I just got one of the new LBR20 Obri routers with LTE connection. I was looking forward to this product for quite a while as I live in a rural area without high speed access and all I have available to me is cellular internet connections. It is a unique product in the market that fits my needs perfectly (without breaking the bank). Since I recieved it 3 days ago, I have been having issues with it sporadically loosing the LTE (verizon) connection which prompts me to have to reboot the router to fix it. Wondering if this is a potential known problem and if so, are there any possible fixes? I have solid cellular service and swapped the SIM out of my old Verizon jetpack (which had it own issues - battery overheating).It auto configured itself to use vzwinternet for the APN. Thanks,Matt

Yep blitzberlin. Pretty much what I was seeing in the logs as well. The thing I don't understand is how is it getting assigned new DHCP addresses every 15 or so SECONDS during that supposed downtime period? Seems to me that it has to be getting a data call connected each time - at least enough to get assigned a DHCP address. Could Verizon be dropping the call immediately after it connects and then allowing a reconnect - and then repeating that process several times?? Seems unlikely... Something odd about that behavior IMO. After a bit of research, I found that they're using Quectel's EG18 module (which, BTW, is NOT among the Quectel modules that Verizon lists on its site as supported...). The connection manager (quectel-cm) is capable of providing more detailed logs, but I wasn't able to find a way to start it up that way on boot... If I can find some spare time I may see whether it's possible via the debug interface to kill/restart the CM with additional logging and see if that provides any additional insight into what's happening. Being an OpenWRT-based device does have its advantages. Thanks to NETGEAR for that! It's normally one of the reasons I buy NETGEAR routers. But unless I can figure out a workaround soon (or NETGEAR speaks up about availability of a fix), the replacement unit may end up going back as well. I predict a bunch of LBR20 refurbs on the market if this isn't addressed soon. Negative feedback at Amazon starting to stack up.

ssmitty67 wrote:I attached the mobile status info the router provided. It shows I have pretty decent signal with a RSRP value of -94 dBm. Im consistently getting 35 meg dl throughput when the router is up. So based on this I am shying away from low signal being the culprit. Do you happen to have any additional information about the router not supporting Verizon? It includes Verizon's Band 13, so it seems to been built to at least accomdate Verizon. Thanks,MattOK so you are connected to the Verizon network, so it still may be signal.A couple of things to check:What are your roaming settings, maybe take off roam?Try setting the network mode to 4G, instead of auto. The Verizon Wireless LTE bands are 2, 4, 5, 13, 46, 48, 66

Christian: Please respond to the question above. Note this Netgear web page shows Verizon as a supported carrier for LBR20:https://kb.netgear.com/29947/List-of-Carriers-Supported-by-Netgear-Mobile-DevicesIs this information out of date and Verizon is not available with the LBR20?Or can you please get reliable information about why some of us cannot use Verizon LTE cell service with our new LBR20 routers? Is there information from your corporate sources about the relationship with Verizon, and is that broken? Please get us some accurate information.

Officially unsupported now with Verizon - confirmed by NETGEAR customer support and product page. So I'm on my own... Don't know about ATT... With that said, I still use mine as it's actually been running pretty good for me on Verizon lately. Every so often, between 0 - 2 times / day, it'll get into its infinite loop of connecting, getting IP address from DHCP and then dropping the connection - purple ring on top. Rebooting the router whenever this happens has worked each time (so far...). When I'm able to find time, I'm using some of the findings in this other thread (Orbi LBR20 How-To / Megathread - LTE HACKS) to try to work up some additional diagnostics and a recovery script so I won't need to reboot each time. Again, PURELY SPECULATING, but I feel there could be some bug in the particular version of quectel-CM that got bundled with this router's initial firmware. Once I can 'catch it in the act' with more/better logging, I hope to be able to prove or refute that theory so that I can continue a conversation with the Quectel team (who makes the quectel-CM and the EG18 modem that the LBR20 uses) in hopes of eventually getting to the bottom of the issue and perhaps a fix - or at least a durable workaround until NETGEAR gets it in gear with official support again...

