Every few weeks some of the devices on my WIFI will suddenly stop working until I reboot pfsense
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I have pFsense as my router and a RBR850 (in AP mode) and 2 RBS850 Orbi satellites to handle wifi in my home. The Orbis’ can be finicky but once set up correctly (spaced at least 30ft apart and not positioned behind a material that will block signals), it works pretty well. Check to make sure your Orbis receive a static IP from pFsense based on MAC address, ensure Orbi router is in AP mode, and optimize the positioning of your satellite.
Are you using VLANS for your wifi? -
Right, it would start DHCP if that had stopped for some reason. Were you still able to reach the wifi devices from a wired client?
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@slimypizza Yes, the router is in AP mode, it's properly getting it's IP address, as is the satellite. I signed into the Orbi during the last time I was having the issue and it showed everything as working properly, i could see the devices that were properly connected (couldn't see the devices that were not able to connect). The satellites are in different corners of the house in wide open areas. Nothing has any issue connecting to them 99.9% of the time.
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@derekmarch I use the same mechanism, but we rely on DHCP here to give the same "static" address. It is also possible to define a static IP address in the Orbis themselves. It is under LAN/WAN configuration which unfortunately is disabled in AP mode.
If the Orbi only supports DHCP in AP mode (and not uses the configured static address) then my theory can't be tested.
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@stephenw10 I did not specifically try accessing the devices from a wired client, but since the device itself says it can't get a signal and isn't connected to the wifi I suspect it wouldn't have worked.
I have a few devices connected to the router and the satellite via wired connection, and those devices all continued to work.
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What color are the LED lights on the Orbis when you have issues?
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@slimypizza I wanna say white, whatever the normal light is. The Orbi's both show up as working properly in their own settings. Which is in part why rebooting the Orbi devices doesnt seem to do anything.
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When you're checking that how are you reaching the Orbis? From a wired client I assume? On the same subnet?
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@stephenw10 Yes when I signed into the Orbi's to check their status I was using a wired PC on the same subnet
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Hmm, the only thing I could imagine is that some wifi devices will stop advertising the ssid if they lose upstream connectivity.
That could be happening if he 1100 is not responding for some reason.
Is the Orbi connected to the 1100 directly? -
@stephenw10 The 1100 is connected to a netgear managed switch, and then the Orbi is plugged into that managed switch as well.
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Hmm, so not even bouncing the link...
Might need to run whatever tests might be possible from the Orbi when things can't connect to it. Try to find out exactly what's failing.
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@stephenw10 Is there a particular pfsense log I should keep my eye on when it happens?
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Hard to say. Check the system log. If the Orbi stops allowing connections because it loses it's DHCP lease or has DNS issues then I'd check those logs.
