Spectrum Mobile - S9+ wifi seeing network twice

[kai00051]

My family has 2 ipads, 2 kindles, 2 S7's, 2 Nest Cams, Chamberlain garage door, 1 Roku TV and a Chromecast device - NONE of which have problems with my Orbi mesh network.

I just got an S9+ through Spectrum Mobile (up to date on software), and it cannot, CANNOT, stay on my Orbi mesh network (router and one satellite - both up to date on firmware).  The 2.4 and 5 are named the same (by design) and the phone just bounces back and forth all day long between the 2.4 to 5, and in the meanwhile uses data when struggling with wifi.

My other phones don't even see 2 networks, just one.  The S9+ displays the network twice.

Specturm is no help.  Samsung is no help.  Netgear was no help.

What is a guy to do?  So frustrating.

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FWIW, my dad came over with his Spectrum Mobile LG phone and he could not stay connected to my wifi.  Although he didn't see my network SSID 2x like I do, his continually connected and disconnected from my network.

This appears to be an issue with Spectrum Mobile and mesh networks.  I'm not going to lay blame on Orbi yet as 19 other devices in my house, connect just fine.  The only ones having issues ar the Spectrum Mobil S9+ and Spectrum Mobile LG.

[FURRYe38]

What FW is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?
Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode?

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
What WPA security modes are you using? Try WPA2 and AES only

Try disabling the following and see:
MIMO, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Un-check 20/40Mhz Coexistence to set 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). If MIMO is already disabled, try enabling it. You can revert all these changes if nothing helps. 

Is IPv6 enabled on the phone, try to disable it and see. 

Overall this will be a Samsung issue that they need to look into. There devices need to be tested to ensure they work on most MESH systems correctly. I seems to be an issue of how the Samsung device is handling and interacting with the Orbi MESH system and Smart Connect. If all other devices are working well with the Orbi, then Samsung needs to do some testing. They can also contact NG for engineering help if there seems to be compatibility issues between them. I have a S8, S7J and Galaxy Tab S2 and they all work on my Orbi system. 

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@kai00051 wrote:

My family has 2 ipads, 2 kindles, 2 S7's, 2 Nest Cams, Chamberlain garage door, 1 Roku TV and a Chromecast device - NONE of which have problems with my Orbi mesh network.

I just got an S9+ through Spectrum Mobile (up to date on software), and it cannot, CANNOT, stay on my Orbi mesh network (router and one satellite - both up to date on firmware).  The 2.4 and 5 are named the same (by design) and the phone just bounces back and forth all day long between the 2.4 to 5, and in the meanwhile uses data when struggling with wifi.

My other phones don't even see 2 networks, just one.  The S9+ displays the network twice.

Specturm is no help.  Samsung is no help.  Netgear was no help.

What is a guy to do?  So frustrating.

========================================

FWIW, my dad came over with his Spectrum Mobile LG phone and he could not stay connected to my wifi.  Although he didn't see my network SSID 2x like I do, his continually connected and disconnected from my network.

This appears to be an issue with Spectrum Mobile and mesh networks.  I'm not going to lay blame on Orbi yet as 19 other devices in my house, connect just fine.  The only ones having issues ar the Spectrum Mobil S9+ and Spectrum Mobile LG.

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[kai00051]

Orbi FW: v2.2.1.210

Modem:  Arris TM1602A

Router Setup:

Set up standard out of the box

Operation Mode:  Router

WPA2-PSK {AES}

2.4ghz: auto

5ghz: 48

Yes, wifi neighbors nearby, never been a problem - again, 19 devices on my network with no problem, and 2 Spectrum Mobile phones struggle (S9+ and LG).

[FURRYe38]

Ok was checking the modem configuration and what you were using on the Orbi. You can try those other suggestions to see if they help with the Samsung devices. This can be something else you can give to Samsung as well to let them know what you have tried. 

