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OrbiOS 2.1.1
The Orbi team at NETGEAR is aware that some users are experiencing higher than expected Orbi Router reboots, special characters in WiFi Passwords and WiFi / Internet disconnects. We believe these issues are related to the OrbiOS 2.1.1 firmware. We are actively working to address these issues, and expect to fix them with a firmware upgrade soon. In the meantime, we’re temporarily suspending auto-upgrading users to OrbiOS 2.1.1.
While we work through some of the issues, we’re releasing a new Beta firmware (2.1.2), which contains:
- Support for LED control & scheduling for Orbi Outdoor Satellite (RBS50Y)
- Fixes high CPU utilization on Orbi Router, which could be causing other issues
- Fixes the Attached Devices UI showing all devices connecting to the Orbi Router
The Beta firmware 2.1.2 files can be obtained from here:
RBR50: http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=n2X2ARvI7o
RBS50: http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=yBsnhHaBiw
RBR40: http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=8xFS1yg8fn
RBS40: http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=Hu3hbx814i
RBW30: http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=PRpkMfJynw
RBS20: http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=OGhLlDB9mQ
Instructions for performing a Manual Upgrade: https://kb.netgear.com/000037217/How-do-I-check-and-manually-upgrade-the-firmware-on-my-Orbi-satellite
If you are having issues with 2.1.1, having higher than normal disconnects or if you have purchased an Outdoor Orbi Satellite (RBS50Y) please upgrade to the new Beta firmware through the manual upgrade process. Feel free contact NETGEAR Support if you’re having issues with MR 2.1.1 (even if you’re outside of the 90 day window).
We apologize for these issues.
Orbi Product Team
Let me give you a quick update on where NETGEAR is with the OrbiOS.
Just before Christmas break, we paused the distribution of OrbiOS 2.1. Very soon, we're about to restart the distribution of a slightly updated version of the beta (2.1.2). In addition to the major new features introduced in 2.1 (e.g. Circle, Ethernet Backhaul), this firmware is expected to address the high CPU issue, as well as the special character in PSK issue as well as support for the Outdoor Orbi. Check Release Notes for complete list.
We are continuing to work on the issues with Google devices that have been documented in the press (several users have provided links here).
My recommendation is that you should either use the Orbi Mobile App (if you haven't seen it recently, check it out, we've made some major improvements) or the Web UI to check for new firmware or wait until your system gets auto-upgraded.
To answer your question, Stars_fan. When Orbi are connected over Ethernet backhaul, the 5GHz band becomes hot standby.
Orbi Product Management
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Odd behavior for me after upgrading to the beta firmware. I'm in AP mode with wired backhaul between my router and 3 satellites. One satellite now shows ALL wireless devices connected to it. The other two satellites have every WIRED device on my network showing as connected, nothing wireless. The Orbi router does not show any connected satellites, as before. Occasionally during reboots it will briefly show my satellites in the satellite section with a "not connected" message.
Sorry, I should say that it says "disconnected" in backhaul status intermittently. Oddly now I show one satellite as "connected" with an incorrect IP address. I have IP addresses set by MAC address in my router on the 10.0.x.x subnet, but right now it shows that one connected satellite on the 192.168.1.x subnet
2.1.2.10 seems to have done nothing to help my stability issues. I installed it 3 hours ago. Have had at least 2 noticeable drops since then, one of them 41 minutes ago. Both times, my phone is sitting next to me (Pixel 2 XL), I pick it up, turn it on to check Twitter, and every single device is kicked off of the networkr while the Orbis reboot.
This is the same thing I've experienced for a month now. It's beyond frustrating.
After a lot of messing around and reconfiguring/resetting, I have currently settled on the following configuration:
Orbi Router in AP Mode- nothing plugged into WAN port, main switch plugged into one of the LAN ports
3x Orbi Satellites - each has the LAN2 port plugged into the same main switch (or connected switch) that connects to the Orbi Router on a LAN port
My actual router is a Nighthawk x10 plugged into that same main switch as everything else.
In this configuration, the Orbi router's basic attached devices page shows all 3 satellites rather intermittently. Sometimes they show as 5G, othertimes they show as wired. satelliteinfo -d wifi shows 1 or 2 but never all 3 satellites. Oddly, the status of 5G or wired never matches what is shown in the web gui.
