Almost officially done with Netgear Orbi and their support due to not fixing the wifi issues

I am on the latest FW (1.4.0.34) and have the following options running, don't remember what factory was:

Enabled WMM settings (2.4GHz b/g/n)
Enabled WMM settings (5GHz a/n/ac)

Enabled MU-MIMO

changed the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels to the lowest interference based on my observations

I subscribe to 200mbps and get wireless speeds of 235mbps in every room in my house and directly outside in my backyard as well. Orbi has had the strongest signal strength of any router I've ever used and I don't have any internet outages, or devices dropping connections. There are 4 hard wired devices and 13 wireless devices with android being 4 of them. No issues I can find. Maybe settings similar to mine will help you out?

Farfromovin - did you enable beam forming as well?

I have been having the same problems with Orbi. YES, great coverage! Better than my R7000 at both 2.4 and 5.0.

However, I bought it in the beginning of December, then took it back as it was dropping all the time.I took it back.

I purchase it again on Costco's sale and I've updated all three units to the 1.4.0.34. However, I'm still getting the drops all the time on my home computer, which has only 1 wall and has never had a problem with the R7000. I've also noticed that my Note 4 phone is going through the battery like crazy when wifi is on. When I do wifi calling, I'm getting dropped calls all the time. 

I believe the problem is that the Orbi is constantly switching bands back and forth. My TV was dropping video from the internet and not able to reconnect without turning the feed off and on. I was getting Network Socket errors on speedtest.

I couldn't connect on my desktop tonight, as it kept dropping all the time. I went into the advanced tab and turned off MiMo and that seems to have helped it stablize - at least my desktop hasn't dropped any more. I'm hoping that they figure out something soon, or they should make an advanced tab so that you can assign devices to one band or the other to avoid all the drops.

Hello Tooljunkie

If you believe that your devices are dropping because they keep switching back and forth between the units try to move the satellite a greater distance away from the main unit.

DarrenM

Mine was doing it within 1 foot of the router/base. lol

I have a 3300 sq ft house. My cable comes in at the middle of the basement, which has (2) 8' cement walls (daylight rambler). I put the Orbi in the middle of the basement and then one satellite about 40' away and the other one about 10' away (both upstairs). 

I don't know that I can move the satellites further away. I could take one down and leave it in the box, but this seems like a waste of money. The issue I was having was lack of wifi above the 2 cement walls (backyard, garage, driveway). Would I be better served taking the Orbi back and getting an AC2600 type router or something with more signal strength? I was running a Netgear R7000 before; however, we were dropping phone calls all the time. 

The Orbi seems to drop when we walk around the house, too.

So, I turned off one satelite. I moved the other one further away.

My wife started yelling at me tonight that the internet was constantly dropping her Apple laptop. She was tired of the interupted service all the time (me too, constantly dropping!). I turned off the satellite so that it was only running on the Orbi Router. Still dropping off every few minutes. Plugged in the R7000 and no more drops. Speed test speeds went up to 205 mps (with the Orbi, it would go up to 180 mps, then drop to around 100). 

This is ridculous for a $500 router to be dropping all the time, even when only the router is turned on and 10 ft from the laptop.

I'm tired of waiting for a fix from Netgear. It's a great product for some people, but not worth the headaches for us. Maybe in a year or two they'll have their mess fixed.

and again the word apple is involved , this isnt a orbi issue , its apple and its apple centric bull shyt , and then they go dump the express and extreeme and tc and leave you guys stuck on real wifi , sorry buy steve jobs has much to blame for in this

almost 80% of complaints here and other mesh systems are apple based , yet they dont seem to see the coin drop

This is bull**bleep**. Apple hater, right?

Just for your information:

My Frtitzbox had no issues, my Vodafone router had also no issues. The problem - my flat is to big to have a good wifi in all rooms. My Fritzbox was never disconnecting, but I had only 5-10 Mbit in my office. Now I have 90 Mbit, but a lot diconnects.. It is also interesting, that other router from Netgear don't have this issue. 

Do me the favor and post only something if you have someting meaningful..

Netgear support has been mostly useless.  No resolution yet.  Issue is now happening to more devices in my house.  Our new iPhone 7s and LG v20s.  So now, 4 devices are dropping.  Seems to happen more from the 2nd unit than the router though.  Ugh.

About to just take it into Best buy and exchange it for Google Wifi or whatever they have.

---

@killabandit wrote:

 

 

About to just take it into Best buy and exchange it for Google Wifi or whatever they have.

---

then do so , as i dont think the resolution to this issue is eather an easy fix or one that will in a matter of days 

just for info thought almost all other mesh systems with same ssid's are having similar issues with apple gear so you might just be from the frying pan to the fire 

Ok peteytesting, we got it you dont like Apple, but the facts are that many different devices from many different vendors drops, so just stop now and focus on the real issue - the dropping of connections.

Secondly, you may think that the resolution is not an easy fix and you are entitled to your opinion (although it just seems based on gut feeling and no actual knowledg of what the problem actually is), but I conversey think you may find that software engineering is a beautiful thing and if the engineering team gets a reproducible test case they will most likely sort it out within a few weeks. We all hold our opinions.

