Getting CR1000A/E3200 and ORBI RBR10 + 2 satellites to work together

[Dan149]

I have Fios for internet only. We are in an old house with no ethernet cabling, and our highest need for internet is on our 3rd floor. So we have the CR1000A router in the basement connected by ethernet cable to the ONT, and coax running straight from the CR1000A up to the E3200 extender on the 3rd floor. On its own, the wifi strength/speed out of the E3200 (5G and 2.4G) is pretty good, on the 3rd floor.

But there are other important parts of the house that need wifi, which the E3200 alone doesn’t reach, on the second floor. To get signal to those I have an ORBI RBR10, that I connect by ethernet cable to the E3200, and 2 satellites.

I need help configuring the CR1000A and the ORBI to work together.

What happens now is that once I plug the ORBI in to the E3200 by ethernet cable, it connects to the two satellites fine, and the networks are available to devices, but ... the signal gets intermittent, and various devices get dropped a lot, or get ‘restricted’ (slow) connectivity. Very unstable and unacceptable.

I am using AP Mode on the ORBI. On the CR1000A I have both the 5G and 2.4G networks enabled… should I just turn them off? Is it that simple, and then the ORBIs will carry the WiFi entirely?

(Note, I feel pretty confident that a solution is possible, because I only got the CR1000A and E3200 a week or two ago. Other than swapping them in place of the older gateway and extender-- which worked reliably and well with the ORBIs for the past several years without any issues!—I’ve made no changes. So I’m very much hoping it’s not just a case of the CR1000A/E3200 not being able to play well with the ORBIs, when the older hardware they have replaced did.)

Further info: Currently on the CR1000A I have IPv6, DFS, and SON disabled, and I have the 5G and 2.4G networks both enabled (but not IoT). I put the ORBI into AP mode (I was using it for a while without yet putting it into AP mode, setting its SSIDs and passwords the same as the CR1000A’s, but the same issues occurred).

[JoelGoodGuy]

You need to get a switch after the CR1000A router and access points on each floor:

ONT + CR1000A router + Managed Switch + Access Point 1st floor + Access Point 2nd Floor + Access Point 3rd floor 

[Dan149]

Thanks for the input JoelGoodGuy.

On third floor is the ORBI RBR10 (in AP mode), cabled to the E3200 extender. On second floor are the two ORBI satellites (no access point), wirelessly connected to the ORBI RBR10.  (Don't need wifi on first floor.)

This setup has worked really well for several years, when I had the old gateway and extender. No switch needed. One access point, on third floor.

Now that I have the new CR1000A gateway and E3200 extender, it seems I should be able to do same without adding new hardware. Why would changing to newer gateway/extender require adding switch and additional APs?

[JoelGoodGuy]

Hardware is not forever, you got a new CR1000A and after adding it your old equipment is having communication /disconnection issues.

I repeat I would get a brand new "managed" switch (there different excellent manufacturers) , and according to my house/business needs the appropriate number of access points (preferably from same manufacturer as managed switch to avoid compatibility issues)  and voila!! 

[Dan149]

Any further ideas out there?

[Oakeydoke]

In your current setup with the ORBI RBR10 in AP mode on the third floor connected via cable to the E3200 extender, which then connects wirelessly to two ORBI satellites on the second floor, you've had good performance over several years. With the new CR1000A gateway and E3200 extender, it should be possible to maintain this setup without needing additional hardware like a switch or extra Access Points (AP). However, the main reason for considering a switch and more APs with newer models is that they offer different features and capabilities.

The CR1000A gateway and E3200 extender are designed to work together effectively, but there may be limitations in terms of coverage range or signal strength compared to your previous setup. To ensure consistent performance across multiple floors without significant interference or dropped connections, using an additional Access Point (AP) on the first floor with a direct wired connection might be recommended. This would provide you with more stable and reliable Wi-Fi access throughout your home.

In summary, while it's not necessary to add switches or extra APs in most cases, upgrading your network setup may require additional hardware when transitioning from older devices to newer models like the CR1000A gateway and E3200 extender due to differences in features and performance capabilities.

However, if you'd like more specific information on how to optimize this new setup with your existing equipment, please provide any particular concerns or goals for your network configuration so we can offer tailored advice.

[Dan149 · Accepted solution]

Following up on this. Have done a fair amount of investigating and troubleshooting.

I conclude that the problem apparently was not with configuring the CR1000A & E3200 to work with the ORBIs. I think they probably work fine with each other.

The problem was with the coax cable. The E3200 was not getting good signal from the CR1000A. So, neither did the ORBI(s).

I had thought the E3200 was getting good signal from the CR1000A (I described it as “pretty good”) but in fact it was intermittent and never settled down and became stable (seemed good when I wrote my original post here, but was only temporary).

(Also: as noted in my post, for at least a few years, prior to getting the CR1000A+E3200 a month ago, I had the older black gateway/router in the basement connected through the same run of coax to the older black (‘sharkfin’?) extender on the 3rd floor-- and the signal was fine. When I learned the newer CR1000A+E3200 hardware wasn't doing well through coax, I concluded that those older hardware items just did better with coax, maybe their signal wasn't as demanding of the coax performance or something-- but the tech came out and when as a test he swapped in the older gear, it also didn’t get the signal to the extender well enough. So, a part of my confusion in all this has been that apparently, concurrent with changing my hardware to CR1000A+E3200, somehow something happened to the coax line and now performance through it is not as good. Ugh.)

Thank you for your suggestions.