Orbi RBR50 drops connection

[Tiemov]

We have a Orbi RBR50 with 4 connected RBS50's running in our home. For periods they work fine, but the last couple of weeks/months there have been a lot of problems. (Current firmware version is v2.7.3.22)

The RBS50's located on the ground floor mostly work fine (only disconnect sometimes), it's a different story with those located on the second floor. These disconnect all the time (minimum of 2 and maximum of 10+ times a day).

At first just turning of the RBR50 seemed to work for several hours and then it would be the same routine all over again.  Turning of/unplugging/rebooting in the app also doesn't seem to work anymore.

Half of the time the ring lights on the RBS50's turn on in a magenta colour. The other half of the time it's only noticeable in the internet connection itself. What I mean by this is that the ring lights don't turn on, in the Orbi app everything looks fine and on my IPhone the wifi symbol is as it should be, but when I want to use something online it won't work.

Anybody got a clue what could be the issue?

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 is recommended.

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite ‌‌🛰️

Too Much Wifi: https://youtu.be/UR0viMLISz4

What channels are you using? Auto? Try Auto and 48 on 5Ghz. Or try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

One User Experience/Configuration:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Most-Stable-Orbi-Configuration/m-p/1941087/highlight/true#M970...

[KevinLiT]

Hello Tiemov,

Welcome to the NETGEAR Community!

I understand that you are having issues with network stability with your RBR50 FW v. 2.7.3.22. The most recent version for your RBR50 is FW v.2.7.4.24. Please install the latest firmware on your RBR50 then verify network stability. 

Please navigate to the link below for the download file for your RBR50: 
https://www.netgear.com/support/product/RBK50#download

For more information on manually updating your RBK50 please navigate to the link below:
https://kb.netgear.com/31573/How-do-I-manually-upgrade-firmware-on-my-Orbi-router-using-orbilogin-co...

Please keep us informed on the progress of this issue!

Best,
Kevin
Community Team

[Tiemov]

Thanks for the reply!
Updated to the latest firmware now. Seemed to work for a day or so, but connection is really unstable again. Sattelites randomly switching to 2.4ghz instead of 5ghz and random drops in connection (less frequent after firmware update)

Got a little better but still not good. Anything else?

[CrimpOn]

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@Tiemov wrote:
Updated to the latest firmware now. Seemed to work for a day or so, but connection is really unstable again. Sattelites randomly switching to 2.4ghz instead of 5ghz and random drops in connection (less frequent after firmware update)

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Perhaps it would help to have more detail about the installation.  (for example, "floors" are described differently in US and Europe. "ground floor" in Europe is "1st floor in US".  "1st floor" in Europe is "2nd floor in US).

When a satellite switches from 5G backhaul to 2.4G backhaul, that is a symptom of the 5G WiFi signal being too weak.  Either (a) the distance between router and satellite is too far, or (b) there are hidden obstacles in the radio pathway between them. (I was surprised one time to find that a 1920's house had a brick chimney running up the middle of the house  - no longer in use, but still present)  Cast a huge "shadow" on the 5G WiFi signal.

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 is recommended.

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite ‌‌🛰️

Too Much Wifi: https://youtu.be/UR0viMLISz4

What channels are you using? Auto? Try Auto and 48 on 5Ghz. Or try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

One User Experience/Configuration:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Most-Stable-Orbi-Configuration/m-p/1941087/highlight/true#M970...

---

@Tiemov wrote:
Thanks for the reply!
Updated to the latest firmware now. Seemed to work for a day or so, but connection is really unstable again. Sattelites randomly switching to 2.4ghz instead of 5ghz and random drops in connection (less frequent after firmware update)

Got a little better but still not good. Anything else?

---

[Tiemov]

Hi @CrimpOn 

Yeah I noticed the difference with the "floor" situation when writing my first message. With "ground floor" I mean the "first floor" (US).

I don't think the problem is the distance between the sattelites. The furthest sattelite from the router isn't more than 10-15 meters (11-16 yards??).

I live in the Netherlands, so the hidden obstacles could be relevant. My house (and everbody else's here) is built with bricks. I don't really thinks this is the problem though. I tried playing around with the positions of the sattelites, but it doens't matter in which locations I put them, they switch from 5ghz to 2.4ghz in every position. So it seems that the position isn't relevant in this case. One more thing why I think the obstruction of signal isn't the problem, is that it isn't a constant problem. The backhaul or the sattelite losing connection are totaly random and irregular (sometimes 15 minutes between problems, sometimes 2 hours).

