NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Rax80 smart connect issue wifi dropping
Ive been having issues with my RAX80 since purchasing it , if i leave the router with the seperate bands (2.4ghz &5ghz) it runs fine but once i activate smartconnect all i get is intermittent connecti...
My router has been in meltdown again this weekend with probably 50% downtime with nothing able to connect.
No devices were connected to the 2.4Ghz band at all (sonos, cameras, phones & televisions were all offline).
Reboot via Nighthawk app & phyiscal power button made no change, still no Wifi connection.
I logged into the web interface to see if I could try to disable something else.
i saw that 2.4Ghz was using Channel 1 (selected by Auto). - see image at the bottom.
I am running the latest firmware (46) which states in the release notes:
" [Bug Fixes] Channels 1, 11, 12, and 13 will no longer be used when the 2.4 GHz channel is set to Auto. "
I then changed the timezone for the NTP server which was wrong & the router rebooted.
Afterwards, all my devices came back online & I noticed the 2.4Ghz channel had changed to 9+5 (see image).
This gives me many questions?
Why are channels 1, 11, 12, 13 not used in Auto mode? These are just standard channels in the 2.4Ghz band?
Despite this change, the router still seems to select channel 1 (bug in the new firmware or wrong release notes) ??
Could this be the main cause of the connection problems that some of the channels are not working correctly?
I could understand if it was some of the exotic 5-ghz channels but 2.4ghz is more than 10 years old....
Ch1 - NOK
Ch 9+5 - OK
After my problems with the 2.4Ghz Wifi at the weekend, I've had a couple of days of reasonable uptime, although still several quick "connected to Wifi" messages on my phone during use.
Last night & continuing through to this evening I now have problems with the 5Ghz channel becoming excrutiatingly sloooow.
It takes about 120s to render the router "admin" page & accessing the internet is almost impossible as its so slow.
Reboot doesnt improve the situation & from what I can tell there has been no changes to the 5G channels the router is using.
Devices connected only to the 2.4Ghz channel have almost instant internet access & I'm clocking 500mpbs (100% of my max speed) from an ethernet connected computer...
At the weekend, I'm going to disconnect the RAX80 and go back to my previous internet provider router just to prove to myself I didnt have these kind of connection problems before...
- I think I'm going to give up on this router too. Had issues for well over a month now.
Does anyone know if I change the name and password of my sky router wireless network to the same as the nighthawk e.g. NETGEAR99 would all my wireless devices automatically reconnect to the renamed sky network? It's going to be a right effort to reprogram all 20 or so plugs, alexas, tvs etc. If it doesn't work. I did the same when I moved from the previous router to the RAX80 (gave the RAX80 the same SSID as my previous router) and all devices connected automatically without any problems or re-authentication.
- Oh nice one. I'm looking at getting a replacement WiFi 6 router in black Friday sales now. I'm going to make sure I read reviews properly this time and ensure it's a router that's had time to iron out issues.
Yes if you keep the same SSID and password your clients won't know the difference.
I've also experienced issues very similar to this. The ethernet connected devices don't even blip. It's mostly the 5ghz clients that either don't work at all or are SUPER slow like you mentioned, and using them to get to the admin or debug screens takes forever or doesn't even load.
Netgear, please just tell us you have some idea of what's going on and are working on a firmware patch for us. This silence is deafening.
Christian_Ras several people have asked, can you confirm that Netgear is aware of these issues and is working on a solution?
From my conversations with the Level2 support, it is still not clear that any of these problems are even recognised.
I was kind of expecting to try out a beta firmware or something when I offered to help find a solution...
Even if its something out of Netgears control, at least we would know someone is looking at it.
I guess like many, I'm in the position that I've spent €350, cant get a refund & dont have a working product.
Do I just take the hit & buy a replacement or will there be another firmware update in the next days, weeks, month??
- Thank you for your message regarding the AX80 router drop out problems. I intend to stick with the product as I have great respect for Netgear. I admit to being disappointed but now realise this is a new technology for routers. I have been advised to contact Netgear support but in fairness Netgear should acknowledge the problems on the community forum and embrace our support. I await a response from Netgear Support.
- I certainly wish you the best binstead5! I too have believed in Netgear in the recent past. I still use an R7900 and R6900 without any issues. I heavily use the built-in openvpn and firewalls to control network access. It works great with those two devices, but the RAX80 is a useless paper weight. Netgear sent me a second RAX80 under warranty and it had all of the same problems. I guess the old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies to my RAX80 purchase. If you actually get a solution I would love to hear about it. Best Regards
Well, I posted a long note in another thread but basically I'm having the same lockup issues as everyone else. I saw the moderator suggested to open a ticket, so I did that.
They're offering an RMA, but I don't want to do that unless they come out and say for a fact there is a defect in the hardware and the unit they're delivering has a known hardware fix. That's highly unlikely, this is almost certtainly a firmware issue. Based on others posted they've gone the RMA route and it didn't resolve anything that is all I need to hear. Besides, these RMA's may be sending "factory refurbished units" for all I know, and I won't be trading the problems with this unit for worse ones.It is functional other than the several reboots I'm having to do. Quite annoying that it won't stay up for even one day. I still have my "600N" router sitting next to the RAX80 and I wish I could just get a refund, and purchase something else. I regret not getting a refund under the return period at the electronics store.
It's disgusting to me that companies like this are totally inept at dealing with such a large number of user complaints and informing us of what is happening.
Hi Christian in reply to your post 11/4/2019
I can now confirm that i have informed netgear support of the problems that i am experiencing.
I have previously stated i would stick by Netgear because of their history of outstanding products.
In an act of good faith i signed up to a 3 month support agreement 24/7 that overlaps the first 90 day support.
The support lady looked at all the router settings online made some changes it was a difficult experience and i would not look forward to going down that route again.
I reluctantly may have to throw the towel in.
i can no longer trust the router to sustain a performance for streaming and all devices keep dropping out Including security equipment.
I will now be talking to Amazon to see if they can apply pressure on Netgear failing that i will declare defeat and return the AX80 back to them.
I will go back to my previous router in the next 48 hours.
Thank you to everyone for their helpful posts.
Regards
Binstead 5