OrbiOS 2.1.4 availability

So I have done some testing with this new version. Just as I have done with every past version since the packet loss issue began. Here is my testing setup for this occasion. There were a total of five devices on my network arranged as such:

• A simple router providing DHCP with no internet connection. (10.0.0.1)
• RBR50 Orbi Router in AP mode. (10.0.0.2)
• RBS50 Orbi Satellite. (10.0.0.3)
• Testing laptop. (10.0.0.40)
• Synology NAS (10.0.0.42)

All my testing was done via the testing laptop and always connected to the Orbi Sattelite. The Orbi units where running on wireless backhaul with line of sight of each other. I ran packetloss tests on three targets: simple router, Orbi Router (AP mode) and Synology NAS. Keep in mind there was no internet access during this time and no other devices where on the network. As usual, I did a full factory reset on the Orbi units. Here are my results:

 First up is the simple router on 10.0.0.1 as we can see there is heavy packet loss, as has been with the latest firmware versions on this particular models. A notable difference is that the packet loss pattern is now concentraded in larger chunks. Previos versions would generate a more scattered pattern with thinner lines.

 Next is the Orbi router on 10.0.0.2 this is an interesting result because we see no packetloss at all. Keep in mind for this probe all my traffic went from the testing laptop, to the Satellite unit, through wireless backhaul and into the Orbi Router. This clears up any suspicion of the wireless backhaul being the reason of the packet loss. Could it be that my humble router (10.0.0.1), providing DHCP to the network is to blame?

This is the result of the same test and same network but this time the target was the Synology NAS. Surprisingly the packetloss is back with the same pattern as we observed on the router (10.0.0.1). This seems to confirm the wireless backhaul is definetly not the cause for this issue. This points to the ethernet ports of the Orbi Router as the failure point. 

The same devices on the same network arrangement rendered no packet loss on all the same tests when running firmware V2.0.0.74. This strongly suggests the issue is due to some factor in the newer firmware. Here is a short Q&A of other variants I tried before typing this post:

Did you tested with any other devices apart from that silly router (10.0.0.1) and the Synology NAS (10.0.0.42)?

Yes, practically with anything that had an ethernet port in my home. TVs, game consoles, STB, bluray player, printers, etc...The results where always the same.

Could it be that some of the ethernet ports of your Orbi units are defective?

This was one of my first concerns. So I repeted the tests by trying differnet ethernet ports for each device, each time! The only thing that actually made a difference was... firmware version!

Maybe your testing laptop has a faulty network connection?

I thought this too and repeated the same tests with two other laptops and iOS devices. The results where the same.

Did you do a full factory reset on the Orbi units? / Configured from scratch? / Updated the Satellite first and Router second?

Yep

Tried changing the position of the Orbi Router and Satellite?

I don't see how this affects anything considering the results. But, yes I did tried several locations on my house.

Maybe your ethernet cables are bad?

Incredibly, my frustration is so big at this point that I actually took the time to test CAT5, CAT5e and CAT6 cable for all tests and devices.

What is the brand and model of your _______ device?

At this point it doesn't matter since I tried with so many devices and still the only fix was rolling back to V2.0.0.74

Maybe the Orbi units are fine and the other devices are running some weird network configuration?

This is the main reason I repeated (painstakingly) the test with all kinds of devices, managed and unmanaged, old and new, etc..(see above). The results remained the same. More importantly, all packetloss patterns went away, from all tests, as soon as I reverted back to firmware 2.0.0.74 on the Orbi units.

I hope this post is of some use to someone out there on my same situation. Online gaming, VoiP calling, FaceTime Video and that kind of thing are greatly degraded when packet loss is present (specially at the massive rates I'm seeing on my Orbis). Sadly, packet loss is not so noticiable when one is accustomed to a bad ISP service. I'm lucky to be in an area with excelent providers to choose from that provide amazing service. So it is an important matter for me since I work from home.