Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Moocow1980
Apprentice

CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Here's the deal.

I just got in the mail today a replacement from Netgear for my CAX80. (Hindsight says I may not have needed it, but here we are.)

I am with WOW Internet as my ISP in Columbus, OH.

The issue began around mid-November 2021, which based on sniffing around this forum, was the time frame a new firmware update was pushed and caused issues. That led to getting the aforementioned warranty replacement.

My old modem works. It's not my wiring. But the CAX80, it won't receive Internet. If I try to even do a hardwired local connection, I can't do any connections, even router login dot net, or the 192 168 1 1 address or anything. So if I wanted to manually update firmware or roll back, I can't. It will not connect.

I have done the 30-30-30 hard reset with the unit. I have called WOW, and they can't figure it out, no matter what we do.

I can't return the modem to Best Buy as the window passed. I'm not paying for extended warranty assistance with Netgear -- I had to PAY to ship my old unit for the replacement, which is insane and flat out robbery after I paid $450-plus for the unit or whatever it goes for. (Can't even spring for the prepaid label to a customer.) And if WOW can't do anything... I've PAID FOR AN EXPENSIVE BRICK BECAUSE OF THE FIRMWARE UPDATE!

I am extremely frustrated and extremely disappointed. Thanks for ruining my purchase, Netgear.
Message 1 of 137
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

What FW version is currently loaded? What FW was loaded for the router side of the modem? 

Was the FW updated on the modem side from the ISP? Modem FW can ONLY be updated by the ISP. 

 

Have the ISP check the signal and line quality UP to the modem. Be sure the ISP provisions the modem correctly.
Be sure there are no coax cable line splitters in the between the modem and ISP service box. 
Be sure your using good quality RG6 coax cable up to the modem. 
Be sure to power OFF the modem for 1 minute then back ON.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Cable-Modems-Routers/General-info-and-Troubleshooting-for-Cable-Mod...
https://www.duckware.com/tech/solving-intermittent-cable-modem-issues.html

 

Message 2 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

I can't check anything on it. How can I check the firmware if I can't even access it and pull info up on my laptop?

I also spent an hour with WOW having it provisioned. It won't receive the incoming Internet signal. They can send the refresh signal, and it refreshes, but no Internet.

All wiring and such has been redone from the cable hub outside, into my house, and into whatever I use the cable for, and it's all A-OK. I was getting the proper Internet speeds when I first got it in September. So none of that was an issue.
Message 3 of 137
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Can you access 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.100.1 in a browser? 

Message 4 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

No.
Message 5 of 137
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Press the reset button for 10 seconds then release. Keep a wired PC connected to Port#4...

Try accessing the addresses again...

 

What are the front LEDs showing? 

Message 6 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Ethernet cable in Port 4, and connected to my PC.
Held in reset for 10 seconds.
The lights on my PC are Power, Download, Upload, the globe, the 2.4G, the 5G, and the No. 4 representing the fourth Ethernet port. The lights are solid, except for the No. 4, which flickers for I presume activity.
The 192 addresses said they took too long to respond.
Message 7 of 137
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Seems like the router and web page side is broke. 

Unfortunately Its the weekend now. I'd make contact the NG support if you can open up a ticket. 

I'd send a PM to a forum Moderator as well:

@DarrenM 

@vkdelta 

 

 

Message 8 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

I will contact support for further assistance.
Message 9 of 137
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Keep us posted on how it goes...

Message 10 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Support is sending me a brand new in box (or so they say) unit, and I'll have it Monday or Tuesday. They're doing next business day, but I'm going to assume it goes out Monday.

I am not optimistic this resolves it, but we will see.
Message 11 of 137
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Good to hear. Ok. Sounds good. 

I'd get the ISP on the phone when you connect it. 

Be sure to not update the router portion of the FW. Ask the ISP to not update anything until both you and them ensure is up and running well. 

You may see a notification about a FW update. I know I did after putting mine online. You can ignore this. 

 

 

Message 12 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Would it be safe to turn on the unit with no coax cable plugged in, so I can see what firmware is installed? Should I be able to access RouterLogin or the 192 168 1 1 without Internet and check stuff? I want to rule that side of it out before calling WOW.
Message 13 of 137
My_Username
Guide

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

That would certainly be "safe", but otherwise unproductive and frustrating.

Without a cable signal the CAX80 cycles in an infinite boot loop. It basically becomes a paperweight.

 

I just tried this for grins. No signal = no config login.

