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I have found interferrence between Orbi and my digital TV antenna. If the Orbi Satellite is too close to the TV, the tuner is stuck on one channel, with audio & video going in and out - and I have lost all control of the TV! If I power off the Orbi Satellite (the Orbi Router is on), the antenna and TV work fine, although there is occaisional breakup of audio & video; this is probably because of a weak signal from the antenna. My firmware version is 2.2.1.210.
My desktop is a Mac Pro late 2013, running OS 10.12.6. The iPad is running 12.1.1.
So now I am experimenting with moving the Satellite closer to the Router, and further from the TV. A complication is that my wife's iPad, which is usually in the same room as the TV, keeps losing network connection. So I am also trying to insure that the iPad keeps its Internet connection. At the present the location of the Satellite is about 25 feet from the TV and 65 feet from the Router (not in a straight line of view), and the TV/antenna is working, and the iPad is keeping its connection.
However, in this setup, the Satellite will sometimes flash an amber LED ring, followed by a blue LED ring, suggesting that I need to move the Satellite closer to the Router. Does this make sense? I'm a little confused as to why it flashes from amber to blue and back again - and it repeats this from time to time. Sometimes, especially after moving either the Router or the Satellite, I resync the two.
Our house is two-story with 3000 sq ft; so I wasn't anticipating having any problems. The TV is about 90 feet from the Router; if I power off the Satellite, leaving the Router on, the iPad seems to have some trouble keeping a connection.
Yes, you should keep Orbi away from other RF devices. They can interfere, even if the devices use different frequencies.
The satellite is turning amber because the signal became poor. The RF singl-to-noise ratio will vary over time, so this is not unusual. It also means if the satellite turned blue once it doesn't mean everything is good. You need a signal strong enough such that it's still good, even when the signal varies on the low side.
If the TV antenna is the issue, you should also have the option of moving the antenna farther away from the TV and Orbi, by using a longer length of coax cable to attach the antenna to the TV.
Yes, you should keep Orbi away from other RF devices. They can interfere, even if the devices use different frequencies.
The satellite is turning amber because the signal became poor. The RF singl-to-noise ratio will vary over time, so this is not unusual. It also means if the satellite turned blue once it doesn't mean everything is good. You need a signal strong enough such that it's still good, even when the signal varies on the low side.
If the TV antenna is the issue, you should also have the option of moving the antenna farther away from the TV and Orbi, by using a longer length of coax cable to attach the antenna to the TV.
I hadn't thought of the antenna itself as being impacted. When talking to the antenna agent, he seemed to be focused on the physical connection to the TV for the antenna, or the circuit in the TV for that connection. I could no longer control the TV when the problem occurred, and I couldn't understand how the antenna could cause that.
I can try a longer cable. Also, this antenna has an inline amplifier to increase the sensitivity. Also, the agent gave me a link for a filter that could be put in the antenna line, but I haven't yet followed up on that.
......... At the present the location of the Satellite is about 25 feet from the TV and 65 feet from the Router (not in a straight line of view), and the TV/antenna is working, and the iPad is keeping its connection.
.........
I also think that 65 feet is quite long distance to have a stable wireless backhaul connection between router and satellite. If possible and doable please try getting them closer or add another satellite in between.
Though the allocated frequencies for broadcast TV are below household wifi, compact off-the-air antennas need to do something that full blown outdoor antennas do not. Antennas need to be specific lengths to resonate with the broadcast signal (or to broadcast it). In indoor antennas, whether digital or analog, the frequency determines the length (the shortest length is 4 to 7 inches for UHF), but to get the correct frequency in a small package (especially for VHF which is a relatively long wave length), they must fold and otherwise convolute the antenna(s) itself. Sometimes this is done with circuit etchings rather than larger aluminum parts. The problem is, when you fold an antenna it has a tendecy to resonate at the full lenght as required, but also to some degree to the folded dimensions, which sometimes makes them resonate at other higher frequencies. This is actually a good thing for some antenna devices where an antenna length can be given double frequency duty. If the antenna is being bathed in a higher frequency than UHF (which goes up to about 0.8GHz for regular commercial reception use), some part of the antenna could actually resonate at the 2.4GHz band. Also most indoor antennas are nearly or fully omni-directional so pick up from all directions. And they also somewhat broadcast signal in resonance to what they receive. What's more, pumping strange carriers with digital information into your TV can potentially drive your digital tuner nuts. If that signal is amplified, even nuttier. The filter may help, one that insures that no signal above 806MHz gets to the TV. Remoting the antenna also will help.
Though the allocated frequencies for broadcast TV are below household wifi, compact off-the-air antennas need to do something that full blown outdoor antennas do not. Antennas need to be specific lengths to resonate with the broadcast signal (or to broadcast it). In indoor antennas, whether digital or analog, the frequency determines the length (the shortest length is 4 to 7 inches for UHF), but to get the correct frequency in a small package (especially for VHF which is a relatively long wave length), they must fold and otherwise convolute the antenna(s) itself. Sometimes this is done with circuit etchings rather than larger aluminum parts. The problem is, when you fold an antenna it has a tendecy to resonate at the full lenght as required, but also to some degree to the folded dimensions, which sometimes makes them resonate at other higher frequencies. This is actually a good thing for some antenna devices where an antenna length can be given double frequency duty. If the antenna is being bathed in a higher frequency than UHF (which goes up to about 0.8GHz for regular commercial reception use), some part of the antenna could actually resonate at the 2.4GHz band. Also most indoor antennas are nearly or fully omni-directional so pick up from all directions. And they also somewhat broadcast signal in resonance to what they receive. What's more, pumping strange carriers with digital information into your TV can potentially drive your digital tuner nuts. If that signal is amplified, even nuttier. The filter may help, one that insures that no signal above 806MHz gets to the TV. Remoting the antenna also will help.
I have moved the Orbi Satellite away from the TV/antenna. It is now about 25 ft from the TV and about 55 feet from the Orbi Router. The interference with the antenna is gone, and the Internet connection in the area between the TV and Satellite is consistently good (there is a wall between the TV and the Satellite.) Since the iPad is working well in this same area, it no longer is a suspect in it having dropped connection often.
I perhaps had fallen for the marketing pitch from Netgear in that they say the RKB22 is good for a house up to 4000 sq. feet. Our house is two-story and 3000 sq. feet. But its footprint is about 75 feet long; so it is not the average 3000 sq foot house.
I switched from a Netgear R6300/EX6200 setup to Orbi. Both the R6300 and EX6200 used 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, which resulted in 4 network connections. It was a bit tedious when roaming from room to room because of the delay in the device switching to the closer router, and each connection had its own name to consider if one manually switched. The Orbi has one name; so roaming rome room to room is much simpler.
