Re: NightHawk x10 r9000 wifi dropping issue

coldair · ‎2017-09-21

just got our power back after Irma and found my new X10 with the wifi off, all radio freguncies set to the same to the highest number and nothing I could do would let me restart the router. rebooted the router and reset the channels and I got wifi back but I noticed that the anttena lights are no longer working I wonder if this a symptom or result of a hardware failure? hopefully I am not too late to return to amazon and I can buy a ASUS router as this is really discouraging after having spent so much with netgear switches and routers only to buy the top of the line lemon

ElaineM · ‎2017-09-22

@coldair What do you mean by "antenna lights are no longer working"?

Are you referring to the lights on the actual antenna or the WiFi lights?

If certain lights are not lit even after factory reset, then it's already considered faulty hardware.

Get it replaced if it's within warranty.

@mkbrog Try a hard reset by following the steps below.

1. With the unit powered on, press and hold the reset button on the back of unit for 30seconds.
2. Without releasing the reset button, unplug the unit and hold reset for another 30 seconds.
3. Power on the unit while STILL pushing the reset button and count for another 30 seconds before letting it go.

By the way, since you mentioned that the problem started after uploading to the latest fw version then do you still remember the previous fw where you have a stable connection?

mkbrog · ‎2017-09-22

Hi - I already did a hard reste - after each firmware attempt.

It literally is unusable - the wifi and network drops consisitently.

ElaineM · ‎2017-09-25

@mkbrog Kindly register your unit in order to log a case.

blazeimpala · ‎2017-09-25

I sincerely wish I could communicate how bad customer service just was. I read ALL the messages on this site related to the product and even with that I got back this email that is attached to this message. They literally scam you from purchase. Not from bad products, but bad support. I was offered over the phone FULL support over the phone if I bought their PREMIUM support. I'm not joking. I also was offered to send the product to a support center on MY dime with no guarantee of fix because unless THEY deemed it a hardware issue then it's simply an SOL situation. I repeatedly asked for a supervisor, denied. I repeatedly asked why I had to pay to get help either way, no answer. How in this day and age does a $1000 product come with no insurance. My phone, car, house, life, pets, security, etc ALL have guaranteed insurance against failure. But Netgear has no problem shifting blame to it's consumers for profit when "fine print" suits their narrative. From the bottom of my heart I feel sorry for everyone who is dealing with this. If anyone is interested in ACTUALLY filing a class action lawsuit I am in the midst of pursuit and appreciate any and all legitimate claims that can be provided to build on it. I am focused on the support abuse aspect and will look to gain settlement for any and all money related to gaining full and complete service towards replacement and/or refunds within the one year hardware warranty. Including, but not limited to any and all postage, damages, etc. If you've read this far I understand the irony of posting intent on their own site. But I've read your grievances and want to focus on the strokes of those who've lost time, money, and we'll being due to their malfeasance. Bless you all. And good luck with or without any involvement on my behalf.

maxman1 · ‎2017-09-25

Again I bet this is impacting all users, they just don't realize it..

Netgear has failed to solve my issue. Count me in if you get an attorney.

I hope their stock tanks as much as their bad customer service and unwillingness to acknowledge the issues with this router.

ElaineM · ‎2017-09-25

@blazeimpala If you have a case number or your router's serial number, feel free to PM it to me.

blazeimpala · ‎2017-09-25

Evryone but NEATGEAR: I'll post any update I receive in private messages. I've also for safety routed my log files to a private secure server in case they attempt to rewrite or erase any past hardware failures etc. Hopefully I come back with real results.

NGSucks2017 · ‎2017-09-29

I returned 3 of these to Best Buy and now the 4th is still having 2.4GHZ Radio dropping issue on the latest firmware. On support with Netgear right now and they deny there is any issue with the firmware, or with the radios. Support here is a complete Joke.

blazeimpala · ‎2017-10-02

It's been over a week since the community forum moderator attempted to take me aside and address the issue after I mentioned the legal liabilities attached to both warranty and support issues. They've not only claimed after I provided logs that someone was "taking care of the issue". But they've appeared to only be diverting attention to the growing problem and potential lawsuit evolving. I have not received any "actual" assistance and continue to have drop issues. I left one last PM to the moderator but if I do not receive a sincerely defined solution to our collective manufacturer error by Netgear I will be moving forward with my legal action, collecting claims, and providing a link (deleted or not) to the class action. We did not pay $500+ to sit idle. Be prepared to take action.

maxman1 · ‎2017-10-02

Yep, unbelievable... they apparently do not care about the press this will get...

I wonder if we can get a few tech magazine to pick this up, so they can publish the issues after testing...

dabears · ‎2017-10-02

Hello all,
I have contacted CEO of the company and have them pointed towards this discussion thread. I also have heard from the executive team and they are going to contact me today at 7 pm CST with 2nd level tech and will work with me to figure out this issue. Also, have suggested to contact their devlopers as well as hardware manufacture team. Will post what will be outcome of the call later today.

maxman1 · ‎2017-10-02

Good luck, I've already talked to their 2nd level tech... I think Netgear is oblvious to the big issue they have here. I think I can go buy a new one off the shelf and it will have the exact same issues...