As soon as the issue is sorted out and RBS50 is avaiable in europe, Im looking forward to extend with one more sattelite.

In the meantime, I will once again offer Netgear engineering to troubeshoot and test and fixes for the issue, as I unfortunatelty have a very reproducible test setup.

Oh, and the anti-Apple bile with regard to wifi compatibility, you might want to read up on history how wifi was popularized for consumers, you might be surprised.

yes the issue also effects things like ring door bell etc as they have the same issue ( as apple products ) in not handling same ssid well , i believe most ppl with android issues prob have location / placement issues  

its been over 6 months since the issue was detected and we still have not seen a resolution , so i do suggest that what ever the base issue is suggests this isnt and wont be an easy fix or it would have already been resolved 

the biggest issue is some apple and other users have connectivity issues while some dont at all , this makes the issue not reproducable in all cases making the fix harder as you fix one thing and break another 

for the most part i see this as a compatibility issue with client device not being able to handle same ssid from different transmissions and because its a client side compatability issue im not sure how the dev team will fix this without crippling some part of the orbi functionality

I just sent Orbi back to Amazon and got the Amplifi HD. But instead the set I got two routers and connected them, so I can use the LAN ports on the mesh point (which is the second router). It was costing me 280 Euros instead of 429 Euros for the Orbi.

What should I say? No problems at all. Ok, the Amplifi has no a dedicated channel to connect each other, but to be honest, it is just working and I got 92 Mbit in my office, same as with the Orbi. In the sleepingroom I have around 40 Mbit, Orbi was at 60 Mbit. For FireTV and listening music/audio books still enough.

I walked around the flat and my iPhone just stays connected and switching between the routers without any drops. Remember: with Orbi the connection was gone  quite often and needed around 1 minute to reconnect. Same 2 meters away from the router. Also in the night while hearing audio books, the device is still connected and my Sonos has also no problems playing it. There was the problem that Sonos jumps from chapter 1 to 34 because of connectivity issues. 

It also supports band and router steering.

So, I'm out. I hope Netgear will find a solution soon and you guys get a working device. Good luck!

We have told you many times to stop coming in here with unrelated non-sense.  My Android devices lose signal exactly the same time and place my ios devices do.  Your right, we still have not seen a resolution, and Netgear is working on it.  But it is NOT RELATED TO APPLE.

Yeah, I don't have the luxury of wiring stuff in my house.  So I will have to do some research on the other ones.  Google wifi, Eero, etc.

have a look at Amplifi HD. But instead the set with one router and two satelites, get two routers and connect them wireless to a mesh. The routers have 4 LAN ports you could use then, like the Orbi..

---

@killabandit wrote:

We have told you many times to stop coming in here with unrelated non-sense.  My Android devices lose signal exactly the same time and place my ios devices do.  Your right, we still have not seen a resolution, and Netgear is working on it.  But it is NOT RELATED TO APPLE.

---

then you have a placement issue which is TOTALLY different tio the specific issue with same ssid , there are multiple issues and it seems thats not what you are understanding , the specific same ssid issue is specifically effecting apple and things like ring door bells etc 

if ALL your devices are disconnecting at the same time and place its a totally different issue which you dont seem to understand and is why the dev team are finding it hard to put a finger on it as some are reporting different issues like you , its clear there is no quick fix for the specific issue im talking about , but your issue seems to be different and again i suspect location related 

i have spent quite some time with the orbi system and well before it was released and there are many local environment conditions that effect both placement and signal quality the color lights are only a basic indication and do not take into account any other variables that effect wifi 

btw just incase you forgot this is a public forum and any comments are welcome , just because you dont like the answers or comments doesnt mean you can moderate the discussion

I'll look into the Amplifi. Thanks.

Again, you have no clue what you are talking about.  The devices seem to lose the WIFI at the same time. Doesn't matter where you are in the house, it happens.  It happens more often near the satelite however than the router.  This is NOT a placement issue as Netgear and I have already discussed this.

I just quit, LOL

Netgear is just taking too long for a fix for us, I just bought a Amplifi HD and will give it a shot. I should get it on Friday.

Good thing Costco has a 90 day return.

-Bobby

Please let me know your outcome of that.   I am interested.

I have given Netgear long enough to fix these issues.  3-4 months.  And still no fix.  Working with their support, it is a waste of time now.  I have packed my units up and going to Best Buy in hopes they give me credit since it was purchased in October, and I pick up the Eero mesh system as that has dropped to $399 now.  I need reliability and Orbi does not have it.

I'd like to say that after now almost 2 weeks with Eero installed, we have had ZERO issues.  No connection drops, no stuttering, no buffering on videos, fast wifi speeds.  It has been a pleasure unlike my 6 months with Orbi.  Netgear may have lost my business forever on Routers because of that.

Nice one. Sadly EERO is not available in the UK.  I have returned my Orbi system for same reasons.  Now back to using the BT Homehub 5 extended via powerlines with two airports.  Certainly a little slower and Orbi, but much more stable, despite the HH's bad reputation.

Speaking to a friend at Netgear, they are apparently close to a solution, but for me, it was too long a wait.

Will reassess during this year and see what I do.