5 days uptime this time before the "Pink Ring of Doom". Alas, with no ability to get into it anymore, I can't continue to diagnose issues. All I can do is reboot and hope it comes back. Still, 5 days continuous connectivity is still quite a bit better than I was getting on the older firmware. So something's improved. Just not quite 100% there yet.

LBR20 keeps disconnecting from LTE

86 Replies

Mstrbig
Master
Aug 28, 2020
ssmitty67 wrote:
Since I recieved it 3 days ago, I have been having issues with it sporadically loosing the LTE (verizon) connection which prompts me to have to reboot the router to fix it. Wondering if this is a potential known problem and if so, are there any possible fixes?
I have solid cellular service and swapped the SIM out of my old Verizon jetpack (which had it own issues - battery overheating).
It auto configured itself to use vzwinternet for the APN.

Thanks,
Matt
One thing that may be causing it is low signal. Can you see what the signal strength is for the LTE connection?
Second, Verizon may not be fully supported on the LBR20 yet.
- ssmitty67
  Aspirant
  Aug 28, 2020
  I attached the mobile status info the router provided. It shows I have pretty decent signal with a RSRP value of -94 dBm. Im consistently getting 35 meg dl throughput when the router is up. So based on this I am shying away from low signal being the culprit.
  
  Do you happen to have any additional information about the router not supporting Verizon? It includes Verizon's Band 13, so it seems to been built to at least accomdate Verizon.
  
  Thanks,
  Matt
  - Mstrbig
    Master
    Aug 29, 2020
    ssmitty67 wrote:
    I attached the mobile status info the router provided. It shows I have pretty decent signal with a RSRP value of -94 dBm. Im consistently getting 35 meg dl throughput when the router is up. So based on this I am shying away from low signal being the culprit.
    
    Do you happen to have any additional information about the router not supporting Verizon? It includes Verizon's Band 13, so it seems to been built to at least accomdate Verizon.
    
    Thanks,
    Matt
    OK so you are connected to the Verizon network, so it still may be signal.
    A couple of things to check:
    What are your roaming settings, maybe take off roam?
    Try setting the network mode to 4G, instead of auto.
    
    The Verizon Wireless LTE bands are 2, 4, 5, 13, 46, 48, 66
blitzberlin
Aspirant
Nov 24, 2020
Exact same issue here on Verizon... works great when it works. LTE Band 13 -60db. Typically I see something like below in logs about 5-6 times daily. Then just gives up. Reconnects in about 30 minutes.

Most likely returning to Amazon as this makes it unusable. Maybe Starlink in the not too distant future...

[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:01:08
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.104.59.71, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:01:05
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:00:53
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.112.105.20, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:00:47
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:00:38
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.97.131.71, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:00:36
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:00:27
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.80.96.4, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:00:19
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:00:10
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.79.43.222, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 03:00:07
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:58
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.69.159.41, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:55
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:46
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.78.98.238, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:36
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:27
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.111.152.13, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:25
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:16
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.103.28.226, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:10
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:59:01
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.85.202.75, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:58
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:49
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.74.164.121, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:47
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:38
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.85.109.56, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:37
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:28
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.73.130.1, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:27
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:17
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.76.34.73, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:10
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:58:00
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.107.158.55, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:56
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:47
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.102.211.13, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:41
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:31
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.76.46.246, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:25
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:16
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.85.77.61, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:12
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:03
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.77.146.14, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:57:00
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:56:50
[Internet connected] IP address: 100.117.101.61, Tuesday, November 24, 2020 02:56:45
- PersistentHack
  Star
  Nov 25, 2020
  Yep blitzberlin. Pretty much what I was seeing in the logs as well. The thing I don't understand is how is it getting assigned new DHCP addresses every 15 or so SECONDS during that supposed downtime period? Seems to me that it has to be getting a data call connected each time - at least enough to get assigned a DHCP address. Could Verizon be dropping the call immediately after it connects and then allowing a reconnect - and then repeating that process several times?? Seems unlikely... Something odd about that behavior IMO.
  
