Rax200 firmware update V1.0.2.8_1.0.45 causes the router to go offline every few hours

[bdonhbam]

I just updated my Rax200 router with the firmware update V.1.0.2.8_1.0.45 this morning.  It has lost connection to the internet 4 times so far today.  The Netgear CM1100 connected by an Ethernet cable seems to remain on line and connected to Comcast.  But the router indicates it is not connected to the internet via a wired connection, I believe it did not allow me to connect wirelessly with a new connection when this occured.  The Nighthawk IPHONE app would not connect to the router either,  Powering down the router and waiting corrected the problem, as well doing a reset via Routerlogin via a wired connection fixes the problem.  I suspect there is something unstable in the firmware that looses connection with the cable modem and wireless devices.  This expensive a Router should not have problems like this crop up.  I have checked for new firmware in the routerlogin connection but none has shown up yet, 6:30 PM PST 3/24/20.

Regards

Bruce Donham

[psychopomp123]

Same issue here. Upgraded to the latest firmware yesterday and the router has already disconnected twice during the night.

Going back to my rock solid Linksys EA9500v2 until Netgear sort out the bugs on the RAX200.

[bdonhbam]

I am considering rolling back to the prior Firmware version till this is fixed, too many times I get a complaint the Internet is down impacting their streaming, which is sudenly is more important in these days of stay at home orders...

Brice

[psychopomp123]

I'll give my RAX200 another chance. Done a hard factory reset and manually re-configured all settings from scratch. Hopefully it will behave itself now....

[psychopomp123]

Not had any disconnections since yesterday, current uptime is 15hrs. So maybe, just maybe, the factory reset has worked. I did the factory reset using the button on the back of the router instead of the software option.

[RajaDaja]

I just setup my RAX200 yesterday, I follow the forums just for this purpose when new firmware comes out I haven’t updated yet. Are you still rock solid with your connections. The release notes indicate WPA-3 support, have you notice WPA-3 as an option since updating?

[bdonhbam]

My cable modem is rock solid and connected to the internet, It was the Rax200 that would stop connecting to the cable modem and stop accepting connections via wifi.  I am waiting a bit before trying the above suggestion about a factory reset after the upgrade.

[bdonhbam]

Yes it has wpa3, missed that question a  second ago

[RajaDaja]

My wife and I just started working from home prior to my router upgrade, her connection is WiFi and mine is Ethernet. Just don’t want any disconnections while working. I’ll update this evening. Which me luck!

[RajaDaja]

Just a quick update; As I mentioned earlier, just got the RAX200 but I didn’t update firmware immediately. Well, I did last night, after updating the f/w I went ahead and perform a factory reset using the button on the back of the router. So far so go! The update seem to improve the routers functionality connection wise. My iPhone 11 Pro almost hit 800 Mbs down.

[RajaDaja]

After updating to V1.0.2.8_1.0.45, and doing a factory reset. The next day while on the PS4 Pro which is hardwired, I recieved msg; LAN cable disconnected. This happen 3 times. I did not hesitate and roll back to 1.0.1.12, no problems at this time.

[bdonhbam]

Glad I did not update back to the new firmware, I will wait for the next new firmware before I update.

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@RajaDaja wrote:

After updating to V1.0.2.8_1.0.45, and doing a factory reset. The next day while on the PS4 Pro which is hardwired, I recieved msg; LAN cable disconnected. This happen 3 times. I did not hesitate and roll back to 1.0.1.12, no problems at this time.

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[psychopomp123]

No Issues here on V1.0.2.8, since I did a factory reset. Seems rock solid with better & more stable wifi speeds.

[piapia]

Hi

I had just bought this device ans set it up yesterday. The upgrade to V1.0.2.8_1.0.45 occured during initial setup. The wireless quality is awfull. Everytime I started to use my network (only 2 devices connected), I am starting to loose connection.

I will try a downgrade...

By the do you guys use the smart connect feature ? I have red on other topics that this could be the cause of my disconnection issues...

[bdonhbam]

I do not use the smart connect feature. I have much more reliability after the downgrade to the older version.

