router (RBR). Walk around with your laptop signal app and place the second RBS – based on the proper signal strength coming from the router (strong if Wi-Fi backhaul, poor if wired access is available). After the router and first RBS are in place and powered up, continue the process with the next RBS satellite. Walk around the house and see where the dead spots are, and whether you care (i.e. you may not need a strong signal in some obscure part of your house!) That will tell you whether you need to add the next RBS. Try putting the next RBS as far as you can in the house from either the RBR or RBS - NETGEAR recommends 30 feet minimum, but the farther, the better, if you have a good signal for backhaul! With the Mac apps, you can see signal strength in RSSI, so it doesn't take any "figuring" to know if the signal is good enough for Wi-Fi. The guidelines I use are looking for RSSI signal strength to be at least -67 dBm or greater (remember, greater would be say -50 dBm), as this should handle backhaul requirements fine. You can probably stretch it to -70dBm if you need to, that should be an ok signal strength for backhaul data by my guess. With 2 RBSs in place, just keep walking around checking signal strength - and do some speed tests. Only then will you know if you have an objectively weak signal area demanding a 3rd RBS. Keep in mind as well, if that area for the third (or even the second) RBS is weak but small, you may need to reduce the signal power as a percentage of less than 100% (found on the router admin web page) to avoid overlapping Wi-Fi signals. Note on the two signal apps I mentioned above, I can see signals from each RBR and RBS individually - so I know if I have a strong overlap in a region of the house. I know this by seeing a nearly identical signal strength from two or more Orbi units at some location. Devices will have difficulty managing their movement between Orbi units as the devices are carried around the house. I think you may be shocked at how few satellites you may need – less than you thought! Article originated and authored by donawaltNETGEAR Mobile Applications and Android/Apple/Windows Devices FAQ
Summary: Since Android/Apples and Windows introduction of MAC address randomizers in there OSs, this seems to have been causing problems for users of Netgear's mobile applications, i.e. Nighthawk and Orbi applications on iPhones and iPads being able to connect correctly to Netgear router products. What is: Apple WiFi Private IP Address: "Apple platforms use a randomized media access control address (MAC address) when performing Wi-Fi scans when not associated with a Wi-Fi network. These scans can be performed to find and connect to a known Wi-Fi network or to assist Location Services for apps that use geofences, such as location-based reminders or fixing a location in Apple Maps." https://support.apple.com/guide/security/wi-fi-privacy-secb9cb3140c/web Try only disabling this feature first as a first step in troubleshooting. If the above feature change doesn't work or help change anything, try the following: Apple Limit IP Address Tracking: "Limit IP address tracking is a privacy-enhancing feature currently only seen on iPhones or iPadOS devices with cellular connectivity. This feature can be activated on your device if you are running iOS 15.2 RC 2 or higher. Once enabled, your IP address will be hidden from identifiable trackers in Apple’s database. This feature will only work in Safari & Mail, for now, using another browser or Mail app will leave you exposed to trackers. https://nerdschalk.com/hide-ip-address-on-iphone-how-to-use-limit-ip-address-tracking-feature-for-this/ https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253657312?answerId=256849570022#256849570022 Apple iCloud Private Relay: "When Private Relay is enabled, your requests are sent through two separate, secure internet relays. Your IP address is visible to your network provider and to the first relay, which is operated by Apple. Your DNS records are encrypted, so neither party can see the address of the website you’re trying to visit. The second relay, which is operated by a third-party content provider, generates a temporary IP address, decrypts the name of the website you requested and connects you to the site." https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT212614 These two above features may not need to be changed. 2024 Apple has implemented additional options to the Private WiFi Address feature: 3 options are now seen here: Disable - Disables the MAC address randomization on the phone. Uses actual MAC address set on the phone. Fixed - Sets a fixed MAC address that differs from actual MAC address of the phone. Rotating - Randomized the MAC address. Good for traveling or connecting to open WiFi networks when away from home. Diagnosis: When users are at home that these features may not be needed as there would be no reason to have additional security features on the iOS devices enabled while being at home and that these features are more suited for out of home or remote use while away from home and the local home network. Solution: For troubleshooting these problems with Netgear mobile applications, Apples WiFi Private IP address and Limit IP tracking on Apple iPhones and iPads can be disabled while at home to see if this helps resolve Netgear's mobile app in connecting to the Netgear router. Try turning OFF WiFi Private IP address and Limit IP tracking features are found on the same screen page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211227 iCloud Relay can be turned off as a troubleshooting step as well though may not be needed in most cases: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212614 ANDROID: Also seen on Android OSs as well: https://www.howtogeek.com/722653/how-to-disable-random-wi-fi-mac-address-on-android/ NOTE: For Android devices, there