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New - RBR50 / RBS50 Firmware Version 2.7.4.24 Released
New Features and Enhancements:
Admin password brute force attack prevention
Admin password strength enforcement
EU data analytics opt-out
Bug Fixes:
The backup config file i...
Well, it looks like my Orbi auto-updated my firmware sometime in the last week to the 2.7.3.X firmware, which seems to have "restored" the issue of dropping internet connections (likely DNS issue) forcing me to power-restart the Orbi multiple times per day to keep restoring the internet. I then upgraded to this latest firmware hoping it would help, but no luck.
This issue first showed up with the 2.7.2.104 firmware about 2 years ago (https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-Wi-Fi-5-AC-and-Orbi-with/RBR50-intermittent-DNS-lookup-issues/m-p/2085640#M119278) and was ultimately resolved by factory resets and rolling back several firmware versions.
Now it's back. Have there been any troubleshooting advances for this issue in the past two years, or do I need to go digging for the 3 year old firmware that worked? (Or just switch over to the Voxel firmware)?
Lets try some trouble shooting first.
I haven't seen this issue since it first appeared and it WAS fixed way back then and hasn't been anyone else posting about it since either.
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 is recommended.Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router been performed since last update?
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.I recommend that you manually download the FW files and apply them manually with a wired PC and web browser to the RBS first then RBR lastly.
Then factory reset the router and setup from scratch. A complete pull of the power adapters for a period of time after the factory reset then walk thru the setup wizard and setup from scratch. Recommend setting the default DHCP IP address pool range to the following after applying and a factory reset: 192.168.#.100 to 192.168.#.200.
I would power OFF the ISP modem for 1 minute. Factory reset the Orbi router and power it off. Power ON the ISP modem and let it sync. Then power ON the Orbi router and walk thru the setup wizard again using a wired PC and a web browser.
Press the back reset button for 15 seconds then release.
https://kb.netgear.com/31486/How-do-I-reset-my-Orbi-system-to-factory-default-settingsWhat is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 🛰️Hey -- I currently have the latest (2.7.4.24) loaded, but it looks like the issue re-started when the router was on 2.7.3.22. (Which I never purposefully installed -- it seems like Netgear forced an over-the-air update without asking, which I don't really love).
I'm fairly certain, from my previous notes, that part of my ultimate solution when this happened was to roll all the way back to 2.6.1.40, so I'm guessing I'll need to end up doing all of that again :(. Annoyingly, the release notes for 2.7.3.22 seem to indicate that that release fixed the DNS issue, so I'll probably retry that one again and go from there.
Re: your other questions -- yes I've done the hard restarts (at least once a day now to recover the network). I've checked and confirmed traffic meter is disabled, I've checked the daylight savings time settings, I've experiemented with both Cox's default DNS servers, and then also used Cloudflare / Google DNS as well, no luck.
My modem is a Motorola MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem, operating on Cox.
You might want to try this, manually download the RBS and RBR v.24 FW files. Manually re-load the RBS and RBR using a wired PC and web browser.
After the system is loaded and back to ready, factory reset Orbi system and setup from scratch. DO NOT load any saved configs from back up.
Power off the ISP modem for 1 minute then back ON when you rest the RBR. Walk thru the setup wizard and complete it. I would avoid enabling any Access Controls, Armor or Traffic Meter.
You might set IPv6 to Auto for his configuration as well and test to see if the DNS issue comes back.
I would not roll back FW That far. Others have not posted about this to date. I presume if this was a problem or more prevalent, others would have posted about it by now. .v24 has been out for a while now.
SidewinderX wrote:
Well, it looks like my Orbi auto-updated my firmware sometime in the last week to the 2.7.3.X firmware, which seems to have "restored" the issue of dropping internet connections (likely DNS issue) forcing me to power-restart the Orbi multiple times per day to keep restoring the internet. I then upgraded to this latest firmware hoping it would help, but no luck.
If my WiFi router had to be restarted several times a day, that would be intolerable. As it is, my RBR50 has been running firmware v2.7.2.24 since May of 2022 and is only restarted (a) when Edison treats us to a long power outage, or (b) when I am doing a crazy experiment of some sort. Currently, it has been up for 75 days. My DNS entries are set to 8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1 (an experiment I was doing and just "left it that way.")
There certainly have been recent posts about various Orbi systems having "problems" that go away temporarily when the router is restarted, and it is not always clear what the cause might be. In this case, I would first want to validate the assumption that the Orbi DNS resolution is central to the problem. For example:
- Set some device on the network not to use the router to resolve DNS. I often point a Windows PC to a Pi-hole DNS server (another experiment) or set it to use Google (8.8.8.8) and/or CloudFlare (1.1.1.1). If other devices on the network begin to have problems but that specific device does not, that would tend to reinforce the idea that Orbi DNS is failing.
- When problems arise, before hitting the power, conduct some brief experiments, such as opening a command window and attempting to reach internet resources by IP address on the device that is failing. For example:
- Try to ping Ford: ping ford.com
- If that fails, try this: ping 19.12.97.37
If this succeeds, that also would be evidence that Orbi DNS is at fault.
I stay with the Netgear firmware in order to participate in the community forum. See no problem with loading Voxel's version as long as the directions are followed (loading up a specific version of Netgear firmware first, etc.) When I tried Voxel, it worked great and has interesting features. If you try rolling back to an earlier Netgear version, I would expect to wake up one morning and find that it had updated to V2.7.4.24 again.
I did a factory reset of the system and so far it seems to be working OK (3 days without a forced reboot), so I'm cautiously optimistic this is working.
