New RBK30 - what is the safest newer FW version?

...and we've had another network drop. 

Network disappeared on all devices at the same time. 

Went to look at router and satellite, and router was blinking white, router solid purple. So router may have rebooted, or simply lost and then restored the network/connectivity. 

So things still aren't quite right. Going to look into exchanging my unit for another to rule out a HW issue - this isn't happening to every customer, the most basic testing on Netgear's part would have seen this in that case, so possibly an issue w/supplier part quality, general QA, or use of multiple chipsets/suppliers that cause differences between units. 

If an exchange doesn't resolve this then will have to move on, most likely to Eero. 

UPNP is not strictly necessary and is not a great way to control access into your internal network. I prefer to open ports to specific devices manually anyways and that way I know that a new device on the network will not take my remote access to hell.

You do not need UPNP for DLNA on the internal network.

If you have a NAS it you have documentation for all the ports that you need open to it for all the services.

In any case if the RMA does not resolve this issue for you then try my suggestion out. I've been working now for months with nothing that I need missing, no disconnencts and great speed. Sure it involves some troubleshooting work yourself that should not even be an issue, but it is what it is. 

Or from a number of reports - return the Orbi and buy something else... just apparently not a VELOP - though my friend that has one has had a great experience with a VELOP system ... so like anything YMMV.

Thanks for the additional details...I just noticed that Daisy Chain Topolgy and MU-MIMO were both enabled after the reset (weren't previously AFAIK) so I've turned both off based on some info I found in the forums here, will see if removing either of those helps. 

If that fails to help I may try turning off UPNP, but don't like to having to manage ports manually - getting lazy I guess.  :)  UPNP isn't perfect, but it "just works" and has been hassle free for me on previous routers, so I don't like having to give that up, frankly. 

I've actually ordered an Eero and will receive it tomorrow, and then will compare coverage/speed/reliablity to the Orbi to help me make my decision. The Orbi coverage and speed is fantastic, but I/my family just aren't willing to have the connection keep dropping. I work from home regularly and getting booted out of conference calls and loosing connection when working on remote docs/web sites just doesn't cut it. Though slower, my Nighthawk R7000 never dropped connections multiple times a day...

Strange behaviour on this board...three times now I've posted replies and have had them disappear later. Anyway...

Got callback from support and in the end they said the best approach, since I was in the return window, to return/exchange for another unit. Unfortunately the BB was out of the RBK30, so I ended up buying the Eero 1 + 2 setup (router and two beacons). 

Way more than I wanted to spend on "just a router" (didn't these things use to cost $90?!) :) but in the end the amazing Amazon reviews (85% Five star, 5% 4 star) helped me decide to go for it. 

Son is working on final essay for class so can't set it up now (and yes, it's killing me sitting here looking at the new router and unable to set it up/play with it). I'll give it a spin and if it "just works" then probably won't revisit the Orbi at this point, too much instability for me right now. 

OK, son took a break, dad jumped in like a superhero to install the Eero. So far so good. 

The pros: 

• The hardware looks good (not cool, but at least good), nice simple design
• Small form factor - both router and beacon are signiificantly smaller than Orbi (the router is maybe 1/5 the size of the Orbi tower) and the Eero satellite/beacons are smaller/sleeker and less obtrusive as well. The smaller form factor of the router is helpful in our office where space at the desk where i have my networking base setup is at a premium. 
• Beacons have "night lighting" feature I particularly like - the bottom of the unit has a build in LED light that works very well for the one placed I have in a hallway, and you can disable it if you like, set it it to a schedule, or light up when ambient light is low 
• Speed is on par w/Orbi so far overall - might give a slight edge to the Orbi (and to give credit where due, the Orbi was only using a router and one beacon) 
• No drops (but it's been all of about an hour and a half since i set it up)
• Potential add on services - including VPN, PW manager, ad blocking (I know, they are turning me into an annuity!). The cost is cheap  enough at $100 a year and would have the benefit of me not having to spend any significant time setting up, administering and managing them. I was already looking into moving to a password manager and VPN options for my family anyway. 

