NETGEAR Orbi 960 Series mesh mesh node or satellite is offline

The checks in more detail

Bring the satellite into the same room as the router, unplug it for a minute and plug it in, then wait several minutes for it to boot and sync. If it turns white, the cause was distance; move it back toward its home in steps, using the Orbi app to see the backhaul quality at each place. If the ring stays magenta next to the router, press Sync on the router and on the satellite within two minutes to re-pair them. Restart the router if needed.

Make sure both units run the same firmware, which the Orbi app shows, and update. With the 960 you may have a wired backhaul using the satellite's 2.5 gigabit port, and a bad cable or switch causes drops: test by disconnecting the cable to see whether the wireless link holds. The 6 GHz band does not pass through walls well, so a satellite that relies on it in a house with thick walls will do better with the lower bands or a wired link. Some Orbi 960 owners report satellites dropping after a firmware update or after a power cut;

a full restart of the system, modem first, then router, then satellites, usually restores order. Check the placement: in the open, off the floor, away from metal. If a satellite goes offline at the same hour every day, look for interference or a scheduled event. When the satellite fails beside the router after a sync, a reset by holding the Reset pinhole and re-adding it in the app is the next step. If it still fails, contact Netgear with the serial number, and note whether the problem began after an update.