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Forum Discussion
how to make Orbi RBR50 play nicely with Virgin Hub4
Hi all
I've just upgraded to Virgin's 1Gbit service with a HUb4.
I have 1 RBR50 and 3 RBS50 satellites.
I've been using the Orbi system with hub3 before and never had the Virgin box in modem mode. I still haven't got the Hub4 in modem mode. Is this a mistake? What would be the advantage of putting it in modem mode?
Just asking as I'm getting quite unpredictable and disappointing results and wondering if the troubleshooting starts there...?
Thanks for any help
5 Replies
jamesgold wrote:I've just upgraded to Virgin's 1Gbit service with a HUb4.
I have 1 RBR50 and 3 RBS50 satellites.
I've been using the Orbi system with hub3 before and never had the Virgin box in modem mode. I still haven't got the Hub4 in modem mode. Is this a mistake? What would be the advantage of putting it in modem mode?
Just asking as I'm getting quite unpredictable and disappointing results and wondering if the troubleshooting starts there...?
I see two questions:
- The advantage of "modem mode". There are specific situations which cannot work if a device is behind "two routers". Google "Double NAT" or see Netgear's explanation: https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT I was quite happy with my Orbi in a Double NAT for two years until one day I wanted to install OpenVPN, which cannot work behind another router. Traded my Spectrum modem/router/WiFi for a Spectrum "modem only", and now OpenVPN works great. I can also forward ports if I should want to or play internet games that require my PC to become a server (I dodn't). Thousands of customers have no idea that modem mode even exists and are quite happy. So, "it depends" as to whether there is any advantage for you personally.
- Unpredictable results . There is a horrible situation that started with the change in Daylight Saving Time that causes certain Orbi RBR50 routers to stop resolving Domain Names until they are restarted. Netgear engineers have traced the problem to a coding error in the Traffic Meter feature. Looks like there is abolutely no chance Netgear will release a firmware fix before April, so the easiest solution is to go into the Orbi web interface, Advanced Tab, Advanced Setup, Traffic Meter (toward the bottom of the menu) and uncheck "Enable Traffic Meter" and Apply.
If frequent need to reboot the Orbi is not the issue, please provide more information.
Thanks so much for this long response! Really appreciate your help!
I was wondering whether not being in modem mode might be causing general interference or signal loss to the Orbi - I'm getting 1GBit coming into the house (according to Samknows Realspeed), and if I plug my laptop into the Hub4 it shows DL speed of around 900 (not sure why there is already some loss), but if I plug my laptop into the Orbi router (which is ethernet-wired to the Hub4) it shows speeds of 400-500, so there is significant signal loss from Hub4 to Orbi even before wifi is introduced into the equation. Presumably these 2 speeds should more or less match?
Do you think putting Hub4 into Modem mode should deal with this? Should I do it anyway as a matter of best practice?
Once gigabit service became available, there have been posts describing how well the 2016 Orbi product handles "very high speed".
That SamKnows functionality is not available on the Orbi router. Orbi has a similar built-in version of SpeedTest.net by Ookla. (On the Orbi web interface, Advanced Tab, Setup Menu) As I recall, the results were mixed.
In my case, the internal SpeedTest matches the SpeedTest app running on my Windows PC that is connected with ethernet, but I have only 236mb service. For that reason, I did not pay close attention to the reports about gigabit speed.
Putting the Virgin hub into modem mode might improve things, provided that internet is the only service you get from Virgin. NoTV, no IP telephones. (I have no experience with Virgin. Do not know what is possible. Sorry.)
The advantage for me was 2-fold...
1) I have a number of devices that are just an absolute ballache to change wifi settings on - IOT thermostate and smoke alarms for example. By using the orbi as a router, I can change the connected modem without having to change all the devices. Each virgin hub has it's own wifi so even two the same will have different wifi settings. I am not sure if this can be changed.
2) I found when the hub3 networking goes down then everything is affected. The orbi handles my internal network now so I can still do some things without the internet, and I can power cycle the hub as necessary without having to reboot everything else!
hope that helps :)
