R9000 horrible throughput and no telnet nor web interface to reset to another firmware (1.0.5.42)

[schonkeren]

NETGEAR Router R9000 gives: 

FW Version :	V1.0.5.42
Series number :	Deleted for security reasons
Wireless Region :	Europe

Since I recently upgraded to that firmware, I noticed streaming had become really bad. After some bandwidth tests I noticed I'd go from less than 1Mb down to >300Mb down, fluctuating over and over again. 

I'm pretty sure the router's new firmware is to blame. Loading the web interface is really slow, logging in even slower and loading the actual settings overview just won't load at all. At best, I get the left column with the options. Trying to click advanced etc etc etc won't do anything. All I get in the main page is:
Please wait a moment...

So I tried to telnet to the router. That fails too. I don't think the R9000 still works with the EnableTelnet.exe tool:

telnetenable 192.168.10.1 B0B06A1BF1A0 admin mysecretpwd

Payload has been sent to Netgear router.
Telnet should be enabled.

When I telnet 192.168.10.1, I get an error that the connect failed. I used 'arp -a' to verify that the MAC address I used is correct.

I am connected through wifi with the 5GHz network. I have not tested with a LAN cable. I think that would fail too. 

http://192.168.10.1/setup.cgi?todo=debug fails too (192.168.1.1 is my ISP router. Its wifi, while not as strong, works as expected and more importantly, has a stable bandwidth)

SO... What do I do now? Throw the router away? 😞

[schonkeren · Accepted solution]

Well I'll be damned! After trying to fully load the web interface well over 6 hours today, I suddenly find the webinterface loading just fine! I haven't changed anything (there was no way I could). All I did since I last posted, was the

telnetenable2 192.168.10.1Deleted for security reasons admin mypassword

Nothing else was done by me. It now suddenly just loads. Telnet itself still fails, as it should.

After I logged in just now, I got an "updating interface language settings..." progress bar (instead of the original "Please wait a moment..." message with the rotating loading circle...). 

I'll keep everything as-is, see if the bandwidth problems are now solved too. I now also have a fresh backup of my settings, so a full reset won't hurt as much 🙂 

PS: I hate that the nighthawk app can't backup settings nor upload a new firmware. Seems like a huge miss.

Thanks for now, I'll update any findings I might have.

[schonkeren]

PS: 

telnetenable 192.168.10.1 

fails too

[plemans]

After you update, did you try a factory reset? that might help the speed issue. 

The telnet option has been getting pulled from a lot of netgear devices. If its something you need, you can downgrade the firmware to the prior generation's firmware. 

[michaelkenward]

---

@schonkeren wrote:

NETGEAR Router R9000 gives: 

FW Version :	V1.0.5.42
Series number :	Deleted for security reasons
Wireless Region :	Europe

Since I recently upgraded to that firmware, I noticed streaming had become really bad. After some bandwidth tests I noticed I'd go from less than 1Mb down to >300Mb down, fluctuating over and over again. 

Two things to try:

• Reset the device and set it up from scratch
• Roll back to previous firmware

---

@schonkeren wrote:

So I tried to telnet to the router.

SO... What do I do now? Throw the router away? 😞

---

I don't know what you expect to do with Telnet. Netgear has been disabling it with newer firmware, for security reasons.

If you are trying to apply new firmware, what's wrong with the manual approach?

This bit is puzzling, and not just because it is hard to follow.

---

Loading the web interface is really slow, logging in even slower and loading the actual settings overview just won't load at all. At best, I get the left column with the options. Trying to click advanced etc etc etc won't do anything. All I get in the main page is:

http://192.168.10.1/setup.cgi?todo=debug fails too (192.168.1.1 is my ISP router. Its wifi, while not as strong, works as expected and more importantly, has a stable bandwidth)

---

Where does this http://192.168.10.1/ come from?

And what is this "192.168.1.1 is my ISP router"?

Are you saying that you have a router in front of your R9000 router? That's a famously bad idea that invites problems.

