Forum Discussion
Buffering/weak signals in other rooms
Went from Spectrum 500/20 to T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. Getting constant "very good signal" display on Arcadyan with speeds around 320Mbps downloads and 18 uploads. I have an Orbi Mesh router with 3 satellites. I simply plugged in my Ethernet cable from my Spectrum modem to my new T-mobile 5G gateway. Except now I have lagging and/or buffering throughout rooms (with satellites), and I never experienced it with Spectrum's service. Not sure why, since I didn't change a thing except change to a new service. I confirmed that all satellites have a signal, though not as good as the last service. I even designated different devices to 2.4 and 5GHz and tried using the gateway and Orbi mesh each separately, and still having poor connections. I really want this service to work for my home. Anyone have any advice - thanks!
You'll need to use the Orbi in Access Point Mode. From your description, it sounds like you just plugged it in and left it in it's original state that you were using with Spectrum.
The KVD21, as you have discovered, is not very configurable, and it will not allow you to customize or modify DHCP. If the Orbi has DHCP on as well, your network won't work well, if at all.
Also make sure you're using different SSIDs for your Orbi from what you've created for the KVD21. Using the same network names will also cause network problems. After making sure the network names are unique, you might consider making T-Mobile's network Hidden so that no one will inadvertently log on to it. You can do that under the Network tab of the phone app.
Try changing your Orbi to Access Point Mode. That will allow the T-Mobile gateway to do what it needs to do and the Orbi will handle the WiFi distribution.
¡Buena suerte!
@henry51, I totally hear you! I'm an older, retired IT exec now, but a decade ago I would have torn the gateway apart to install an external antenna, or turn off WiFi, just for the hell of doing it!
I'm actually pretty surprised and pleased with T-Mobile Internet, especially the price: I scored the $25 for life package back in Dec. '22. It was too good a deal to pass up, and I really dislike Xfinity's business model of negotiating a new price every year and data caps!
Get a new internet! The home internet service for T mobile sucks for some area and there is literally nothing you can do, but they'll tell you that it's your fault or the towers! there customer service is the worse! In my opinion at least! Just ended my service today and tellin other before it too late, with more people getting them in your area the speeds will also be dropping significantly so watch out for that in the future!
@bocaboy2591, I watched the Nate Tater video some time ago and thought his hack was doable. Like you though, the wireless coverage of my Arcadyan KVD21 was good enough (with the help in one room of a TP-Link RE305 Wi-Fi extender) and I ended up putting, like you, my router away. So I never tried shutting off my 5G gateway's Wi-Fi. But, since @coooldad asked if there was a way to shut down the gateway’s Wi-Fi ...🙂
You'll need to use the Orbi in Access Point Mode. From your description, it sounds like you just plugged it in and left it in it's original state that you were using with Spectrum.
The KVD21, as you have discovered, is not very configurable, and it will not allow you to customize or modify DHCP. If the Orbi has DHCP on as well, your network won't work well, if at all.
Also make sure you're using different SSIDs for your Orbi from what you've created for the KVD21. Using the same network names will also cause network problems. After making sure the network names are unique, you might consider making T-Mobile's network Hidden so that no one will inadvertently log on to it. You can do that under the Network tab of the phone app.
Try changing your Orbi to Access Point Mode. That will allow the T-Mobile gateway to do what it needs to do and the Orbi will handle the WiFi distribution.
¡Buena suerte!
Thanks for all the advice! As you recommended, bocaboy2591, I put my Orbi in Access Point Mode. I noticed several smart devices are connected to T-mobile's WiFi. Is there a way to disable its WiFi from the KVD21?
Thanks again
Unfortunately, you can't disable WiFi on the Arcadyan KVD21 5G gateway. That's why I suggested you use the Hide switch to not let others or devices try and log on to it.
Here's how to accomplish what you want to do. It should take you only a few minutes.
- Change the name of the network on the Arcadyan KVD21 5G gateway to something else, then Hide the WiFi network from advertising. As an example, if your SSID was CoolDad, change it to CoolDadOld. You do all this from the phone app. After you make the changes and tap the Save button, the gateway will reboot. BTW, that network is still totally usable if you choose to use it, it's just hidden from advertising itself.
- Now, change the name of the Orbi network (your access point) to what the Smart devices are ya configured for, e.g., the name that you originally used on the KVD21. (In the above example, that would be CoolDad.) Now your smart devices will log on to the Orbi and not the KVD21. Any device that needs access to the Internet, e.g., your computer, will now log onto the SSID of the WiFi network being broadcast by the Orbi.
I hope this helps your speed issue and gets you up and running at the level you want. ¡Buena suerte!
@henry51, that's true, you can shut off WiFi if you're willing to jump through hoops to do it. You still can't shut off DHCP, so you're still stuck with the gateway not being configurable. I would prefer if T-Mobile supplied a modem, similar to a cable modem, so that I had the option to put a router that I can configure behind it. Unfortunately, that's not what T-Mobile provides, and since I'm more than satisfied with the wireless coverage of the Arcadyan KVD21 5G gateway, I've chosen to put my TPLink AX50 away.
