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Nest Thermostat Batteries LOW on a new ORBI AX setup
I have a brand new ORBI AX wifi setup (RBR850 and 2 satellites) that i got configured and updated to the latest firmware (V3.2.15.25) about 10:00 last night with all nodes up to the version with a bi...
No.
Only thing I found was that with mine, being so close to the RBR, 5 feet, was having problems with the NEST. I found that when I moved the RBR away from the one NEST controller, 20-25 feet, the NEST controller started working with out draining the battery. Also was said that this is also a NEST controller issue as well that NEST needs to fix it on there side as these controllers ping pong back and forth on there own when there is more than 1 signal source in play, i.e. RBR and 1 or 2 RBS. Its also recommemeded to install the C power wire to your NEST from the main central AC system to help avoid the battery draining. You'll need to consult your systems mfr wiring diagram to find out which connection that is.
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
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.
What is the distance between the RBR/RBS and your NEST controllers?
What channels are you using?
What CTS value are you using? Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
What is the FW/Software version seen on your NEST Controller.
Since v22 has been installed on my 8 series Orbi, I have seen zero disconnects or low battery notifications on my 3rd gen NEST controller.
chevy038 wrote:
I too am now part of the Orbi AX4200 with Nest Low Battery club! I wish I would've known this issue before buying my Orbi. I'm thoroughly disappointed after spending hours messing with router and nest settings, and hours with Netgear and Nest tech support. I'm disgusted. It's sad that we need to have a computer science degree or have to set up a 2nd router to work around this problem. NETGEAR - PLEASE FIX!!
Has anyone completely solved this issue??
Firmware V 3.2.16.9
Home is 3600 sq ft.
I have the CBK752 setup, so RBR has the built in DOCSIS cable modem.
Thermostat is about 12-15 feet from RBR. The router and satellite are approx 30 feet apart (RBR is on 1st floor of house, RBS is on 2nd floor)
I'm sick and tired of messing around with settings. Customers shouldn't have to go to this level of ridiculousness to get a simple IoT device to work on a premium piece of networking hardware.
How do I get the V22 firmware? Is it applicable to my unit? My app says firmware is up to date.
This morning, after my thermostat went offline yet again, and I charged it yet again, I was able to walk it out to my garage and get it to connect to the 2.4Ghz band. I went to LAN setup to try and do an IP address reservation to get the Nest to permanently stay connected to 2.4G as advised by Netgear tech support during my 1.5hr phone call with them yesterday. I have my 5G Transmit Power Control set to 25% and the 2.4G set to 100%. I then walked back inside the house and placed the thermostat back in its base. A few minutes later it reconnected to 5G.... I'm done.
Home is 3600 sq ft.
I have the CBK752 setup, so RBR has the built in DOCSIS cable modem.
Thermostat is about 12-15 feet from RBR. The router and satellite are approx 30 feet apart (RBR is on 1st floor of house, RBS is on 2nd floor)
I'm sick and tired of messing around with settings. Customers shouldn't have to go to this level of ridiculousness to get a simple IoT device to work on a premium piece of networking hardware.
How do I get the V22 firmware? Is it applicable to my unit? My app says firmware is up to date.
This morning, after my thermostat went offline yet again, and I charged it yet again, I was able to walk it out to my garage and get it to connect to the 2.4Ghz band. I went to LAN setup to try and do an IP address reservation to get the Nest to permanently stay connected to 2.4G as advised by Netgear tech support during my 1.5hr phone call with them yesterday. I have my 5G Transmit Power Control set to 25% and the 2.4G set to 100%. I then walked back inside the house and placed the thermostat back in its base. A few minutes later it reconnected to 5G.... I'm done.
- My 2.4G channel is Auto and 5G is 48.
The CTS/RTS is 64 for both 2.4 & 5G. Ya so the CBK7 series is a bit different from the RBK7 series. This forum is for the ORBI AX RBK 7 and 8 series systems. So the FW seen here in this forum will not be applicable ot your CBK7 series. So there is that.
For the CBK7 seriess, please visit the Orbi with Cable modem forum:
So try the following:
Using AX mode enabled or disabled.
20/40Mhz and 40Mhz only.
Default CTS value is at 64 and have not changed this.
Manual channel 1 and 36(40) have been working well since I have a next door nieghbor with a Orbi system.
Power at 100%.
Using two RBS850s.
Also be sure that your NESTs are getting clean IP address assignments. Set a IP address reservation for each NEST ON the router.
