New - RBR750 / RBS750 Firmware Version 4.6.7.13 Released

Thanks but just making the marketing research/data analytics point that it's not correct to assume that everyone is experiencing problems based on the very limited sample of an internet support forum. To a nurse in a hospital, everybody's sick. Jimbo84's correct. 

As has been mentioned, there are many causes and contributors to internet performance:

• Orbi hardware performance by Netgear
• Orbi firmware quality/performance by Netgear
• Orbi firmware setup/configuration by consumer
• Connected device hardware and firmware/operating system by manufacturer and setup/configuration by consumer
• Environment – consumer placement and connection of router/satellites, interference from walls or unrelated electronic devices relative to connected devices, and placement of connected devices
• Internet service provider software, hardware, "signal" quality/performance/existence, setup/configuration by consumer
• Stuff I've forgotten

Surely there are improvements possible in all firmware/operating systems and I'm not suggesting that 4.6.7.13 is in any way perfect (I have my own squawk list of desired tweaks.) I do have two separate RBR750 / RBS750 systems in two houses, each with two satellites, and installed 4.6.7.13 the day it was released, and have had good luck with both. And my wife is pleased, which is the ultimate test, believe me. Good luck to all resolving issues as quickly as possible.   

Totally agree here. Users seem to always point to a FW issue and always think that it's FW and everyone is having problems and it's a bug that needs to be fix. Not always the case. There are too many variables in different users households and configurations to just point to FW. Why we are here to help really narrow down and find out, and as best as we can, figure out where the real problem is. Most of the time its not FW related, regardless of track record. Though since V4 first appeared, these were horrible to say the least. 

Last two FW versions has been WAY better and working well on both of my 7 and 8 series. Even with my NEST controllers. Been nice not to have to go and figure out why the controller has low battery and have to recharge it. 

Also for those who have NEST controllers and having low battery problems, with any wifi system, you may want to look into connecting the controller to a power source on the home heating and AC system. Some home systems support this additional power wire that NEST also supports. So there is a fix for this IF and when NEST controllers are having problems with wifi systems and getting low battery messages. Again, I have not seen this low battery since later v4 FW versions appeared. Mostly was problematic on v3. 

Orbi since it's first release years ago has been interesting and frustrating of course. It's a complex thing. 
We have made NG aware of various things we see and what users see as well. WIP. 

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Dalmy wrote:

Thanks but just making the marketing research/data analytics point that it's not correct to assume that everyone is experiencing problems based on the very limited sample of an internet support forum. To a nurse in a hospital, everybody's sick. Jimbo84's correct. 

 

As has been mentioned, there are many causes and contributors to internet performance:

• Orbi hardware performance by Netgear
• Orbi firmware quality/performance by Netgear
• Orbi firmware setup/configuration by consumer
• Connected device hardware and firmware/operating system by manufacturer and setup/configuration by consumer
• Environment – consumer placement and connection of router/satellites, interference from walls or unrelated electronic devices relative to connected devices, and placement of connected devices
• Internet service provider software, hardware, "signal" quality/performance/existence, setup/configuration by consumer
• Stuff I've forgotten

Surely there are improvements possible in all firmware/operating systems and I'm not suggesting that 4.6.7.13 is in any way perfect (I have my own squawk list of desired tweaks.) I do have two separate RBR750 / RBS750 systems in two houses, each with two satellites, and installed 4.6.7.13 the day it was released, and have had good luck with both. And my wife is pleased, which is the ultimate test, believe me. Good luck to all resolving issues as quickly as possible.   

 

 

 

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If you do not have common wire connected to your Nest chances are high you will have issues charging as the battery ages, especially if the system does not run a lot and it can not draw the charging current through the contact closure. It seems that the 'power stealing' doesn't provide enough current  to charge it if its idle for long periods. I have had my go rounds with this as well.  I had a thermostat work for about two years without a C wire and one day it decided that it couldn't charge anymore without a common. Until I could connect a common I connected a 5 watt 220 ohm resistor between the C and W1 terminals but I used an extra set of contacts on my heater controller to pull the resistor out of circuit when the heat ran because even with a 5 watt resistor I dint' like how warm it was getting.

