Nighthawk M6 Pro Overheating Update

[DaveTasto]

John - not sure how to email you... My router had the latest firmware last week when it overheated. No new software to download... . Please let me know how to send you the model.json file.

I need to resolve the overtemp, or will be returning the device.

Thanks, Dave

[igorjrr]

Return the device!
M6 is an unfinished product that is being sold at premium price. You, and I, were fooled by Netgear. We wasted our money.

[jbree89]

I've always had issues with mine overheating completely: plugged in without battery, plugged in with battery, unplugged with battery. Very poor design from what I thought was a reputable company.

[jbree89]

I've always had issues with mine overheating completely: plugged in without battery, plugged in with battery, unplugged with battery. Very poor design from what I thought was a reputable company.

[whbrehm]

Looking at ATT Nighthawk M6 Pro to increase internet speed.  Network is 12 machines processing POS.  Also, guest network.  The M6 Pro seems to offer what we need.

Have the overheating problems been resolved?  We cannot operate with an unreliable connection.  

Thanks, Bill

[swigmofa]

Over a year ago I upgraded to the M6 from the MR1100 (might be another model number but the AT&T version) after I had a constant fight for years with that unit due to overheating and failing on me.

The M6 unit is used out in the field, typically inside a vehicle but outside as well. The unit will overheat within a few hours and the result is first the cellular connection stops working than then the unit will eventually go into a over-heat mode and switch everything off. This problem seems worse with the battery installed which makes sense to me as a battery generates heat when it is discharging or charging.

I have tried with or without battery, different wifi strengths etc but still get the same experience, still over heats.

My best experiences have been to put it in a cool box with cold packs - never seem to have a problem then but this really is not acceptable for a unit that costs this much. I typically will have one computer and one tablet connected to the unit with the network load being low (no voice or video most of the time).

Is there any other option to stopping this unit from overheating?

[bombsquadrob]

My sisters M6 Pro had same issue and would shutdown. Only way to solve it was to run it without the battery.  It still gets hot but no where near what it was before

[Harrydo60]

I have this device always left battery in it heats up all the time now have to cool it off then reconnect to internet pain in the ( ! )

[little-endian]

From what I observe with a M6 Pro using firmware NTGX65_12.01.48.00, the "overheating" issue despite Netgear's repeated announcements isn't fixed, at least not if a throttled performance when reaching a certain temperature threshold in order to prevent that very overheating falls into a similar category.

In my case, while the device itself continues to work without interruptions or restarts, the performance gets significantly degraded whenever the temperature rises above 62°C and the up- and downstream resources (3CA for LTE, 2CA for 5G) are more or less fully occupied, which with my current operator means about 32 Mbps upload and 320 Mbps download. Then, within minutes, the downstream droppes to 40-100 Mbps with higher latency times between 400-1000 ms. Cooling the device down by a fan reproducibly resolves the performance hit by significantly lowering the temperature (about 10°C less).

Whoever wondered how the heck a manufacturer wants to resolve a pretty clear hardware/implementation issue by pure magic of remote software (e.g. updating the firmware) might have an idea. He can't. Netgear's portable routers obviously lack the required hardware-based cooling and the very least they should provide is a heatsink one can attach inside of the freed-up battery slot when in stationary use. At least as of now, their devices are simply not suitable for power users and for the light ones, one can ask oneself whether a way cheaper pocket wifi doesn't suffice as well.

The heat issue for me comes to no surprise at all here - other manufacturers either use the mentioned heatsink in their devices or even add an additional fan to that, e.g.:

https://www.cnx-software.com/2023/05/04/gl-inet-spitz-ax-gl-x3000nr-5g-nr-wifi-6-router-review-part-...

With Netgear's M-series though, consisting only of some simple plastic case around relatively high-performant chipsets, raises the rhetorical question where the heat should be conveyed that quickly - physics is greeting.

The temperature result in concrete is mostly made up of the following variables, taking the environment aside:

- chipset efficiency

- cooling/heat convey strategy

- programming code efficiency

- load

For the first two, it's already too late. The thing is built, packaged and shipped already. Only the second might be indeed an option if Netgear would deliver such a heatsink retroactively (with a more or less fiddly gel-pad included DIY-kit after one paid about 1000 bucks for that thing, hurray).

Third is possible, but not very likely to make a huge difference. Leaving number four, simply throttling the performance when this thing gets too hot. Which is exactly what happens.

