NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
New - RBR850 / RBS850 Firmware Version v4.6.7.5 Released
No Release Notes at this time. I'll see if I can get some.
Download Link:
https://ntgr.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#300000000xsV/a/8b000000saFy/gnaaQgriSv_NWgvrN.dvn786cl4eG45R2.62LEI3edU
F...
I un-bricked the satellite. I tried connecting it to my iMac via ethernet, and I tried connecting it to the RBR850 via ethernet. Then, on a whim (and after several days of a blinking light staring at me), I connected the RBS to BOTH the RBR and my iMac. So, I don't know if one, the other, or both caused it to come back to life... but it's back! I upgraded it to this beta firmware, so everything is running on the same.
Throughout all of this, I'm coming to the realization that achieving 50% of my wired speed just isn't possible with these mesh solutions unless I'm in very close proximity to the RBR/RBS. And even then, my download is 250-400, and my upload is 400-600 (against 950/950 wired). I just need to decide whether to keep the Asus XT8 and see how it handles with more nodes vs. running the Orbi (at $300+ each, adding more satellites isn't an option I'm willing to explore).
I keep my living room and office satellites at fixed addresses through DHCP (192.168.1.100 and 192.168.1.101) so when they request addresses through DHCP they always get the same address.
That way I can connect to the satellite directly over wifi and play with firmware should the need arise.
I do the same thing. Bookmark these addresses for ease of access too. :smileywink:
Sadly after a few weeks of flawless operation with this firmware (barring memory creep), I started encountering problems again yesterday.
During a long Teams call (so - a period of sustained usage), the wired satellite I was connected to kicked all clients and wouldn't reconnect anything for around 5 minutes. After this time, the satellite then showed as Disconnected in the main router dashboard and the mobile app, although it was actually working and I could log on via the IP address of the satellite itself and see the devices that were connected.
About 20 minutes later the same thing happened again. All clients were kicked and were unable to reconnect for around 5 minutes. Sadly I was in another room (and on a videocall) so couldn't observe what was happening in terms of lights on the satellite or effect on wired devices. However this clearly didn't count as a full reboot of the device as the uptime shown on the debug page for the satellite remained at 25 days.
I've now rebooted the whole system and will keep an eye on it to see how it behaves. I've also enabled RTS/CTS with a threshold of 500, to see if that makes any difference, as someone in this thread said it appeared to aid stability and I'd previously been running with it disabled.
Disappointed though as I really thought this firmware was looking stable.
- It was me who said that enabling RTS/CTS resolved my satellite restarting under load (I.e any kind of video call Teams or FaceTime).
Since enabling RTS / CTS I haven’t had a single satellite reboot.
rr20552 wrote:
It was me who said that enabling RTS/CTS resolved my satellite restarting under load (I.e any kind of video call Teams or FaceTime).
Since enabling RTS / CTS I haven’t had a single satellite reboot.That's encouraging - what did you set the threshold to?
I've also reverted my setup to the way it was previously, with the satellite sitting at the end of a chain behind a network switch, rather than sitting as the first item in the chain and everything else coming off it. It's possible that the additional overhead of connecting lots of wired devices to the satellite triggered some sort of problem - although, obviously, it shouldn't.
- Some IOT devices such as Thermostats and cameras are sensitive to RTS / CTS.
I have mine set to 2304 and don’t have any issues with my Hive thermostat or Ring doorbell / camera’s.
rr20552 wrote:
Some IOT devices such as Thermostats and cameras are sensitive to RTS / CTS.
I have mine set to 2304 and don’t have any issues with my Hive thermostat or Ring doorbell / camera’s.Interesting - I do have a Ring doorbell and it usually does connect to that exact satellite.
Maybe enabling RTS/CTS will help. Clearly whatever is going on shouldn't cause the satellite to crash - so there are still problems with this firmware - but hopefully it's something Netgear can identify and fix.
Possible there maybe a HW issue at the RBS. I haven't seen this issue with my two RBS failing like yours. CTS should be enabled always. I have been using default 64 and haven't seen any issues, though I don't have a Ring product. Definately try the higher CTS value 2304 or 2347 which has been the norm value historically. Don't know why NG went to 64. :smileyembarrassed:
Do you have 1 RBS or 2?
I've had my RTS/CTS set to 500 for the past 6 months without issues and all devices running smoothly, including Nest t-stat. I've also had firmware 4.6.7.5 running for approximately 3 weeks without issues and hopefully this continues. Only issue I ran into was right after loading 4.6.7.5, and after powering up the RBR and RBS, all devices showed with generic names for each device but after doing a Reboot via the Orbi app, everything returned to normal.
FURRYe38 wrote:Possible there maybe a HW issue at the RBS. I haven't seen this issue with my two RBS failing like yours. CTS should be enabled always. I have been using default 64 and haven't seen any issues, though I don't have a Ring product. Definately try the higher CTS value 2304 or 2347 which has been the norm value historically. Don't know why NG went to 64. :smileyembarrassed:
Do you have 1 RBS or 2?
I've got 2 RBS. One is wired direct to the router - this is the one I've had problems with - though it has the heaviest use (a laptop and an iPhone, both connected throughout the working day via Wifi 6 and used throughout the day for videocalls and Citrix sessions; also a Ring doorbell which is constantly recording video footage). The other RBS is wireless, and although it has more devices connected to it, it doesn't get the same kind of constant use and hasn't really experienced any issues.
It's intereresting to note that my problems with the wired satellite seemed to start when I reconfigured my setup to make the RBS the first item in the chain, with a number of wired devices connected via a switch to its ethernet ports. May just be coincidence of course but it definitely feels like the problems with the satellites occur when they are under load (I'm not the only person here to identify videocalls as a potential problem) and having additional wired devices connected to the satellite seems to have potentially contributed to that.
(Worth noting that my wife similarly uses the Orbi system heavily for videocalls, but the devices she uses connect directly to the router and she's experienced no issues of any kind).
No problems in the last 24 hours since I set the CTS/RTS to 500 and put the satellite back at the end of the chain of devices. I will continue to monitor. I'm certain this is a firmware issue of some kind though and not a hardware fault.
FURRYe38 wrote:Would be a good test to swap RBS around to see of the problem follows or remains at the one location.
How many devices in total do you have connected?
How many devices are connected at each RBS?
The number of connected devices varies but it's usually 20-25 at any one time out of maybe 35 devices total. Of that, around 8 are wired direct into the router, the wired RBS has 4-6 devices connected to it and the rest are split roughly evenly between the wireless satellite and the router. It's really hard to say as it depends on what devices are connected at any time and what rooms they are being used in.
As I mentioned before, the satellite that occasionally misbehaves tends to have the fewest number of devices but the heaviest load, just by the nature of what those devices are doing.
Good suggestion on switching the RBS around though, if I encounter further problems from this point on I will do that.
