Replacing an FVS338 with FVS318Gv2 doesn't work - FVS318G not responsive

Hello,

The firmware issue is secondary to the units totally freezing up.

On the unit I bought yesterday, I did a reset and upgraded to 4.3.4.1 from the link you provided. The router is behaving the exact same as before. I'll explain the network and behavior in more detail. The network has  5 Dell Optiplex 960T, 2 Optiplex 755. 1 Dell T105 Server and 1 Dell T100 server - all connected via ethernet. There are 2 Brother color laser printers and 1 Epson color inkjet all via ethernet. There are two Netgear GS116 switches. There is a WNDR3700 and a WNDR3700v2, both set up as access points. There a several Dell Latitude D630 laptops that are occasionally (rarely) used on the network. The network also supports both iPhone and Android. There is a SamsungD75300N DVR on the network as well. The PCs are running McAfee Multi Access Total Protection. The Dell T105 is running Symantec.cloud Endpoint Protection.

Previously I have used a Netgear FVS318 and FVS338 without issue. I had upgraded to the FVS318Gv2 because the FVS338 was pretty much capped at 75mbs and my ISP provides 101mbs down and I wanted to avail myself of the full bandwidth.

When I installed the first FVS318Gv2 it did not just boot up like any other router I've used on the network. Trying to log on to the router showed a certificate error (both units I have do this). And despite the router appearing "up" none of the PCs could connect to the internet. I did an upgrade of the firmware to 4.3.3.6 thinking that might fix it. It took almost 30 minutes before any of the PCs on the network were abe to make an internet connection. Despite not being able to connect ot the internet, the entire network was visible and all mapped drives on the servers could be reached and print jobs would run.

Last weekend there was a power outage, however all of the switches, WNDR3700s, the FVS318Gv2 and the Arris TM802 modem are on APC battery backup units and never went down. When the line power was restored, there was no internet connection. Internally the network was visible and accessable. No amount of power cycling both the modem and router would being connectivity back. Then seemingly by itself, internet connectivity returned after about 2 hours. Everything ran fine until yesterday when internet was lost and nothing would bring it back. When I would try to access the admin pages of the router they would freeze up after a couple of minutes. Rebooting the router would give me another couple of minutes acccess.

I went to Staples and bought another FVS318Gv2 yesterday and tried setting it up. It's the same problem. If I reboot the router I can access the admin pages for a couple of minutes before the router seems to lock. I can access maybe one or two web pages - google.com and a speedtest page I use before connectivity is lost. This is both before and after upgrading the firmware to 4.3.4.1

If the router is offline and connected to a laptop via LAN port 1, I can access the admin pages and the router doesn't freeze. I still get the cert error saying "Certificate Invalid" but can access it without issue.

I've tried disconnecting the WNDR3700s from the system and that doesn't make a difference.

If I hook up the FVS338, the network comes up as soon as the router boots with full internet access. I substitued in a D Link DIR-655 Gigabit router and again - the network and full internet access come up as soon as the router boots up.

I've been using Netgear ProSafe products for years because I feel "safe" using them and really don't want to change brands. I'm just getting so frustrated at this point because it seems every other router will work except for these FVS318Gv2s...

I had tried changing the MAC address of the new router to the one of the older, working router and it didn't help with connectivity. I changed it back to the factory default. makes no difference. I've since tried a TP-Link router and it works perfectly. Just plug and play. The old FVS338 works fine. Right now I'm using the D-Link DIR-655 with no issues. I've run it by techs at my ISP and they say the issue is definitely in the router. I've had a "network guy" I use look at both 318s and he thinks it's the firmware. I'd really like to use the 318G since it fits perfectly in the Leviton media panel. The D-Link is sort of cobbled in and the door won't close. That's more secondary. I've had good experiences over the years with Netgear in terms of stability and security and don't want to "break rank". Honestly at this point I fell like it's a lost cause. Ironically, I'm an IT Manager for a big law firm in NYC. We just took over another floor in the builiding and were going to use Netgear products for wifi like we've done on the other 2 floors. At this point I cant take a chance on rolling out a solution that may or may not just suddently cease functioning.