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Re: Nighthawk XR500

MrPaulka
Aspirant

Nighthawk XR500

Hi, I have the Nighthawk Xr500 Gaming Router  (model not listed above) on firmware V2.3.2.40

 

99% of the time this router is amazing and functions perfectly. But every now and then it randomly stops working and it won't start working again for a few hours.

 

Initially I put this down to Virgin Media being rubbish. But before I had this router is was very rare for VM to go down for 3 hours. Especially not once a week.

So I removed the Nighthawk Router from the setup and the internet was back.

I then connected the Nighthawk Router back up and it worked perfectly.

This has now happened 4 or 5 times in the past month. 

Each time I've confirmed the internet is working but the Nighthawk Router is failing.

I'm have the latest firmware, what can I do?

 

Thanks,

Paul

Message 1 of 15
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: Nighthawk XR500

Could you be more specific on stops working? Does the internet for all devices connected to it go down or just ethernet/wifi?
Message 2 of 15
MrPaulka
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk XR500

All devices get disconnected from the network completely. No internet at all.

 

Weirdly, the network still shows up as an available network though.


As soon as I take the Nighthawk out of the set up and put the VM Superhub back into Router mode the internet works perfectly.

Message 3 of 15
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: Nighthawk XR500

Sounds like potentially an issue we're aware of. Do you have a console in Instant On/Standby mode? If so shut them down properly each time, does that resolve it?
Message 4 of 15
MrPaulka
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk XR500

When you say console I assume you mean games console?

 

If so, I always have my PS4 switched off when I'm not playing.

Message 5 of 15
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: Nighthawk XR500

Yes that's what I mean. So it's never in rest mode? Do you have any devices that utilise automatic updates? If so could you disable that functionality please.
Message 6 of 15
MrPaulka
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk XR500

No, the PS4 is never in rest mode.

 

I have tons of devices connected both wired and wireless.

 

The main ones I can think of that have automattic updates would be the iPhones. Would I need to disable the functionality on iPhones and also iPads?

 

Another device would be the virigin media Tivo box, not sure I can disable automattic updates on that.

Recently, I purchased an Amazon Firestick, again, I don't know if I can disable automattic updates on that. Thinking about it, I never had this issue before I had an Amazon Firestick, no idea if that's relevant or not. Maybe worth a mention though.

Message 7 of 15
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: Nighthawk XR500

Yes if you could disable the automatic updates that would be helpful, we've found it can trigger the issue sometimes.

Are you able to go without the firestick for some time to see if the issue has disappeared?
Message 8 of 15
MrPaulka
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk XR500

The apple devices I turned off auto updates.

I also didn't use the Firestick for a day.

 

I can't stop automattic updates on the virgin tivo box.

 

Again today, the router stopped working.

 

Is there going to be a solution for this soon?

 

I mean, this is a pretty severe issue for a gaming router in particular.

I'm going to have to remove the router from my setup and use the VM superhub until there is a solution I think, seems a shame to have £250 worth of router just sat there collecting dust.

Message 9 of 15
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: Nighthawk XR500

Okay that's a shame. The final workaround that we've found works is using a switch between the router and wired devices, not ideal I realise.

I fully expect there to be a solution as multiple teams are working on the issue. You could also try reverting to older firmware to see if the issue is resolved.
Message 10 of 15
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Nighthawk XR500

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

 

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?


@MrPaulka wrote:

Hi, I have the Nighthawk Xr500 Gaming Router  (model not listed above) on firmware V2.3.2.40

 

99% of the time this router is amazing and functions perfectly. But every now and then it randomly stops working and it won't start working again for a few hours.

 

Initially I put this down to Virgin Media being rubbish. But before I had this router is was very rare for VM to go down for 3 hours. Especially not once a week.

So I removed the Nighthawk Router from the setup and the internet was back.

I then connected the Nighthawk Router back up and it worked perfectly.

This has now happened 4 or 5 times in the past month. 

Each time I've confirmed the internet is working but the Nighthawk Router is failing.

I'm have the latest firmware, what can I do?

 

Thanks,

Paul


 

Message 11 of 15
MrPaulka
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk XR500

I gotta be honest, I don't understand half of what you've said.

I'm not tech savy at all.

I just purchased this router as it was firstly made by Netgear and secondly advertised as a "Pro Gaming Router".

I've found if I reset the router before everytime I stream it helps. But if I get raided with around 1000 viewers, the router fails.

I got raided with over a 1000 viewers while on the VM Superhub and absolutely no problem.

If I don't reset the router before any stream it fails everytime at some point during the stream.

If I'm honest, it's ruining a very good start to my streaming career, it's a real shame.

The features of this router are so good, and when working it's absolutely perfect.

Have you guys found a solution yet to this problem?

Message 12 of 15
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: Nighthawk XR500

There is a hotfix firmware for this issue here: https://forum.netduma.com/topic/28523-new-xr500-hotfix-firmware-for-drop-outs/ hopefully that'll resolve it. Would recommend you try it when you're not streaming to see if it works before you use it all the time again.
Message 13 of 15
MrPaulka
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk XR500

I installed the version containing the hotfix.

I really didn't know how I can test it without just using it in a real world scenario.

So on Friday I streamed as I normally would and I got a raid of 70+ people, the router failed again.

Then again this morning I streamed and without a raid I had 70+ viewers already and the router failed again.

Over a month ago I did a 24 hour stream and didn't trust the router, so I stuck with the standard VM superhub and I had raids of over 700 viewers, raids of over 100 viewers and we had 100's of people in the stream at all times. Not once did the internet stop working.

I've tested again and again and the only time the stream dies is when I am using this £250 Pro Gaming Router.

It's such a shame because the features of this router make it so desirable, but this problem makes it absolutely useless.

I'm thankful I purchased it from Argos and even though it's over 6 months old they are happy to offer a full refund.

Message 14 of 15
Netduma_Alex
NetDuma Partner

Re: Nighthawk XR500

I'm sorry to hear you were unhappy with the product.

 

From the sounds of things, this was a hardware problem. Replacing the router should fix the issues but I understand completely if you'd rather just get a refund.

Message 15 of 15
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