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Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Backhaul 2.4 vs 5 usage

krf007
Star

Backhaul 2.4 vs 5 usage

First, my Orbi system works very well and has provided a very good wifi signal throuhout my house and was tested throughly when we had our big Christmas dinner.  At one time, I checked and there wee over 50 devices using the wifi at one time (it seems that each grandkid had multiple devices).

 

My question concerns the "backhaul" channel.  I use both Inssider and Acrylic to look at wifi strengths.  A "hidden" channel shows up when the Orbi system is on so I am guessing that is the backhaul channel.  The channel is using  2.4ghz but everything I read says Orbi uses 5ghz for that channel.  

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

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rhester72
Virtuoso

Re: Backhaul 2.4 vs 5 usage

Despite what the technical documentation says, we confirmed there are indeed two backhaul channels - one dedicated 5GHz and one shared 2.4GHz.  The latter is used only when the 5GHz signal is broken, and is more or less only used to get the satellite status and tell you that you need to move it closer, but it will "function" as well as a shared 2.4GHz connection can.

 

Rodney

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Retired_Member
Not applicable

Re: Backhaul 2.4 vs 5 usage

There appears to be one of each coming from my Orbi router (no SSID).
Message 2 of 6
krf007
Star

Re: Backhaul 2.4 vs 5 usage

This morning, I decided to play and set the 2.4 intensity to 75%.  After a little more playing, I cahnged it back to 100%.  Now, both inssider and acrylic show two hidden bands (one each at 2.4 and one at 5).   

 

 

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 3 of 6
rhester72
Virtuoso

Re: Backhaul 2.4 vs 5 usage

Despite what the technical documentation says, we confirmed there are indeed two backhaul channels - one dedicated 5GHz and one shared 2.4GHz.  The latter is used only when the 5GHz signal is broken, and is more or less only used to get the satellite status and tell you that you need to move it closer, but it will "function" as well as a shared 2.4GHz connection can.

 

Rodney

Message 4 of 6
Retired_Member
Not applicable

Re: Backhaul 2.4 vs 5 usage

Thinking more about your comment Rodney, my speeds when wired to the router are 230 Mbps. Sometimes at wireless devices reach those speeds but most of the time they are right around 54 Mbps, never in between. Do you think this is bevause the 5 GHz backhaul is failing and forcing the data over 2.4 GHz? Both backhaul bands are constantly dropping but I never thought about that also causing the slow speed issue.
Message 5 of 6
rhester72
Virtuoso

Re: Backhaul 2.4 vs 5 usage

Even at 2.4GHz, you should see better than 54MBps.

 

If you wire to the satellite, do you see the same drops in speed?  That would confirm whether backhaul is a contributing factor.

 

Rodney

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