Orbi 762S - constantly stalls, at least once a week - 4000ms ping times, packet loss.

I owned a TP-Link AX73 router which worked well, but had poor reception at the rear of my house. It also didn't work as well when the Family Security option was enabled, so I decided to buy the Orbi 762S with one satellite to replace my TP-Link router which seemed to have good Family Security options so I can limit my kids access.

Initial setup was a total **bleep**show. Fibre Broadband in NZ requires VLAN tagging, and the setup for the Orbi didn't support this. I work in IT engineering,  knew all the details to enter, my TP Link took me literally 5 minutes from unboxing to running, but instead of a web interface where I could enter the details I faced an irritating app and/or web 'wizard' WITH NO WAY TO SKIP IT AND ENTER THE DAMN DETAILS!

After an hour fighting the wizard into submission (it couldn't connect and therefore wouldn't go away) I managed to get to the actual management page and a firmware update later I eventually located the VLAN tagging option and set it up.

Little did I know the fun was only just starting.

When it worked, it was very nice. The hardware is pretty good, I get great transfers speeds, and the internet is fast. Until it isn't.  

Rebooting this router takes literally forever. 10+ minutes before the wifi is operational again. And you will be rebooting, because every now and then it will stall. Using MTR tool I see ping times go through the roof - 2000-4000ms, that's the latency to the moon and back - and packet loss at the router skyrockets.  Page load painfully sloely if at all and the admin page is equally affected.

When this happens, the only way to fix it is a reboot. There are no logs to read that might shed light on what happened after you get it working again.

This happened a few times in the first 2 months, then more often. Firmware updates didn't seem to make it better, it was getting worse if anything. Then it was once a week, then finally it happened, It did it again last weekend, and despite my best efforts, and two tries at getting it rebooted and working, no dice.

I unplugged the Orbi in frustration and plugged in the TP Link, Bliss! It just works. 2ms ping to the router. 

I went to log a support case armed with my MTR  ping and packet loss screenshots and - too late. 90 days of support is up, and now I can't log a ticket without  paying $159 NZ. 

I try to log a hardware support call  (it seems like my router is broken) and I just get "somethingWentWrong'"

Frankly, I'm at a loss here.