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The installer said the Gateway would work with my Orbi 973
Two weeks ago, I switched from Cox to AT&T Fiber. The installer said the Gateway would work with my Orbi 973 as plug-and-play with no settings changed. It took a while to connect, but eventually it worked. Later, I manually updated to firmware 12.1.11.10 without issues. On Friday, I noticed one of my wired satellites had rebooted on its own, reconnecting at 100 instead of 2500. This had happened before, and unplugging and reconnecting the cable usually fixed it, but this time no luck. I did a full power cycle of the modem, router, and satellites, but the Orbi system wouldn’t connect to the AT&T Gateway at all. I spent from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm trying to fix it, even factory resetting the Orbi router and satellites multiple times, but couldn’t complete setup via the iPhone app. While still connected to the AT&T Gateway, I tried logging into the web interface on my Mac via a wired connection without success—until suddenly it connected. A popup said the install wasn’t complete and asked if I wanted to continue; I did, and everything connected. I used the same password and re-enabled IoT, with some devices reconnecting automatically and others requiring manual setup. I then went into the AT&T web interface, set the firewall to passthrough and DHCP, and turned off both 2.4 and 5 GHz radios, keeping the Orbi in router mode. Everything seems fine now, but I’m reluctant to power reset again. I’m also considering replacing the expensive Orbi with AT&T extenders at $12 per month each. I’d like advice on what might have caused this. Also it’s always the satellite connected to my Mitel 6930 office phone that reboots on its own?
7 Replies
I noticed one of my wired satellites had rebooted on its own, reconnecting at 100 instead of 2500.
Is this using Cat 6 or better cabling? Cat 5e often can't handle multigig reliably. I have seen this result in fast-ethernet negotiation (even though you'd expect gigabit).
Your ISP Modem already has a built in router and wifi. This would be a double NAT (two router) condition which isn't recommended. https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT
https://kb.netgear.com/30187/How-to-fix-issues-with-Double-NAT
Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge or modem only mode. Then use the Orbi router in router mode. You'll need to contact the ISP for help and information in regards to the modem being bridged correctly.
2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ/ExposedHost or IP Pass-Through for the IP address the Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Orbi router in Router mode.
3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the Orbi router to the modem, configure AP mode on the Orbi router.
New: https://community.netgear.com/kb/en-orbi-knowledge-sharing/static-ip-address-configuration-for-ap-mode/2456256
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-WIFI-6-AX-AND-Wi-Fi-6E-AXE/Procedure-for-Factory-reset-of-RBS850/m-p/2367505/highlight/true#M53985
https://kb.netgear.com/31218/How-do-I-configure-my-Orbi-router-to-act-as-an-access-point and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LOcJ8GdDo&app=desktop
Try option #2 first...
Test the RBS wirelessly connected to the RBR first to see if anything changes. In wall cabling maybe faulty or not to spec to handle the connection between the RBR and RBS. CAT6A STP is recommended.
Two weeks ago, I switched from Cox to AT&T Fiber. The installer said the Gateway would work with my Orbi 973 as plug-and-play with no settings changed. It took a while to connect, but eventually it worked. Later, I manually updated to firmware 12.1.11.10 without issues. On Friday, I noticed one of my wired satellites had rebooted on its own, reconnecting at 100 instead of 2500. This had happened before, and unplugging and reconnecting the cable usually fixed it, but this time no luck. I did a full power cycle of the modem, router, and satellites, but the Orbi system wouldn’t connect to the AT&T Gateway at all. I spent from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm trying to fix it, even factory resetting the Orbi router and satellites multiple times, but couldn’t complete setup via the iPhone app. While still connected to the AT&T Gateway, I tried logging into the web interface on my Mac via a wired connection without success—until suddenly it connected. A popup said the install wasn’t complete and asked if I wanted to continue; I did, and everything connected. I used the same password and re-enabled IoT, with some devices reconnecting automatically and others requiring manual setup. I then went into the AT&T web interface, set the firewall to passthrough and DHCP, and turned off both 2.4 and 5 GHz radios, keeping the Orbi in router mode. Everything seems fine now, but I’m reluctant to power reset again. I’m also considering replacing the expensive Orbi with AT&T extenders at $12 per month each. I’d like advice on what might have caused this. Also it’s always the satellite connected to my Mitel 6930 office phone that reboots on its own?
I went with option #2, and so far, everything’s working well. I set IP passthrough on DHCP to the router’s MAC address and turned off the gateway’s radios. Could the Double NAT have been the reason for the connection issues after the factory reset? Will the same problem happen again if I need to power cycle the router, satellites, and mode? After making the setting changes on the Modem.
Could the Double NAT have been the reason for the connection issues after the factory reset?
Unlikely, generally double-NAT only gets in the way when you are doing port forwarding (and you would have been using double-NAT all along).
Not clear what went wrong, but turning off the gateway radios would have also helped if the gateway is adjacent to the router.
You should be in a better place now with the system. Once you got the wifi disabled on the ISP router and using DMZ for the RBR, should run better and be more stable. Power cycling the system should bring it back to a good working condition now since you made the changes.
Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System
I went with option #2, and so far, everything’s working well. I set IP passthrough on DHCP to the router’s MAC address and turned off the gateway’s radios. Could the Double NAT have been the reason for the connection issues after the factory reset? Will the same problem happen again if I need to power cycle the router, satellites, and mode? After making the setting changes on the Modem.
