Firmware upgrade capped satellite bandwidth at 50Mbps

Odd you should ask; while grabbing my firmware numbers I checked speeds and found my kit has also reverted to 50Mb/s ...

wifi through base router at 525Mb/s, wifi thru satellite at 48Mb/s.  Now investigating. Will report back...

The only thing I did recently was to try to reduce slave power - only option was to reduce all power, which lost ALL backhaul connectivity (router/slave 20 feet apart, go figure: I now firmly hate Netgear products). After finally wiring up to regain access to the router, reset power to 100% -- network seemed to come back after several power cycle resets. 

Going to reconnect / resync the satellite. Hoping that gets the speed off 48Mb/s ... Netgear software is just crap.

Status:
Model Device Name Firmware
Router CBR40 V2.5.0.28
Satellite RBS20 V2.7.3.22

Well - seems I can't get back to 600Mb/s or anywhere near it.   My guess is Netgear pushed a patch to the Orbi system that isn't public and we all have to suffer the forced downgrade until they figure it out and push a new patch. 

Seriously - how can a business do this and get away with it legally?  It's like Apple intentionally reducing CPU clocks to make it appear battery life isn't declining. 

As perfectly good routers continue to functionally "decline" under Netgear's control, consumers think it is their "usage" has grown and they need new gear. 

So even on these version of FW, the speed is slow again? 

Just curious if you have tired the first version of FW for the CBR and RBS? I believe that the one version I found that worked.

It was working fine last week and had been for months. ISP will drop below 600 on occasion ... so variability was not the slave.

Then, when you posted and I checked serial numbers - boom. Almost like coming to the Netgear site blew up my slave. 

Side question - pretty sure it's been asked before. Any way to set the RBS20 into bridge mode?

Verified RBS20 really is limited to 50Mb/s now -- devices logged into the network via wifi thru the RBS20 are 50Mb/s along with the RBS20 ethernet ports. So even though backhaul status shows GOOD, it isn't.

You might try v2.1.4x on both CBR and RBS and see what happens:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-with-Built-in-Cable-Modem/Slow-ethernet-and-wifi-satellite-speeds/m-p/2091347/highlight/true#M2029

What is the most troubling is things were working without issue until a few days ago, and I literally did nothing when this issue returned. One day it was working, the next it is locked to a 50Mb/s backhaul.

A couple weeks ago - I had tried reducing 2.4GHz transmit power (only touched the 2.4) - but that affected everything, including the router - and the two could no longer link. I reset the router 2.4GHz power to 100%, power cycled, and things were back to the 500+Mb/s. Until the 23rd when I touched this web page. 

Since a FW update and full factory reset then retraining of the slave haven't affected anything I plan to do a factory on the CBS40.  I am reluctant to go backwards with FW due to a couple severe vulnerabilities that were 'fixed'. 

I have an old config file - not up to date with all the devices I am now using, but at least won't be starting from scratch. But there's a part of me thinking I just need to get my drill and long bits ready and tap a wire through the floor from the east wing to the router and not worry about the mesh doing what it should simply do well.

Just curious, what is the distance between the CBR and RBS? 

Makes me wonder if something was done from behind the scenes if it had been working. 

Wired will always work better then wireless. 

I'll try and load up my CBR and RBS and see if I can reproduce this. Being that the CBK40 is getting a bit long in the pants, no idea if NG will address this. 😑

Doesn't matter if the master and slave are 2 feet apart or the 30 feet-3 walls they are normally. Since one is on a shelf and the other sitting on a wall bracket - neither moving more than 1/2 inch in years -- and the house walls haven't changed.

Though I have rearranged the pillows on the couch so yeah - that's it !!!  I'll just toss those pillows and I'll get my 500Mb/s back!!!

And no - Netgear wasn't interested in fixing this three years ago - and they aren't interested in fixing it now.

Regarding the Orbi 40 being old -- it is AC and to date, I have no gear in my house that is AX - not even my newest phone nor 6 month old smart TV. So there is ZERO reason to buy into the Net6 hype and spend $1000 for new gear with ZERO benefit.  

I'll see if I can get some info from NG on this. 

I presume you have factory reset both and setup from scratch since last FW upate?

No other ideas for now unless you try what I tested with v2.1.3x FW on both. 

All attempts to resolve the speed issue at the satellite failed.  Reboots, Factory Resets, Resyncs, FW changes, etc. 

Factory reset of the router has restored partial speed -- now getting about 300MB/s - nowhere near the 500+ I was getting. 

Reloading settings saved earlier today yielded the same 50Mb/s backhaul.

Reloading settings save in 2021 yielded mediocre ~350Mb/s data rates.

386.14 Mbps DOWNLOAD  
  31.68 Mbps UP  

Definitely a CBR40 issue - nothing to do with the slave.

Ok. I'll load up my CBK40 with old v2.1.3x and see if it's still working there then load up what you have loaded. 

You can try v2.1.3x if you like. 

I've passed this on to NG. 

Would you post your cable connections status and event logs page please from the CBR. 

I believe you mentioned a while back that you are on Sparklight? 

Hello GWild,

Welcome to the NETGEAR Community!

I understand that you are having speed issues with your CBK40. I noticed that you reloaded the previous network settings after you completed a factory reset.  

Please try a factory reset without reloading the past configuration backup data then test your network speeds. 

Best,

Kevin

Community Team

I checked mine last night. 

I first loaded the CBK system with v2.1.4.6 and v2.1.4.16 on the RBS. Factory reset and setup from scratch. 

