This topic has been marked solved and closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
I’ve only had the XR500 router for about a month. Unfortunately, so far I’m not at all impressed with the main selling feature that is DumaOS and I’m frustruated to the point of potentially exchanging it for a different make and model. Luckilly I purchased the BestBuy’s extended warranty.
The router was running the previous 2.3.2.22 firmware mostly fine. However, I was unable to setup my USB printer for a network share and devices connected to the 2.4Ghz network were randomly getting disconnected completely off of the WiFi for a few seconds. As I was using the devices I would see the WiFi icon turn gray and dissapear, just to reappear back solid a second later.
I updated the fimware last night to the latest version 2.3.2.32 hoping that the printer and WiFi issue would have been resolved. This is where the issues really start.
Immediately after the upgrade installed I lost the internet access on all devices. I could still get into the XR500 admin page to monkey around with the settings but I could not get online with anything in the house. I couldn’t even get to the modem admin page or even ping its 192.168.100.1.
I power cycled both the modem and the router several times and everytime the DumaOS would tell me that I was disconnected from WAN. That’s when I decided to factory reset the XR500 router.
After the factory reset it took the router a bizzarely long time to auto configure the internet access before it redirected me back into the main GUI, but eventually I was back online. Strangely, in the internet configuration settings, if I changed the “use the PC MAC address” to “use XR500 default MAC address,” I would immediately lose internet access and no amount of power cycling would fix it until changing the setting back to the “use the computer’s MAC address.” I left all QOS settings stock.
My internet speed is usually slightly over 200/10. With the newest firmware update my download speed is now a consistent 60-90 download. The upload hasn’t changed; however. Direct connection to modem tests fine at 200 down and 10 up. Disabling all router’s QOS settings doesn’t help.
I still can’t connect my PCs to a laser USB printer even though I had no issues with my previous ASUS router. I still get random disconnects on WiFi.
I was reading on these forums that firmware updates get published every 3 months. Is there a chance that these issues might get resolved sooner since they so severely cripple the router’s functionality? Is there an easy way to downgrade the router’s firmware to the previous version? I didn’t purchase a $300 Gaming Router just to get my download speed get cut more than half.
A quick status update on the issue. I few days ago I replaced the brand new Arris TM1602 modem that I got from Spectrum/Charter last month since I’ve just found out that the Arris modem has that garbage Intel Puma6 chip.
In its place I put an equivalent Netgear CM600 and now I’m running the .32 FW without any speed or MAC address issues; however, I still get WiFi devices disconnect on me for a few seconds when on the 2.4Ghz band.
So the .32 FW issue might have been related to the Arris modem, even though it seems to run fine with the XR500 on the .22 FW version.
I’m wondering if this is what happened to me... my power was out when I got home and when it came back on my internet would only connect to my phone no matter how many times I reset it (at first it wouldn’t connect to my phone either). The issue persists and I can’t figure out a resolution
Strangely, in the internet configuration settings, if I changed the “use the PC MAC address” to “use XR500 default MAC address,” I would immediately lose internet access and no amount of power cycling would fix it until changing the setting back to the “use the computer’s MAC address.” I left all QOS settings stock.
My internet speed is usually slightly over 200/10. With the newest firmware update my download speed is now a consistent 60-90 download. The upload hasn’t changed; however. Direct connection to modem tests fine at 200 down and 10 up. Disabling all router’s QOS settings doesn’t help.
I feel like this has been the case since I've owned this router. The thing will randomly decide it doesn't want to renew the lease with it's main MAC address and will only work with the computer MAC address option. Using the computer MAC option cuts internet speeds to 1/3 of normal. Working with Spectrum I can get it to work for a short period on the routers MAC if I hold the reset button on the cable modem but once the router decides it wants to stop working once a day and I have to restart it; I'm back to square one.
I've never factory reset a router so much in my life and the constant flurry of issues every day really wears you out. It really feels counter-productive to have netgear designing and maintaining part of the software and netduma another part. Getting updates once a quarter that don't seem to make anything better and each update ends up getting the standard factory reset response. Who wants to setup their device from scratch every few months? I can only imagine if the Meraki's at work required this, who in their right mind would purchase something knowing that.
