I have two EAX80's that I bought directly from Netgear in September 2021. My 90-day support ran out in mid-December and I'm trying to decide whether to invoke the hardware warranty and return them.The problem is that I have to reset one or both of these devices at least once a week. WiFi is great until suddenly it doesn't work and even disrupts the devices connected to the router via Ethernet. Resetting the Nighthawks fixes the problem immediately, so clearly the Nighthawks are the cause of the problem. I chatted with a Netgear support agent back in December who had me reflash the existing and up-to-date firmware and also change the WiFi channels on one of the devices. That only solved the problem for a week, and then I was out of warranty. Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice?

1. what router are they connected to? 2. did you set them up using wps or using the installation assistant? 3. Are you using the "mesh" function (one ssid)? If so, try disabling it one of the extenders. Sometimes if the router is dropping connections, the extenders can end up connecting to each other versus back to the router. Its why I usually recommend moving to a full mesh system like orbi when people need more than 1 extender 4. are you setting them up in a daisy chain or star configuration? daisy: router----->extender------>extender star: extender<-------router--------->extender

Plemans, Thanks for the quick response. Here are my answers:1. what router are they connected to? It's actually a pretty big home network:- Router: Netgear R6080 running a WiFi SSID separate from the one the EAX80's share- Cisco switches connected via Ethernet- EAX80's connected to different Cisco switches via Ethernet sharing an SSID- Some PC's connected via Ethernet, some connect via WiFi 2. did you set them up using wps or using the installation assistant?- I used the Installation assistant 3. Are you using the "mesh" function (one ssid)? If so, try disabling it one of the extenders. Sometimes if the router is dropping connections, the extenders can end up connecting to each other versus back to the router. Its why I usually recommend moving to a full mesh system like orbi when people need more than 1 extender- I am using the mesh function of one SSID. That was the reason I bought these two devices. I didn't buy the Orbis because I had a bad experience with Eeros and ended up returning them. The Orbis sounded like the Eeros. 4. are you setting them up in a daisy chain or star configuration?daisy: router----->extender------>extenderstar: extender<-------router--------->extender- See above - Star configuration

You have all that running off the R6080? That router is a very model router with only 10/100mbps connections. That'd be a significan bottleneck in the system Its not that capable. So if you're paying for half decent speeds, an upgrade might be in order. What modem/gateway do you have?

I'm getting 90MBps upload and download, so the router isn't really a bottleneck, and that shouldn't be the cause of the problem I have with the weekly interruptions.

1. 90 mbps indicates the router is a bottle neck. A 10/100mbps connection maxes out at that 90-94mbps. What actual speeds do you pay for? What speed do you get directly off the modem? What modem/gateway is it? 2. It *shouldn't* cause the interuptions. but your basing your whole network off a base model 10/100mbps device. It isn't designed for maximum loads. When you put a bunch of devices on it, it isn't going to perform the best. Were the Eero's connected to the R6080 when you were having issues with them? in my experience, the eero's are pretty solid devices.

Have to Reset EAX80's every week | NETGEAR Communities

16 Replies

plemans
Guru - Experienced User
Dec 31, 2021
1. what router are they connected to?

2. did you set them up using wps or using the installation assistant?

3. Are you using the "mesh" function (one ssid)? If so, try disabling it one of the extenders. Sometimes if the router is dropping connections, the extenders can end up connecting to each other versus back to the router. Its why I usually recommend moving to a full mesh system like orbi when people need more than 1 extender

4. are you setting them up in a daisy chain or star configuration?

daisy: router----->extender------>extender

star: extender<-------router--------->extender
- cfulbright
  Tutor
  Dec 31, 2021
  Plemans,
  
  Thanks for the quick response. Here are my answers:
  
  1. what router are they connected to?
  It's actually a pretty big home network:
  - Router: Netgear R6080 running a WiFi SSID separate from the one the EAX80's share
  - Cisco switches connected via Ethernet
  - EAX80's connected to different Cisco switches via Ethernet sharing an SSID
  - Some PC's connected via Ethernet, some connect via WiFi
  
  2. did you set them up using wps or using the installation assistant?
  - I used the Installation assistant
  
  3. Are you using the "mesh" function (one ssid)? If so, try disabling it one of the extenders. Sometimes if the router is dropping connections, the extenders can end up connecting to each other versus back to the router. Its why I usually recommend moving to a full mesh system like orbi when people need more than 1 extender
  - I am using the mesh function of one SSID. That was the reason I bought these two devices. I didn't buy the Orbis because I had a bad experience with Eeros and ended up returning them. The Orbis sounded like the Eeros.
  
  4. are you setting them up in a daisy chain or star configuration?
  daisy: router----->extender------>extender
  star: extender<-------router--------->extender
  - See above - Star configuration
  - plemans
    Guru - Experienced User
    Dec 31, 2021
    You have all that running off the R6080?
    
    That router is a very model router with only 10/100mbps connections. That'd be a significan bottleneck in the system
    
    Its not that capable.
    
    So if you're paying for half decent speeds, an upgrade might be in order.
    
    What modem/gateway do you have?

Forum Discussion

Have to Reset EAX80's every week