The cons: 

• No web interface for router management! This surprised me. Web access could come, but who knows. The Eero mobile app is pretty good, and allows a fair amount of customization, but I really want a web interface to the router
• I got stuck during initial setup when I was adding the beacons...there is a screen in the add beacon flow where the "Next" button is hidden below the bottom of the screen. You have to scroll down to see it, and there is no indication that the scree scrolls or has more content below. Actually got stuck there and had to call support to get past that issue. 
• Router did not default to "traditiional" DHCP lease range starting from 192.168.1.2..but you can set DHCP range in Network Settings>Advanced>DHCP and NAT, and also reserve IPs, etc. in Advanced settings. I have a few devices that are mapped from family computers so I want to keep them on 192.168.1.x IPs and I don't want to have to re-do mapping when I switch routers.  
• Significantly more expensive than the Orbi RBK30 - $249 for the Orbi w/one beacon vs. $349 for the Eero w/two beacons. I could have gotten the $249 Eero system w/one beacon, but decided I wanted the "insurance" of the extra beacon as the number of devices and our internet use seems to persistently escalate. 

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netgearguy wrote:
No web interface for router management! This surprised me. Web access could come, but who knows. The Eero mobile app is pretty good, and allows a fair amount of customization, but I really want a web interface to the router

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....

 

You might want to check out their community (if you haven't already done so) and take a peek at their list of feature requests (link below). It doesn't appear as if they have any plans whatsoever to implement a web interface. It might not be in your case, but that is a deal breaker for me. So, if I ever have similar issues with Orbi, I plan to pack it in and just get a regular tri-band router and probably one or two of those X6S (EX8000) range extenders. Good luck with your eero system.

 

https://community.eero.com/t/y7t861/list-of-current-feature-requests 

Quick update - Going on 7 hours later and no drops, solid connectivity w/the Eero. 

Next morning. Zero stability issues - connectiity has been consisten/uniterrupted. 

However, speed tests using speetest.net app in my normail locations have fallen. 

At the end of the day I was in the 70 to 80 range from a location in my house that I work from. That's lower than I saw w/the Orbi, which was up to 90 and more in the same location. 

This AM i'm in the 30's to 40's earlier today, now back up in the 70's/80's. 

Orbi was more consistent in terms of speed while I had it set up, but dropped connection repeatedly. Eero has very reliable connectivity, but appears to be running at lower overall speeds, and speed is less consistent. 

I've ordered another Orbi RBK30 system from Amazon (first one came from Best Buy) and will try it to see if I had a HW lemon the first time...there are many positive reviews on Amazon for the Orbi RBK30 system, including ones from folks who say they've updated the FW. So if I get a "good" unit I might get both higher speeds and reliable connections w/Orbi. 

Obviously sitll undecided on Eero vs. Orbi. 

Day 2 on Eero. No drops, no issues.

Speed test this AM:

70-75 mbps on Galaxy S7 Edge/Nougat

120-130 mbps on Nexus 6P/Oreo

90-100 mbps on iPhone 6Pj

what did the eero cost you?

how many ethernet ports in the entire setup?

$349

Two ports on the router, none on the satellites (called beacons by Eero) which was fine for me as I didn't need/use the ports on the Orbi satellites. So you have one port for the WAN connection, and one port out to a single wired device, or to a switch to connect more wired devices. 

A multi-port switch by the router is a must with Eero if you have multiple wired devices. I already happened to have an 8 port switch in my system right next to the router, so the lack of ports on the router was a non-issue.  You can pick up a switch for a few dollars if you don't have one, obviously. 

You can also get what they call a Eero Pro system, which essentially is just three routers, rather than one router and two beacons, or one router w/one beacon (which is $249). Almost $500 for the Eero Pro system seems way over-priced IMHO. 

The Orbi HW definitely provides more bang for the buck w/four ports on the router and one each on the satellites that the RBK30 system provides, for $249 (and on sale recently at $199).  Orbi support was also much easier to get to than Netgear support where I waited on hold for over 30 minutes when I called them. Eero support wait was a few minutes. Once connected the support experience was very good w/Eero, but it was almost as good with Netgear. But the long wait w/Netgear was really annoying. 

But disconnect/reliability issues (and unclear if that's entirely a FW issue, or a combined FW/HW issue) made the superior HW features on the Orbi a moot point for me. 

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netgearguy wrote:

$349

Two ports on the router, none on the satellites (called beacons by Eero) which was fine for me as I didn't need/use the ports on the Orbi satellites. So you have one port for the WAN connection, and one port out to a single wired device, or to a switch to connect more wired devices. 

A multi-port switch by the router is a must with Eero if you have multiple wired devices. I already happened to have an 8 port switch in my system right next to the router, so the lack of ports on the router was a non-issue.  You can pick up a switch for a few dollars if you don't have one, obviously. 

You can also get what they call a Eero Pro system, which essentially is just three routers, rather than one router and two beacons, or one router w/one beacon (which is $249). Almost $500 for the Eero Pro system seems way over-priced IMHO. 

