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Forum Discussion
Intermittent DNS Errors and WiFi Issues
I have had the Orbi AX6000 for a few months now. While there are many things I love about it (great wifi coverage, great speed, looks nice, software, ease of setup, etc.), there are two very frustra...
It is not a settings problem. The firmware uses software called dnsmasq and internally that is broken. That had been proven by going in to the router using Telnet and applying fixes manually. Netgear just did a bad job on the firmware.
You should experience this issue running this router in Router mode (not AP mode - as that doesnt use the DNS) and nothing else enabled, while visiting a good number of (random) websites.
User that say they are not experiencing this issue. Are either running this router not in Router mode (see comment from other user above) or are just unaware as depending on your browser and automatic reload happens. Which in my experience always works.
You should experience this issue running this router in Router mode (not AP mode - as that doesnt use the DNS) and nothing else enabled, while visiting a good number of (random) websites.
User that say they are not experiencing this issue. Are either running this router not in Router mode (see comment from other user above) or are just unaware as depending on your browser and automatic reload happens. Which in my experience always works.
OK so here is my experience.
I installed peplink balance 20X router between my Orbi Router and my ISP Modem, switched the Orbi in AP mode and everything seemed to work for a while.
That was the best moment of my digital life since I bought the AX6000 Orbis.
Then after a day or two, I got the first symptoms of DNS problems : my Philips Hue Hub couldn't connect to the cloud. So my lightbulbs started working unreliably from HomeKit (that has an Homepod mini talking with Philips Cloud to work). Localy the Hue app worked fine.
I decided to reboot the peplink, rebooted the RBR850 then the 3 RBS850 an went to bed, hoping that the glitche was solved. The next morning all my Google Nest Hubs (I have 4 around the building) could connect to wifi but not to their server ... My Samsung TV Tizen based apps (Prime, Disney, NetFlix ...) could launch but none of them could stream a video. I could browse the web but not access the Samsung Store. My Philips Nest Hub could not connect to the Cloud. My PlayStation could download an update, browse the web but counldn't connect to the PlayStore. All my Apple TV, iMacs, MacBooks, HomePods worked fine however (more on this later).
I need to specify that most of my devices are using DNS servers assigned by DHCP at the exception of iPads and Macs that use nextDNS custom setup.
So it was a strange DNS related problem. Obvioulsy ome records were cached and some weren't. Some request went through, some did not get an answer. It seemed that the devices connected to the RBR850 worked fine but those connected to the RBS850 Satellites (by Ethernet) had partial resolution of DNS request (only those in the cache of the satellite ??). AND ALL THIS WITH THE ORBIS IN AP MODE !
I switched back the Orbi Router in Router mode, with the peplink also in router mode (double NAT) and after rebooting all my devices... everything seemed to work fine. Not a single problem with around 75 devices actives on the network.
I use nextDNS in the LAN settings of the peplink and it authenticate using the WAN IP. So I tought it maybe the point of failure. I switched everything (peplink and Orbi in router mode) to use my ISP automatically assigned DNS and I switched back the Orbi in AP mode. All the routing started to happen in the peplink and everything was working like magic. All the devices connected fine after waiting for the expiration of their DHCP settings or rebooting them, with their online services thanks to all DNS requests being solved by the peplink router.
I tought I had nailed the problem down to nextDNS.
The next morning all IoT devices (Google Nest Hub, Nanoleaf lights, Philips Hue Hub, online services on Samsung TV, PlayStations, etc.) were down again. And now I realized that some games/services couldn't connect on iMac (League of Legends, Discord, ...).
I have two teenager in the building, so you can imagine the trouble.
I switched back the Orbi in Router mode and I am still in this setup. Everything works and I have not experienced a single DNS related problem since. The Orbi Router is setup to receive its DNS server by DHCP. So DNS resolution are actually done by the peplink, not by my ISP. That may explain the reliability and fast response speed.
My diagnostic is that when the Orbis are in AP mode, they forward outgoing DNS requests to a Local DNS Proxy that screw up either in the Satellite or the Router, even if DHCP settings in the peplink assigns different DNS servers to the devices. For some reasons it interfere on request from most IoT devices but not from MacOS, iOS, tvOS, ...
That's bizarre, that doesn't correlate with my experience at all.
Router mode - constant DNS errors on all devices
AP mode - no issues
I still think if someone (or some people) can get this into major computer media (Cnet, PCMag, DongKnows, etc.) or even YouTube (I'm not a YouTuber myself), and it gains traction, it will force Netgear's hand as it would start affecting sales. Everyone here has already put their money in the pit, so they (Netgear) already has you. If it starts to affect FUTURE sales, that's when they'll REALLY care.
Complaining on Amazon reviews (et al) really does nothing, as the complaints get drowned out by shear volume, and many consumers don't even read reviews - they go buy media reviews, what reviewers say on YouTube, etc.
And of course there are some that have not or had little experience with this in router mode. I've had my system since 2019 and only saw a few DNS problems mentioned in ths thread on prior v12 FW. Since installing v1 of the current release. Nothing, again, nothing in DNS has appeared since. Currently using ISP DNS, IPv6 6to4 DNS, Armor and Traffic Meter is disabled. DST enabled. Not here to argue either. Not everyone sees this issue.
Garwoofoo wrote:That's bizarre, that doesn't correlate with my experience at all.
Router mode - constant DNS errors on all devices
AP mode - no issues
Again, for those that do, I recommend you contact NG support and let them know what your having problems with. All this needs to be addressed by NG support and users that are seeing this. Nothing we can do here in the forums. NG support and engineering doesn't watch the forums. So best way to make it known to to contact NG support directly.
Good Luck.
Exactly, the problem is the '90 day support window'. While the warrenty is 1-2 years. After these 90 days there is no option in contacting support. Only option is to exchange this product over and over again. However, exchanging this product doesn't fix the actual problem. Which is software related (firmware).
Meanwhile Netgear is acting like nothing is wrong to those who actually manage to contact Netgear support. While it has been clearly proven. Again: for the Orbi AX Pro Netgear fixed this exact same problem a year ago. However, for its consumer grade product they simply don't care.
