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Forum Discussion
Orbi 760 Wifi network disappearing
I have had my wifi network name disappear twice now. The last time was 1/7/2026. I had to unplug the orbi, then wait about 5 minutes for it to come back and the network name be available again to connect. Why does this happen? I need this to be more reliable as I am not always home and rely on having access to smart home devices (like security cameras and ring doorbell). I do not have other wifi access points, so there are no conflicts. It is working fine when up, but I am getting concerned that in the three months of owning it, I have lost all connectivity twice. My ISP did not report any problems.
I called into support and they tried to sell me a firewall license. When I refused, the agent just hung up. This was very unprofessional and I am left thinking he is rewarded by selling more services. Any external attack on my network should ever result in the wifi network being taken offline.
11 Replies
What number did you call for support?
What devices do you have connected?
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?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6A STP is recommended.
How many RBS are deployed?
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 wired or wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 🛰
Does this happen with the RBS turned OFF?
Does this happen with both wireless and wired devices?
What channel configurations are currently set on the router?
Be sure to disable any MAC Address randomizers on phones and pads while at home:
NETGEAR Mobile Applications and Android/Apple/Windows Devices FAQ | NETGEAR Communities
I used the chat on the website and they called me back. I am only using the Orbi 760 and one satellite. No other access points on the network - only devices. I have a dozen or so devices. The orbi is using the latest firmware. This is not about my house or distance - when the network stopped working, it stopped for all devices, including my cell phone even when 3 feet away from the orbi. I had to unplug it and plug it back in, then wait 5 minutes for the network to show up again. Once the network is up, I get 5/5 bars of service. I am not using any MAC randomizers that I am aware of.
Distances between the RBR AND RBS is important. Too close and could cause issues like this. Why we ask. Also home size IS important as well.
Something to contact NG support about.
Good Luck.I used the chat on the website and they called me back. I am only using the Orbi 760 and one satellite. No other access points on the network - only devices. I have a dozen or so devices. The orbi is using the latest firmware. This is not about my house or distance - when the network stopped working, it stopped for all devices, including my cell phone even when 3 feet away from the orbi. I had to unplug it and plug it back in, then wait 5 minutes for the network to show up again. Once the network is up, I get 5/5 bars of service. I am not using any MAC randomizers that I am aware of.
I don't think the distance or home size is relevant. that said the home size is 1300 sqft per floor, and ALL devices that were working perfectly, went offline at the same time, and multiple devices that I used to troubleshoot could not see my wifi network any longer. After pulling the plug on the orbi and rebooting it, 5 minutes later, the network became visible, all devices reconnected and it started working again. This clearly was an instance where the Orbi went offline or internally shut down.
I used the chat on the website and they called me back
So, you clicked on the Chat icon at the bottom of this page?
https://www.netgear.com/support/home/
(we ask for details because people often reach companies who are "not Netgear" and who are simply out to make money.)
The system is definitely not supposed to simply "stop working". It would be a good idea to learn how to access the router management system using a computer and look at the system log file. The firmware version will be displayed on the upper right of every web page.
The Orbi 760 system appears to have had new firmware released on Dec 12, 2025. The first question support asks is, "what version of firmware is running?" because they want to focus on current firmware, not older firmware.
I looked at the log file and it started at the date that I last rebooted it. There were no logs before that date. I confirmed that the firmware was current. I am now starting to believe that the router perhaps updated its own firmware and the outage was because it was updating and rebooting itself. I don't know how the router memory/firmware is organized, and if the log is in a separate partition, but I could imagine that there is a chance that the logs are on the same partition or might get overwritten with a firmware update. I do have automatic updates enabled - perhaps I should disable that. There doesn't seem to be any time control otherwise I would set it to the middle of the night. At least this way I will be aware of the update occuring as I manually trigger it, instead of the router going offline for an extended time.
I also just reviewed my phone's browser history on that date and it looks like I clicked on a google search result that took me to orbihelp.shop website which was branded as netgear. I believe this is a scam set up to sell firewall software. I have my doubts now that they are related to netgear.
p.s. Neglected to mention. Yes, when the Orbi system reboots, the log file is cleared.
That sucks as all evidence of what was happening disappears. What product manager would make a terrible decision like that? At least they should add it as a setting that customers can control.
Mine is set to accept updates.
Most Orbi routers have a "Debug" web page, usually at http://orbilogin.net/debug.htm that can collect a variety of information.
I have looked at the contents of several of these debug zip files, and there may be information about events leading up to a restart.
Unfortunately, I have never come across any documentation about how to interpret the debug information.
Anyway, "it is what it is". Hope the firmware update was what caused your system to restart and there is nothing actually broken.