 

The Orbi HW definitely provides more bang for the buck w/four ports on the router and one each on the satellites that the RBK30 system provides, for $249 (and on sale recently at $199).  Orbi support was also much easier to get to than Netgear support where I waited on hold for over 30 minutes when I called them. Eero support wait was a few minutes. Once connected the support experience was very good w/Eero, but it was almost as good with Netgear. But the long wait w/Netgear was really annoying. 

 

But disconnect/reliability issues (and unclear if that's entirely a FW issue, or a combined FW/HW issue) made the superior HW features on the Orbi a moot point for me. 

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Thanks...that's a fair price.  I'm currently not having any issues (other than the constant blue light on one of the sats this morning).  I do use 2 of the ethernet ports on the router and 3 on one of the sats.

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VAJim wrote:
...I'm currently not having any issues (other than the constant blue light on one of the sats this morning)...

Shot in the dark, but is the "Enable Daisy-Chain Topology" box checked (under Advanced>>Advanced Setup>>Wireless Settings)?

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VAJim wrote:
Did the power reset. No luck. Blue light came back on. The daisy chain is enabled

Are you using the Star Topology or Daisy Chain? If you're not using Daisy Chain, try unchecking that box. After my Orbi system auto-updated to v2.0.0.74, that box was checked and the blue light illuminated on my Sats. Simply unchecking the box caused the blue light to turn off.

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Thanks

Doesn't matter now.  I left it alone for about an hour.  Cam back and now the blue light is off.

Someone said in here that it's because the sat changed from 2.4 to 5g.

So how did that happen and what's that got to do with the blue light staying on.  I didn't do anything?  Been running fine for about 3 weeks then this.

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Retired_Member wrote:

...So how did that happen and what's that got to do with the blue light staying on...

 

A mystery of sorts. All I know is that the blue LED disappeared after I unchecked the Daisy Chain box. I suppose if a Sat is too far away from the router to utilize 5G for the backhaul, then it will use 2.4G and, again I suppose, the blue LED will appear (just not 100% sure about that).

 

 

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as of this morning the blue light on the sat remains off.  I guess the power reset did the trick.  Now I have a whole new problem and this has been discussed in another post. 

I have a device (Lacrosse weather station - C84428) which requires wifi setup through your iphone.  The iphone must be on a 2.4g network.  well now my iphone only connects to 5g.   so now the weather station will act as a stand alone with no updates from the NWS.

This can't be an isolated situation for i'm sure there are many devices on the market that require a iphone connection through a 2.4g network

Replacement RBK30 arrived from Amazon.

Set up and updated to newest FW, which as of today/yesterday is: 

So an even newer FW for the sat than for the router. 

We'll see how things hold up and if the intermittent network drops resume as w/my previous unit. 

Two restarts since I set up the new system w/the new firmware. 

Not looking good, probably going back to Eero. 

After more intermittent network drops, and then coming home from dinner later in the evening to find the network doing its disappearing/reappearing act once again, my wife called on her executive powers to veto Orbi in favor of "The other one that works." (I.e., Eero.) 

So we're back on Eero. My return window on this second Orbi unit is mid-Jan, and I've updated status w/my level 2 support contact at Netgear in case he has any new suggestions beyond resettinng/re-FW-updating/rebooting, re-changing settings and other re-stuff that hasn't helped so far. Not exactly highly optimistic at this point, for obvious reasons. 

Per Netgear Level 2 support request on my case, I've set up my Orbi RBK30 system again.

Also per request from support I've made the following changes to defaults:

•  Reset both router and satellite (two times on each) 
•  Left all defaults in place, except: 
  • Turned off Daisy Chain Topology (one satellite, don't need it)
  • Set 2.4 GHz to channel 11 (least congested) rather than leaving at "Auto"
  • Set 5.0 Ghz to channel 48 (least congested) rather than leaving at "Auto"

Both devices are on the most current FW releases available: 

• Router (RBR40) is on: 12.1.1.16
• Sat (RBW30) is on: 12.1.1.18 

I have the router sitting three feet away, and an iPhone attached to the network streaming audio so that I am aware when a network interruption occurs and I can see what the router is doing (rebooting or simply dropping/reconnecting). 

I have only a few devices on the network. If it remains stable as-is for the next four or five hours, I will add all of my devices to it later today and see if it remains stable. 

Hopefully this will be interesting and productive test. 

Two hours later and there have been no disconnects or reboots. 

Going to wait until after lunch, and if it is still stable, I'll connect all of my devices to it and see if stability remains. 

Four hours later with no reboots or network drops

I've now enabled all my devices (total ~30) to connect to the Orbi network. 

Monitoring to see if the surprising network stability continues...