I am talking about devices that are disconnecting from the network after a firmware update that didn't previously have any connectivity issues. This is not isolated to Nest devices. I understand that just because I am experiencing an issue it does not constitute a bug which is of the reasons for posting/looking was to see if others were experiencing an issue but it does not mean that there was not something introduced that in my specific configuration didn't have and adverse affect.  As you say it is very complex, a work in progress and there are many different variables. 

And you can not just dismiss track record.  I've been in the software industry for quite some time and if you release a bad product with bugs it takes a very, very, very long time to build confidence.  Once someone lies to you how long does it take for you to trust them again.  

My 2nd gen NEST was installed 2014 and has never had a battery issue ever and still on it's stock battery. Only when I had to change out a different 2nd gen NEST to a 3rd gen is when low battery issues started. I've changed out the battery in this 3rd gen about 2 times now since it was installed. Since recent v4 FW versions have been out, 3rd gen NEST has been stable with out any low battery messages. 

Contact NG support:

https://my.netgear.com/support/contact.aspx

You have the information and suggestions. 

Good Luck. 

FURRYe38

Yes, systems that run regularly may never experience a problem.  My one system is heat only and does not run much because in the winter we burn a wood stove.  If it ran for 20 minutes once every two weeks that would have be a lot.  I've had many conversations with Nest Pro support and Nest Pro installers and they confirmed they see issues with systems that do not run much as the batteries age. The pulsing of the output to close either the Y or W1 contact eventually does not supply enough current to charge the thermostat.  Nest will eventually shut the wifi radio off to preserve battery life.

My other system has always had a common, now they both do.

Yes, I have tried the suggestions you made and they have failed. The only thing that has worked is to shut down the satellite.  

As you seem to represent Netgear why don't they sell a router only why do they force you to buy extra unnecessary hardware?  

Any chance Netgear will credit the price of a Satellite because it is unnecessary? I'll gladly ship mine back as it is no longer in use.

It's all marketing when it comes to what's sold. No idea what gets in to there minds. Not a big fan of some marketing ideas.

Something to ask NG about. 

FURRYe38 

This is easy it's because they are a hardware company and want to sell hardware. Software/firmware is a necessary evil for them to be able to sell hardware.  

And I'm surely not paying Netgear to open a support ticket, generally first and second tier support is absolutely worthless.   I can't believe all of the time in my life I'll never get back over this issue.It's partially my fault for spending time on this forum.  

If the recent FW version cause the problem then why not go back to prior version of FW? 

FURRYe38 

Because you said it was my configuration and not a FW issue and the satellite was unnecessary for the square footage. 

I could try to revert at some point in the next couple of days. It's a bit tough to get time as my wife works from home.

Regarding Nest thermostats dropping their wifi connection to conserve power....as noted, I have seven Nest thermostats connected to Orbis which were experiencing the same thing (in the winter when heat is rarely triggered, if that mattered). The battery voltage is easily tracked via the Nest app. I never thought that this was an issue related to the Nest or Orbi firmware. I finally bit the bullet last October and installed common wires to all but one of the thermostats to help recharge the batteries. They have been reliably connected since, including since the installation of 4.6.7.13. 

Understand. All I'm saying is that if the controller had been working on prior version of FW, then as a last resort, revert and see. Any to help you maintain and keep the Orbi doing. Not trying to give up here. 

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Timothy88 wrote:

Because you said it was my configuration and not a FW issue and the satellite was unnecessary for the square footage. 

 

I could try to revert at some point in the next couple of days. It's a bit tough to get time as my wife works from home.

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FURRYe38 

Line of sight thermostat to router 17-18', some walls in between with open doorways.  Thermostat to satellite, line of site 16' + 6' of elevation from height of thermostat mounted on wall to height of satellite sitting on stand upstairs.  

So only 1ft being a difference and the NEST is right on the wifi signal coverage over lap, ya, I can see why the NEST maybe ping ponging back and forth and preferencing the RBR over the RBS. I would presume if the NEST was farther away from the RBR and much closer to the RBS, would probably see different results. I would try to get the distance to close either towards the RBS or RBR. You may need to move the RBS out farther or you can't do this and the size of home you have, may need to just turn OFF the RBS. For 2000sq ft, the RBR can cover this on it's own. I have a 5000 sq ft home and 3 levels. RBR on 2nd level, 2ndary RBS on main level and a Primary RBS down the basement, mostly wired normally. I can run with just 1 RBR normally. If I have two RBS deployed, I turn down the power to 50%.