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Forum Discussion
Update V1.9.1.12 Netgear officially announcing 'Improvement in wireless connection Stability'
Just downloaded the latest release V1.9.1.12 and noticed in the official release notes from Netgear it states as fix 'Continious Improvement in wireless connection stability'..Dosent spefically makre...
Ts937km wrote:
Curious why you care which one the device is attached to? As long as performance is good? What are you trying to troubleshoot?
I'm just happy they are making real progress on the disconnect issue.
Because knowing which unit (sat or router) your devices are connected to will help in troubleshooting. I think you answered your own question. :) I personally haven't been having disconnects but I am having other issues. Parental Controls & Airprint not staying persistent. The more you know about your network the better position one is in troubleshooting.
This is basic information Netgear could be providing and it shouldn't take much to fix.
My Orbi system was purchased at Costco and consists of 1 Router and 2 Sattelites. The Router is in my unfinished basement, connect to my cable modem (Cox Internet). My main floor Orbi is probably 25 feet from the router (up next level and across the family room). My Second floor Orbi is on the other side of the house and probably 40 feet away. I could be wrong on the distance as I haven't measured but am estimating. Transmit Power Control on the 2.4Ghz signal is set at 25%, 5Ghz 100%. Implicit Beamforming & MU-MIMO are disabled.
Hello all,
First time post,
I am a systems and network engineer, and pretty much a technology nerd. I purchased my orbi in January 2017 to see what all the bells and whistles were about.
To address the original question in this post and not hijack it, your wireless connection stability issues are shared by me. I have been running several out-of-band tests and can reliably say that there are issues with connections and overall usability and functionality of the product. I am running the 1.9.1.12 version on the RBS50
I had one engagement with tech support and when I provided some technical insight into the problem, they were having me jump through the flowchart to keep me busy. "Have you turned it off and on again? Did you wait the 35.2 seconds? Let's reflash the firmware....and now again."
I personally do wireless security cameras and weather stations. The weather station reporting and the security cameras don't have a reliable or fast enough wireless connection to be useful. I can barely do 1 fps with one camera.
I have since added a $49 router outside of the orbi (in front of my orbi system) so that I can see if there is a difference. The $49 router was limited in features but was able to get 10 fps on the camera and kept a 30 second connection update to the NWS and NOAH.
The lack of any documentation in the releases is disturbing. As a previous person mentioned....Where are these mystery documents? I would expect that if it automatically downloads and installs, they could at least present a "What's new and fixed" section in the web interface.
| Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING - Boosts WiFi speed, reliability, & range for all mobile devices |
| Enable MU-MIMO |
While I appreicate what this says, I can with some certainty say that the first option is not needed in most newer setups. Sounds impressive, isn't all that useful anymore.
Having used some of the nighthawk routers in the past, I must say that the orbi is a huge feature and functionality disappointment. The only thing that is impressive with this is the simplicity and coverage area.
For all the others saying stuff about the firmware version, you are probably running into a lot of problems that we all are. I'd suggest that you start another post/thread and file the bug.
20 years of IT. Engineer and Architect. I am no idiot with how to setup my technology. But I thought Orbi would look better and "simplify" my home. As I get older I want less complications with tech stuff. But so far this Orbi is requiring FAR more effort than my previous ASUS WIFI setup with backhaul Ethernet.
Same story. Orbi has been a disappointment, and is unable to serve its most basic function as a wireless access point device.
3 Apple TVs
3 iPhones
3 iPads
2 Macbooks
6 IP Cameras
xBox -Ethernet
PS4 - Ethernet
iPhones - Constant disconnects. I use WIFI calling due to poor cell reception. Today I am forced to disable WIFI and use my low cell signal because WIFI drops every 10-30 minutes. I work from home. Many conf calls. I cannot depend on my WIFI. Thanks Netgear!
iPads - Same conditions. Playing games. Facetime Chat...Guess what...disco....
AppleTV - I use Sling and DirectvNow, even played with Sony Vue. Hard to blame WIFI for Sling buffering problems, but for 2-3 months I get ALL AppleTVs showing "No Network Connections" pop up in the upper right corner, at least 3-5 times per day. Then it magically works again a few seconds later. As of now, with the new update...I tried to watch my favorite morning news show....I couldn't...AppleTV kept dropping every 5-10 minutes...never had that problem until now.
Macbooks - Sometimes, website just won't load for 1-2 minutes, then it just work. I reboot my MacBook, It cant connect to WIFI...I disable, re-enable a few times, then it work after 2-3 minutes.
Ip Cameras - I gave up. Moved them back to my ASUS 3200. They were useless with Orbi. They work great with my ASUS.
PS4 and xBox are on Ethernet...No problems...
And please DO NTO ask me if I have other wireless APs running, and is my placement good Please.
1. I spent days and hours using WIFI analyzer to INSURE satellites had a solid signal to the router. Also test signal roaming between sat and router to insure I did not have overlap problem.
2. Tried beamforming and MU-MIMO on and off.
3. And yes...I scan my entire home to insure I DO NOT have any other WIFI devices enabled. Always disable the radios on other WIFI AP devices.
4. Orbi reboots. Weekly. Soft and hard.
5. Even hacked the command line to separate the 2.4G and 5G SSIDs. That actually did work well. But the moment Netgear pushes a new firmware update or you make any changes to your radio channel, etc...It will role your custom command back to factory. I have better things to do that treat Orbi like a Cisco switch...Was not the Orbi sales pitch...SIMPLE?
Bottom line....When Orbi works...It works well. But this stability problem multiple times per day is pathetic!
Tonight, after family goes to sleep. I am going to switch back to my SINLGE ASUS 3200 and see how well it goes this week. Why did I go with Orbi, they promised;
1. Great wifi coverage in hour home so you would not have slow/dead spots.
2. Next-Gen MU-MIMO and beamforming
3. Guest Network
4.Fast, Fast, Fast
5. SIMPLICITY!!!!
What did I get...
1. Very unstable WIFI converage
2. Must disable MU-MIMO and beamforming because its unstable
3. Guest network is still CRAP. If you use IPV6 it does not isolate. It appends its own DNS suffix which can break networks.
4. Fast most times, when it works. But for some reason its not fast for IP Cameras.
5. SIMPLE...HAHAHAAH.....Does anyone on this forum believe spending countless hours on this forum looking for solutions to make Orbi WORK call that SIMPLE? Does chasing down problems with your devices and your family complaining call that SIMPLE? An App that cant provide details of connected devices and any other useful abilties...SIMPLE??? Not being able to quickly see what devices are connect to which Orbi unit so you can do some troubleshooting...SIMPLE???? Needing telnet into the Orbi and hack its command line to make it do the things you NEED it to do...SIMPLE?????
I wish I could return it but I can't, and I am still holding onto hope that Netgear can get this product working..But that hope is running low. I am ready dump it on EBay, take my financial loss, and run to something else. If I must do that...Well, you lost me for life....And my family and friends look to me for their buying guide for technology.
Netgear, making me upset can cost you at least $10,000. At $400 per Orbi kit....multiply by the people who only buy what I tell them to buy...If I say no to Orbi....All the Netgear marketing in the world will not outweigh my recommendation...
Just an FYI
And yet another day of no disconnects.
i do have a relatively small house for an orbi system. 3400 sq ft on 2 levels with a detached garage. About 20 ft behind the house and coverage is solid there as well. Just double checked everything. Not seeing any signs of disconnect. iPad was left at home. Left it playing a bunch of stuff off of plex. Was still playing when I got home.
I wish i knew knew what was different. Could it be different hardware levels?