To make matters worse, they don't care about their customers. If all they see is the green of our money, I will make sure investors see the red of their bad product.

Awsam · ‎2017-10-15

What is the actual log entry you're seeing?
I can't find anything for all the false Ddos ack entries.

Loudog2 · ‎2017-10-16

I’m having this issue now. It started one day when all the antenna lights were off. Now the ssid broadcast disappears every couple days. Only a reboot fixes it. I recently changed my unit to AP mode, so I don’t know if that caused a hardware issue.

headbozo · ‎2017-10-17

Unfortunately I must add my experience to the long litany of user experiences here.

1.) I also am experiencing the "dropped" SSID issue. Basically the unit drops all connections because it is no longer broadcasting the correct SSID and thus connected devices drop. Reboot of the router fixes the issue for an hour or so.

2.) Multiple attempts by Netgear and Gear heads has resulted in no fix, just a clear demonstration of lack of understanding of the problem ... or a front to cover up poor engineering while Netgear tries to figure out the problem and hopes the users will just give up and go away. This is no way to run a company. Dishonesty resulting in customer frustration and lost time for tech support as well as the user community. Fess up and propose a real fix, i.e.

While I am only one user and one lone voice in the wilderness can be ignored. When it becomes a chorus sometimes people will listen.

What you can do if your truely interested and frustrated enough. $500 wasted money IS significant to most people. People who spend this kind of money expect a solution of the highest calibre, generally because they have a legitimate need for it.

Here's what you can do.

1.) Do as Netgear suggests and work with their tech support. ... until your convenced, and I am, that they have no solution.

2.) Class actions have a starting point.... call your state attorney general's office and register a complaint. Enough of these comming in will get the process started.

3.) Call the vendor you used ...Walmart, Office Depot, Best Buy, etc. ... not just the local store but the corporate office purchasing department that authorizes stocking Netgear products. Shake the bushes there this will enlist their support in getting Netgear's attention.

For myself, I am the Director of Systems Architecture Services for a large east coast hosting and Managed services firm. We will now stop using netgear at all of our data centers. In addition we support 500 customers nationwide ... several large cities, and many statewide government ERP installations. I personally am called upon to recommend hardware solutions to our clients. I will not be recommending Netgear products due to this issue I am personally experiencing and the way in which Netgear has chosen to ignore the issue and its customers.

And finally, I like most of you will have to go purchase something from another vendor that works. Which is sad because this unit when it works IS the best thing out there. Unfortuneately the instability is unsatisfactory. If you find a good alternative please reply ... even though it would be kind of ironic to use Netgear's site to advertise a reliable competitor ... maybe then they'll address the issue in a professional manner.

ElaineM · ‎2017-10-19

For those who are having issues, kindly provide me the debug logs as soon as you have it captured.

The debug logs can be seen when you access http://192.168.1.1/debug.htm.

Select "Start Debug Log Capture when boot up" and click on "Start Capture".

Save the debug logs and send it to me through PM. You can use a file sharing site in order for me to download it.

focuspuller · ‎2017-10-19

Could not get http://192.168.1.1/debug.htm to load in Firefox...Only worked in IE and Chrome.

How long do we run this capture?

ElaineM · ‎2017-10-20

Once it captured the issue you are having.

headbozo · ‎2017-10-20

While my unit is an R8500 my post is under the R9000 area so I want this reply to go along with my original post. I think this applies to both units.

It has now been 72 hours since my router was been worked on by Netgear and there has not been one problem since this last fix. I want to revise my last comments which were a bit scathing.

1.) I followed my own advice and stuck with the netgear and gearhead support and gave them a chance to resolve the issue. To their credit they stuck with me on this fix. Initially they reflashed the firmware with the latest firmware release 1.0.2.106 and the problem showed up again about two hours later. Subseqent calls produced no real fix. However ! , the next night a tech person did call back and confidently worked an hour and did the following that resulted in what I believe is a true fix.

a.) the tech re-downloaded the .106 firmware and reflashed the bios. This time however he made what I consider a better decision on the next steps. First he did a "soft reset" of the system, which I believe basically reboots the system and thus loaded the system with the new version of the firmware. Then instead of reloading the saved configuration settings from my old firmware he used the default settings that came as a part of the new firmware release. Makes perfect sense since there may have been several default settings that needed to be different in the newer firmware release and the previous tech may have been unaware of that. He followed this by changing the channel setting for the 2.4 Gig broadcaster to a specific channel as opposed to the "auto" setting. Outside of that and changing the SSID to my preferred name, the default settings were kept throughout. THIS seems to have made the system work.

