Orbi Firmware 2.3.1.60

This may sound vitriolic and I apologize if this offends some people. But I've had this setup for over 1 year now and I already replaced my RBK53 set once (it was great I got it from Costco). I've multiple problems, including but not limited to incompatibility problems, so I disagree them being generic. Here is my problems list. Some of the issues are fixed by one hardware update, then broken by another:

1) The entire network hangs for no visible reason. Was able to resolve it to a degree by disconnecting one satellite. My house is not huge so 2 satellite pretty much cover it except for the farest ends of the house.

2) My Nest Hello disconnects from Wifi all the time. Had it replaced by warranty and the replacement Hello is doing exactly the same (disconnects 1 hour after being connected)

3) My Neato robotic vacuum disconnects all the time for no visible reason. I had it replaced twice. All replacements are doing exactly the same thing (approx. every other day).

4) I run HP Tablet in Picture Frame mode. It also disconnects from Wi-Fi all the time so I have to reboot it (~daily)

5) My Nordic track treadmill disconnects all the time (~weekly)

6) My Nvidia Shield devices connected over Wifi also disconnect (~weekly)

On the top of this, the network seem to disappear and come back for no visible reason. And approximately once a week I have to reboot the router to reconnect to my Comcast Modem (SB6141).

As such I find the RBK53 and by extension the entire Orbi line completely unreliable. I am really happy MikeG63 that your setup runs flawlessly. Mine does not, hence is my rant. Oh, and I work in IS since I came to the States in 1994 so I think I know what I am talking about.

NewAccount 

Hello.  Have you ever tried doing a factory reset of the hardware to see if it makes a difference?

Hmmmmm, I rest my case, it seems your issues are all related to compatibility issues rather than Netgear h/w being 'junk'.  The problem is mostly down to 'standards' accross the industry.

For example, my Ring camera and doorbell battery devices suffered issues when I first set my Orbi mesh network up.  Thisi was resolved by adding another Ring Chime Pro to the Ring network so I had one near each battery device.  My Nest battery home protect smoke / CO2 alarms didn't work initially and kept loosing their connection.  After some 'googling' I found someone who had solved the problem by resetting each Nest alarm back to their default factory settings and then reconfiguring them to the new n/w.  Since then they have not disconnected again.  My Canary camera occaisionaly disconnects, but will re-connect a short time later so no biggy there.  As to all my other devices (Amazon, Hue, Sky, heating thermostats), and I currently have 32, they all seem to be coping fine.

I assume you've tried reserving their IP addresses?

Finally, I took my service providers (BT) router / modem out of the equation and connected my Orbi router directly to their modem.

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
What WPA security modes are you using?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

As suggested, has a Factory reset been performed since last FW update and setup from scratch? 

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NewAccount wrote:

This may sound vitriolic and I apologize if this offends some people. But I've had this setup for over 1 year now and I already replaced my RBK53 set once (it was great I got it from Costco). I've multiple problems, including but not limited to incompatibility problems, so I disagree them being generic. Here is my problems list. Some of the issues are fixed by one hardware update, then broken by another:

1) The entire network hangs for no visible reason. Was able to resolve it to a degree by disconnecting one satellite. My house is not huge so 2 satellite pretty much cover it except for the farest ends of the house.

2) My Nest Hello disconnects from Wifi all the time. Had it replaced by warranty and the replacement Hello is doing exactly the same (disconnects 1 hour after being connected)

3) My Neato robotic vacuum disconnects all the time for no visible reason. I had it replaced twice. All replacements are doing exactly the same thing (approx. every other day).

4) I run HP Tablet in Picture Frame mode. It also disconnects from Wi-Fi all the time so I have to reboot it (~daily)

5) My Nordic track treadmill disconnects all the time (~weekly)

6) My Nvidia Shield devices connected over Wifi also disconnect (~weekly)

 

On the top of this, the network seem to disappear and come back for no visible reason. And approximately once a week I have to reboot the router to reconnect to my Comcast Modem (SB6141).

 

As such I find the RBK53 and by extension the entire Orbi line completely unreliable. I am really happy MikeG63 that your setup runs flawlessly. Mine does not, hence is my rant. Oh, and I work in IS since I came to the States in 1994 so I think I know what I am talking about.

