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New - RBRE960 / RBSE960 Firmware Version 7.2.6.31 Released
Enhancements: 03/22/2024
(For all regions except Europe)
- Improves the stability of WiFi device connections during roaming
- This firmware addresses security vulnerabilities. For more information about security vulnerabilities, visit https://www.netgear.com/about/security
- Unforeseen issues with NG and the EU region, NG had to pull v7.x FW version from being pushed to 960 series users in the EU region. Manual updating is not supported as well. Seems there maybe some wifi policy that has to be figured out between NG and the EU region. We've asked about this and for now, it's a work in progress and NG is aware of it. So if your in the EU region, v6.x version of FW is all that is currently supported for the EU region users. We no further information on when this will be resolved.
Download Link:
https://www.netgear.com/support/product/rbke962#download
Firmware Update Instructions:
To update your router’s firmware, follow the instructions in your router’s user manual. To find your user manual, visit https://www.netgear.com/support/, enter your model number in the search box, and click the Documenta...
NOTE: Update the RBS first, then the RBR lastly. I recommend doing a full on factory reset after the FW loads, system is back to ready and a power OFF for 1 minute then back ON has been performed. Use a wired PC and web browser for this. Load the FW on to each RBS web page using the RBS web page, not thru the RBRs web page. Then load the FW lastly on the RBRs web page. Walk thru the setup wizard. You can manually setup the system as well for those who are more experienced with this.
I HIGHLY recommend after the FW is loaded on the system and it's back to ready, power OFF all Orbi units and the ISP modem/ONT for 1 minute. Then back ON with the ISP modem/ONT first, then RBR then RBS.
A factory reset maybe needed if problems are encountered:
https://kb.netgear.com/31486/How-do-I-reset-my-Orbi-system-to-factory-default-settings
The best advise we can give people is to start a new config, power on one RBS and wait for some SOLID light or most often blue or magenta. And then add the RBS WIRELESSLY via the WebUI. Power off the RBS. Then rinse and repeat with any additional RBS(s). Pair RBS one at a time even if you have more than one. For ethernet connected RBS, after things come up wirelessly, you can move to wired backhaul but don't start with wired backhaul for those RBS that are ethernet connected. Wirelessly connect and sync RBS first before ethernet connecting RBS.
NOTE: 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
NOTE: Orbi app or the routers web page may not report seeing new FW updates. NG may not push this to there auto update services immediately and may activate the newer FW update being seen on there auto update services at a later time. User will have the choice to manually update if you want too.
NOTE: The Disable Auto Update feature only prevents ANY new FW from being installed if available. This does NOT prevent the system from checking NG services to see if new FW is available. If new FW is available, this will be displayed as a notification to the user on the RBRs web page only. It will be up to the user to upgrade FW or not.
This article applies to:
Let us know how it works for you in this thread...
I have noticed issues that only seem to crop up after days of running - as few as 3-4 days, as many as 22 days. They are router or satellite restarts, memory growth in satellites to the point of causing a reboot and disconnect of all devices. I have seen WiFi disconnect and stop working until the router was rebooted. Have seen IPv6 stop working until it was re-enabled (likely a Comcast-NG interaction issue). I have seen satellites lose their backhaul connection with the router.
I believe at least the memory creep issues are related to using 2 satellites on Ethernet backhaul, just a guess. It could also be related to higher speed networks, mine is a 2G/200MB service. Maybe it's a combination of different factors that make the perfect storm that problems can appear? The % of Netgear customers with 2G and multiple Ethernet-wired backhaul satellites is small, I suspect. Plus, if there are some bugs that pop up after a number of days of running, NG has said that this kind of testing is very hard for them to do.
I just went back to v.21 to see how it runs. If v.31 is working well, great - if not, some caution could be warranted to try V.21 before spending lots of time trying to find a problem.
131 Replies
Updated. Will see how it goes.
Thanks Furry.
I updated tonight. All good so far.
I have been doing some testing and analysis with the 7.2.6.31 FW update on a RBR/RBS 960 network. It's chronological update through the day.
Here is my update from today, some interesting data to share on my 7.2.6.31 testing. Note - IPv6 IS ENABLED (I have had trouble with that, Comcast ISP, in the past)
1) This morning, the 3rd floor RBS was showing HC of blank. It started last night late. By the time I went to bed, it had disconnected any devices connected to it.2) At the time when hop count went from 1 to blank, meaning devices would no longer connect to it via WiFi - CPU shot up to 26%. By this morning CPU was 29%.
3) With IPv6 enabled, the Router memory climbed to 580MB. Without IPv6 it's normally 360-390MB. For the last 2+ hours it has stayed up/down in the 576-580MB range.
4) I power cycled the 3rd floor RBS two hours ago, everything looks stable now. Devices are connected to the 3rd floor RBS again.