Re-attach coax, wait for boot to complete and here I am online again.

 

Without signal my local network is always down.

Message 14 of 137
fsalatino
Guide

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Sounds like we are having the same problem. I was using the CAX80 for one year with WOW and it was great. Really liked the features of the unit. All of the sudden a few days ago, no internet. I rebooted nothing, called WOW and they sent refresh signal. All lights are solid, looks connected, wifi lights good, WOW says it is connected, but nothing works hardwired or wifi. Did a factory reset, same issue. Had the extended warranty from Bestbuy, they swapped out, tried a new CAX80, same issue. Tried the C7000v2 no problems at all, everything works great so it was not the cable line. Tried a third CAX80, same problems, looks connected, shows connected on WOW's end, but nothing hardwired or wifi works. I know it is connected because I can send a refresh signal to the unit from my WOW account too. I really liked the CAX80 a lot, not sure why it would stop being compatiable after a year of no problems. Remember I tested 2 new CAX80's and the same issue. When not connected to the cable line, the unit will reboot every 4 minutes, so not much time to access the setup page. The C7000v2 is working great, but I would really like to have the capabilities of the CAX80. Everytime I want to try a new modem it is time consuming, I have to have WOW add the MAC to the account and my family goes nuts if there is no internet. Any ideas why this would happen all of the sudden? Any solutions?

Message 15 of 137
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Yes you can turn ON the modem and see whats installed prior. Theres only a small window of time that you can do that before the modem will auto reboot itself as this is a feature set by NG on the CAX modem that if the signal on the coax line is lost or disconnected, the modem will continuely auto reboot until the signal returns. I'm not big fan of this. Smiley Embarassed


@Moocow1980 wrote:
Would it be safe to turn on the unit with no coax cable plugged in, so I can see what firmware is installed? Should I be able to access RouterLogin or the 192 168 1 1 without Internet and check stuff? I want to rule that side of it out before calling WOW.

 

Message 16 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Received the second replacement today. Did absolutely nothing with it until I called WOW. This is the extremely detailed process I went through in calling WOW, so be prepared for a long read.

 

TL;DR VERSION: It's definitely WOW, and not a darn thing got resolved on the 2h15m call.

 

The WOW tech rep had me connect the coax cable for the first time, and then plug in the power supply to turn it on for the first time. All lights came on and cycled on like you'd normally expect -- including the 2.4 and 5G symbols, and the push-button symbols at the bottom.

 

During this time, I gave the WOW tech rep my MAC address so he could activate it on the ISP's end. (I had no Internet connection up to this point, but I wasn't saying anything as I was unsure what he had to do on his end.) He then confirmed my MAC address, and asked me to unplug it for 30 seconds, and then plug it back in. He then allowed 2-3 minutes for a reboot to happen.

 

During this reboot, the 2.4/5G symbols and the push-button symbols did not light up at all. It was just the top four lights, as well as the 1 flashing for activity for the ethernet connection of my laptop in the first port.

 

Once the 2-3 minutes passed, I still had no Internet connection, and suddenly it went into a reboot. This was a repeat of everything I had been experiencing in mid-November, and the two prior units, and the repeated calls with WOW tech support.

 

The tech rep took longer than that 2-3 minutes to speak again, and he asked me to connect to the Internet. I told him I had no Internet connection. He asked to confirm my MAC address again. He then went silent for a few and then said he did something on his end and to allow 2-3 more minutes. My unit rebooted during this. The rep confirmed that I was using a modem/router combo from Netgear.

 

Mid-reboot, he asked me to power cycle the unit by unplugging it. I waited a couple of minutes, then he asked me to plug it in, and allow it to reboot. Once again, everything lit up except for the 2.4/5G and the push-button lights. No Internet, either. There was no change in status. I told him as much. And it rebooted yet again. And once that finished, still no change in status.

 

Clearly, everything is being caused by WOW. At this time, I took over the call and just flat out told the rep that whatever WOW did in mid-November, it has "bricked" my unit from working. I could safely hypothesize it was a WOW issue from mid-November, because if the modem/router was incompatible with WOW, it would not have worked when I got it in mid-September, and not worked for approximately two months without a flaw.

 

He sent another signal and it rebooted. During this, he tried to say that a tech needed to come to my house. I said no, because in October, we hooked up all brand new wiring from the outside hub for the neighborhood to support the speeds I upgraded to. Everything was working perfect. There was no need for that because that wasn't the issue.