Connected devices on the satellites vary from showing nothing connected, to some wifi clients, to a mix of wired and wireless clients.
Aside from the always on magenta LED due to the lack of anything plugged into the WAN port, funcionally everything appears to be working but it is ugly.
Installed the beta and I can confirm that it shows devices on the correct Orbi devices. But only the wireless connected devices. All wired devices show up on the router. I can live with that but thougt I report it anyway.
The router and the 2 satellites all have a ProSafe GS-105E (so 3 in total) connected to them and both satellites are connected by ethernet backhaul to the router. All devices, either connected to switch on satellite or switch on router, show up as connected to router.
I haven't had any issues with reboots, before or after beta install, so far after the update everything works fine for me!
In general, this build is better and more stable for me. However, I am having to reboot at least once a day since my HDHomerun Quatro loses it connection--HDHomerun setup cannot see the 4 tuners. The HDHomerun is connected directly to one of my satellites and the satellite has a good connection with the router. I suspect this is a UPNP issue that is still unresolved. I have had one reboot caused by my Android phone. So for now I am sticking with this build and not going back to 74 since my stability is improved but still remains not very good.
Has anyone een able to get the wired backhaul to work with a direct connection between sat and router? I could only get it to work with sat-switch-router setup. I got the intermittent pink light on the sat without the switch.
I'm not sure but I think cable backhaul isn't active yet.
Darren,
Is there a phone number or email address of someone that we can reach out to regarding the issues we are experiencing with the Orbi's to try and place some pressure on dedicating more resources to the Orbi development/testing teams?
mumbles76 wrote:Darren,
Is there a phone number or email address of someone that we can reach out to regarding the issues we are experiencing with the Orbi's to try and place some pressure on dedicating more resources to the Orbi development/testing teams?
Are you kidding? This is the second major firmware screw-up for Orbi. It is ridiculous! I have never seen such a crap development process. "Hey, let's push out a major firmware upgrade right before the holidays and then set all the routers to auto-update while all of our engineers head out to vacation. I hope it works." What a joke.
I really do appreciate the concept of ORBI. If this worked well, it would be the best mesh system out there IMHO since it’s got multiple Ethernet ports per unit. One of the big downsides I see to Eero is that even with the full blown Pro units (vs 1 pro unit and beacons) there are only 2 Ethernet ports (and on the modem connected unit, only 1 free). If you use Ethernet backhaul, even the secondary Eero’s only have 1 open ethernet port (and you can’t ethernet backhaul with the beacons). That said, EVERY person I know with an Eero says it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread and they NEVER have to reboot... WEEKS at a time without even thinking about it - real plug and play....
I’m sure there are those who have Orbi systems and they work well, but the number of people who post here must only be a small portion of those having issues and then there is the 90 day support period. Netgear has kept us all down, and I’m “thisclose” to making the decision to return Orbi and just go back to my TP-Link router again for a while.
The support from the 2 people (I think it’s 2, AMIR and DARRENM?) is OK, but I just get the feeling that they are secretly frustrated as well, just like their jobs and can’t say anything. A modern wifi system, mesh or not, that has been out for over a year now should not still be having issues like this.
I just manually upgraded and the router upgraded fine. After I only see 1 of 2 satellites with the one not connected showing a status of "Config Sync". After doing a power cycle and sync it now shows good BUT the connection was blank and then it disappeared.
When I attempted to apply the update to the on Satellite I got this message "This firmware file is incorrect! Please get the firmware file again and make sure it is the correct firmware for this product" ???
This firmware file is incorrect! Please get the firmware file again and make sure it is the correct firmware for this product. This firmware file is incorrect! Please get the firmware file again and make sure it is the correct firmware for this product. This firmware file is incorrect! Please get the firmware file again and make sure it is the correct firmware for this product.
lbdyck wrote:I just manually upgraded and the router upgraded fine. After I only see 1 of 2 satellites with the one not connected showing a status of "Config Sync". After doing a power cycle and sync it now shows good BUT the connection was blank and then it disappeared.
When I attempted to apply the update to the on Satellite I got an authentication prompt which would not accept the userid or password that I use so I'm at a loss for that?
Did you try using the initial password that was provided on the unit - maybe it factory reset itself trying to commit “routercide”.