  After a bit of research, I found that they're using Quectel's EG18 module (which, BTW, is NOT among the Quectel modules that Verizon lists on its site as supported...). The connection manager (quectel-cm) is capable of providing more detailed logs, but I wasn't able to find a way to start it up that way on boot... If I can find some spare time I may see whether it's possible via the debug interface to kill/restart the CM with additional logging and see if that provides any additional insight into what's happening. Being an OpenWRT-based device does have its advantages. Thanks to NETGEAR for that! It's normally one of the reasons I buy NETGEAR routers.
  
  But unless I can figure out a workaround soon (or NETGEAR speaks up about availability of a fix), the replacement unit may end up going back as well. I predict a bunch of LBR20 refurbs on the market if this isn't addressed soon. Negative feedback at Amazon starting to stack up.
  - blitzberlin
    Aspirant
    Nov 25, 2020
    Surprising for a new product with such great potential that firmware has not been updated since July?
Whackodingo
Aspirant
Dec 02, 2020
Having the same problem of LTE dropping but using AT&T sim. Rebooting brings back temporarily. Called Netgear support and they had me refresh the firmware V2.5.2.20 manually using file downloaded from Netgear website. Will see how long it lasts.
- darwin1991
  Guide
  Dec 02, 2020
  I have the same problem as you do. I'm using AT&T sim, LBR20 keeps losing signal, sometimes it took around 5 minutes then the internet comesback and sometimes it requires rebooting.
- Franklinstower
  Tutor
  Dec 05, 2020
  any luck on the manual refresh of the firmware?
  - PersistentHack
    Star
    Dec 06, 2020
    2.5.2.20 is the original firmware. Unless you flashed new, reflashing the original over the original is unlikely to do anything particularly useful. I did a (support-recommended) full factory reset on mine (which also reflashes the firmware) and it did not help.
    
    My guess is either a bug in that original firmware or an incomplete understanding between NETGEAR and carriers on the status of this device's approval for use on said carriers' networks.
Franklinstower
Tutor
Feb 12, 2021
Firmware updated to 2.6.3.50

https://kb.netgear.com/000062877/LBR20-Firmware-Version-2-6-3-50

Anyone notice a difference?
- RuralRob
  Aspirant
  Feb 12, 2021
  Franklinstower wrote:
  Firmware updated to 2.6.3.50
  
  https://kb.netgear.com/000062877/LBR20-Firmware-Version-2-6-3-50
  
  Anyone notice a difference?
  Nice Find!!! Auto updates don't find this. I always forget to look for manual update availability. Installed. We will see.
  - Franklinstower
    Tutor
    Feb 12, 2021
    I check daily. I am not going to move back to this device until you all confirm that it fixed the problems. I need to swap out to a new sim again and don’t want to do that until I know it’s been fixed.
egauk
Aspirant
Mar 15, 2021
For me the issue was the Traffic Meter located under Advanced > Advanced Setup > Traffic Meter

If I enable the traffic meter with no limits the router would bounce the connection around every minute. Once disabled the connection was stable again. Hopefully this will help someone experiencing the same issue.

Router Firmware Version
V2.6.3.50
terabull
Aspirant
Apr 27, 2021
Has anyone found a solution? Mine has gotten worse, have to reboot 6 plus times a day. Then the next day 2 or 3 and the next back to 6 plus.
I have disabled traffic meter. No help.
terabull
Aspirant
May 01, 2021
Just to be clear, I have legit ATT sim from isp. When it works its great, but I have to reboot the router many times per day with the router saying "detecting". This seems like something that could easily be figured out.
- BobTech
  Aspirant
  Jun 14, 2021
  I am in the same boat. A fresh AT&T SIM and it locks up under heavy Zoom traffic. Consistently. I called Tech Support. They said I have the latest firmware and it is AT&T's fault. I am past the return window. It works great when it is not needed. But when peak traffic occurs, it crashes, says detecting for the LTE and has to be rebooted. I am soooo disappointed because when it works, it works well. Just not when I need it.
  - Blanca_O
    NETGEAR Employee Retired
    Jun 21, 2021
    Hi BobTech
    
    You mentioned that device is on the latest firmware, can you please provide the firmware version?
    
    Kindly describe the ring LED status when issue re-occur.
    
    Have you tried resetting the device?
    
    Regards,
    Blanca
    Community Team

Forum Discussion

LBR20 keeps disconnecting from LTE