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Intermittent DNS lookup failures on RBR850
Intermittent DNS lookup failures RBR850
I've been using the Orbi RBR850 for several months now and I'm constantly having issues with DNS that I've NEVER experienced with any other router I've ever used including several Netgear products.
I'm currently running the most recent version fo the firmware V3.2.16.6_1.4.4
I'm using openDNS servers for DNS look up as well.
The issue occurs on every machine on my network (Linux, Mac, Windows, Chromebook) which are all using the router for DNS lookups.
The error pages produced by the web browser vary but every once in a while, I'll see an error along the lines of
"DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN"
I cannot seem to reproduce the problem via nslookup or dig but it does consistently (intermittently) happen via all major web browser software I use.
Is anyone else having this issue and know of a solution? The chromebooks are particularily sensitive to it and in ALL scenarios it will eventually work without any type of intervention / configuration changes etc. It's almost like an issue with the caching mechanism used by the router?
Please help! This is the most money I've ever spent on a router and I really don't know what I've paid the extra money for if not better support / software. Wifi 6 and mesh is good and all but it's the same old software Netgear has been using for eons.
I'm pretty annoyed that Netgear official support sputters out after a measely 90 days as well...
Thanks!
88 Replies
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Are you using custom DNS addresses or letting the RBR auto detect DNS from your ISP?
Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?
90day warranty is mostly industry wide.
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
This isn't the problem. The modem is a 'dumb' modem, doesn't route, dhcp, dns etc.
Are you using custom DNS addresses or letting the RBR auto detect DNS from your ISP?
Custom, using openDNS as mentioned (was using the same service on my old netgear router I upgraded from and the same modem and never had this problem)
Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?
No factory reset yet. The problem is annoying but this MOSTLY works.
This has been previously reported and plaguing other Orbi AX customers. IMO it is not something particularly wrong with your hardware unit and a problem in the latest firmware.
- https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/RBR850-frequently-issuing-DNS-REFUSED-responses/m-p/1926207/highlight/true#M4399
- https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/Intermittent-DNS-Errors-and-WiFi-Issues/m-p/1950768#M5458
I see it very often while web browsing in my browser, where it quickly refreshes and tries again to display the page. I also see it exhibited when I go a URL bookmark for this Negear Community forum and intermittently (maybe 5%-10% of the time) it displays some Netgear forum Authentication error page and simply retrying then gets me in.
Does this router use dnsmasq?
I wonder if it's just hitting concurrent connection max?
Is there a way to see that in a log file?
Not sure, you can enable log capture and debug them yourself and see. router IP\debug.htm
Best I can tell (from reviewing posts here), this is soundly an issue with the dnsmasq implementation on the router. It's either a buggy version and / or a bad config. NG could fix this in less than a day if they spent some time on it....
OpenDNS, as well as most 3rd party DNS servers are not reliable, since so many people are working from home. So there may be your problem. You'd be better off using your own ISP's DNS servers as they are less used by the masses. I was using a combination of OpenDNS and Google, as well as tried speakeasy, 1,1,1,1, cloudflarenet, Level3 and more. I just ran a DNS benchmark and Open is was down the list as being slow right now. There's only so much bandwidth certain DNS servers can handle.
I think I figured this out (at least for me)
I was having the same issues - Orbi defaults to setting itself up in router mode (versus access point). Since my modem is a modem/router, I disabled the wifi on my modem, set my modem up with an IP passthrough specific to the Mac ID of the Orbi router, then set the Orbi up as an access point. Fingers crossed but so far so good, haven't been seing the issue anymore.
To be more specific I used orbilogin.com, logged into the settings, advanced tab, advanced expanding option (left side, bottom), router/AP mode, selected AP mode.
aparkins30 wrote:To be more specific I used orbilogin.com, logged into the settings, advanced tab, advanced expanding option (left side, bottom), router/AP mode, selected AP mode.
This made your intermittent DNS issues go away by taking your Orbi out of the loop for DNS requests. By putting your Orbi into AP mode, your upstream modem/router IP becomes your computer's gateway IP and DNS server (not the Orbi). It's when the Orbi is in Router Mode and the gateway IP that for some reason the Orbi causes intermittent DNS errors (even though the Orbi is just forwarding the DNS requests to your ISP or to your configured DNS addresses). Another workaround is to change the Windows network connection's DNS server IP from the Orbi's IP to the ISP or configured DNS address (also taking the Orbi out of the loop for DNS requests).