Two routers on your network can cause headaches. For example, you can end up with local address problems. Among other things, the other router can misdirect addresses that the Netgear router usually handles, such as routerlogin.net or the usual IP address for a router, 192.168.1.1.

This explains some of the other drawbacks.

What is Double NAT? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

Unless you have specific reasons for using two routers – to create two separate networks for example – it is often easier to use just one router and then to set up the second router as a wifi access point. Netgear advises this, as does just about every site you will visit.

But that has its own drawbacks:

Disabled Features on the Router when set to AP Mode | Answer | NETGEAR Support

[schonkeren]

Thanks, yeah I'd like to make a backup of my settings first (there are a lot of them), but I cannot because the webinterface just won't properly load. It's not a configuration error. I guess I'll have to force a hard reset then and set everything up from scratch, including all my rules. Frack 😞 It better work! 🙂

PS: telnetenable2 didn't work either. As confirmed by you guys, telnet can't be enabled any longer in this manner. So I'll let go of that idea 🙂

[schonkeren · Accepted solution]

Well I'll be damned! After trying to fully load the web interface well over 6 hours today, I suddenly find the webinterface loading just fine! I haven't changed anything (there was no way I could). All I did since I last posted, was the

telnetenable2 192.168.10.1Deleted for security reasons admin mypassword

Nothing else was done by me. It now suddenly just loads. Telnet itself still fails, as it should.

After I logged in just now, I got an "updating interface language settings..." progress bar (instead of the original "Please wait a moment..." message with the rotating loading circle...). 

I'll keep everything as-is, see if the bandwidth problems are now solved too. I now also have a fresh backup of my settings, so a full reset won't hurt as much 🙂 

PS: I hate that the nighthawk app can't backup settings nor upload a new firmware. Seems like a huge miss.

Thanks for now, I'll update any findings I might have.

[plemans]

Glad you got it working and hope it stays that way!

[FURRYe38]

@schonkeren 

You could give Voxels FW a go as well. Heard good things about his stuff.

[schonkeren]

Looks tempting indeed! I might give it a shot though it's quite an elaborate setup procedure tbh 🙂 Thanks for pointing it out!

[FURRYe38]

IT's not too elaborate. Fairly easy to migrate to his FW and revert back if needed. 

[schonkeren]

Turns out you're correct: even all my settings were transferred, there was nothing left for me to do 🙂

I'll take a look at the extra options this firmware gives at another day. For now, I'll test this new firmware. I hope it gets updated often too. Thanks to whomever is doing all this hard work, the R9000 often gets ignored when it came to custom firmware.

[FURRYe38]

Keep up to date and watch his thread over on SmallNetBuilders forum. He updates his FW more frequently. 

Glad you got it working. Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.

https://kb.netgear.com/24231/How-do-I-back-up-the-router-configuration-settings-on-my-Nighthawk-rout...

Enjoy. 📡

[schonkeren]

Oh it gets even better!

I had this problem too: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-App/Nighthawk-App-quot-Internet-Speed-quot-test-AND-the-w...

In short: the nighthawk speedtest app more often than not would not work, at all. To the point I gave up on that function (I had tested it again with the latest official firmware yesterday, it worked once and then failed persistently).

I am happy to report that the Voxel firmware has no problems. I just did 4 speedtest, all successful. So it WAS a problem with the software, and not with my network setup 😉 

So thanks!!

[FURRYe38]

I would be aware that the NH app may or may not work with Voxels FW loaded so just be aware.

Enjoy. 

[Kitsap]

For reference, here are some links.

There is a very active forum over on Small Net Builders here:

https://www.snbforums.com/forums/netgear-ac-wireless.53/

Here is the link to the Voxel download page:

http://www.voxel-firmware.com/Downloads/Voxel/html/index.html

Be sure and review the README document at the top of the page.

[schonkeren]

Note to self: link to Voxel's forum threads: https://www.snbforums.com/members/voxel.35038/#recent-content