At this point I'm waiting for Spectrum to help us resolve some issues with our line and after that if there are still issues and the old Linksys doesn't have me spending hours each day fiddling with setting just to get an IP from the ISP; this thing will have to find a new home.
I also have Spectrum for my ISP. Last month I got a brand new Arris modem from them since everyone was getting bumped up to the 200/10 speeds. On the same day I decided to upgrade my aging ASUS router that had served me so well. That’s when I went with the internet hype and got the Netgear XR500. Oddly enough, there aren’t any reviews on smallnetworkbuilder even though this thing has been out for many months.
I only started getting the speed issues post firmware upgrade. After reading these forums and the ones on NetDumas own site I’ve came to a conclusion that this router might not be for me because waiting 3 months between firmware updates is just insane, especially since I’m actually getting slower internet speeds with a equipment that touts itself as the ultimate gaming router.
Also, performing factory resets on the router after every firmware update is just the icing on the cake.
Yeah, I'm sure the Arris modem doesn't help the cause. Feels like around the time of the 200/10 bump things went down hill in this area. Don't think any of that is an excuse for the router issues though.
Atleast you can downgrade your firmware if the last one was working fine for you.
I don’t know. Speeds seemed to be fine on the previous firmware.
I haven’t downgraded it yet but I wondering if it won’t just re upgrade itself anyway when going thru the initial setup. I assuming that I’ll have to reset the damn thing again back to factory after performing a downgrade.
I did a speedtest today after work and I’m still sitting at 97mb out of 200mb with no internet traffic running in the background. Still can’t toggle the MAC address to use the router’s default. At first, I was planning on downgrading the firmware one of these days, at least to get my internet speed back up. But then I was like what’s the point?
It’s the weekend, so I’ll give it till Mon or Tue to see if I get a legitimate response on the ETA of the fix from either Netgear or Netduma. If it takes longer than a week to get another firmware patch to fix this bull**bleep** or I get no answer then I’m exchanging for another router. I’ve already got my sights on the ASUS AC3100. It seems to be equally or better specced and appears to have decent QOS settings.
I’ve had the XR500 since August 26 btw and I’m for sure not waiting 3 months for a fix.
They have support over the weekends so you may get a response today. Raising a ticket is important as it can then be escalated through to more senior support if required.
Thanks. I’ll try contacting them tomorrow. My biggest fear is that my concerns will fall on deaf ears as everyone else’s experiences have been when contacting the customer support from a large company.
Since NetDuma is Netgear’s partner I was hoping that it would be easier and faster to submit bug reports directly to the devs without having to call up a random customer rep from Netgear.
Hi OlegP. Netgear make the hardware, they have their own firmware running on it and their own engineers. Netduma really sort issues out with DumaOS but help a lot with Netgear. This seems to be a Netgear issue not a DumaOS one, and they need to be able to see the bug for themselves on their hardware to fix it. They will probably ask you as I have suggested somewhere else where you posted about this that you reload 2.3.2.32 and just see what happens, Netgear may also give you firmware that captures the issues you are having. It also could be hardware, but only Netgear will know for sure.
The problem is you have posted all over both forums in a few different threads and it gets hard to follow. I mean no offence here, but it really helps to stick to one thread with your issue, your trouble shooting and results. If this is a firmware fault effecting certain connection types or whatever causes it for certain users, this is the best way to fix it.
@OlegP - as KillHippie said, this looks like it's a NETGEAR issue as it is speeds / disconnects. That doesn't rule out DumaOS being the cause, but it's unlikely. So we'll do our best to help in anyway we can, but we'll need NETGEAR to investigate.
We're collating all issue reports with the latest FW and we'll be sending them to NETGEAR to ensure they get full focus. But if you can raise a ticket with them that would be great as it opens up the ticket in their system. They can then communicate with you directly to send you a debug firmware etc.
After about 30 minutes of troubleshooting, I can now confirm, without a doubt, that the latest (2.3.2.32) firmware is the reason my download speed has been cut in half. Here's what I did:
1) I manually downloaded the latest update .img file and then re-upgraded the router.