I would remove the RBR850 in AP mode from the IP passthru on the modem. THere would be no firewall or security in this configuration. SO you'd want to use the modems firewall for your security meaure while you have the RBR in AP Mode. FIrewall is disabled on the RBR when in AP mode.
Didn't realize that, thanks for taking the time to reply. Just adjusted the settings.
Anyone here with a 7 series Orbi AX?
Try this:
Only thing I didnt try was the factory reset. Sadly I am now working from home again, so will not be playing with settings again until my connection is less critical. Cheers again FURRYe38 I will have another go at some point
Of course. I'm working from home too and have two VPNs running during the day for work so can't play around. :smileytongue:
I've been having the same problem since installation.
This is typical about 10% of the time. After a few seconds it reloads, though sometimes the website hangs.
There is no ISP router/modem, just a direct connection to an antenna. I use static ip addresses and static DNS info (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) google.
I had no problem with my old Linksys router.
RBR850
Just updated firmware to V3.2.16.22_1.4.9
What happens if you don't use Static DNS and let the RBR auto detect DNS?
Is IPv6 enabled on the RBR?
I would open a support ticket with NG and let them know what your seeing.
Thankl you.
Roberr wrote:I've been having the same problem since installation.
This is typical about 10% of the time. After a few seconds it reloads, though sometimes the website hangs.
There is no ISP router/modem, just a direct connection to an antenna. I use static ip addresses and static DNS info (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) google.
I had no problem with my old Linksys router.
RBR850
Just updated firmware to V3.2.16.22_1.4.9
After working on trying to resolve this, I think I found what needs to be done to stop the intermittant DNS issues.
login to orbilogin.com Advanced, Advanced, IPv6. I setup the following:
6to4 Tunnel, Remote 6to4 relay Router set to "Auto", IPv6 Domain Name Server (DNS) Address set to "Use These DNS Servers". I chose Google's public IPv6 DNS Servers. IP Address Assignment set to "Auto". Tested using test-ipv6.com
As soon as I correctly setup IPv6, and passed the tests, I no longer see any DNS issues.
I have this issue across all my devices after upgrading to the Orbi WiFi 6 system. I get the DNS PROBE FINISHED NXDOMAIN error and the site either eventually comes up or times out. My Orbi WiFi 5 system never had this issue and nothing has changed except swapping out the routers.
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?
EruJamin wrote:I have this issue across all my devices after upgrading to the Orbi WiFi 6 system. I get the DNS PROBE FINISHED NXDOMAIN error and the site either eventually comes up or times out. My Orbi WiFi 5 system never had this issue and nothing has changed except swapping out the routers.
I posted screenshots but they are not showing for some reason
I swapped out my Orbi 5 setup with this system last week and the issue started.
Model Name
RBK853
RBS850 (Additional Satellite)
Firmware
V3.2.18.1
Says no new firmware available when I do online lookup
Noticed you seem to be running a newer version V3.2.18.223
Frontier FIOS Fiber 1gb / 1gb Plan
Router Model
Arrus NVG468MQ
I do not use the provider modem as it is not required with Frontier. I tested with and without it and still had same issue.
I have also tested using different DNS services like CloudFlare and Google Public DNS
I'm seeing exactly the same problem - just tried to contact Premium Support, and their web page is returning "Our problem not yours". Looks like this has been going on across multiple product lines for at least a year.
Get it right, Netgear!
How about an extension on my Premium Supprort based on your imcompetence
Send @Christian_R a PM and ask for access to the v223 beta that fixes this issue.
n7qnm wrote:I'm seeing exactly the same problem - just tried to contact Premium Support, and their web page is returning "Our problem not yours". Looks like this has been going on across multiple product lines for at least a year.
Get it right, Netgear!
How about an extension on my Premium Supprort based on your imcompetence
- Haven't heard back from Christian_R but will keep my fingers crossed and update any successes.