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@piapia wrote:

Hi

I had just bought this device ans set it up yesterday. The upgrade to V1.0.2.8_1.0.45 occured during initial setup. The wireless quality is awfull. Everytime I started to use my network (only 2 devices connected), I am starting to loose connection.

I will try a downgrade...

By the do you guys use the smart connect feature ? I have red on other topics that this could be the cause of my disconnection issues...

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[RajaDaja]

Hello,
First, to answer one of your questions. I use Smart Connect.
I would do a factory reset using the pin hole on the back of router, hold in for about 10 seconds or more. Do not restore from back up. Setup as you like, give another try. I’m not gonna ask you all the basic stuff. I just got my RAX200 5-6 days ago. I waited 2 days before updating the firmware, when I did I experienced connection issue so I rolled back but the same day I update to current f/w then did a factory reset. 2-3 days now with no issues.

[piapia]

Hi,

I did what said RajaDaja :

• Factory reste using the pin hole
• Reconfigure the router from web admin console (enable smartconnect, change the default SSID and password, etc...)
• Then the same issues came back : unstable wireless connection (lots of ping drops, ...)

So, I have been able to upload the previous available firmware V1.0.1.12_1.0.41 in the router and then perform another factory reset using the pin hole as well.

Now everything is re-setup (smartconnect, SSID/password, channels, MU-MIMO,...) and no connection issue today. I have connected almost 10 devices and everything work as expected. The Wi-Fi bandwidth is pretty goog on 802.11ac 5GHz : 300 to 500Mb/s download and I have around 50 to 150 Mb/s on 2,4GHz (my ISP provides 1 Gb/s connection) depending on how far I am from the router...

So it looks really like the new firmware si not working properly. I'm a bit surprised because it was supposed to enhance wireless performance (Wi-Fi drivers, DL/UL-OFDMA, ...)

[piapia]

Hi,

Just a quick update : it has been 5 days with V1.0.1.12_1.0.41 and no issue... Is there any news from netgear weather the newer firmware is now working or shoud I stay with the older one ?

Thanks.

[psychopomp123]

@piapia 

I would stick with the older firmware if its working well for you - there's been no newer fw release so you may experience the same problem again if you update to the current version. Personally, 1.0.2.8 has been working fine for me (after a hard reset) but of course YMMV.

[piapia]

Hi @psychopomp123 ,

Thanks for your update. Strange that things works on one device and not on the other. It might be due to used features.

I have at least enabled SmartConnect as I do not want to manually switch from one band to the other. The counterpart of this is most of my devoces slect 2.4G instead of 5G : unless I'm on the same room as the router...

As the new FW has updated drivers for WIreless, I was expecting better performance.

[NickM21]

Glad I’m not the only one having issues. I’m on the latest firmware also and have to reboot the router at least 3-4 times a week. Also has anyone been able to get WiFi speeds over 500Mbps? I get between 900-1.1G hardwired to the router and with nothing connected but an iPhone 6 thru 5G the best speeds I can get are 300-500Mbps.

[NickM21]

Sorry I meant connected with an iPhone11 Pro. Kinda bummed the router should be able to do much faster WiFi speeds.

[bdonhbam]

Just tested my Iphone 7 Plus and got 330 Mbps on one of the 5 Ghz bands. I doubt the phone accepts multiple streams at the same time like the router can provide.  When my phone is connected to 2.4 Ghz I get a lot less throughput, but that is the nature of the bands involved.

[NickM21]

The routers specs show up to 4.8Gbps WiFi speeds on 2 of the 5G channels. I don’t need to connect to more than 1 channel at a time. I’d be more than happy with the ability to get speeds up to 4.8Gbps. I currently only have a 1Gbps internet service coming into the house and can’t even take advantage of its full capabilities.
That’s the whole point of getting a new WiFi6 router was to get better speeds. Not sure why I spent $500 on a router that gives me the same speeds I got with my 5 year old Apple Extreme router.

[psychopomp123]

@NickM21 

Even though the Iphone 11 pro is a capable of ax speeds, it might be connected at ac speeds. In iOS, download the ' Wi-fi Sweetspots' app and check the connection speed (link rate) to the RAX200. If its only 866 Mbps or less then the phone is NOT using the ax band.