For any 3rd gen NEST, they are dual band supporting so either 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz will work.
As a test, turn OFF the RBS and let the NEST connect to the RBR only with the above configuration.
I have been working with NG on this problem with NEST controllers, however this is on the RBK series system, not the CBK system. I presume there are some similaritites in regards to the wifi portion of the CBK system, however there are additional factors that will make a difference between the two. Something that NG will need to look into for the CBK system.
Others have mentioned that NEST support the configration of a power line from the service unit. Something to check out with NEST. This seems to help avoid the battery issue.
Overall, if your not happy with the system and how it works, please return the system and find something else that does. We can only do so much here in the forums. I only know for the RBK 8 series, My NEST controllers have been working with zero problems at this point.
chevy038 wrote:
Firmware V 3.2.16.9
Home is 3600 sq ft.
I have the CBK752 setup, so RBR has the built in DOCSIS cable modem.
Thermostat is about 12-15 feet from RBR. The router and satellite are approx 30 feet apart (RBR is on 1st floor of house, RBS is on 2nd floor)
I'm sick and tired of messing around with settings. Customers shouldn't have to go to this level of ridiculousness to get a simple IoT device to work on a premium piece of networking hardware.
How do I get the V22 firmware? Is it applicable to my unit? My app says firmware is up to date.
This morning, after my thermostat went offline yet again, and I charged it yet again, I was able to walk it out to my garage and get it to connect to the 2.4Ghz band. I went to LAN setup to try and do an IP address reservation to get the Nest to permanently stay connected to 2.4G as advised by Netgear tech support during my 1.5hr phone call with them yesterday. I have my 5G Transmit Power Control set to 25% and the 2.4G set to 100%. I then walked back inside the house and placed the thermostat back in its base. A few minutes later it reconnected to 5G.... I'm done.https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-with-Built-in-Cable-Modem/bd-p/en-home-orbi-cable
chevy038 wrote:
Firmware V 3.2.16.9
Home is 3600 sq ft.
I have the CBK752 setup, so RBR has the built in DOCSIS cable modem.
Thermostat is about 12-15 feet from RBR. The router and satellite are approx 30 feet apart (RBR is on 1st floor of house, RBS is on 2nd floor)
I'm sick and tired of messing around with settings. Customers shouldn't have to go to this level of ridiculousness to get a simple IoT device to work on a premium piece of networking hardware.
How do I get the V22 firmware? Is it applicable to my unit? My app says firmware is up to date.
This morning, after my thermostat went offline yet again, and I charged it yet again, I was able to walk it out to my garage and get it to connect to the 2.4Ghz band. I went to LAN setup to try and do an IP address reservation to get the Nest to permanently stay connected to 2.4G as advised by Netgear tech support during my 1.5hr phone call with them yesterday. I have my 5G Transmit Power Control set to 25% and the 2.4G set to 100%. I then walked back inside the house and placed the thermostat back in its base. A few minutes later it reconnected to 5G.... I'm done.I am working with Netgear Tier 2 support on this issue. I had opened a ticket and posted on their Facebook page. I was told they are aware of this issue and are working on it. I am capturing logs on my Orbi for them. The more people that report the issue and are able to capture logs for Netgear, the quicker their engineers will be able to resolve the issue.
Rob
A short term work around appears able to extend the battery life on NEST. Put a tape (I use painter tape) to cover the NEST motion sensor. This help me to sustain the battery level at 3.7v (better than at 3.6v but not ideal to be at 3.8v) Yes covering the sensor lose the farsight function, but at least in my case help keeping the sensor connected to Wifi
Thanks for letting us know and the additional help and support.
rbernstein wrote:I am working with Netgear Tier 2 support on this issue. I had opened a ticket and posted on their Facebook page. I was told they are aware of this issue and are working on it. I am capturing logs on my Orbi for them. The more people that report the issue and are able to capture logs for Netgear, the quicker their engineers will be able to resolve the issue.
Rob
You can turn off the sensor function to sense motion so you don't have to use tape on the controller. If motion and sensor is causing the battery to drain, then you need to contact NEST about that. Thats NOT a NG problem.
Something I've never seen ith my 3rd gen controller.
samnt650 wrote:A short term work around appears able to extend the battery life on NEST. Put a tape (I use painter tape) to cover the NEST motion sensor. This help me to sustain the battery level at 3.7v (better than at 3.6v but not ideal to be at 3.8v) Yes covering the sensor lose the farsight function, but at least in my case help keeping the sensor connected to Wifi
I've tried the motion detect shutdown function within the NEST control. However that did not help sustain the battery life in my case.