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I use my own Motorola SB6141 modem, so it is not provider-specific. Orbi is connected directly to the modem so there is nothing in between which may affect the connectivity. I reset my Nest camera weekly, basically going through the setup steps from the beginning. It stays connected for about 30-60 minutes then disconnects, both before and after the replacement. Also I placed a satellite within 6ft from the Hello to ensure a good signal. The robot vacuum connects and reconnects on its' own, but once the connection is lost, it loses the stored maps, so I need to restart it couple of times before it finds the settings. The network hang ups - I read about it online and did everything recommended (played with the settings in Advanced set up). The issue stays. I believe one firmware release fixed it then the next one broke it immediately.

After todays firmware upgrade the network is extremely slow; my HP Tablet has disconnected almost immediately, so did the Nest Hello.

I tried to address this with Netgear tech support and the only advise from them is "wait for a new firmware"

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MikeG63 wrote:

Hmmmmm, I rest my case, it seems your issues are all related to compatibility issues rather than Netgear h/w being 'junk'.  The problem is mostly down to 'standards' accross the industry.

 

For example, my Ring camera and doorbell battery devices suffered issues when I first set my Orbi mesh network up.  Thisi was resolved by adding another Ring Chime Pro to the Ring network so I had one near each battery device.  My Nest battery home protect smoke / CO2 alarms didn't work initially and kept loosing their connection.  After some 'googling' I found someone who had solved the problem by resetting each Nest alarm back to their default factory settings and then reconfiguring them to the new n/w.  Since then they have not disconnected again.  My Canary camera occaisionaly disconnects, but will re-connect a short time later so no biggy there.  As to all my other devices (Amazon, Hue, Sky, heating thermostats), and I currently have 32, they all seem to be coping fine.

 

I assume you've tried reserving their IP addresses?

 

Finally, I took my service providers (BT) router / modem out of the equation and connected my Orbi router directly to their modem.

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It is a good idea to simplify the network whenever possible.  Dropouts and disconnects should not be happening and when those symptoms start appearing, taking steps like address reservation shouldn't be needed just to try and cure said symtpoms.  It's why the suggestion to reset is oftentimes given, and almot always helps.

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NewAccount wrote:

I use my own Motorola SB6141 modem, so it is not provider-specific. Orbi is connected directly to the modem so there is nothing in between which may affect the connectivity. I reset my Nest camera weekly, basically going through the setup steps from the beginning. It stays connected for , both before and after replacement. Also I placed a satellite within 6ft from the Hello to ensure a good signal. The robot vacuum connects and reconnects on its' own, but once the connection is lost, it loses the stored maps, so I need to restart it couple of times before it finds the settings. The network hang ups - I read about it online and did everything recommended (played with the settings in Advanced set up). The issue stays. I believe one firmware release fixed it then the next one broke it immediately.

 

After todays firmware upgrade the network is extremely slow; my HP Tablet has disconnected almost immediately, so did the Nest Hello.

 

I tried to address this with Netgear tech support and the only advise from them is "wait for a new firmware"

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Given this statement, perhaps something is being missed.  There is a way to fully reset the RBK53 system.  Are you familiar with it and have you tried it already?

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
What WPA security modes are you using?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

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NewAccount wrote:

I use my own Motorola SB6141 modem, so it is not provider-specific. Orbi is connected directly to the modem so there is nothing in between which may affect the connectivity. I reset my Nest camera weekly, basically going through the setup steps from the beginning. It stays connected for , both before and after replacement. Also I placed a satellite within 6ft from the Hello to ensure a good signal. The robot vacuum connects and reconnects on its' own, but once the connection is lost, it loses the stored maps, so I need to restart it couple of times before it finds the settings. The network hang ups - I read about it online and did everything recommended (played with the settings in Advanced set up). The issue stays. I believe one firmware release fixed it then the next one broke it immediately.

 

After todays firmware upgrade the network is extremely slow; my HP Tablet has disconnected almost immediately, so did the Nest Hello.

 

I tried to address this with Netgear tech support and the only advise from them is "wait for a new firmware"

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Reset to factory settings at least twice in the lifetime of the device. Not after this firmware upgrade though.

