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Is there a way to make RBR850 satellite connect to closest access point?
3 of my 4 access points are wired. The 4th one (Shop) is closest to the "Upstairs" AP on the list below, however, it shows that it is connected to the router with poor signal (it's really far away). Is there a way to force the Shop AP to mesh with the Upstairs AP?
Re: Is there a way to make RBR850 satellite connect to closest access point?
In the original (2016) Orbi, the Advanced WiFi Settings provided a toggle to enable/disable "Daisy Chain". It appears this choice was removed fromthe 850 series product. (At least it is not found in the User Manual. You could check Advanced Settings and verify this.)
My first step would be to power down the shop satellite. wait a couple of minutes, then power it on again. Perhaps it detected the Orbi router signal first and quit looking for other backhaul paths.
It is fortunate that Orbi satellites are portable. It would be an interesting experiment to temporarily relocate the shop satellite to be in the same room as the desired satellite connection and see if it connects there.
Orbi satellites 'fall back' to 2.4G backhaul when the 5G WiFi signal is not strong enough to maintain a good or fair connection. (i.e. really weak). Would this shop have metal walls? Or foil backed insulation in the walls? How far away is the shop?
I use a "WiFi Analyzer" app on my Android phones and tablets to display the signal strength of WiFi access points. (my own and nearby neighbors). (There must be 8-10 popular apps. I like the one by Kevin Yuan. The others are most likely very similar.) Can you open such an app in the shop? It should display your Orbi WiFi name (SSID) for each Orbi device (on both 2.4G and 5G channels. The shop satellite will have a strong signal inside the shop (maybe -30db or so). What do the other Orbi access points measure?
The backhaul signal will be a WiFi access point on channel 157 (in the US) with no SSID ("? mark") How strong is it?
Re: Is there a way to make RBR850 satellite connect to closest access point?
Thanks for catching the discrepancy. From the context, I had thought it was a simple typo. Since it currently is showing a "Poor" connection as a satellite, my guess is that it really is a satellite. Will be interesting to see.
Re: Is there a way to make RBR850 satellite connect to closest access point?
Thank you for the reply!
I'll test the signal and then move the shop satellite close to the upstairs satellite to see if it connects/meshes with it.
The shop is metal and stone, yes. A total of two stone walls, one metal, and 3 sheet rock walls. It has worked very well for at least a year. Nothing has changed, which is what's so frustrating. I've reset and power cycled it several times, BTW.
I'll try your suggestion today and report back. Again, thanks for your help!
Re: Is there a way to make RBR850 satellite connect to closest access point?
Not very strong with the shop door shut, which is probably why it has worked so well for so long and I just didn't realize it was b/c of the door.
If I were to move the AP that I want it to mesh with, closer, so it only has to go through 1 sheet rock wall, metal, and 2 stone walls - would that help at all? The way it is set up now, there's 3 sheet rock walls, metal, and 2 stone walls.
Re: Is there a way to make RBR850 satellite connect to closest access point?
There are windows but they're farther away. What about an outdoor antenna? I can put on the outside of the shop and run cat 6 through the shop stone and metal. That way the meshing AP in the house only has to go through one layer of stone and some sheet rock. Does Netgear make anything like that? I know Ubiquity makes an AC antenna.