SO.... in retrospect, this is what I would expect of a responsible organization. As I had mentioned earlier, the product works great when it does, and it seems to be working on now. It is not unusual for complicated full featured software/hardware to have issues from time to time and need "updates/ patches / fixes" thats the nature of this industry.

I am pleased to see Netgear step up to the plate and own the problem and solution. I resend my previous comments about not refering Netgear internally or externally. This demostration of ownership of the problem and its resolution has redeemed the organization in my mind and I will reset my thinking and recommendations accordingly.

Thanks Netgear and Gear head

maxman1 · ‎2017-10-28

Your reply sounds fishy dude...

Netgear needs to be sued into oblivion.

Awhile ago I put the r9000 back as my main router. Problems continued. It has to be reset daily. I also setup Plex. Whenever I had to reset the router, Plex would not work. I would need to unplug the USB storage, and plug back in, most of the time that worked. However, a few times, I had to completely set-up plex again; and another time I had to replace the USB drive (plugged into windows and found drive needed to be repaired).

Getting tired of restarting tthe router and my family yelling that our "internet sucks" (our internet rocks, the Netgear router SUCKS).

I put the r8000 back in as my main router tonight. Dumbass me also had bought a EX7000 a couple months ago. But funny, after putting back the r8000 as the main router, I noticed the connection between the r8000 and EX7000 was near 100MB/Sec as I tested sending files from the r8000 to a server connected to the EX7000. the r9000 never sent this fast!

It got me thinking...so I just spent a few hours testing the r9000 as a bridge.

I have a PC in a room that is about 40 feet from the main router. It has been connected via LAN (gigabyte) to my old netgear 6300 router that is set up as a bridge. Using Bing Speed Test (that comes up when you bing "Speed Test") as well as speedtest.net, I averaged anywhere from 85mb/s to 90mb/s download and 10 to 15mb/s upload.

I moved the EX7000 to the same room, I connected the same PC and tested the speed.The two speed tests showed 95-99mb/s download and 15-18mb/s upload.

I set up the r9000 as a bridge in the same room. 40-45 mb/s download and 8-10 mb/s upload.

The r9000 is by far the worst. It isn't even close. Heck, my on board WiFi was almost as fast as being connected via LAN to the r9000!

I also tested sending files from the PC to a server connected to the r8000. I could never manage to send faster that 5-6 mb/s, yet when connected to the 6300, I could send between 11-12 mb/s!

You know how many swear words I want to write to you Netgear! This piece of crap doesn't work as a router, works worse as a bridge than routers 7 years old, and has WASTED so much of my time that it is unreal!

It is now completely removed from my home network and I WANT MY MONEY BACK (and more) for all the time wasted!

If I do not get compensated I will be sending this to an attorney who specializes in lemon products. This is worse than a brick, because at least a brick has a purpose.

Any person reading this, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING NETGEAR! They do not stand behind their products and their customer service is worse than laughable!

maxman1 · ‎2017-10-28

I just did some follow-up tests to the test yesterday (post above).

I bought another r9000 from Best Buy early this morning. I put it through the same tests as yesterday (post above). It works almost identically to my older r9000. AKA, connected as a bridge to my r8000 (set up as a router) it is slower than my old r6300 (set up as a bridge) and my EX7000 (extender). This product is SLOW. This product is a lemon all around.

Since I have 2 r9000s in my house, I decided to do another test... I set up the new r9000 as the router, and set up my old r9000 as a bridge. Not surprisingly, the speeds were identical: slow.

I then set up my decade old r6300 as a bridge, connected to the new r9000 (router), and the speeds were faster than the old r9000.

No matter how you slice and dice it, this product is a lemon. Now, again, my guess is the average Joe doesn't recognize it, but I do recognize it because I need fast speeds and reliable connections for me to do work. When older products perform consistently better than newer, much more expensive products, Netgear has a big problem.

I am going to return the one I bought today to Best Buy. I am going to buy the top of the line Lynksys, and do the same tests. Stay tuned.

JamesR1 · ‎2017-10-28

This is a poorly designed or poorly programmed router. I will not be buying from netgear anymore.

NGSucks2017 · ‎2017-10-28

You've been asking for logs and given the community nothing in response on your supposed flagship router? I've had a ticket open for over a month and Netgear has done absolutely nothing to resolve it. I guess Netgear has a plan to be completely unresponsive until warranties expire. It's about time your company shows some initiative in fixing these issues. It would have been better for us all to take our $500.00 and flush it down the toilet than spend it on the Netgear X10 Router.

StevenB112 · ‎2017-10-28

Mine started dropping my 2.4 GHz the first time I set it up. What I found that made it stable was to take the channel selector off 'Auto' and choosing a channel. But this is completely unsatisfactory if I'm not getting use of the best channel speed at any given time. I have been in contact with Support, and I think I want a replacement. But it seems this may be an unresolved problem for this model for now. So what do you do?