I found I was mistyping the password but then it rejected the update file :(
I updated over a day ago to the beta 2.1.2.10 firmware. Upgrade process was flawless, (update satelites 1st as the instructs recommend), and since update, zero issues!!!
This is the most stable release I've seen since I purchased this unit over 10 months ago. Prior to this release I was seeing reboots at different intervals and more than once a day, and on all different versions of released/beta code and was also questioning the purchase of this device even given glowing reviews you read on it.
I know by reading all the posts that some users are seeing some issues with Android devices, but I do think it was stated that bug hadn't been addressed in this beta. I don't happen to have any Android devices at home that are causing that mentioned issue.
I can only hope they fix that issue, but again, this is the most stable version I've seen and I'm streaming security cams, over 28 devices in whole network, and no reported issues so far.
Please don't break in production release NetGear!! :)
Hi, I upgraded to the beat firmware yesterday and everything is working fine. However, I check the NTP under administration, it only showed US time. I live in HK which is 8 hours ahead of GMT. I select the time.windows.com but no luck. This is not a big issue but whenever I refer to the logs, I need to do the maths.
Any suggestion to prefect this ?
scyu6058 wrote:Hi, I upgraded to the beat firmware yesterday and everything is working fine. However, I check the NTP under administration, it only showed US time. I live in HK which is 8 hours ahead of GMT. I select the time.windows.com but no luck. This is not a big issue but whenever I refer to the logs, I need to do the maths.
Any suggestion to prefect this ?
I had trouble finding the Time Zone setting too. It is located under Advanced -> Security -> Schedule.
I decided to give the beta firmware a spin. I had constant reboots since 2.1.1.16 and I had to roll-back to 2.0.0.74. My router was very stable on .74 but I figure I'd try 2.1.2.10.
My router would reboot almost everytime I unlocked my Moto Z Play running Android 7.x. I know this firmware does not specifically target this issue but I was curious to see what would happen if I used a smaller wifi password. I went from 16 characters to 8 characters. Surprisingly, I haven't had a reboot since I installed the beta firmware about 7 hours ago.
Of course, now that I posted this, my luck will change and I'll probably get a reboot. :(
I have finally convinced myself that the size of the WiFi password is not related to the reboot issue. I changed mine from 16 to 8 characters when I switched to the beta firmware. I had a good first run with the first reboot happening about 12 hours after I upgraded. I had multiple reboots since then with the last one occurring about 90 minutes ago.
I'm going back to .74 for now.
As a relatively new Orbi owner running a stable installation of 2.1.1.16, but with the known faulty connection reporting issue, I find it disturbing that Netgear is struggling to provide a stable firmware environment for any networking gear, let alone a flagship product. And a year or so after product release too.
I'd love to have accurate client connection reporting, but hesitate to chance breaking an otherwise stable system with the beta firmware.
My satellites are wired, my PW is 10 characters with no special characters, UPnP is off, etc. There’s nothing unusual about my system that I can think of, and it’s been rock solid with no spontaneous reboots since I installed it a couple of weeks ago, even though I have an android phone running 8.0.
But it I find myself looking askance at it waiting for the axe to fall. And yet I have no reason to except for all the problem reports I find online. Maybe I just need to quit reading all these reports and just enjoy my system!
Am I lucky? Or am I the norm and all these issues are the outliers? I’m not sure what to think.
orbirick wrote:
...Am I lucky? Or am I the norm and all these issues are the outliers? I’m not sure what to think.
I do think this is the norm and the issues are the outliers. I have pretty much the same experience. It seems that for most people it just works and there is nothing we can do to get the reboot issues to happen. I have had some disconnect issues with the 2.1.1.16 firmware on some iOS devices, so moved to the 2.1.2.10 beta - not been running it long enough to see if that fixed the disconnect issue as it would only happen after a week. I do share the concern that Netgear has not been very good so far at dealing with the users that are having the reboot issues. I figure that at least the router should log a reason for a reboot even if it's a kernal panic to help them track down what is going on.
I know they are actually working on resolving the issues that they know of and know what to look for. I am sure the users with rebooting routers are just a tiny minority of Orbi users, and I am sure most of these are environmental issues - like the Android bug ID'd recently, but there seems to be other also.
If it was a more sizeable userbase affected these routers would have disappeared from store shelves a while ago. Let's hope they can ID these issues and eliminate them with the next firmware release. I really want to see some actual progress with these releases instead of bug bashing.
