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Re: Experiencing disconnects and slow loading on iPhone 14's
I 'upgraded' to the Orbi 970 in April 2024. I am running the (2 unit) system in Access Point mode (as I have a lot of existing infrastructure including a very good (wired) router). Multiple issues with Apple devices - iPhones and iPads - of which we have several:
- Regular loss of WiFi connectivity including inability to get an IPv4/IPv6 address. iPhone/iPad sometimes needs to be restarted to recover connectivity. This primarily happens when moving from room to room within the house.
- IPv6 Internet connectivity stops working after a while for devices connected via the Orbi system (but not for anything else).
And of course the 'guest' network is unusable as it was not designed to work in AP mode.
None of these were issues before the 'upgrade'; my old infrastructure was very reliable and 'just worked'. Sure it was a bit slow and with poor coverage in a couple of places but it seems like I have spent a *lot* of money to get a much worse experience.
Very disappointed and probably will switch to a different vendor very soon.
7 Replies
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.Does this happen with the RBR in Router mode instead of AP mode?
Be sure to disable any MAC Address randomizers on phones and pads while at home:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-App/NETGEAR-Mobile-Applications-and-Apple-Devices-FAQ/td-p/2220016/jump-to/first-unread-messageBe aware that in newer iOS 18, there are 3 options now, random, fixed and disabled. I use disable here at home as I like to see what actual host name for phones and pads are.
I don't have a 14 and have a 12 Pro Max and iPad 6th gen I think, Have not seen issues with the phone with my 970 online that's in router mode. Last time I tried AP mode, worked as well.
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 🛰Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, IPv6, Smart Parental Controls or Circle, Traffic Meter.This has been (and still is) being investigated by support and engineering. Currently running beta firmware 9.12.4.1101_1.3.17 which hasn't helped at all.
I'm not able to test with the system in Router mode as that would involved huge complications and disruption to my network. And anyway, router mode is of no use to me - I need AP mode.
The NetGear system is not connected to the ONT. My wired router (NetGate 6100) is connected to the ONT and the Orbi router unit is connected, via switches, to the router.
I have CAT-6A everywhere and the Orbi is using 10 GbE wired backhaul via a 10 GbE NetGear switch.
All iPhones and iPads are using native MAC addresses (private MAC addresses are disabled) as I assign 'fixed' IPs to all devices using DHCP static reservations.
Devices range from iPhone 12 through to iPhone 16 Pro and from iPad gen 7 through iPad Pro 13" M4 plus a bunch of watches (series 6 through 9).
Upstairs is approx 61 m2 (650 sq ft). Downstairs is approx 81 m2 (872 sq ft).Distance between units is ~10m (33 ft) horizontal and ~4m (12 ft) vertical, though as I;m using wired backhaul that should be less of an issue.
I think part of the problem is that they didn't;t really put much thought.effort into AP mode; lots of limitations and bugs. AT this point (6 months in and still flaky as hell) I think I'd be better off with a product designed from the ground up to be an access point (or mesh of APs) rather than one where it is clearly a second thought. Even if they can solve the stability issues and IPv6 connectivity problems I'm still left without usable guest network capability.
An interesting data point is that prior to deploying the Orbi system my WiFi was provided by 3x Apple AirPort Extreme 802.11ac units (all running in AP mode) which provided both main and guest networks. Apart from a few places in the house where signal was a little low, and overall speeds being a bit middling, that was a rock solid setup with zero issues.
ChrisJenkins wrote:
And of course the 'guest' network is unusable as it was not designed to work in AP mode.
Guest WiFi has two components:
- Different WiFi credentials (SSID/password) from the primary WiFi network and the IoT WiFi network.
This allows the user to share these credentials with "guests" without compromising the primary or IoT network security. The Guest credentials can be changed at any time without affecting the primary or IoT networks. The Guest WiFi network can be disabled at any time without affecting the primary or IoT networks. - In the AX series of products, when the Guest WiFi network is enabled, devices in the Guest network are not allowed to communicate with devices on the primary or IoT networks. This can be seen as a positive (in the sense that "guests" are quarantined and cannot even attempt to meddle with devices on those networks, or as a negative, such as when Uncle Phil says, "Here. I can print that out for you" and you have to say, "Sorry. the printer is on the regular network and YOU can't use it." On the original Orbi system, the ability of devices on the Guest network to communicate with the primary network was an option (enable or disable). That option was removed when the AX products were introduced - which I personally see as removing a valuable option from users.
Anyway, I believe that the Guest WiFi network can be enabled even when the product is in AP mode, with all the benefits listed above. (maintains privacy of the primary credentials. Can be changed at any time. Can be switched off at any time.)
It might be worth a few minutes to experiment by enabling the Guest WiFi network, connecting a device to it, and observing what IP address is assigned to the device. (Is it in the same LAN IP as the rest of the primary network, or is it...."different"?)
Um, yeah. I'm very familiar with how a 'guest' network should work (and how it should be implemented). Sadly, while you can indeed enable the guest network when the Orbi is in AP mode it is riddled with crippling issues:
1. The Orbi router unit acts like a router and provides DHCP, DNS and NAT to the guest network. This is very bad (in AP mode).
2. The Orbi uses a fixed IPv4 subnet for the guest network. This is bad - it needs to be configurable.
3. The Orbi DHCP for the guest network does not support any kind of configuration, so no static mappings, no control of IP range handed out, ... Bad, bad, bad.
4. The Orbi DNS for the guest network is not configurable. It simply forwards DNS requests from clients on the guest network to whatever DNS servers the Orbi 'router' was given from the DHCP server that handed out its address (on the main internal network). Typically these will be internal network DNS servers so you immediately have a security issue - a DNS leak - since clients on the guest network can now resolve the names (and reverse addresses) of systems on the main internal network. Terrible.
5. The guest network has zero IPv6 capability and in fact the guest network actively blocks IPv6 traffic.
Guest Network doesn't have any advanced configurations and is designed to be on it's own subnet, router or AP mode as this is designed to isolate GN from the main WLAN for security reasons. Been like this for a long time. Due to transitory behaviors of devices connected to the GN, I presume NG doesn't support IPv6 on the GN as there is really no need for it since the intent of general use of the GN is transitory and temporary for most systems. Guests come and go and at most, IPv4 is sufficient to get guests connected to internet resources.
Possible that this system may not fit your needs. You may need to find something that does.
You'll need to keep in contact with NG support on the iPhone issue.
- Different WiFi credentials (SSID/password) from the primary WiFi network and the IoT WiFi network.
