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Intermittent internet connectivity outage with Orbi?
I just installed my new Orbi router yesterday, replacing a Nighthawk R8500. I believe that overall wireless coverage has improved, though top-end performance is not quite as high (measured via fast....
I read in the other "Ring Door Bell" thread that a customer had better results after disabling "Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING". So I tried that just to see what happens. It's probably too early to tell yet, but my 2 Nest cameras have only disconnected once in the past 2 days and I think that's because there was a power outage at my house today (I wasn't home and both cameras went out at the same time, something the intermittent outages haven't done).
TechnologyGuy wrote:I really wanted the Orbi but due to the Nest issues I decided to go with Google WiFi instead. It's been great so far and there are no issues what-so-ever with the Nest/Dropcam camera.
It's unfortunate that you were scared away from even trying Orbi just because of this and other problem reports in this forum. To reiterate, virtually everyone has no issues with Nest/Dropcam cameras as long as "implicit beamforming" is disabled. I have 2 Dropcams and 3 Nest cameras and had zero issues what-so-ever after setting this option off. I've read a very small number of people reporting camera disconnect problems even after making this change, but the vast majority are fine after this workaround. The implicit beamforming feature was enabled by default in the first firmware versions but the default has since changed.
Also, I personally did not notice any noticeable performance differences with implicit beamforming on (I've tried switching it back on after each firmware release, but switched back) so I don't really care that it's off. Therefore it doesn't bother me that the feature is not available to me right now and nor do I worry that I paid $X for this router and can't enable this feature. What really matters to me is that overall wireless performance in my house and the Orbi has been terrific so far, i.e., much better than the many previous top-of-the-line wireless routers I've tried over the years. Orbi and the other competitive "mesh" routers are a great improvement!
>> To reiterate, virtually everyone has no issues with Nest/Dropcam cameras as long as "implicit beamforming" is disabled.
But I don't want to disable Implicit Beamforming. If you're okay with disabling it then that's great for you (sincerely) but I personally would rather not have to turn it off.
>> What really matters to me is that overall wireless performance in my house and the Orbi has been terrific so far, i.e., much better than the many previous top-of-the-line wireless routers I've tried over the years.
Absolutely, overall wireless performance is what really matters. Luckily for me, the Google WiFi product has also been terrific so far, and also much better than the many previous top-of-the-line wireless routers I've tried over the years. The fact that I saved $100 over the Orbi makes me feel good about my purchase, and not having to disable Implicit Beamforming makes me feel even better.
I have to agree with Technology Guy. I do get the sense that the Orbi was not fully developed/sorted out when it was put on the market. This seems quite odd and I feel that I payed a high price for an inferior product. I recently ordered a Synology Rt2600AC. This router is amazing! MU-MIMO works, Beamforming works and for the price there is so much more. Performance is notably different than the Orbi and I have no fluctuations in speed. I noticed the fluctuations even with just the Orbi router connected, no satellites and with beamforming and MU-MIMO on and off. I also noted the disconnects with Apple products. Why is there no response from Netgear? I can really not advise anyone to buy this product in the current situation.
How do you know MU-MIMO is working?
I run my Orbi with MU-MIMO on and implict beamforming off. The only device I have problems with is my Harmony Hub.
I just don't see the same issues with the Synology that I see with the Orbi. I have a NAS connected to the main router. The fluctuations in speed is quite evident in transferring files wirelessly. With settings mentioned above on or off. With different firmware. No similar problems noted with the Synology, ASUS, TP link, Airport extreme. The Synology and ASUS has MU-MIMO. Whether the problem lies with implicit or explicit beamforming or MU-MIMO is irrelevant to me as I am not a very techy person. I just bought a device that is marketed with certain functions and it obviously does not work properly. Did my money not pay properly for the device??
Does the Google WiFi have Implicit beamforming?
I wasn't able to measure any difference between having it on and off on Orbi. Implicit beamforming is for older N devices. Explicit, which works fine on Orbi, is for new ac devices. So, having it off is no great loss for me.
I don't intend that as a defense of the Orbi product. I stuck with it because I didn’t want to take performance hit of multi-hop mesh. I regret that decision now and I’m out of the return window. Orbi is just too flaky, I should have gone with stability over performance. A coworker has been debating between Orbi and Google WiFi, I told him to skip the Orbi.
Skrymir wrote:Does the Google WiFi have Implicit beamforming?
It has "TX Beamforming" according to their specs.