My current settings from Advanced Wifi settings page (and they are being like this for a while):

Enable Daisy-Chain Topology - Off
Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING - Off
Enable MU-MIMO - Off
Enable Fast Roaming 0 Off

In my case with dropping wifi/devices all the time. I have tried to disconnect all satellites, changed the SSID so no devices was connected by wifi, my devices where only connected via cable, the wifi where still dropping from the router, both 2.4 and 5. I have now tried two another routers, same problem on all of them and i have tried all above suggestions, no one helps. I have had problem since day one, different problem in each firmware update.

If you have tried other routers and they exhibit the same issue, then your wifi environment and surroundings needs to be looked in to. 

What other wifi devices do you have that may be broadcasing wifi? 

Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

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jsturess wrote:

In my case with dropping wifi/devices all the time. I have tried to disconnect all satellites, changed the SSID so no devices was connected by wifi, my devices where only connected via cable, the wifi where still dropping from the router, both 2.4 and 5. I have now tried two another routers, same problem on all of them and i have tried all above suggestions, no one helps. I have had problem since day one, different problem in each firmware update.

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Before switching to Orbi I had Linksys LRT214 router with Netgear AC1900/R7000  in AP mode this combo was working fine but the signal upstairs was not great, hence swtiching to Orbi.

Here is some answers for the questions asked before:

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft: 1500sq ft
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? both under 30ft. The router is in the basement (this is where the Cable enters the house so not many options here)
What channels are you using? Auto?
2.4GHz on Auto (as per recommendation from both Neato and Nest)
5GHz - 40 (switched from 36 ~1 week ago)
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? There are 2 houses both with Wifi within 100ft from mine.
What WPA security modes are you using? WPA2-PSK [AES]
Enable WMM (Wi-Fi multimedia) settings: Enabled
CTS/RTS Threshold (1-2347): 2341
Preamble Mode: Long Preamble
Transmit Power Control: 100%
Enable Daisy-Chain Topology: Off
Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING: Off
Enable MU-MIMO: Off
Enable Fast Roaming: Off

Also I reserved IP addresses for Home Server, Nest Hello, Ecobee Thermostat and Nvidia Shield.

Beamforming should be enabled. MIMO can be if you have MIMO supporting devices.

Basements are not good places for the Base router to be. Main floor is recommended. 

If under 30 feet in between, this maybe too close. Try 30 feet or beyond if possible. 

Find out what channels your neighbors are using and manually set a manual channel farthest from your neighbors. Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz. If the NEST and other devices won't connect after setting manual channel, set back to Auto. Change the power output of the RBR from 100% to 75% or 50%. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

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NewAccount wrote:

Reset to factory settings at least twice in the lifetime of the device. Not after this firmware upgrade though.

 

My current settings from Advanced Wifi settings page (and they are being like this for a while):

Enable Daisy-Chain Topology - Off
Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING - Off
Enable MU-MIMO - Off
Enable Fast Roaming 0 Off

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NewAccount wrote:

Reset to factory settings at least twice in the lifetime of the device. Not after this firmware upgrade though.

 

My current settings from Advanced Wifi settings page (and they are being like this for a while):

Enable Daisy-Chain Topology - Off
Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING - Off
Enable MU-MIMO - Off
Enable Fast Roaming 0 Off

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Okay, great.  My $0.02.  Run with all 3 advanced wireless settings on. 

But given you haven't done a factory reset recently, and the firmware has been churning a lot lately, I'd do it for safe measure.  After the system comes up enable the 3 settings.

When I do this myself, I use the hardware method to reset, and I make sure all devices are either disconnected and off the network.

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FURRYe38 wrote:

If you have tried other routers and they exhibit the same issue, then your wifi environment and surroundings needs to be looked in to. 

What other wifi devices do you have that may be broadcasing wifi? 

Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

 

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jsturess wrote:

In my case with dropping wifi/devices all the time. I have tried to disconnect all satellites, changed the SSID so no devices was connected by wifi, my devices where only connected via cable, the wifi where still dropping from the router, both 2.4 and 5. I have now tried two another routers, same problem on all of them and i have tried all above suggestions, no one helps. I have had problem since day one, different problem in each firmware update.

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First picture show all wifi network in the house and nearby. Other sending wifi is Netgear arlo pro 2 with 9 cameras, in this picture they both uses channel 1, but i have the same problem when they are on different channels. The second pictures shows the drops from rotuer and three satellites. I also have lot of Philips hue lights and the hue hub is about 5 feet from the router and i also have lot of zwave plus devices and the samsung smartthings v2 hub is also about 5 feet from the router. Could it be one of those that makes/interferes the wifi to drop? 