Had a Mac Book Pro ethernet connected to the RBS. 

Speeds on the down were over 400Mpbs which is the range I had seen before. 50Mpbs on the Up was good too. Ran 3 tests back to back to be sure. 

I then loaded v2.5.0.28 on the CBR40 and v2.7.3.22 on the RBS20. Powered both units OFF for 30 seconds then back ON. After the units were back up and settled, Speeds on the down were over 400Mpbs. 50Mpbs on the Up was good too. Ran 3 tests back to back to be sure. 

I'll leave my CBK40 online for a few days and check speeds at the RBS each day. 

It takes hours to reenter all of the MAC addresses to corral the IP addresses (all set static in my network). Reloading a config is exactly why that FEATURE is designed into products.

So, I have two config files. One that works, an older one, and one that fails, a recent one. I would attach them here so that you can look into WHY the ORBI is failing. But there is a subtle security issue posting configs in a public forum.

As it is, I have simply removed the satellite from the system and will no longer rely on Netgear to support their products by no longer purchasing them.  This problem arose during the initial install - inside the 90 days, and well within the year warranty, yet Netgear has failed to 1) resolve the issue; 2) help in any way (reboot and start from scratch isn't helpful, see above); 

The worst part of all this is that I suspect it is a simple TX power level setting that is not being properly set. E.g., set TX to low power, that works; then set TX to high power, and nothing happens. A Factory Reset does in fact reset TX to full power. This appears to be a UI problem since the config file is storing the setting as TX=low yet the UI shows it as TX=high.

Anyway --- since there are several people who have identified they are also having this problem, it isn't my config: it is a fault in the hardware or software. And based on the "please reboot your system" response, Netgear doesn't care. And I have a $300 satellite that is useless.

ps: this is like having a car that stalls when you apply the brakes - and the dealership tells you to "Try restarting the car!"

I would factory reset and setup from scratch then create a new backup config to file. Using older config files from older versions of FW could cause problems with new versions of FW. 

I don't see where others are having same issue with latest version of FW for the CBK40. I could not reproduce this and I didn't use ANY backup config files. Still letting the system run this week to see if anything changes. 

The backup that I used from earlier actually works - but at a reduced backhaul bandwidth. About half what I was getting a few days ago before the system dropped back to 50Mb/s. 

There is a very simple setting that has changed that the UI can't address (I'm guessing here), or perhaps some vulnerability that people are trying to exploit that corrupts the router internals (since I don't have a direct reason for any manual changes made when the system failed). 

You folk who believe hitting a loose screw with a hammer are part of the problem. 

The Orbi is defective. It is that simple.

"" Using older config files from older versions of FW could cause problems with new versions of FW.  ""

No - this is called a DEFECT. Software should be able to determine and parse older config files and correctly use them to update the current configuration. Anything less is laziness on the engineering team.

Posting to update that speed IS NOT capped on the CBK40 system using current FW builds of this date.

Blanca_O KevinLiT 

These results are with a Mac Book Pro ethernet connected behind a RBS20 v2.7.3.22 that is wirelessly connected to the CBR40 running v2.3.5.12. The system was factory reset and setup from scratch. NO saved backup configurations applied:

Saw no limiting or capping while connected at the RBS20. RBS and CBR40 ran well. I even connected my xbox to the RBS and gamed a couple of night. Saw no issues here. 

If the user is using old configuration from prior version of FW, then there could be a problem with using older backups with newer versions of FW. Something NG will have to look into. 

To resolve the users current problem, a factory reset and setup from scratch WITHOUT using ANY prior saved backup configurations from file will need to be performed then a NEW backup configuration created on this version of FW. Factory resets are a typical and general troubleshooting step which does help resolve these problems. Something I've seen many times. 

The CBK40 system is not defective. 

Furry - your test doesn't prove anything of the sort.  It only shows your system with your configuration is working.

Try setting 2.4GHz power to LOW; and see if the backhaul is still working.

ps: I have never seen my RBS20 running with two 2.4G channels shown. Not sure how you got there unless you have some special app that can adjust things not in the usual UI.

pps: any software that isn't backwards compatible with configs is defective. Ask any professional software team that actually develops code. I was product manager of engineering software for a decade - and can pretty much assure you if a customer of mine said the configs broke between versions we'd be in a heap of trouble.

The display seen for 2.4Ghz is for what Primary and Secondary channels that 2.4Ghz radios use. This is wifi and common standard operation and display. I've always see this on UIs. Nothing new here. No special app or modifications used here at all. MS EDGE web browser. 

Again, systems is working as expected and proves it works fine when the configuration IS clean and NOT using a old backup configuration from file.

We've let NG know about your backwards configuration problem. However I've seen MANY other router mfr with same problem. Mfrs add new stuff to FW making OLDER backups incompatible. Factory rest and setup from scratch is needed to generate a new and compatible backup file that works with newer FW. This issue isn't new and is seen across the router industry for years.  I personally never use older backups with new FW. I would agree, backups should work however if QA and testing isn't being done properly, then thats on NG side of things. No idea what goes on, on that side of the fence. I was a dev myself. 

Im out. Will let NG handle this from here on out. 

Good Luck. 

As you can see, my CBK42 is showing only one 2.4 channel, not 2 like your is, and that was after a full factory reset.

Also -- how did you get to an RBS20 screen that shows CPU loading. I have no such display on mine. You must have a newer hardware version.

Those screen are taken from the RBS web page and the RBS debug page. All RBS and orbi systems have this info. 

My system is circa 2017.

Your pages are different than my pages ...