5) Here's a snapshot of each at this time, you can see when the one RBS went from hop count 1 to blank - and its CPU shot up:
Router:
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:29:30 CPU %: 11.81% Memory Usage: 580 MB/818 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:02:39
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:39:28 CPU %: 11.81% Memory Usage: 580 MB/818 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:12:37
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:49:27 CPU %: 11.80% Memory Usage: 576 MB/818 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:22:36
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:59:25 CPU %: 11.79% Memory Usage: 577 MB/818 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:32:34
Time: 03/24/2024, 09:09:23 CPU %: 11.78% Memory Usage: 577 MB/818 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:42:32
Time: 03/24/2024, 09:19:22 CPU %: 11.75% Memory Usage: 579 MB/818 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:52:31
RBS that just went to HC blank last night:
Time: 03/24/2024, 06:48:09 CPU %: 29.46% Memory Usage: 394 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 12:8:40 HopCount:
Time: 03/24/2024, 06:58:11 CPU %: 29.49% Memory Usage: 377 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 12:18:42 HopCount:
Time: 03/24/2024, 07:08:13 CPU %: 29.51% Memory Usage: 377 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 12:28:44 HopCount:
Time: 03/24/2024, 07:18:15 CPU %: 29.52% Memory Usage: 378 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 12:38:46 HopCount:
Time: 03/24/2024, 07:28:17 CPU %: 29.54% Memory Usage: 378 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 12:48:48 HopCount:
Time: 03/24/2024, 07:38:19 CPU %: 21.8% Memory Usage: 324 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 0:2:19 HopCount:
Time: 03/24/2024, 07:48:21 CPU %: 14.4% Memory Usage: 343 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 0:12:21 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 07:58:23 CPU %: 11.32% Memory Usage: 342 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 0:22:23 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:08:25 CPU %: 10.15% Memory Usage: 343 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 0:32:25 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:18:27 CPU %: 9.46% Memory Usage: 344 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 0:42:27 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:28:29 CPU %: 9.05% Memory Usage: 344 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 0:52:29 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:38:31 CPU %: 8.8% Memory Usage: 344 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 1:2:31 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:48:33 CPU %: 8.63% Memory Usage: 344 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 1:12:33 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:58:35 CPU %: 8.49% Memory Usage: 345 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 1:22:35 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 09:08:37 CPU %: 8.4% Memory Usage: 345 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 1:32:37 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 09:18:39 CPU %: 8.31% Memory Usage: 345 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 1:42:39 HopCount: 1
The other RBS:
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:23:59 CPU %: 9.76% Memory Usage: 369 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 13:51:4 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:34:01 CPU %: 9.75% Memory Usage: 369 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:1:6 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:44:03 CPU %: 9.74% Memory Usage: 369 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:11:8 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 08:54:05 CPU %: 9.72% Memory Usage: 370 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:21:10 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 09:04:07 CPU %: 9.71% Memory Usage: 370 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:31:12 HopCount: 1
Time: 03/24/2024, 09:14:09 CPU %: 9.7% Memory Usage: 370 MB/812 MB Uptime: 0 days 14:41:14 HopCount: 16) Funny how both the last two times after a power cycle of everything, within a day I had an RBS (different one) fail with hop count blank. I then went 9-10 days with no problems after that. Last time it was with IPv6 disabled, this time IPv6 is enabled.
7) I noticed one other version change on the routers debug page, from the FW upgrade to 7.2.6.31. “Seal“, whatever that is, went from 2.15.49–0 to 2.15.50–0. I wonder what that is?
😎 OK, I just noticed that IPv6 has failed. I am going to disable it and power cycle everything again. Things seem to get really unstable with IPv6 enabled here.
9) There is always so much drama on power cycles. It's like it can't handle 2 RBSs coming up near the same time. I always bring one up, wait for the blue LED, then power up the other. This time the 1st floor RBS came up Blue, as did the other; but 20 minutes in the stats showed the 1st floor RBS had hop count blank (it never did show hop count of 1), and the router did a big hop in memory from 353 to 403. The other RBS was HC 1 in 7 minutes. So I power cycled the 1st floor RBS again, the first report at 6 minutes showed all good and HC 1.
10) Ugh - 1st Floor RBS just went Hop count blank at 16 minutes powered on.
11) This time I powered off the RBS and RBR, waited 2 minutes, brought up the RBR, then waited TEN minutes for things to settle down. I just powered up the RBS. IPv6 has now been disabled. But Hop count is STILL blank - and nothing connecting to the satellite.
12) I tried power cycling again, and it never got out of hop count blank. So this time I powered off the other RBS, took the offending RBS down next to the router, let it sync wirelessly, then brought it up and powered it on. Hop count is 1 so far!
My suspicions: there are bugs with:
- Ethernet backhaul. I have had similar issues to this with the Orbi 850 series too, as well as with 7.2.6.21 and 7.2.6.31 Firmware. Another user has had them on his network. WiFi seems more stable.
- Power cycling the network seems very hit or miss. I frequently have to power cycle on of the RBS AGAIN.
- Hop Count turns off for no apparent reason - then nothing connects via WiFi. Note, anything connected direct continues to work, so the backhaul is fine (and it is reported as fine on the router admin web page)
- Last night router was in a steady memory creep - like there is a memory leak.
