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R7000 5ghz Disappearing
Seems to be a lot of independent questions/discussions on or this topic or similar topics... Looking for someone to give me a definitive answer, so here's the question:
- My R7000 periodically and randomly drops the 5ghz band and all devices connected to it lose connection - the 5ghz network SSID is not broadcasting.
- When looking at the router admin page, it SAYS the 5ghz is running and normal.
- Requires complete unplugging and reboot before 5ghz shows back up again.
This is an expensive router so I am not happy that it is flaky and requires this kind of baby sitting. Anyone have a suggestion?
- My R7000 periodically and randomly drops the 5ghz band and all devices connected to it lose connection - the 5ghz network SSID is not broadcasting.
- When looking at the router admin page, it SAYS the 5ghz is running and normal.
- Requires complete unplugging and reboot before 5ghz shows back up again.
This is an expensive router so I am not happy that it is flaky and requires this kind of baby sitting. Anyone have a suggestion?
I've been running Firmware Version V1.0.6.28_1.1.83 for a few months now without any 5GHz dropping. The big tip that helped me, was after doing the firmware update, I did a factory reset to reset all of the settings to default, and it also forces the router to get new internal drivers for itself. Before I did this, I was always losing my 5GHz.
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- I say that it because it was not truly behaving properly. Some devices were able to obtain a DHCP address, others did not. It appeared to stop handing out DHCP leases after the 5th device. I suppose it was possible that it was only configured for a small range of DHCP clients, but I do not have the credentials or info to login to it, that is kept secret by by internet provider. All I can do is call and request that they put it in bridged mode. I used to have it that way, because that is the only way to get port forwarding using the R7000 so I can view my security cameras remotely. A few weeks ago the internet went down completely, and I was away from the house for a couple days. The ISP said everything was fine on their end so they had my wife reset the modem back to factory which takes it out of bridged mode and connect directly (via cable) to her laptop so she could use the internet. I was unable to find anything wrong with the R7000, I just have not gone through the trouble of calling the ISP to put it back in bridged mode. I wanted to make sure it was stable with no more dropped connections.
- Either have your DSL in bridge mode, with the R7000 as a router. My setup worked great in this configuration.
Or have your DSL in router mode, with the R7000 as an access point. I did have an issue here with this setup when I introduced a network firewall appliance; hence, the DSL was in bridge mode, the network appliance serves as my router with the R7000 as an access point. Again, what did it for me was setting my 2.4G channel to 1. Right now, things are great.
Your issues sound eerily really similar to what I was having. It was like from a DHCP perspective, my cameras dropped off the face of the earth. If I unplugged and plugged the cameras back in, I would have them for a time period, but I would eventually lose them again. My DSL router was in bridge mode the whole time though and still is.
Good luck! - Has anyone seen a fix for this problem?
I'm running firmware V1.0.4.28_1.1.64, but I have experienced it with the last 3 revisions.
A reboot of the router always fixes the problem, until I come back to use it a few hours later. - I had my ISP put my DSL modem into bridge mode and I re-configured the router for PPPoE a few days ago. So far so good.
When I upgraded to V1.0.4.28_1.1.64 and few weeks ago, I did the full 30-30-30 reset and have not had any loss of WiFi or internet since.
So if you have weird dropouts or other unexplained behavior, try the full factory reset and re-configure and see if that helps with the random dropouts. I too am experiencing this problem. It is very, very frustrating and disappointing, especially given the price of this router.
At this stage, given this ongoing and obviously common problem, I could not recommend this router to anyone, even though I want to.
Can someone at netgear please fix this issue asap. It has been an issue for too long.
I am using the latest firmware, V1.0.4.30_1.1.67
I experimented with different channels on 5ghz and the only way i got it to stabilize is switching from 1300mbps to 600mbps. Then i can use any channel I want. The other solution was lowering the 5ghz channel to 40 which resulted in poor range.
I've had the router for less than 24hrs and the next step would be going to DD-WRT. but so far so good! I came from the legendary 54G so this is awesome =)
clvnng wrote:I experimented with different channels on 5ghz and the only way i got it to stabilize is switching from 1300mbps to 600mbps. Then i can use any channel I want. The other solution was lowering the 5ghz channel to 40 which resulted in poor range.
