LAX20 Dropping LTE Internet Connection and Requiring Reboot Multiple Times a Day

[BradWr]

I'm using a Netgear Nighthawk LAX20 with the SIM card as the primary/only internet connection. Verizon is the carrier. This is in a rural area with nearest tower 2.2 miles away through the woods. Multiple times a day (sometimes per hour) the router looses connection to the cell network and sometimes recovers but mostly needs a reboot. Troubleshooting has been extensive both settings on the router as well as fully tier 3 diagnostics at Verizon.

Log files show drop, connect, drop connect, 3G, LTE, 3G, etc. 

During this time our two cell phones using the same cell service, connected to the same tower have 2 bars and never loose connection. In fact I can hotspot my phone and its stays rock solid. 

Signal strength was only -89 db and throughput was 10 mbps down so I added an external MIMO antenna and now get -64 db and throughput as high as 90 mbps down depending on day. This made no difference in the dropped connections. 

At this point everything points to a problem in the Netgear firmware's ability to recover from shaky connections. Since the phones have no issue this is a solvable problem. Netgear comments???

4G LTE WiFi 6 Router (LAX20) #Verizon

[MissyC2000]

I am having the same issue out of my Netgear Nighthawk LAX20 with LTE only with Verizon. It drops the signal multiple times a day and I have to reboot it, which makes it almost useless for working from home effectively. I have already had it replaced once under warranty when the original router stopped reading the SIM card slot altogether 4 months after I bought it. I have had it less than 1 year. Does anyone know what would cause this and how to resolve it? Moving the router to a different location or adding an antenna outside of the house to it have done nothing to help. 

[Blanca_O]

Hi @BradWr and @MissyC2000 

May we please have the following information:

- What is the firmware version
- Internet LED status if issue re-occur
- Kindly describe your Network Topology 
- Type of data plan from Verizon
- APN Settings (Is it the default setting from Verizon? )
--- Here's a reference of how to view and/or configure APN settings: https://kb.netgear.com/31166/

Looking forward to your response.

Regards,
Blanca
Community Team

[MissyC2000]

Blanca, below is the information you have requested for troubleshooting:

Firmware Version - v1.1.6.34

Internet LED status if issue re-occur - LTE LED light turns red when signal drops

Network Topology - Netgear Nighthawk router using 4G/5G Verizon LTE only providing wireless signal to 2 work laptops in the same room roughly 5 feet away. The router sits on a wooden cabinet away from any interfering signals like TV or phones. It gets a strong signal (35-40 down and 4-7 up) when connected. 

Data Plan from Verizon - 150gb of 4G/5G data per month specifically assigned to Netgear Nighthawk router via IMEI

APN Settings - Default from Verizon with:

APN Value - VZWINTERNET 

No User Name, No Password, PDP = IPv4v6

Please let me know if you need more information. Thank you.

Melissa Carlton

[Blanca_O]

Hi @MissyC2000 

I have sent you a message. Please check your inbox.

Regards,
Blanca
Community Team

[BradWr]

How about you share it with all of us since there are multiple of us having this issue?

Also I've validated with a Netgear dealer that the Nighthawk isn't up to this environment. Time to look at something more commercial grade.

brad

[MarieMy26]

Good afternoon,

Could you let me know if your problem was solved and what did you do? Thanks

[Kamberson]

I am having the same issue with same firmware . Please advise.

[BradWr]

Fixed it. Throw out the Nighthawk and get something commercial grade like the Peplink BR1. In these situations where you have very limit LTE connectivity with high noise you need something with the processing power to deal with it like your iPhone does. The Nighthawk doesn't have the power. the BR1 does although it's 5x the price of the Nighthawk. Just upgraded to the BR1 with nothing different and having rock solid connectivity and continous uptime.

brad 

[Swade777]

Anyone have any luck with external antenna, Works for a while after rebooting, firmware is up to date . Personally I'd like my money back !!! If I don't get some type of resolution with this unit , Netgear will be a one and done!!!

[Swade777]

Having the same problems after rebooting every day, I'm ready to take a hammer to this router!!!!