LB2120: no automatic re-connect

[robfrg]

Probably a final update on this, bizarrely after all my calls and posts things have improved - unfortunately I think this is because it's not dropping connections rather than re-connecting.

I have now finally admitted defeat with the router and will be returning it.

I've replaced it with a Teltonika RUT240 - I've just set it up and am intially impressed, it's not a "home" friendly box TBH and seems to be geared at the professional user and has the setup and capabilities to support this.  Since many people on this forum seem clued up that may not be a problem.  It's a few pounds cheaper than the NG box and has way more functionality available in it. 

[sktm]

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@robfrg wrote:

Probably a final update on this, bizarrely after all my calls and posts things have improved - unfortunately I think this is because it's not dropping connections rather than re-connecting.

I have now finally admitted defeat with the router and will be returning it.

I've replaced it with a Teltonika RUT240 - I've just set it up and am intially impressed, it's not a "home" friendly box TBH and seems to be geared at the professional user and has the setup and capabilities to support this.  Since many people on this forum seem clued up that may not be a problem.  It's a few pounds cheaper than the NG box and has way more functionality available in it. 

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Thanks for the update. 

I am also looking at the alternatives for replacement, the one you mention and similar from Huawei and MicroTik.  I have a home server rack with mostly Ubiquiti Unifi gear and a complex configuration so like many here, ease of setup isn't an issue just reliability.

This type of issue is actually why I moved my core home networking/wifi to Ubiquiti from various vendors as the sheer number of users and forum posts mean any glitch with a device or its firmware and client devices gets found by lots of people (and usually fixed) plus hardware is supported far longer than with the like of NetGear.

[tleej]

Not acceptable... hitting reddit

[tleej]

If you want to add your voice to mine: https://www.reddit.com/r/NETGEAR/comments/a84arc/reconnection_issues_on_your_lb2120_4g_modem/

[charlie0440]

So It looks like the only way Netgear will admit there is a fault if someone will return one and confirm the fault on the replacement device. This is stupid as mutliple people have already opened tickets and we have a forum full of people with the same fault. Anyway Amazon now have my paperweight back and a refund has been issued.

Here is the full communication of my support ticket. It takes the piss, as I returned the item for a refund they marked the ticket as solved!

https://pastebin.com/FNJRPYA2

[robfrg]

Wow it really is quite shocking, the thing I find amazing is that there appears to be no way that L1 support can escalate it, I love the no known issue line in the chat.

BTW the Teltonika router I’ve installed has worked flawlessly for nearly a week now. No dropped connections and when I have forced a drop (I’m paranoid!) it’s immediately reconnected. Happy days and maybe I’ll be able to stop checking the UI every few hours soon to make sure it’s ok!!!

[AIB-CEO]

I’m now on my second LB2120 having complained about the repeated disconnecting of the mobile internet. Our first box disconnected daily. After many complaints the case was escalated to executive level and a replacement box shipped, with us returning the first one after the replacement arrived (we convinced Netgear to waive the shipping cost). Now we’ve installed the replacement and within 36 hours the same problem has occurred. It simply can’t keep a 3G/4G connection live.

We have the contacts for the exec level complaints department and after Christmas will be returning this unit for a refund.

It is crazy - so many complaints and yet the company seems not to care. This marks the end, I suspect, of us purchasing any new Netgear kit for a long while.

Any suggestions for a 4G failover router that sits quietly and does what it’s support to will be greatly appreciated!

Merry Christmas 🎄

[Jttgg]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071YPFNST
Received, not tested yet.

Concerning the lb2120, I have succeed to reconnect with a bash script using curl but I need to set the session token manually.
I don't know how to do it with a new session.

[sktm]

I am doing some research on the Teltonika, Microtik and Huawei 4G LTE modem/routers before purchase and how nice it is to see firmware upgrades.

The Teltonika has 18 firmware upgrades this year alone and with good details - puts NetGear to shame!   I have a bit more research to do but my LB2120 (which is sadly out of the Amazon return window) will be replaced shortly, and currently the Teltonika is currently the favourite. 

Shame I had to waste £130 on the LB2120, but that will be the last piece of NetGear kit I will purchase both at home and work. 

[Jetro]

 I was going to buy a couple of switches (managed, 24 port) but I'll definitely buy from another vendor. This lack of assistance towards the customer is not acceptable.

The Huawei B525s-23a I'm using now has been up for a week and has never been disconnected.

It has a lower cost, dual band WiFi and an RJ11 jack to make calls with the SIM card (also configurable for VoIP).

[robfrg]

Hi AIB-CEO, if you haven’t already seen it, this thread has been quite active on alternatives. The ones people have written about in this thread seem to be much better alternatives to the Netgear box.

We’d all agree with your sentiments re Netgear, I’m sure we’d all like to hear how you go with the contacts you have after Xmas if you wouldn’t mind updating this thread?

Have a good Christmas and hope you find the info on this thread useful.

[Blanca_O]

Hi All, 

This has been brought up already to engineers. I will get back to you guys for any updates.

Regards, 
Blanca 
Community Team

[Nicola2019]

Same issue here.
I bought the modem from amazon italy. It drops connection two - three times a day in router mode.
Auto reconnect does not work. I'm gonna write a very bad review if the problem is not solved promptly.