is only Disable and Phone/Tablet MAC options. MS WINDOWS: Seen on Windows PC or Laptops with WiFi adapters: NOTE: These are troubleshooting steps only and recommended trying if all other troubleshooting steps fail. Remember to enable these Android/Apple and Windows features when using Android/Apple/WIndows devices normally or remotely outside of the home network. If users still see problems with the mobile app after trying the solution, please submit a bug using the submit bug feature in the app: Orbi App: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-App/How-to-report-a-bug-on-the-Orbi-App/td-p/2140980/jump-to/first-unread-message Nighthawk App: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-App/How-to-report-a-bug-on-the-Nighthawk-App/td-p/2134684/jump-to/first-unread-message Or contact Netgear support: https://my.netgear.com/support/contact.aspxOrbi MESH Troubleshooting, Suggestions and Tips
This is initial information regarding Orbi help, troubleshooting and tips to help users who encounter Orbi problems. Users should review this and test the suggestions and tips out and post your results and questions if more help is needed in the forums. Most problems seen are mis-configurations, environment and or ISP service related. Please review the following attached PDF information file and if your needing additional help. Please copy and paste the template of questions and suggestions, which pertain to your particular problem, to include in your posts so we may get a better idea of your systems setup and provide better feedback to help you resolve and fix the problems users are experiencing. It's for the users and posters benefit to be detailed as much as possible when posting and to answer and give feedback to the questions and suggestions presented by other users. Some of these questions and suggestions will need to be answered so we can help you and give you better feedback and work to help resolve the problem.Armor Help and Information FAQ
For users needing help and information regarding Armor: NETGEAR Armor Protect Your Family and Your Home Network from Cybersecurity Threats https://www.netgear.com/home/services/armor/ https://armor.netgear.com/ What are the features of NETGEAR Armor? https://kb.netgear.com/000059435/What-features-does-NETGEAR-Armor-offer How do I start a subscription for NETGEAR Armor? https://kb.netgear.com/000059444/What-is-the-available-subscription-plan-with-NETGEAR-Armor Prerequisites and What Products support Armor? https://kb.netgear.com/000059437/What-are-the-prerequisites-to-use-NETGEAR-Armor https://kb.netgear.com/000061281/Which-products-support-NETGEAR-Armor How to Use and Activate Armor: https://kb.netgear.com/000059442/How-do-I-activate-NETGEAR-Armor-using-the-Nighthawk-app https://kb.netgear.com/000060582/How-do-I-activate-NETGEAR-Armor-on-my-Orbi-router https://kb.netgear.com/000060247/How-do-I-activate-my-NETGEAR-Armor-subscription-using-an-activation-code Armor Subscription Update Information: My payment method needs to change. How does one update their payment method for auto-renewal of my armor subscription? Enter or update details by browsing to this link: https://accounts.netgear.com/account Then you can edit your card payment details. Help with your subscription service? https://kb.netgear.com/000063635/How-do-I-get-help-with-my-NETGEAR-subscription-service How do I unblock URLs in NETGEAR Armor? https://kb.netgear.com/000061715/How-do-I-unblock-URLs-in-NETGEAR-Armor Armor Support Information and Help: https://kb.netgear.com/000061809/I-get-an-error-when-I-try-to-activate-NETGEAR-Armor-what-do-I-do https://kb.netgear.com/000062125/Why-didn-t-I-receive-an-activation-code-after-purchasing-NETGEAR-Armor-from-the-NETGEAR-Store https://kb.netgear.com/000059445/How-do-I-subscribe-to-NETGEAR-Armor-after-my-free-trial-expires https://kb.netgear.com/000059447/Can-I-add-more-than-one-router-to-my-NETGEAR-Armor-subscription https://kb.netgear.com/000059446/How-do-I-cancel-my-NETGEAR-Armor-subscription For additional help and information regarding Armor, please contact NetGear support: https://my.netgear.com/support/contact.aspx To get a hold of support for subscriptions services like Armor/Circle, click on "MyNetgear" at the top. Register an account (or log in) and then register the device. From there, you can start the support process. Click on: My Support---->Contact Support---->Get help with my subscription serviceBug Report: Orbi App Timed out
Hello Orbi Community! We are aware that some users are experiencing "Time Out" issues when logging into their Orbi app using iOS version 18.4. Until there is a resolution, we ask that you use the admin page found at orbilogin.com for your Orbi configurations. If there are any android users that are experiencing this "Time Out" behavior while using the Orbi app please comment below! Thank you for your continued patronage!! NG Community TeamRegistration and Un Registering products Help
We recently updated our support site to now allow customers to unregister their products via mynetgear.com. Please follow the steps listed below to remove products from your account. Log into my.netgear.com Scroll down and click View Product button for the product you wish to remove from your account Scroll down and click "Unregister Product" in grey (below the "Community Links" button) You will be asked to confirm you want to unregister your product (*Unregistering your product will remove the product from your account. It may be re-registered to the same account. If it is re-registered to another account, any warranty will not be transferable, per the NETGEAR warranty.) Click "Yes, unregister my product" If you are still having issues registering or unregistering your devices please check out the KB below as it has an Email address to contact. https://kb.netgear.com/1160/NETGEAR-Product-Registration-FAQ
