Orbi RBR50 and Slow WiFi Problems with iOS Devices

Well, the current firmware, V2.1.4.10, seems to be another step backward.  I can now only go about three days without having to restart the system and not only are the satellites affected, but the router loses its mind now as well.  This is definitely not going well and impacts all of my devices, not just the iOS devices.

I also feel the need to respond to those recommending that we disable many features, that are on by default I might mention, in order to get the system to work properly.  This is no fix for these issues, but is simply a user-developed workaround.  If the manufacturer, Netgear, cannot make these features work together then they need to ship them disabled by default and quit advertising them.  Otherwise, it’s time to get the Federal TradeCommission (FTC) to get after them.

It really disturbs me that Netgear can’t get it together and resolve these issues after all of this time.  It’s not like they are blazing new trails here.  This technology and the standards behind it have been around for years now and are well understood.  All of the problems we’re experiencing are indicative of very poor development and testing practices and may also indicate that there are hardware issues as well because they can’t get things to work consistently across the same line of devices.

If Netgear can’t get this resolved soon, I will be forced to replace the system and remove Netgear from my approved vendor list.  Reliable WiFi access should be like any other utility, reliable, in the background, and essentially forgotten about.  If our electrical service, water, or natural gas supplies were as unreliable as the Orbis have been, we’d all be up in arms over the failures!