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christoepherr's avatar
christoepherr
Tutor
Nov 27, 2023

Attached devices list RBR850 incorrect

I'm also experiencing this on the RBR850 with one satellite. Was never an issue before.

 

Firmware:V7.2.6.21_5.0.20

 

I tried a factory reset of the router yesterday and it did not resolve the issue. It's showing a lot of my devices as attached via Ethernet (like my door bell, washer/dryer) when they are no way attached via Ethernet.

 

Can't even tell if my IoT devices are connected to the separate IoT network or not. Some of these show attached via Ethernet when I set them up originally to connect to the IoT network.

1 Reply

  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru
    Nov 27, 2023

    I feel your pain.  People who should know tell me that Netgear's hardware is fantastic. First Rate!

    The software, however, often disappoints.

    Your question prompted me to look at the Attached Devices table on my ancient RBR50 router.  Three Tivo units immediately stood out:

    They are all three wired into a Powerline network using Ethernet cables.  Notice they all three claim to be connected  to the same Orbi MAC address. (Which is definitely the hardware LAN MAC address.)  Two questions come to mind:

     

    • How does Attached Devices think the same MAC address can be both 'wired' and '2.4G'?
    • How does Attached Devices not know that this is the LAN port and not a WiFi connection?

    Answer: the firmware is wrong.  One of our more senior members has proved that there is a memory issue in the RBR50 router which causes information to get corrupted, but Netgear has never addressed the issue.  My guess is that there is a similar programming problem in the 850 firmware.

     

    My Orbi has not been rebooted for 138 days.  Maybe if I restart or Factory Reset it then the Attached Devices display will be correct (for a while).

     

    If you have read this far, it is probably clear (a) that I have no answer to what could be causing this issue on your 850, and (b) my attitude is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Until one of my devices no longer functions, I just ignore stuff like this.