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I turned off the netgear arlo, philips hue and the smartthings hub. but it didnt help, still dropping wifi

Which SSID names are yours and your neighbors? 

9 cameras. Wow. 

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jsturess wrote:

I turned off the netgear arlo, philips hue and the smartthings hub. but it didnt help, still dropping wifi

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I

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FURRYe38 wrote:

Which SSID names are yours and your neighbors? 

9 cameras. Wow. 

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jsturess wrote:

I turned off the netgear arlo, philips hue and the smartthings hub. but it didnt help, still dropping wifi

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Its only one, the one last in the list, IoTSweden

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MikeG63 wrote:

 

 

I am not defending Netgear persay, 

 

 

It is "per se"....you don't say!

 

 

MikeG63 wrote:

Hmmmmm, I rest my case, it seems your issues are all related to compatibility issues rather than Netgear h/w being 'junk'.  The problem is mostly down to 'standards' accross the industry.

 

For example, my Ring camera and doorbell battery devices suffered issues when I first set my Orbi mesh network up.  Thisi was resolved by adding another Ring Chime Pro to the Ring network so I had one near each battery device.  My Nest battery home protect smoke / CO2 alarms didn't work initially and kept loosing their connection.  After some 'googling' I found someone who had solved the problem by resetting each Nest alarm back to their default factory settings and then reconfiguring them to the new n/w.  Since then they have not disconnected again.  My Canary camera occaisionaly disconnects, but will re-connect a short time later so no biggy there.  As to all my other devices (Amazon, Hue, Sky, heating thermostats), and I currently have 32, they all seem to be coping fine.

 

I assume you've tried reserving their IP addresses?

 

Finally, I took my service providers (BT) router / modem out of the equation and connected my Orbi router directly to their modem.

 

 

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I'm going to have to semi disagree with you.  I actually have been having issues for the last few months.  I have had the Orbi for just over a year and a half now, the 40, and the Satellites constantly drop.  I have almost no issues with wireless devices.

Normally, I would pickup something a little more advanced, as with you, I have decades of IT and IT Security experience, so I am not a novice user.  I picked up the Orbi because it was a quick stop gap solution to moving into my new house, and I needed something with physical ethernet ports to connect my Tivos, and the internet comes in on the other side of the house, and did not want to rip apart walls or floors to run cable at the time. 

I had not noticed it much becaue my main TV is wired into the main Orbi unit and not the satellite, which is hardwired into a Brocade 6610 switch.

However, my 6 year old has taken over that TV so I am relagated to the back room which has no coax or ethernet cable.  Only the satellite.

Watching TV is almost impossible, every 2 or 3 min the satellite drops its connection for a few hours, then it is fine again. for a few hours, then it craps out again.  It has been doing this for months now.  The only reason I still have it is because I have been working on a bathroom.  Next project will be running coax and cat6 and/or fiber throughout the house.

There is a 500+ post thread on the connections dropping spanning over a year.  This is not a new problem, this is a major issue which has not been resolved.  for a $400 (well when I bought it)+ setup, this should not be happening.  So yes, people get a little vicious when describing hardware that is a problem.  I currently have a Ubiquiti AP, sitting in my garage, with a concrete wall and 2 regular drywalls between the backroom, and I still get stronger signals than the Orbi provides which is separated  by only a regular drywall and 50 feet from the main unit.  This should not be the case.

So I will be turfing the Orbi soon unless they come up with a solution to the dropouts.  The Ubiquiti products are almost as easily to setup (ps, I have no working or personal relation to them), and also suppor multi vlan tagging, which I feel that the Orbi for it's price should also support.  I feel that Netgear is using us as beta testers rather than a polished product.. Garmin does this as well.. drives me nuts.

I guess like the other guy, I am just fedup with the problems.  Maybe it was because I tried to watch 3 episodes of Game of Thrones yesterday while working form home and the constant interuptions from the satellite dropping pissed me off to the point that I am making my issues public..  

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Ljvb wrote:

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MikeG63 wrote:

Hmmmmm, I rest my case, it seems your issues are all related to compatibility issues rather than Netgear h/w being 'junk'.  The problem is mostly down to 'standards' accross the industry.