2) I've then reset the router to factory thru the GUI option and once that was done and I was on the first setup wizard screen, I then again reset the router with the physical reset button on the back of the device.
3) While going thru the first setup wizard the router does an automatic speed test. Shockingly, it recommended me to set the proper speeds that I'm supposed to get 213/12. I selected "use these speeds."
4) I've noticed that in the Settings>Setup>Internet Setup, the Router Mac Address was once again auto selected to "Use Computer MAC Address," If that option is toggled to "Use Default Address" then I would immediately lose internet access and no amount of reboots would fix that until you set the setting back to "Use Computer MAC Address."
5) With both the QOS settings enabled and globally disabled I still get internet speed of about 100 down and 10 up. I'm using wired connections with every single device in the house disconnected from the router.
6) Direct connection to modem, bypassing the router, gives me the proper 200+/10+ speeds.
I didn't have this problem on the previous version of firmware.
After about 30 minutes of troubleshooting, I can now confirm, without a doubt, that the latest (2.3.2.32) firmware is the reason my download speed has been cut in half. Here's what I did:
1) I manually downloaded the latest update .img file and then re-upgraded the router.
2) I've then reset the router to factory thru the GUI option and once that was done and I was on the first setup wizard screen, I then again reset the router with the physical reset button on the back of the device.
3) While going thru the first setup wizard the router does an automatic speed test. Shockingly, it recommended me to set the proper speeds that I'm supposed to get 213/12. I selected "use these speeds."
4) I've noticed that in the Settings>Setup>Internet Setup, the Router Mac Address was once again auto selected to "Use Computer MAC Address," If that option is toggled to "Use Default Address" then I would immediately lose internet access and no amount of reboots would fix that until you set the setting back to "Use Computer MAC Address."
5) With both the QOS settings enabled and globally disabled I still get internet speed of about 100 down and 10 up. I'm using wired connections with every single device in the house disconnected from the router.
6) Direct connection to modem, bypassing the router, gives me the proper 200+/10+ speeds.
I didn't have this problem on the previous version of firmware.
I guess you’re right, but doens’t the new version supposedly patch security vulnerabilities. There some nasty stuff out there infecting routers with DDoS and VPFilter malware.
I’d hate to sit on an old software version waiting 3+ months before the next update is available for download.
Understandable. It's not always necessary to update fw as well. If the last version works, then keep that loaded. I know when I demo'd the 500 last year, I thought the initial version if FW was the best one. Something you can try as well. I now have a XR450 so even though a bit different, I'm not seeing any issues. However they haven't released the v.32 version for the 450 yet. I presume the may not since it's give the 500 issues.
What .32 has:
New features and enhancements:
Improved the Smart Connect feature
Supports USB printers.
Supports WiFi HT160 for Korea and Japan.
Bug Fixes:
Fixes security issues.
Fixes the disconnection issue for wired devices.
We can only presume about the security issues. No details on it. Also yes it's recommended to udpate fw to keep the vulnerabilities out. Also depends if your actually be effected by them as well. Maybe hard to tell. Up to you though.
Yeah I'm just using the downgraded .22 FW at the moment I guess. The speeds are what I'm supposed to get from the ISP and I can now select "Use Default MAC Address" without getting totally disconnected from the WAN and losing the internet access completely.
There's still a glitch with the .22 FW that I haven't noticed as much with the newer .32, and that is my WiFi devices get disconnected for a second or two on the 2.4Ghz network. Super annoying when you're on the Skype call.
I guess there real question is how long will it take for Netgear to publish a fixed firmware?
A quick status update on the issue. I few days ago I replaced the brand new Arris TM1602 modem that I got from Spectrum/Charter last month since I’ve just found out that the Arris modem has that garbage Intel Puma6 chip.
In its place I put an equivalent Netgear CM600 and now I’m running the .32 FW without any speed or MAC address issues; however, I still get WiFi devices disconnect on me for a few seconds when on the 2.4Ghz band.
So the .32 FW issue might have been related to the Arris modem, even though it seems to run fine with the XR500 on the .22 FW version.
