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Forum Discussion
Intermittent DNS Errors and WiFi Issues
I have had the Orbi AX6000 for a few months now. While there are many things I love about it (great wifi coverage, great speed, looks nice, software, ease of setup, etc.), there are two very frustra...
Not denying it, just seems that for some and for some one certain ISPs or with certain ISP hardware, seems to be a problem. Others don't seem to have this problem, never the less, Again, something NG will need to address and resolve.
I bought an open box RBR853 (3 piece system) from Amazon and it had the issues, regardless of firmware version. Changes to AX settings did nothing to help it either. I returned that system and bought a new, never opened RBR853 system and it also has the same DNS issues with the 3.2.16 firmware it auto updated to, as well as the V3.2.17.12_1.4.14 firmware that netgear support asked me to update.
My internet modem is a Netgear CM1000 and has no issues with other wifi systems, including an older Orbi RBR50.
Only enabling IPv6 resolves DNS issues, which is not a fix, because it only helps IPv6 capable devices.
Even with IPv6 enabled, I have had frequent app and internet timeouts with mobile devices on guest wifi, even if they support IPv6.
Netgear - fix your stuff.
I have the same problem here in regards to the DNS:
Could everyone with this issue (me included) provide details in regards to:
1) Have you ever used and actived the NetGear Armor option under the Orbi App?
I already have Kaspersky Internet Security which does all the protection and didn't require NetGear Armor, so didn't bother with it for ages. Kaspersky has it's own plugin for web-browsers to check URL phishing and the works, so it's also doing a lookup itself. I then struggled with a slightly slow/delayed DNS lookup and random "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN" messages, till I download and installed the Orbi App and logged into the router from that to enable the trial version of NetGear Armor. I strongly believe there's a linkage between the DNS lookups going via that, if missing it waits and delays more. So far that has resolved the issue.
2) Are you using a certain Optical Network Terminal (ONT) model / brand?
This could be another reason. My ONT is Chorus Model Type 200, which has no Wifi features. However, if your ONT or Router has another Wifi signal, that needs to be disabled/bypassed or the Orbi Mesh should be set to AP Mode to use the same Wifi group.
3) Are you using certain DNS Servers?
I was originally using the CloudFlare DNS, assuming it was the fastest for my Internet. It was not due to my location in the world.
Download and use the DNS Performance App:
https://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm
Provide it with the Domain Name Servers from your ISP (Internet Sevice Provider) and whatever others you might like to consider using, then test all their performance. It will work out the fastest ones for you. Some are seriously better than others. The slow/delayed DNS lookup and random "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN" messages reduces greatly when you set the DNS under your Router to the fastest option available. You will barely ever notice the problem at all or it will go away completely with a fast DNS. The slower the DNS responses, the more you will see this problem. We are talking a milliseconds difference between it occuring or not.
Validus wrote:I have the same problem here in regards to the DNS:
Could everyone with this issue (me included) provide details in regards to:
1) Have you ever used and actived the NetGear Armor option under the Orbi App?
2) Are you using a certain Optical Network Terminal (ONT) model / brand?
3) Are you using certain DNS Servers?
1. Never run Armor
2. Using Xfinity/Comcast gateway TG3482G, currently configured with Double NAT to my Orbi RBR850 (works fine for my needs)
3. I have previously tried configuring my Orbi RBR DNS to Google DNS but it did not help with this bug. I have been running with Comcast default DNS. Per your recommendation I configured it back to 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 so I can see if Google DNS reduces the bug frequency.
1. Installed Armor when first installed. Did NOT install it at last hard firmware factory reset.
2. Have Verizon FiOS in an area that does NOT support IPv6. Have a Cable Modem provided by FiOS to provide routing to the ONT over cable. Had no issue with exact same gateway and AC router (also Netgear) prior to the Orbi. Do not suspect they cause any issue other than the unavailability of IPv6 support. DNS changed on this router to Google DNS to avoid DNS advertising insertion from Verizon.
3. Changed DNS to both Google and Cloudflare, neither fixes the issue.
Have current firmware 17.12 on satellites and router. Still have issue - the worst of which is IOT devices where I cannot control DNS and am forced to point to gateway dnsmasq service (piece of junk that I blame for this). Alexa disconnects during streaming, TVs and Netflix randomly stop or buffer whenever it goes wonky. My IP-based cameras randomly disconnect.
Could fix the problem with a line or two of code to set my own DNS to my Verizon modem in the DHCP OPTIONS, would like either telnet ability to the router, or that option in the GUI to allow me to avoid the DNS on the Orbi router.
Validus wrote:I have the same problem here in regards to the DNS:
Could everyone with this issue (me included) provide details in regards to:
1) Have you ever used and actived the NetGear Armor option under the Orbi App?
2) Are you using a certain Optical Network Terminal (ONT) model / brand?
3) Are you using certain DNS Servers?
1) I disabled the NetGear Armor option the day I bought the router. I've got no interest in signing up for a subscription service and don't have a need for this product.
2) Not sure what that is but if you mean the gateway modem, I'm using my ISP's provided model - a Virgin Media Superhub 3 - and have no choice in that.
3) I've tried both my ISP's own DNS servers and Google's DNS servers, and had the same issue with both of them. With respect, I don't think it should be down to us end users to constantly try different DNS servers in the hope that one of them is a millisecond quicker and therefore acts as a partial workaround.
My Orbi is now working fine as an Access Point, with my ISP's router handling DNS. It seems clear to me this is a bug with the Orbi system - it may be an incompatibility with certain brands of modem but unfortunately as I have no choice but to use the ISP's provided model, I'm unable to do any testing in that area.
Interestingly my ISP does not support IPv6, I see one of the other posters rgautier here has said the same thing - I wonder if there is anything in that.
No Netgear Armor
Internet modem/router is Netgear CM1000
Have had DNS issues on 2 separately purchased RBK853 systems (RBK850 3 piece system with 1 router, 2 satellites)
Disabling AX had no effect
Specifying DNS servers on the router had no effect
Updating firmware and doing full factory reset has no permanent effect - it reduces DNS errors for 1-2 days then they return, which makes it appear this could be a caching or memory leak issue.
No DNS issues on older Orbi or Asus wifi systems.
Have tried all proposed fixes in this thread and others, none resolve the problems.
The only "workaround" is using IPv6 and this fix only helps IPv6 clients - any device still using IPv4 will have periodic failures, especially disruptive to IoT devices and some mobile apps which may not retry after failure like your PC browsers do.
Netgear support could not care less about this issue.
Is anyone else getting the six dot 'hour glass' waiting icon that never completes when you try to submit updates to tickets? 3 days in a row I've tried updating notes to my support case but it never completes. Maybe netgear support is using Orbi RBK850's to run their infrastructure as well.
