NetGear Orbi RBK353 Constantly Dropping Wireless

ThePunchingBag on 07/07/2024 - 19:29
Last edited 07/07/2024 - 22:01 by 1 other user

Hi all…

Some help or advice would be appreciated…

My Orbi RBK353 (Router & 3 x Satellites) keeps dropping wireless conectivity… Anything connected by ethernet keeps running without issue but iPads & Phones lose all connection anywhere in the house… I try just turning the router off for 30 seconds & then restarting but nothing connects even if the satellites are showing the Blue light & being connected…
So I end up having to do a full reset & set up a new connection through the Orbi App for it to work & even this can take 3 or 4 goes…

It was/has been running fine with very few drop outs over the past 18 months but the past 3 months has been a pain in the arse…

We are foster carers & have 2 kids with special needs who are non mobile so their iPads are something that gives them great enjoyment, so when this system keeps crashing & it can take quite a while to reset before I can get them reconnected it can be frustrating for them…

Have tried doing a firmware update through the App but after searching for the update for a few minutes it comes up with an error… I have also deleted the App & reinstalled but still the same thing…

I am wondering if an update would fix it ???
I am wondering if my router has almost had it ???
I am wondering do I need a new mesh system ??? It doesn't need to be anything to fancy but something reliable that won't keep crashing a few times a week… ($400-$600)

Single story home, quite long, FTTP with Box located near the middle of the house & as explained previously when it's running, connection is quite could throughout the house with no dead spots…

Thank you for any advice or help given…

• 

  87percent on 07/07/2024 - 19:45

  +1

  Is the iPhone an 11 by chance?

  • 

    ThePunchingBag on 07/07/2024 - 20:33

    My iphone is but wifes isn't & obviously the iPads aren't

    • 

      87percent on 08/07/2024 - 08:18

      I had an iPhone 11 that would have issues with mesh systems. The handoff between the units would basically cause the wifi connection to freeze. Tried multiple systems (google, orbi, asus) and it was the same.

• 

  sumyungguy on 07/07/2024 - 20:03

  -2

  Netgear says to re-name your SSID to something unique. It could be that someone nearby is using the same network name. Is this possible for your setup?

• 

  harshbdmmaster718 on 07/07/2024 - 20:42

  +1

  I fixed dropouts on old and new orbi by setting channel number to something specific.
  if you go into Orbi router settings and see anywhere that says channel: Auto, click it and set it to any number in the dropdown menu. I think last time I looked 5Ghz channel was already set to a number, but 2.4Ghz was auto, so I set that one to a number. no more dropouts.

  weirdly this happened both old and new orbi. set up new orbi recently and it was 100% fine in default settings for like 3 months, until same dropout issue started. might be due to device side update issue but anyway setting the channel number fixed dropouts for me. you can try it hope it helps.

• 

  ThePunchingBag on 07/07/2024 - 20:52

  Thanks for that… Looked thoughout the App but couldn't find it or anything that would let me change the 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz numbers

  • 

    sumyungguy on 07/07/2024 - 21:01

    -2

    May I ask… what SSID name are you using? Or was that you who negged my suggestion?

    • 

      ThePunchingBag on 07/07/2024 - 21:29

      Wasn't me who negged you but it's the Orbi name

      • 

        sumyungguy on 07/07/2024 - 21:36

        It's possible your hardware has faulted, but there are plenty of other reasons wifi can glitch. I used to have an Orbi system so looked up their website to find there's no free support after 90 days. So I read this troubleshooter. It's simple and worth ruling out. Someone may have moved into your 'hood with the same generic SSID name, so your devices may be connecting to another network. If you were able to contact Netgear this is something they would ask you to modify.

  • 

    harshbdmmaster718 on 07/07/2024 - 21:54

    +2

    it won’t be in the app. (stupid I know I thought the same)

    you have to login to the router using browser from orbilogin.com or orbilogin.net to access the channel setting. if you feeling suss about typing that in browser you can copy paste it from netgear page here https://kb.netgear.com/31142/Why-can-t-I-access-orbilogin-co…

    from the homepage I think you click “wireless” tab, channel settings should be somewhere in there.
    if you haven’t customised it yourself, user should admin, and password should be the same as your app (sometimes it’s not if you didn’t make it the same when setting it up). if not it will show you the option to reset pw after a few incorrect tries.

    btw the dropout issue it fixed was similar to yours. seemed to affect portable apple devices specifically. iPad would drop connection constantly to the point of almost being unusable.