- Updated my two satellites and then the router. No problems. Found that it changed my IPv6 DNS settings to get from the ISP rather than the ones I manually entered previously. Changed those back to the manual settings (to what the ISP uses!) , and discovered IPv6 DNS doesn’t work with Armor Web Protection turned on. Turned it off and no problems.
- Wow! CPU load is only 13.09% Comcast 1200/35.
owlyn wrote:
Updated my two satellites and then the router. No problems. Found that it changed my IPv6 DNS settings to get from the ISP rather than the ones I manually entered previously. Changed those back to the manual settings (to what the ISP uses!) , and discovered IPv6 DNS doesn’t work with Armor Web Protection turned on. Turned it off and no problems.Ah - I wonder if this why my manually set DNS caused problems. I have Armor on as well. When I have some time, I will try it again with Armor off. For curiosity only though - IPV6 with the DHCP'd Comcast DNS still fine here.
Unfortunately I randomly started having satellites disconnecting, so I had to downgrade back to "Firmware Version 6.3.7.10", since I am in the EU region.
Since I don’t have time to keep troubleshooting the issue, I am going to stay on the older firmware until Netgear iron out the bugs.
Checking the below download page:
https://kb.netgear.com/000066069/RBRE960-RBSE960-Firmware-Version-7-2-6-31
Is seems like the "For all regions except Europe" has now been removed for the latest firmware.
I wonder if this means netgear has reolved the issue?
Ok, got word, NG confirmed this version of v.31 is for ALL Regions, including EU.
Enjoy.
liamscor wrote:
Checking the below download page:
https://kb.netgear.com/000066069/RBRE960-RBSE960-Firmware-Version-7-2-6-31
Is seems like the "For all regions except Europe" has now been removed for the latest firmware.
I wonder if this means netgear has reolved the issue?
- Many thanks for confirming.
As I have been using this firmware since it's release, I can say that I waited a good length of time to ride out issues I was having. At the outset, I factory reset my router and upgraded the firmware to the .31 code. My wireless devices were having trouble connecting to one of three signals output from the 960. I tried everything to adjust settings before coming to the conclusion that it was the firmware that I was having issues with. I then downgraded to my current .21 code and all is well again.
What wireless devices?
I would have performed the FR AFTER v.31 was applied.
Will need more details next time.
spewak wrote:
As I have been using this firmware since it's release, I can say that I waited a good length of time to ride out issues I was having. At the outset, I factory reset my router and upgraded the firmware to the .31 code. My wireless devices were having trouble connecting to one of three signals output from the 960. I tried everything to adjust settings before coming to the conclusion that it was the firmware that I was having issues with. I then downgraded to my current .21 code and all is well again.
Hi Furry,
I mistyped. I upgraded and reset and still had the minor issues that have disappeared under the .21 firmware.
Issues are with devices connecting to my main 5ghz wifi ssid. They always get kicked down to the IOT ssid which is mixed. I never had trouble connecting devices until the .31 upgrade. I have a Meta Quest 3 that I had a devil of a time connecting to any of my two ssid after the upgraded firmware. My wife was getting kicked off of wifi several times a day with the .31 firmware.
I post this as it is only my experience. As I have successfully downgraded, everything works fine.
For users having problems with there Orbi units after updating to v.31, We recommend that if you have done most troubleshooting efforts to clear the issues seen after loading v.31 and still experience problems, you'll need to downgrade back to v.21 version. RBS first then RBR lastly. It's recommended after downgrading, to perform a Factory Reset and setup from scratch to ensure there no lingering FW from v.31 on the system. Also disable the Auto Update feature on the RBRs web page soon after to avoid the system re-updating back to v.31.
We have made NG aware of the issues with v.31 and have ask them to consider pulling back FW v.31 for all Orbi AX and AXE systems.
Thank you.There are now 101 messages in this post. One way to get a sense of what some users are reporting is to read through them.
Customers who are satisfied that their systems are performing to expectations seldom visit the community forum to seek assistance.
- I had this issue arise as well, where my satellites would reboot every couple days. Couldn’t figure out why so started reading the replies h here and saw it’s happening to a lot of people. Sure enough I went down to firmware to the 6.3.7.5 and everything is fine now. My system has been up with no reboot for five days straight. So this last update definitely has a lot of issues. Is there any beta firmware with fixes for the issue?
Try v.21. Never saw any issues with that loaded on my 960.
Make NG aware of what users are seeing with v.31 loaded. Hopefully next FW update will get this all fixed. No idea if or when that will be.
I went back to V.21 and the satellites have been solid. I do see restarts on the RBS960 (two - after 6 and 22 days) - not frequent but annoying. I had restarts on V.31 as well, I agree with FURRYe38 that V.21 is more solid than V.31.
I have submitted lengthy reports on the bugs in V.31 - unchecked memory growth/leaks on the RBR and RBSs, hop count issues (RBSs lose connection to the router), and unplanned restarts. So I assume it is being worked on, I have been told Engineering is investigating.