 

For example, my Ring camera and doorbell battery devices suffered issues when I first set my Orbi mesh network up.  Thisi was resolved by adding another Ring Chime Pro to the Ring network so I had one near each battery device.  My Nest battery home protect smoke / CO2 alarms didn't work initially and kept loosing their connection.  After some 'googling' I found someone who had solved the problem by resetting each Nest alarm back to their default factory settings and then reconfiguring them to the new n/w.  Since then they have not disconnected again.  My Canary camera occaisionaly disconnects, but will re-connect a short time later so no biggy there.  As to all my other devices (Amazon, Hue, Sky, heating thermostats), and I currently have 32, they all seem to be coping fine.

 

I assume you've tried reserving their IP addresses?

 

Finally, I took my service providers (BT) router / modem out of the equation and connected my Orbi router directly to their modem.

 

 

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I'm going to have to semi disagree with you.  I actually have been having issues for the last few months.  I have had the Orbi for just over a year and a half now, the 40, and the Satellites constantly drop.  I have almost no issues with wireless devices.

 

Normally, I would pickup something a little more advanced, as with you, I have decades of IT and IT Security experience, so I am not a novice user.  I picked up the Orbi because it was a quick stop gap solution to moving into my new house, and I needed something with physical ethernet ports to connect my Tivos, and the internet comes in on the other side of the house, and did not want to rip apart walls or floors to run cable at the time. 

 

I had not noticed it much becaue my main TV is wired into the main Orbi unit and not the satellite, which is hardwired into a Brocade 6610 switch.

However, my 6 year old has taken over that TV so I am relagated to the back room which has no coax or ethernet cable.  Only the satellite.

 

Watching TV is almost impossible, every 2 or 3 min the satellite drops its connection for a few hours, then it is fine again. for a few hours, then it craps out again.  It has been doing this for months now.  The only reason I still have it is because I have been working on a bathroom.  Next project will be running coax and cat6 and/or fiber throughout the house.

 

There is a 500+ post thread on the connections dropping spanning over a year.  This is not a new problem, this is a major issue which has not been resolved.  for a $400 (well when I bought it)+ setup, this should not be happening.  So yes, people get a little vicious when describing hardware that is a problem.  I currently have a Ubiquiti AP, sitting in my garage, with a concrete wall and 2 regular drywalls between the backroom, and I still get stronger signals than the Orbi provides which is separated  by only a regular drywall and 50 feet from the main unit.  This should not be the case.

 

So I will be turfing the Orbi soon unless they come up with a solution to the dropouts.  The Ubiquiti products are almost as easily to setup (ps, I have no working or personal relation to them), and also suppor multi vlan tagging, which I feel that the Orbi for it's price should also support.  I feel that Netgear is using us as beta testers rather than a polished product.. Garmin does this as well.. drives me nuts.

 

I guess like the other guy, I am just fedup with the problems.  Maybe it was because I tried to watch 3 episodes of Game of Thrones yesterday while working form home and the constant interuptions from the satellite dropping pissed me off to the point that I am making my issues public..  

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You said it Ljvb  - same here. I am not in IT, I am in IS and while complex network design is beyond me, I know enough to setup the basic network and turn the setting on and off. And this and other forums provide plenty of answers (this is where I learned to disable the Beamforming, MIMO and set preferred channels). However the reason for the Satellites dropouts was never solved, neither by firmware updates, nor by Netgear support. And I was as lucky as some others to get a replacement devices magically begin working. 

So yeah, I am fed up by the device that cost me more than $300. I ordered a set of 3 Eeros, all Gen. 2, that's coming it some time tomorrow. And unless 100's of reviews for Eero products I read online are totally bogus, this Orbi goes right back to Costco, and then to Netgear who will fix it (or most likely not) and will sell as refurbished to some other poor soul.

Rude

What is happening? A more detailed description would be needed to describe your problem.

Try a different modem? 

Contact your ISP and have them check signal and services up to the modem. 

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Kammen77 wrote:
I also have the surfboard SB6141 AND AN COMCAST I have the some of the same things happening, I have unplugged the way cable and the icon on the modem stays flashing as connected. I am starting to wonder if the modem has something to do with it.

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