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R7000P drops WIFI connections frequently
I'm finding that the r7000P frequeently drops client wifi connections. I have two PIxel 2XL's that frequently get booted off the 5GHz wifi whenever you put any demand on the router. The symptoms are the you'll be watching a youtube video or doing something that frequently requires data and then the data flow to the phones will stop for around 15 seconds and then the phone will disconnect and then fallback to 4G, shortly after that the phone will reconnect to the wifi again only to repeat the issue again and again.
Or I'll try to use a google home device and it'll just tell me it's no longer connected to the 2.4Ghz network
I've updated firmwares, I've tried factory resets. I've tried switching channels, I've tried changing to short preambles and nothing seems to fix the issue
The only somewhat reliable connection is the hardwired Xbox and PC, these devices don't drop.
After many hours of troubleshooting, I've found that disabling the MU-MIMO function on the R7000P gives my devices a stable connection.
Advanced > Advanced Setup > Wireless Setting > [Disable MU-MIMO]. Apply.
I have been able to transfer several large files from a wifi device to a wired device without constant dropouts/disconnections at the expense of actually being able to use the MU-MIMO functions of the router.
There are either issues in the way Netgear has implemented MU-MIMO or an incompatibility issue with some other wifi devices on the network. Since I replaced the r7000P with a new one I suspect it's an issue in the Netgear router not my devices (I can't confirm this though as I don't have a different make/model MU-MIMO router to test).
Since MIMO is one of the main selling point for this router this also raises a few new questions.
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Hello Joejoeinc
I have sent you a Pm.
DarrenM
I can now reproduce the error buy copying a file from a wifi device to a hardwired laptop.. the hardwired laptop will remain online but the wifi PC at the other will drop off wifi and pings to it will stop responding
After talking with Netgear support today they've advised to replace the router.
After followiong netgears support recommendation to swap the router with the same model R7000P (New) I can reproduce the 'clients dropping from Wi-Fi' issues straight away on the new router just by copying files from a Wireless desktop to a Wired laptop.
As a sanity test I grabbed my old Billion router out and tested the exact same way (the Wifi is slower on the old router) using the old router I see no drop outs when copying files.
IT seems I am not the only one with this issue. I'm seeing lots of threads with similar issues.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-WiFi-Routers/R7000P-drops-WiFi-connections/td-p/1479778
- Same thing on the R8000. Nothing helps.
NETGEAR: Pay us more money to support our failing product.FixMyWiFi, rather than jumping into a thread on a different router, why not start a NEW thread with your problem.
I've got a rock solid R8000, so it isn't every one of them.
In the NEW thread, please put in some details, like the firmware you are on (V1.0.4.28?), what actually happens, like the LED states, what is connected and how. Is there anything in the log? What options have you enabled? Smart Connect? QoS? Traffic Meter?
Any debug or troubleshooting you have done. You said 'nothing helps' so I assume you've done some?
After many hours of troubleshooting, I've found that disabling the MU-MIMO function on the R7000P gives my devices a stable connection.
Advanced > Advanced Setup > Wireless Setting > [Disable MU-MIMO]. Apply.
I have been able to transfer several large files from a wifi device to a wired device without constant dropouts/disconnections at the expense of actually being able to use the MU-MIMO functions of the router.
There are either issues in the way Netgear has implemented MU-MIMO or an incompatibility issue with some other wifi devices on the network. Since I replaced the r7000P with a new one I suspect it's an issue in the Netgear router not my devices (I can't confirm this though as I don't have a different make/model MU-MIMO router to test).
Since MIMO is one of the main selling point for this router this also raises a few new questions.
- Unbelievable that a router with MU-MIMO on the front of the box has to be disabled, but this is indeed the fix for 5GHz dropping out. Thank you very much for sharing.
Thanks, I have unchecked the Enable MU-MIMO option and this has kept the connection from dropping.
I'll point out that it wasn't just wifi connectivity in my situiation but all my wired connections as well. Appreciate you sharing your troubleshooting and solution to this.
Ok in an update to my earlier reply, I'm still having issues w dropped connection but so far much less frequient than before. It was literally 2-3 times a day requiring a reboot. After disabling MIMO as recommended I've had a single instance that also required a reboot. I don't know that it's related and will do a bit of research. Though want to update that at least connectivity is much more stable after unchecking the setting.
Hello joejoeinc,
Thanks for sharing your experiance!
I purchased this router 2 days back. I have started facing this issue from the day 1.
Then when I searched in this community and happened to see your post.
I could recreate this problem, when I connect my external hard disk and browse few files. Later after few mins, all my devices connected to this router fails to connect to the internet, but the LEDs of 2.4 and 5G stays lit without blinking, which means there is no packet transmission between any devices.
Still I haven't tried disabling the MU-MIMO option. Thats the buying point for this router.
I was very exited when I bought this router, now feeling very disappointed. Also upset that netgear doesn't came forward in sovling this issue.
I will try disabling the MIMO option and try.
I am thinking of returning this router.
You should return it while it's still within the return window. I plugged in my old R6000 and haven't had a single issue for weeks now, but it's an older router and as you said, I bought the R7000P for specific features. Disabling MIMO didn't solve the problem for me anyway.
I also suggest switching brands. No reason to throw more money at Netgear when they won't fix the problem after all these years. I'm waiting for the Acer to come back in stock and I'll never look back at Netgear.
- Yup. This R7000P router has turned to garbage. Needs to always be reset or changed wifi channels. Doesn't help that my neighbors also have netgear router that auto channel function always switches to the same channel. But this new "feature" of dropping devices completely a couple times throughout the day is pretty terrible.
I don't think the router is complete garbage. I think the implementation of the MIMO function is horrible. The rest of the router seems to do mostly what it was advertised to do. The router WiFi is fast which is good. However, given the choice to buy again I would probably go with a different vendor.
The dropping devices on my router has a workaround of disabling the MIMO functions and this seems to give me stable connection (still have an open ticket with netgear about this)
I disabled the MIMO function on the router to see if the concern resolves. We will see.
The answer is the Netgear hates you, and the rest of us, and really just wants you to buy another brand.
- I have a Linksys (Belkin) e8400 that does the same thing, 5GHz dropping out. Rebooted that daily. Feels like they're all just making junk.
Yep. I have exactly the same problem with the same router (R7000P). Wired connections seem stable, but every now and then wifi drops for all devices on the network. Weirdly enough if I disable wifi on one of those devices for a moment and re-enable, everything springs back to life.
I've disabled dynamic QoS, which seemed to help a bit... but it was a feature I'd like to use.
I've considered disabling Smart Wifi and/or MU-MIMO... but they're also features I'd like to keep. Particularly the Smart Wifi, other wise I would have gotten a mesh kit. It would be nice if the features on the box worked. Parental controls are handy, but also a bit buggy.
The router I got was a repack in the store... seems someone else had the same issue with the same router. If I was to return I'd get a different router (not Netgear).
just bought this R7000P expecting good things and this wifi keep dropping thing really soured my experience. read this forum and I turned off my MU-MIMO and everything works good now... I work in telecom and know how MIMO is supposed to work and seen this feature on the router and expected good things... not wifi connetion issues...
I'm also quite disappointed with this router. I bought it a couple of days ago, and I'm experiencing multiple drop out issues, and the router is literally 2 meters away from all the devices that need wifi. I've submitted a support ticket, will see what they say.
So far I've disabled all the options for the Guest Network, turned off MU-MIMO, I'm also using Smart Connect. All of these things together seem to help a little bit but devices still continue to drop out once or twice every couple of hours.
i am having this problem, help
Already threw it away! I will never buy Netgear ever again!
