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Orbi rebooting itself daily
Hi all, Ever since getting my Netgear Orbi I have been experiencing regular reboots. When the WiFi connection drops on whatever device I am using, I immediately go to check the Orbi and sure enou...
FURRYe38 , CrimpOn Well I've gone through the process of the RMA and whilst Netgear explicitly asked me to only return the router and not the satellite, they have sent me a replacement kit containing both! It is an RBK50, but I believe the reason why they've sent the whole kit is because there is an RBR50v2 and RBS50v2 inside. Could be likely that the RBS50 is not compatible or they don't want to take that risk?
Can confirm as others have mentioned that the power adapters on the V2 revision are lower output and look smaller, yellower and cheaper. I haven't looked into whethere there are any other differences on the actual router or satellite hardware yet. But, to be honest, if that's what comes in the new kit I don't really care as long as it is all stable and works.
I've just set it up and done a firmware update in the app to V2.5.1.8. It says there is no newer firmware version available in the app. On the Netgear support page, however, for the RBR50v2 it says the latest current version is the same as the original RBR50 - which is the 2.3.5.34 Hot Fix! I'm now very cautious about applying firmware updates from the support page on this router as they seem to be on a completely different branch (2.3.x.x instead of 2.5.x.x) and there is absolutely no mention of a 2.5.x.x even in the previous versions! Weird!!!??
So, I will refrain from doing a manual firware update at this point and just see how it all goes from here!
Is there a pattern to the reboots? A regular interval between them?
Just a note: many people have been disappointed with the 2.5.0.38 firmware and have manually "gone back" to 2.3.5.30. This obviously has nothing to do with your situation, but should you notice other issues, you might keep it in mind.
When WAN traffic is mirrored to Port 1, there has to be a computer connected to Port 1 which collects all the packets for later analysis. Since the log file is clear upon reboot, those packets are exactly what might be used to diagnose the situation.
Hi and thanks for the reply. I wasn't aware that this firmware wasn't rated highly. But, funny thing is immediately after posting this issue, I was searching the RBK50 Support Page and noticed that the most recent firmwares listed only start with 2.3.x.xx. I am on 2.5.x.xx!. So I found this very surpirising that they don't list any of the 2.5.0.xx versions within their firmware downloads section. Also, I had checked for updates to firmware via the admin console for the Orbi and it told me I was up to date, but the same page above has a "Top Support Article" link to a 2.5.0.40 Hot Fix. So, I figured it couldn't hurt and I downloaded and installed this version. I did a full reset on both the satellite and the router (just for what it was worth). To be honest, I'm not hopeful this will fix anything as the release notes only mention it "Updates the https certificate."
With regard to the way to collect logs correctly are you able to explain more about what I need to do to collect these even after the router reboots? I downloaded Wireshark, so is it just a matter of leaving that running on my PC connected to LAN Port 1? Then what do I need to do to see the relevant logs when the issue recurs?
Appreciate your assistance. Thanks.
sAmiZZle wrote:With regard to the way to collect logs correctly are you able to explain more about what I need to do to collect these even after the router reboots? I downloaded Wireshark, so is it just a matter of leaving that running on my PC connected to LAN Port 1? Then what do I need to do to see the relevant logs when the issue recurs?
This is a "work in progress" for me. I changed my Orbi cables around to free up Port 1 and connected it to a Raspberry Pi. (I think I could have just wired my PC to Port 1 and run Wireshark on it. Oh, well.) Then, I went to the Orbi "debug" page http://<ip of Orbi>/debug.htm and checked the box "Wan Port Mirror to LAN Port 1". I opened Wireshark and told it to monitor the ethernet port and use this Capture Filter:
udp port 67 or 68
DHCP is UDP packets where port 67 is the DHCP server and port 68 is the DHCP client. So far, it is collecting every DHCP packet that appears on Port 1. (And nothing else. I have memory for days and days at this rate.) My DHCP lease is for one day and has 22 hours to run. So, I expect to see packets from Orbi to my ISP in about 10 hours.
Will this work? Will it show anything useful? I have no idea.
My guess is you are frustrated enough to try almost anything. And, this is "free" (in a sense). I will check back in tomorrow.
Thanks, I'll try to set this up tonight when I get home from work.
I also realised I forgot to answer one of your questions in your original post with regards to a particular pattern causing these reboots. Whenever I have noticed it, it is when I am streaming video content. Usually more than one device would be streaming at a time. That's not to say that this is the reason for the reboots though because, just 2 days ago it rebooted quite early in the morning, prior to 6am , whilst I am pretty sure everyone was asleep (although my PC would've still been on but, no one was actively downloading anything).
The saga continues...
Ok as an update, I got home today and was told by my parents that the Orbi rebooted twice in the one day. Absolutely pathetic to be honest...
Anyway logs are cleared (as expected), but it is definitely rebooting as I see this as the first line in the logs.
[Initialized, firmware version: V2.5.0.40] Monday, December 02, 2019 16:22:32
I guess I might try rolling back to the "stable" version 2.3.5.30. From the date stamp of the firmware it looks like this was released in July, which was before I got my router in August (i.e. I may have never used this firmware given that the Orbi auto-updated to the most recent firmware immediately). I'm assuming that there was a newer version out in August, so hopefully there is a chance that this could solve my woes... *sigh*
Ok so, I've loaded V2.3.5.30 onto the satellite and router. Done a full factory reset on both and manually setup my configuration again as per my first post (I purposel didn't load this from a saved config). Only change I've made from my first post is 2.4Ghz is on channel 11 and 5Ghz is on channel 36.
I've gone to the debug page and checked WAN Port mirror to LAN port1 (note I have not ticked Enable LAN/WAN Packet Capture).
I've started a wireshark capture and filtered as per your advice on "udp port 67 or 68" (see attached screenshot). Crossing my fingers it a) doesn't crash or b) it does crash and we capture something... ANYTHING! :D
Edit: It's been about 10 mins and so far Wireshark hasn't captured anything. Without the filter it was capturing a lot of talk on that Ethernet card though. I guess I'll leave it and check it in the morning.
Let us know what you find out and if the system stops rebooted. I never saw this when I had v38 loaded. Now on v40 and still no reboots.
I would also disable WAN to LAN mirror as it's not needed for normal RBR router operation after your done collecting logs.
sAmiZZle wrote:Ok so, I've loaded V2.3.5.30 onto the satellite and router. Done a full factory reset on both and manually setup my configuration again as per my first post (I purposel didn't load this from a saved config). Only change I've made from my first post is 2.4Ghz is on channel 11 and 5Ghz is on channel 36.
I've gone to the debug page and checked WAN Port mirror to LAN port1 (note I have not ticked Enable LAN/WAN Packet Capture).
I've started a wireshark capture and filtered as per your advice on "udp port 67 or 68" (see attached screenshot). Crossing my fingers it a) doesn't crash or b) it does crash and we capture something... ANYTHING! :D
Edit: It's been about 10 mins and so far Wireshark hasn't captured anything. Without the filter it was capturing a lot of talk on that Ethernet card though. I guess I'll leave it and check it in the morning.