However I'm just a customer, not some kind of expert. So if I'm wrong please let me know

Thanks for the reply!

[Tiemov]

Hi, @FURRYe38 

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

I sadly don't know the answer to this question and I don't know where to find this...... Idk if this questions only applies if you live in the US? 

I stated the situation concerning the materials of my home and the distance between routers and sattelites in my prior reply in this message. But the furthest distance between router and sattelite is 10-15 meters, with 3 more sattelites in between. 

Concerning the channels, is Auto and 48 for 5ghz the settings you would recommend. The Channels I'm currently using is Auto and 36 for 5ghz. Would you recommend switchting these?

Yes, in the Netherlands houses are relatively close to eachother. However I haven't had any interference problems in prior situations.

Thanks for the reply

[FURRYe38]

Does the top LED ring on the RBR turn PINK when you notice the drop in internet? 

https://kb.netgear.com/31030/What-do-the-LEDs-on-my-Orbi-mean

No, need to find the brand and model of the ISP modem or ONT that the RBR is connected too. This is a world wide applicable question. 

[Tiemov]

Hi @FURRYe38 

My ISP modem is called "Experiabox V12" made by "KPN". Is this the information that you were looking for??

When the internet drops everything with regards to the RBR is okay as far as I can see. The LED ring on the RBS50 sattelites do turn pink (magenta). In (I think) 25% of the connection drops, all sattelites have the pink LED ring, in the rest of the cases only the sattelites in the upstairs area seem to be having this problem. I'm not absolutely sure about the percentages though.

I've turned off one of the two sattelites which were quite close together, this however doesn't seem to have any effect.

Isn't there a way to watch some type of server log where is stated why the sattelites lose connection? (Already looked into the server log on orbilogin, but nothing to be seen about lost connection....)

Thanks for the reply

[Tiemov]

@FURRYe38 @CrimpOn @KevinLiT 

I'm almost certain that the problem of the sattelite switching from 5ghz to 2.4ghz has to do with the multiple smart devices in my house (A/C, camera, etc.). Could this be the case?

The smart devices show up in the 2.4ghz section and for example my laptop in the 5ghz section. However this seems to switch all devices to 2.4ghz as my download speed declines from 40-50MBps to 800KBps. I don't know why this is the case and I don't know how I'm able to fix this issue.

Do you have any clue?

Small update: I don't know what happened, but since yesterday morning I haven't noticed any disconnects. I'm not convinced it is fixed though. This has happened a couple of times, but after a few days it goes back to the bad situation

[CrimpOn]

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@Tiemov wrote:

The smart devices show up in the 2.4ghz section and for example my laptop in the 5ghz section. However this seems to switch all devices to 2.4ghz as my download speed declines from 40-50MBps to 800KBps.

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Internet of Things (IoT) devices typically are constructed with a cheap radio chip that is capable of only 2.4G. That is why they show up in the 2.4G section of the Orbi app.  The laptop almost certainly has a more capable WiFi adapter and can connect at 5G.

Did this "switch all devices" mean that the Orbi app reports the laptop as being connected at 2.4G?

[FURRYe38]

You might bring the RBS closer to the RBR. Say 5 feet after testing for 3 days. 

Possible that how you have the RBS deployed and distance could be a factor. 

Keep an eye on it for now and make adjustments if needed. 

[KevinLiT]

Hello Tiemov,

Please check your PM.

Best,

Kevin

Community Team

[Tiemov]

Hi @CrimpOn 

Yeah I'm aware that these devices only can run on 2.4Ghz and they show up in the Orbi app in the 2.4Ghz channel. 

I got a fairly new and a very capable laptop, so yeah the wifi adapter in it is very good, this can't be the problem. It doesn't show up in the 2.4Ghz and stays in the 5Ghz channel in the app, but suddenly my MBps drops by 50 and my connection suddenly gets very bad. This only happens when these 2.4Ghz devices connect to the Orbi sattelite that my laptop or phone is connected to, so I came to this conclusion (idk what else it could be). So no, my laptop doesn't show up in the 2.4Ghz, but acts like it for some reason.

Thanks for replying

[Tiemov]

Hi @FURRYe38 

Connection was good till last night, now it's terrible again (constant disconnects) with no reason I could think of.

But put a sattelite closer by the RBR!

Thanks