Printing the return label ...

[sjbender]

I’ve noticed that the hotspot has become painfully slow after a firmware update that must have been pushed to the unit. (NTGX65_12.01.48.00) I typically do not update the firmware and was surprised this happened. My speeds are now 5 down, .06 up! Yes, .06… Is this a known issue with this firmware?

[IBN001]

Not the Pro, but bought the plain M6 through Telstra
Have had the M1, M2 which were fine and now the M6. What a disappointment. Should not be sold, especially for the asking price.
This is our only 'net connection due to our location. Just continual drop outs and connection refusals. Only solution is a reboot of the device. It is running without battery with the cover off. Firmware update request returns "up to date". Will have to look for an alternative solution.
No more Nighthawks for me.!!!

[swigmofa]

Do Netgear staff read this forum?

Are we ever going to get a comment from Netgear?

Do we all just accept our losses and throw away the money we paid for these units and never purchase Netgear products again as they can not be trusted to provide products that actually do their job or even admit when they have made a mistake and attempt to correct the issue or make good to their customers?

[michaelkenward]

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@swigmofa wrote:

Do Netgear staff read this forum?

---

You should know that this community is essentially a user-to-user venue to talk about technical issues, with some input from a small band of Netgear techies. They don't usually track long running discussions like this.

Most of the answers come from fellow users who have no connection with Netgear. They just have a lot of collective experience and are familiar with the sort of problems that turn up here.

If you want "official" support then you should go through the right channels.

Contact Us | Support | NETGEAR

[jcope888]

Can someone recommend another mobile hotspot?  My M6 Pro keeps overheating and I'm tired of messing with it every day.

Thank you,

[little-endian]

@michaelkenward

[quote]You should know that this community is essentially a user-to-user venue to talk about technical issues, with some input from a small band of Netgear techies.[/quote]

Well, one might want to find the mistake. In case of technical issues which only Netgear can possibly fix, users can "talk" here all day long of course. 🙄

@jcope888 

When in doubt, maybe something like the ZTE MU5001 for a lot less money. However, to be fair with Netgear, none of the manufacturers of such mobile devices have any decent cooling design as it would require an optionally attachable heat sink to stay cool enough in heavy duty scenarios. So they are not alone, but considering the cost of those Mx routers which is close to impertinence, they should be a hell lot better than they are.

If used stationary, a mobile device as of now might not be the right choice and something like one of the ZTE MC888 variants with at least a Snapdragon X62 preferable. 

[jcope888]

I'm going to remove not only the back cover but also the front cover to dissipate heat.

I see there are 12 very small screws that secure the front cover.  Yes, it's not a good solution, but I'm sure it will probably help.

If that don't work, I'll keep a small fan blowing on the M6 Pro.

[JohnPeng]

Using the device without battery and blowing a fan to the device are effective way to resolve the issue.

Thanks

[little-endian]

A probably even better solution would be to remove the battery (anyway operated without I highly assume), apply thermal paste and put a heat sink on. Due to the bad design by Netgear (can't be called anything else), proper attachment including sufficient pressure will be a challenge.

However, a small fan on front of it also suffices and with a heat sink definitely will keep the decide below < 60°C under full load.

Question however is if one wants to do all that after having paid a crazy amount of money for an overpriced, half-baked product. I luckily returned mine as my answer was "no".

@JohnPeng yes, as you confirm. But can this seriously be the task of an end user?

[jcope888]

Once I get a screwdriver small enough to remove the front cover, I'll be able to find out what component is overheating.  I'll then pick up a few cheap heat sinks for raspberry pi's and stick it to the hot component(s).

[michaelkenward]

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@little-endian wrote:

@michaelkenward

[quote]You should know that this community is essentially a user-to-user venue to talk about technical issues, with some input from a small band of Netgear techies.[/quote]

Well, one might want to find the mistake. In case of technical issues which only Netgear can possibly fix, users can "talk" here all day long of course. 🙄

Agreed. Some "amateurs" do seem to have a direct line into Netgear's techs, but most of us are in the same boat as everyone else. If nothing else that maintains our independence and lets us say whatever we want, even when it is unkind to Netgear. (As long we don't break the rules of course.)

There is always the official Support link here, although how much good it does is anybody's guess.

Or you can rack down one of the official Netgear team – which is easier said then done – and send them a direct message.