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Forum Discussion
I have to change wifi password after every internet outage
I have an Orbi RBR850 used with a Nighthawk modem. Every time the internet goes out most of my devices will not reconnect to the wifi. The only thing that works is to change the wifi password and then login again with all of the devices. When I try to reconnect with the existing password it either says "connected no internet" on my pc, or "connection failed" on my phone. For some reason my google home minis all reconnect just fine, but none of my other devices (phones, pc's, tv's, light switches etc.) will connect to the wifi unless I change its password.
This is very frustrating to have to change the password on over 100 devices and reconnect every time there is a short internet service outage.
4 Replies
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 is recommended.How many RBS do you have deployed?
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 🛰️
Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router been performed since last update?
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update? A complete pull of the power adapters for a period of time after the factory reset then walk thru the setup wizard and setup from scratch. Recommend setting the default DHCP IP address pool range to the following after applying and a factory reset: 192.168.#.100 to 192.168.#.200.
I would power OFF the ISP modem for 1 minute. Factory reset the Orbi router and power it off. Power ON the ISP modem and let it sync. Then power ON the Orbi router and walk thru the setup wizard again using a wired PC and a web browser.
Press the back reset button for 15 seconds then release.
https://kb.netgear.com/31486/How-do-I-reset-my-Orbi-system-to-factory-default-settings
Nate3212 wrote:
Every time the internet goes out most of my devices will not reconnect to the wifi.
Could you please explain in more detail what "internet goes out" is describing?
- The actual feed from the Internet Service Provider is interrupted, but the Orbi system remains operating?
- There is an electrical outage which causes every device in the house to reboot?
- Or....?
It happens if either the power goes out, or there is an actual disruption in service from the internet service provider. More commonly it is just a disruption in service from the internet service provider.
Thanks. When this happens, have you tried resetting the WiFi credentials, but to exactly what they were before?
An Orbi WiFi system will function with no internet connection at all. (Not particularly useful to most of us, but there have been several posts on the forum describing situations where people want to network a bunch of devices - including WiFi devices -- "out in the boonies" where there is no internet service.)
Losing the internet connection should not cause any devices to lose their connection to the Orbi system:
- Wired devices will remain connected.
- WiFi devices will remain connected.
- Every device keeps the existing IP address.
- Devices on the network can communicate with each other all they want.
- The only thing that is "gone" is the internet connection, which provides the DNS mechanism to resolve internet URLs into IP addresses and (of course) the network to connect to those IP addresses.
A power outage will certainly cause every device to "go dead", which also means having no connection (wired or WiFi). However, when the power comes back on, the WiFi system will reboot and every device will reconnect. Edison has managed to treat me to several power outages in the past couple of months, and every time power comes back on, everything reconnects.
So, this situation is totally and completely wrong.
Perhaps it would be useful to conduct an experiment (when the house is not full of people using the internet)
- Before doing anything else, make a backup of the system configuration using the Orbi web browser interface, Advanced Tab, Administration, Backup Settings. That file will contain all of the settings that you have changed and can be used to reload them a lot more quickly than entering them by hand.
- Deliberately disconnect the Ethernet cable from the modem.
- If there is a computer (Mac, PC, laptop, etc.) wired to any of the Orbi units, determine if the computer still has a connection and can 'ping' the router. (and other devices on the network)
- Open the network settings of some device and see what WiFi SSIDs are being broadcast with a strong signal. (There may be a dozen neighbor WiFi systems, but they usually will have weak signals.)
FURRYe38 is correct that "when all else fails" the last resort is to do a Factory Reset. Wipe out everything and start over.