Hmmm...seems kinda fishy though. Something I would bring up to NEST support. I've left my 1 3rd gen wide open, walk by it several times a day. No tape.
Anyone with a 8 series Orbi AX wanna try this new version of FW?
samnt650 wrote:I've tried the motion detect shutdown function within the NEST control. However that did not help sustain the battery life in my case.
Per support ticket I have with Netgear, Firmware v3.2.17.12 supposed to fix the NEST battery drain problem. Will be loading on Jan 22 evening for testing...
Please keep us updated about this. Would be interested to see if it fixes the issue (I'm not optimistic).
Mine are online since grading yesterday...no NEST disconnects so far.
samnt650 wrote:Per support ticket I have with Netgear, Firmware v3.2.17.12 supposed to fix the NEST battery drain problem. Will be loading on Jan 22 evening for testing...
How did it go for you?
I am another of the Orbi AX subset that experienced Nest thermostat low battery problems (and have been connecting to an older router because of it). I have 2 Nest Gen 3 thermostats and both would not work correctly with my Orbi RBR850 system.
I've been running V3.2.17.12_1.4.14 for a couple days and when I read that this firmware was supposed to fix my Nest issues, yesterday afternoon I reset the network on both thermostats and connected to my Orbi AX. Unfortunately this morning I found that both thermostats report low battery and disconnected from the network. Therefore it doesn't appear (for me) that this firmware has resolved the Nest thermostat issue.
I did not do a complete reset after this FW upgrade, and generally never do. I cannot waste more time trying a full reset so in another hope (guess) that it will makes any difference for this Nest issue, sorry. I'll wait until another Nest thermostat owner tries that and determines it's successful.
Please escalate the issue to Netgear support (assume your device warrant/support not expire) This is the only way keep the issue hot with Netgear. Somehow my Orbit would not load the new firmware zip file (escalated back to support...)
Did you unpack the .zip file before trying to manually load the FW?
samnt650 wrote:Please escalate the issue to Netgear support (assume your device warrant/support not expire) This is the only way keep the issue hot with Netgear. Somehow my Orbit would not load the new firmware zip file (escalated back to support...)
I updated the firmware to V3.2.17.12_1.4.14 and it is still not working for me. I have a ticket open with tier 2 support. I am asking that it be escalated.
I honestly have no idea why most of us here are even bothering. Netgear is unlikely to ever fix this. I'm so glad I returned my set, and if you still have the ability to do so - DO SO!
I have also made contact about this to NG as well.
rbernstein wrote:I updated the firmware to V3.2.17.12_1.4.14 and it is still not working for me. I have a ticket open with tier 2 support. I am asking that it be escalated.
Firmware 3.2.17.12 did the trick. NEST has been holding the charge for a week.
- What did you do to keep it working? I’m going to double check as I just manually updated the firmware on my rbk850s a couple days ago and it seems to drain faster.
- So both rbs850 and rbr850 are using v3.2.17.12 and it’s barely holding a charge to stay on the WiFi for half a day now. It’ll charge up to v3.82 and within 5 hours of putting it back on the base it’s back “offline”. I did notice that after rebooting everything is either connected to the rbr or the rbs, it’s not split it’s all or nothing.
I manually updated as well to the latest firmware and it is still not holding a charge. Did you do anything else beside updating?
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-satelliteDid you factory reset and set up the system from scratch?
What channels are you using? I'm using 1 and 40. 40Mhz only and CTS at 64 AX enabled and sometimes disabled since I only have a couple of AX supporting devices.
rbernstein wrote:I manually updated as well to the latest firmware and it is still not holding a charge. Did you do anything else beside updating?
From all the troubleshooting w/ Netgear Tech Support. There are few things you can help to minimize the NEST jumping between the Orbi device, one key way to drain the battery. Yes, you need to make enough of the distance differences between Orbi(s), as in 10 fts or more between the closest and the next unit. I know Orbi uses secondary Wifi for the backbone between devices for uplink. I dont know how that play into the NEST battery drain (aka, behaviour of the Orbi) My Orbi backbones are hardwired RJ45. As far as I can tell, the firmware helps my NEST stay connects to one specific Orbi device and that how it save from battery drain.