I've had the router for less than 24hrs and the next step would be going to DD-WRT. but so far so good! I came from the legendary 54G so this is awesome =)
If you are looking for 3rd party fw, all the EX DD-WRT user's are using this firmware - I use on 2 R7000's. One as an AP and one in router mode, in different locations. Works great. Very stable, and lots of features that you won't find in stock FW. The instruction on the first page od the web site, are perfect for transitioning.
After much research and trying different settings, and even factory reset ... I changed the default preamble from long to short and my connections have been improved.
Hope to save others pain .... try powering off any wireless equipment in area.
My R7000 installed a couple days ago had very regular dropout of 5.8Ghz channels (was stable on the 2.4GHz channels). Lots of trial and error scanning for free channel #s, lowering bandwidth modes, about to upgrade firmware to DD-WRT, etc. Before you do any of that ... try turning off anything that may cause interference (cordless phones, baby monitors, etc) and try moving router location. We had a panasonic cordless phone system on other side of a wall transmitting on 5.8GHz (5.759-5.838) which regularly stomps on Wifi Channels 149-161 and caused R7000 to shutdown/reboot 802.11ac network. See details here:
http://bradsfavorite.com/avoid-interference-5-ghz-wifi-5-8-ghz-cordless-phones/
I suggest monitoring rate of dropouts using a wifi analyzer (free smartphone app) or Mac OSX Wireless Diagnostics Tool . Then unplug ALL questionable equipment anywhere in the region you want to run Wifi and see if it fixes any dropouts. Our has now been stable for hours, plug in again and immediate dropouts. I moved my phone base away from router and monitor no longer shows dropouts but laptop still struggles near phone system (recognize Wifi is two-way not just interference at the router side).
I know FCC has allowed many products to use the 5.8Ghz range. This would likely impact any Wifi system trying to use these prime channels (not just R7000). My old phones must go. I'm looking at Dect 6.0 cordless phones that use 1.9GHz. Good luck.
5ghz on this router is completly useless. Completly unstable. Most devices can't connect. Some times my phones can connect but then can't. reboot's may work then it's doesn't matter. I wanted this for 5g for gaming on xbox ones. Taking this junk back to the store.
Were there any improvements to 5g in that code?
Similar issues. 5 ghz disappearing frequently. Restart, reset, update to the latest firmware .48 and nothing. Try tech support and piss away almost 2 hrs listening to elevator music before they tell me sorry can't help you. You need to go to the community for help. Not likely to buy another Netgear product again.
Hi tstaal,
Have you performed a factory reset after the update? After the reset, manually reconfigure the router instead of loading the back up config.
Been there done that. REALLY disapointed with NetGear support. Simply request an RMA and I get this:
Sure feels like to bad so sad, If you want us to actually help you get the defective equipment fixed pay us...
5GHZ no longer broadcasts. Power cycled, reboot, latest firmware....still nothing. I'd like to get a replacement device. NETGEAR Support 12/5/2015 7:50 PM
Thank you for taking the time to contact us at NETGEAR Email support.
Your R7000 warranty details are as follows:
•Purchase date: December 25, 2014
•Basic technical support (from purchase date): 90 days
•Hardware warranty (from purchase date): 1 year
Based on the product registration, your device is no longer eligible for the 90 days free technical software support assistance from a support expert.
Please be informed that we have other support options available for you based on your support warranty:
•Self-help web articles http://support.netgear.com/product/
•NETGEAR Forums https://community.netgear.com/
Aside from the above free options, I highly recommend our GearHead Premium Services which will entitle you to phone support for this issue and in addition you also get unlimited support for all your other home networking devices. For more information, you may visit the GearHead website at http://gearhead.netgear.com.
Thank you for choosing NETGEAR and have a great day!
- Upgraded to latest firmware as of today, did a software reboot after firmware upgrade (auto reboot) but still no 5Ghz. I recall seeing it after a power cycle though so I'll try that tonight when people aren't using it. This happens so frequently I would hope it's easily reproduced in Netgear's QA group. Just leave it on for a few days or less than a week and you're sure to see it. I may have to buy a power switch that turns off and back on at certain times just to ensure I'll have 5Ghz reliably every day. Power cycling during the day isn't acceptable. A little frustrated, but when it works it's a speed demon and I love it.
