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Forum Discussion
The 2.1.2.18 nightmare
I won't bother going through how angry I am at Netgear for this firmware MESS (I already have in several posts) since they don't bother offering ANY customer support after they screw you out of your ...
Here is my story: Installed the Orbi AC3000 12 days ago with firmward V2.1.2.16 and it had been stable. Woke up on a nice Sunday morning to find the entire home network down (including the 20 wired deviced out of 27 total). Rebooted the modem; nope. Connected laptop to modem; connection to internet OK. Rebooted router; nothing. At this point I removed the Orbi and reinstalled my old Netgear X4 router just to get internet access for a while. Later hooked the Orbi router back up; still not behaving. Rebooted the satallite; showed signs of life, but network down again. Unplugged the satellite from the ethernet backhaul; Problem located. Rebooted Satellite and let it connect using wireless backhaul; system back up and running. Hey, but I purchased this system specifically for the ethernet backhaul ! At this point I looked back to see what firmware I installed 12 days ago and realized I was the victom of a push update. Powered down the satellite and reconnected the ethernet cable and powered up; amazingly it works now... but I wasted several hours of a weekend. Is there a way to Op OUT of getting push firmware updates?
Instructions to disable automatic firmware updates can be found in the first post of the thread below.
I work out of town during the week, so when I came home this past weekend and saw there was a firmware update pending, I hit these boards to get a feel for how it was working. As there appeared to be much difficulty around the 2.1.2.18 firmware, I decided to look for a way to keep the update from happening automatically and came across this thread. Having familiarity with Telnet sessions and Putty, I followed the steps as outlined by the OP. I logged out and logged in to check the settings. I also found the ability to log in to the router while away from home. Note also that one of my two satellites was unable to download the firmware update, which I thought would have also prevented the auto-update from happening. Like many of us, I didn’t want a toasted network with me being away from home for the week. There would have been chaos.
I left for work, and from the hotel this morning I wanted to test out the remote access feature. Lo and behold I was able to attach the router from the hotel, and then noted that my firmware had been upgraded. Fortunately, the network appears to be running as I immediately connected to my TiVos remotely (hardwired via MoCA). I had wifey confirm by checking her laptop (wifi). I’m also happy to report that my wireless settings appear to of been preserved i.e. my custom SSIDs and passwords.
I did see two things of note however. First, the satellite that was unable to download the firmware is still listed as on the old 2.0.0.34 Software. This satellite is furthest from the router and when I come home this weekend I’ll move it closer and attempt update it. Or if everything is working, maybe I won’t :-). Also, on the interface the satellite that was updated shows the backhaul connection as poor. I wonder if there is a way to address this.
I guess im one of the lucky ones.
About an hour into running after the upgrade all of sudden entire network goes down and router and sat rebooted.
I know how you feel now for those that have been fighting this. Rolling back now as I don't trust this version at all. Too bad, I think if anything else happens I'll just smash the unit send it back in pieces for what its worth and go back to my RT5300 that never acted up.