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@kai00051 wrote:

Orbi FW: v2.2.1.210

Modem:  Arris TM1602A

Router Setup:

Set up standard out of the box

Operation Mode:  Router

WPA2-PSK {AES}

2.4ghz: auto

5ghz: 48

Yes, wifi neighbors nearby, never been a problem - again, 19 devices on my network with no problem, and 2 Spectrum Mobile phones struggle (S9+ and LG).

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[kai00051]

I guess I'm just annoyed/shocked that I need to make specific router changes (possibly) to accomodate a Spectrum phone, while all other devices work perfectly fine.  

[kai00051]

I changed 2.4ghz to 7 and 5ghz to 40, and will monitor.

[FURRYe38]

Reason why the features are there. Sometimes you need make some changes. Yes in a perfect world, we would not have to make changes. There many different devices out there. 

Use channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz as these are primary channels to use. 

Let us now if the change helps. 

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@kai00051 wrote:

I changed 2.4ghz to 7 and 5ghz to 40, and will monitor.

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[kai00051]

Ok, updated to 2.4ghz-6 and 5ghz-40.

[ekhalil]

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@kai00051 wrote:

...........  The 2.4 and 5 are named the same (by design) and the phone just bounces back and forth all day long between the 2.4 to 5, and in the meanwhile uses data when struggling with wifi.

..........

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How do you know that the networks are one for the 2.4 and the other for the 5 GHz bands? I'd rather think it's one from the router and another from the satellite, isn't it?

I would think that the phone is seeing the two networks strong which can happen if your nodes are close to each other and keeps roaming between them.

Do you have "Fast Roaming" enabled? New phones should support fast roaming 802.11r

[JoeCymru]

Though strange that the 2.4GHz and 5GHz are being called out independently, the switching back and forth could be normal whether you see it or not. What is not normal is that it is struggling with the signal, which possibly could be, not so much struggling as during switching, your phone is trying to make a decision whether a wifi or 4G signal is best, and switches over to 4G. Then back. If you have automatic switching engaged, Samsung Galaxy phones are notorious for making these arbitrary decision and consequently adding data costs. To find out if this is the issue go to Settings>Connections>Wifi>Advanced and make sure automatic switching is turned OFF. When off your phone will only switch from wifi to 4G data when the wifi is unusable, not when it is making the evaluation which is better at the moment. 

I never use the automatic switching on my S8, since sometimes it is reluctant to switch back to wifi when there are competing signals. If you have this switched on and you are getting a stonr 4G singal, and move to places where the wifif is a bit weaker, it is a data hog.

[kai00051]

Interesting thought.  The only thing that was on in my Advanced wifi settings was 'switch to mobile data', so I turned that off and will monitor.

I know it's not a router vs satelitte issue as I unplugged the satellite and it still saw 2 networks.  With orbi driving the SSID, I do not have 2.4 uniquely identified from 5.  I hope that makes sense.

[kai00051]

Stilll showing 2 networks...see attachment.

It's connected to the 5G, confirmed on Orbi network app.

[kai00051]

You know, I wonder if my satelite is too close to the main router, for the S9?  Is it possible that it's too close for 1 device, and perfectly fine for 19 other devices?

The router is in my celing in the basement.  The satelite is about 40 feet away, up on a desk on th efirst floor.  Hardwired.

This has never been an issue with any other device.  Just thinking out loud here.

[kai00051]

New test after turning off mobile switching:

Place the phone by the router, turn on - connects to router.

Place the phone by the satelite, turn on - connects to satelite.

Doesn't appear to be jumping back and forth now, but it's still seeing 2 networks.

[FURRYe38]

Though there is a single SSID coming from the Orbi system, the Samsung UI maybe showing the same network though your currently connected to it, there UI still shows it as an available network? I presume this doesn't mean there is two actual separate networks. 

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@kai00051 wrote:

Stilll showing 2 networks...see attachment.

It's connected to the 5G, confirmed on Orbi network app.

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[kai00051]

But if I connect to one of them, I can confirm that I'm on 5ghz.  When I connect to the other one, it's on 2.4ghz.

[FURRYe38]

Interesting. Possible that samsung is separating the two frequencies in there UI. Possible they are doing this when they detect a Smart Connect enabled WiFi. Something you might ask them about.