 

He took my info to escalate this, but I said maybe let's try to speak to someone in escalated tech. (When he said we needed a tech sent to my house, that was about the point I realized the tech rep had served his purpose and could not provide any more help.) He transferred me to the escalation team.

 

I explained everything to the new rep. She agreed that perhaps it was the signal from WOW being sent out that was causing the issue. She said maybe it was too strong of a signal. She sent me to an escalated troubleshooting team that can do more looking into things. I confirmed with her this wasn't the basic troubleshooting team I just got done talking to.

 

I was put on hold for 40 minutes, then spoke to an agent. She claimed that there is an Internet issue which is preventing modems from being activated. I said that was an Amazon Web Services outage, but this issue has gone on for closing in on a month, so it's not related to AWS. She wasn't able to help much because of the AWS issue, so she said to call back tomorrow. She gave me a direct phone number and a PIN for my case, and I call that tomorrow to repeat this entire process all over again. In the meantime, I swapped back to my old setup, confirmed I had Internet, and the call ended.

 

So, what the heck, I'll do this tomorrow I guess and see what happens. I have no faith at this point. I will update on this tomorrow. But I really need something to happen tomorrow one way or another. I've spent too much time messing with this.

Message 17 of 137
Basha94
Guide

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

We are having this EXACT issue since December 1st. We have spend a total now of 6 hours of phone time between ISP(wow) and NG support and nothing. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting about this. We are on our 2nd CAX80 router and NG was supposed to be escalating this issue to level 2 tech support, but haven't heard anything back from them so far. We ordered a modem from wow and they can't activate due to AWS issue. So frustrating. We are currently speaking will wow about this issue. Not sure if you are wanting to switch ISP's or not but if you are in an area where spectrum is available the CAX80 is compatible and certified with them. I'm currently thinking about doing this but just trying to get some type of internet access for now. (Like I said we've been out of internet since the 1st of December)
Message 18 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Spectrum charges way too much. Once your promo ends, they jack your price up. I had them at first, and when I told them WOW had the same service at a fraction of the cost, they didn't care. I pretty much refuse to go back to them.
Message 19 of 137
Basha94
Guide

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

That's fair. I'm just at my witts end with all these two hour calls. If I find a fix or get any other information about what's happening I will let you know! Thanks again for this post. Thought I was the only one having this issue!
Message 20 of 137
fsalatino
Guide

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

I agree that something most likely changed on WOW's end recently. I was using the CAX80 for almost a year with no issues. Let them know that someone else is having the same problem, same device, with WOW. At least you know it is not only you. I am located just outside of Chicago. My issue started between Nov 30 - Dec 1, 2021. We know that we both get internet signal, but something in the modem/router gets messed up. I tried 3 different CAX80's and the same problem each time. Maybe it is a recent SNR or power level change on cable line that is messing with the modem. Maybe a change in the cable firmware from WOW. I wonder if it would have issues with Xfinity or just WOW. Alot of different testing would need to occur to really pinpoint the issue. I would really like to go back to the CAX80, but I can't keep changing modems to test. Let me know if you get a solution. Thanks again for your time in trying to solve.

Message 21 of 137
Basha94
Guide

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

We are located in Evansville, Indiana. When we talk to them again I will let them know that another person is having this same issue and definitely give any updates or finding on this post. Hopefully it gets fixed so then you can switch back. The router was great when it had worked. We just recently got ours on August 22nd. Everything worked great up until last Wednesday, December 1st. Woke up and no wifi. Exact same issues as you. So bizarre.
Message 22 of 137
Moocow1980
Apprentice

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

I am Columbus, OH, as I said earlier, so now I know this is WOW-wide. Somehow my issues began mid-November while some of you are saying first of the month. Maybe my area rolled out first? I don't know.
Message 23 of 137
fsalatino
Guide

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

I will try to call WOW and let them know of the issue. The more calls about the same modem the better. Maybe if the issue gets escalated to one of their engineers they can actually test and figure out why. We just need to bypass the agents that think we are morons and want to run through basic troubleshooting. It would be great if someone from Netgear contacted WOW and tried to figure out.

Message 24 of 137
fsalatino
Guide

Re: CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

Even if one or all of us could share this discussion with them. Maybe an agent can forward to an engineer. Someone else just reported having a similar issue with COX.

 

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Cable-Modems-Routers/CAX80-Not-Connecting-to-the-Internet-COX/td-p/...

Message 25 of 137
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