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Forum Discussion
RBR20 - Once or twice a day, it randomly disconnects
Hi all - first post here since becoming a user of Netgear.
A couple of weeks ago, I invested in an Orbi RBR20 with two satellites, to replace the unreliable and slow PowerLine adapters I'd used for some time.
I have a BT Home Hub 6 modem, on an ADSL line.
After some jiggling about, I managed to get the system up and running. I turned off all wireless on the Home Hub (because there's no way to turn on Bridge mode on this modem).
I have been really impressed with the speed and quality of the wi-fi signal around the house (and in the garden shed too). However, there is one small glitch that it seems is affecting many people, but there is apparently no simple solution.
At least once (sometimes twice) a day, the system just falls over. The Orbi stops working, before spontaneously resurrecting itself. I'm confident it has nothing to do with the modem, because my wife has her laptop plugged directly to the modem because she's fed up of meetings being interrupted.
I've checked the log file on the main GUI, but that seems to clear itself every time there's a reboot. I've now enabled log files in /debug to see if I can find what's triggering it.
I've switched off security. I've got the RBR20 in AP mode (which means I've lost some functionality within the app?). I've reduced the transmitter power. I can't split the SSID because telnet won't allow me access because my modem isn't bridged. Firmware is up to date.
Any other good ideas? (apart from sending it back?)
When it works, it's exactly what I need. When it crashes randomly, it is incredibly frustrating. I get that the internet is not a rock solid platform, but this shouldn't be happening so regularly, should it?
3 Replies
No, of course this is not supposed to happen. It seems unlikely that transmitter power or splitting SSID's has anything to do with the issue.
Is the unit on a UPS? A (very) brief power hit could cause the unit to restart.
Thanks for getting back to me.
None of the units are connected to a UPS - the router and satellites are plugged into wall sockets. However, we do have some electricity guzzling devices here (underfloor heating and pool) but there's no correlation between them switching on and the Orbi going off. I don't want to go to the expense of buying a UPS if the fault is not due to the electrical supply.
On another note - what's the point of having a debug log if it gets deleted as soon as the system powers down? I've enabled logs in the hope of trying to see what's going on, but they only go back to the point where the Orbi was last booted up. Therefore, losing the event that caused the damn thing to fall over in the first place!
Why is nothing ever simple?
While I understand that electronic devices are engineered to withstand electrical outages, I have this superstition that the one time a power surge or outage is going to fry a computer or expensive WiFi router, it will be mine. The UPS is more to "smooth out" minor electrical issues than to provide operation during extensive outages. When the whole neighborhood is dead, that usually takes the internet out along with lights, fans, alarm system, etc.
I share the frustration of log files not being useful. Have never seen a reference that explains what is contained in the Debug.log. The LAN and WAN pcap files are obvious. The rest... who knows? My PC knows when it did not follow a normal shutdown, so maybe the Orbi does something similar. Not sure how helpful that would be, since when the power fails, there is no power to write anything to a log.