[sktm]

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@Blanca_O wrote:

This has been brought up already to engineers. I will get back to you guys for any updates.

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Another lockup this morning reminds me to ask if there is any progress on this?

I've got a Teltonika 4G-RUT240 on the way but given my NetGear is out of the return window I am still interested in anything that can make it more useful than a paperweight.

[AaronLTek]

I've had several problem...

(1)  the FIRST NIGHT cost me $70 is data since it did not auto reconnect. Comcast said my internet didnt go down, which means the LB2120 detected a fault when it should not have.

(2) LB2120 seem to want to take over the LAN. 

As a test, I set it to manual failover (to avoid $70 screwups).   Since then, once every 24 hours (refresh period for the cable model DHCP) my it seems take over the WAN IP from the cable modem and hand my ASUS router a 'new' IP address (192.168.5.2).  The rest of the LAN can still communicate to the Internet though the cable modem connection, but of course all my Port Forwarding is no good becasue the LB2120 now owns the routing.

(3) If I disable DHCP on the LB2120 and reboot all the devices (LB2120, ASUS router & Cable modem) then I can't even get to any of the the admin web pages (ASUS, LB2120 or cable modem) - and the internet is not reachable

Here's my setup...

Wired LAN <--> ASUS RT-AC68P <--> NetGear LB2120 Router mode (4G LTE) <--> Arris Cable Modem <--> Internet

anyone have any advice?

thx

[chowo]

Mine is set to router mode at present.  It does not automatic reconnect ocassionaly.  There is no logging mechanism (at least, not accessible as an user) and I have no idea why it disconnects (loss of service? poor signal?)

Originally, I want to use LB2120 in bridge mode.  But it crashes as soon as I send data out (not ping).  Started the dialogue with Netgear Support.  After a few rounds of conversation, there is no more response.  If the support has no idea or no clue, please at least tell me that.

The price of LB2120 is not cheap at all.  Since it allows external antenna, I will try it out.  It is disappointed ~~~ I should just buy a Huawei router / mobile modem.

Regards,

Otto

[chowo]

Reason I bought LB2102 is because it can support bridge mode. I have a Synology Router already with smart load balancing between 2 links (LTE and wired broadband/ADSL) and like the software features from Synology. 

With a crashing bridge mode, I force to use router mode on LB2120.  Although LB2120 supports failover as well, it DOES NOT support PPPoE.  So no more failover  ~~~~   

Pretty disappointing with the support. 

[SteveBaier]

Hi,

Same problem here.

Is there any solution in the meantime, I mean besides the mentioned workarounds.

Thanks

Steve

[Jetro]

Hi guys,

It's more than a month since the Huawei modem is connected and has never lost the connection: i confirm LB2120 has several problem!

[AIB-CEO]

I have given up with this device. It was supplied by Amazon and although the return window had closed, I argued that the product is not fit for purpose and they agreed to a refund. 

We now have an integrated Draytek Vigo 2860LB router with 4G failover - this works seamlessly and without the need for constant reboot and checking that the failover 4G is connected. 

Given the amount of legacy Netgear products we have (managed and unmanaged switches that were built to a high standard) we are extremely disappointed with the LB2120 device. We will now be looking for different suppliers as our faith in Netgear has been undermined by this episode.

[sktm]

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@Blanca_O wrote:

Hi All, 

This has been brought up already to engineers. I will get back to you guys for any updates.

Regards, 
Blanca 
Community Team

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So what was the result as its now 6 weeks since you posted this?

[sktm]

Well another 10 days and still no reply to my last post.

On better news I finally had time to replace my LB2120 with the Teltonika RUT240 and so far its been completely reliable.  It has a vastly superior feature set than the LB2120, regular firmware updates and for the extra paranoid can even reboot periodically or when it cannot ping specified sites.

Anyone need a £130 paper weight?

[robfrg]

@sktm maybe you could setup the RUT240 to monitor the LB2102? Shame to waste a good power supply 🙂

[Nimrodplynge]

I just ordered a LB2120 several hours ago, regretfully, before I had stumbled on to this thread. It now looks like I will need to send it back before it arrives!!!!

I have had quite a lot of Netgear equipment over the years, and have been very happy with their gear to date, however it is beyond belief that you have all had to put up with such appalling support over such a long period of time.

If it’s a hardware problem, then Netgear needs to fess up and replace the faulty units. If it’s a software problem, which should be an easier fix, then they need to give a a software update and quickly.

i have a complicated remote setup and I have purchased the LB2120 to give me automated fail back to 4G in the event of loosing my wired connection. At the moment it appears that the device is of no value to me, as each time it disconnects it involves a four hour return journey to attend the site.

Come on Netgear, surely you can do better than this!

[sktm]

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@Nimrodplynge wrote:

I just ordered a LB2120 several hours ago, regretfully, before I had stumbled on to this thread. It now looks like I will need to send it back before it arrives!!!!

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Seriously, I would as life is too short and this device has too many issues.

Another week has gone by for me using a competitors product and its still fine.  In the time this thread has been running that other manufacturer has pushed out 7 firmware upgrades for the device.  I could take that as they have lots of issues to fix but from the change log it's some new features as well as fixes and the fact they fix issues unlike NetGear is good enough for me.