Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
Reply

R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Killhippie
Prodigy

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

LAN is secure very secure WAN is not the issue with that bug. If a friend who uses my wifi comes in my home with a compromised device I can't stop that. Also it's besides the point. 1.0.4.30 was released a long time ago. Two production firmware releases were pulled since then. New firmware was provided that has new features people use, like Arlo for instance. The fact weeks keep going by and apart from the beta 1.0.6.40 nothing is happening is annoying.  Netgear were hoping to have production firmware two weeks ago then a delay of a week they said and still now two weeks on nothing. 

 

 So saying people are whining is just purely antagonistic as I see it. If you were using Kwilt or the Netgear downloader beta or even Arlo cameras just with the R7000 and firmware was pulled and you were told to use 1.0.4.30 or worse your router developed issues from the firmware you would not be happy I imagine. So if you have nothing constructive to say, then don't say anything please. 

Message 276 of 426
houseofbugs
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Then setup a separate VLAN for guest and stick them on there. As for the Arlo that was a freebie they added for FREE, you can't complain about it not being there anymore. I run a separate UTM firewall for my main router and my R7000 is only an access point, perhaps you should do the same.

 

You are whining, stop. Get real networking equipment if you don't want to worry about this. It's a solid 802.11AC access point. Plus you worrying about a niche vulnerability is a bit overkill, like I said if it concerns you get a real firewall router.

Message 277 of 426
neonflx2
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

I use pfsense as my UTM and only use the R7000 as AP 2.4 still doesn't work for me and I have tried every suggestion mentioned here.
the flaws in the firmware exist regardless
Message 278 of 426
houseofbugs
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Try using the AdvancedTomato firmware. I had no issues on 1.0.4.30 but the Tomato has more features and control.

Message 279 of 426
neonflx2
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

I will try that and see how it goes, thanks
Message 280 of 426
Killhippie
Prodigy

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

That is not the answer, holding netgear accoutable is, also since you did not give any other ways to deal with other issues like using the features in the firmware this conversation is over, you are just a trolling as i see it.

Message 281 of 426
houseofbugs
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

I did actually. Download and try out the AdvancedTomato firmware. I have 0 issues with it, it's been solid for over 2 weeks now with no restarts.

 

https://advancedtomato.com/downloads/router/r7000

 

 

Message 282 of 426
J_Gonzalez
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

If you install Advanced Tomatoe, can you go back to the Netgear firmware at a later point in time?

Message 283 of 426
fishbone
Star

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Netgear, any updates?

 

I've been waiting patiently, but if I'd run my consulting business this way I'd have no customers.

I have no time for tinkering and am not interested in resetting my LAN configuration or installing alternative or beta software or digging through 30 pages of user comments for work-arounds.

I paid good money for this router as your flagship product and expect to have issue addressed with priority, especially those introduced by you.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Message 284 of 426
Nifer
NETGEAR Employee

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Fishbone,  I apologize for the delay in responding. In the process of testing the fix for the 2.4 GHz issue, we uncovered another issue. Rather than release new firmware that resolved one bug while leaving another one present, our plan was to fix the second issue before releasing the production firmware.  We agree that rolling back production firmware has been time-consuming and frustrating for our customers, which is why we thought it would be better to take the time to resolve this second issue.

 

We think we understand the root cause for the second issue, and hope to have new firmware completely tested and available at the end of March. I apologize for the time it has taken us to resolve these problems. If you or others disagree with this plan and prefer that we go into production with the 2.4 GHz fix faster rather then waiting to resolve the second issue, I am open to that feedback. Thank you for your patience, and again, I apologize for the delay.

Message 285 of 426
TheEther
Guru

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

@Nifer
It would help if you could describe the second issue. It's hard to decide if releasing firmware without it fixed is desirable.
Message 286 of 426
fishbone
Star

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Nifer - thanks for the update.

 

It's just that 2 weeks ago you delayed the update for 'another week' and we didn't hear anything further since then, which is frustrating.

 

I think a lot of us might prefer to get the radio working but that depends on the nature of this other issue - if we can live with it.

And are you confident the previous 'beta' is addressing the radio issue or have there been additional changes - and is all the work going forward (3 weeks...) related to the new issue?

 

Thanks.

Message 287 of 426
J_Gonzalez
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

I wanted to update my status with this router. 

It was purchased in December of 2015 for a 15 person office.  After I first plugged it in and configured it in, I then updated the firmware, as I normally do, to v 1.0.5.48.  I don't remeber what version it had out of the box, but I think it was 1.0.5.x

Out of the 15 people, about 7 or so are connected via WiFi.  out of those 7, 2 of them are connected to the 2.4GHz channel.  Shortly after the installation, one of the guys on the 2.4Ghz channel dropped his connection.  Didn't think much of it, so I just logged on remotely and rebooted the router.  All good.  A few days later, same thing, and since I couldn't log on, I asked him to power cycle the router which got him back on.  Since this was very close to the holidays, we sort of worked through it and thought it might have been his computer.  The one thing that was clear though was that no one else was having problems.

So in January I started getting more complaints.  They would power cycle the router, but that wasn't a practical solution because then it would disconnect everyone, and files that were open on the server would lock up or get corrupted.

I began looking for a solution which lead me to this thread.  Shortly after I downgraded the firmware to 1.0.4.30.  After 3 days or so, the problems returned.  Power cycled the router, then the 2.4GHz channel dropped again 2 days later.  Since I had made contact with Netgear, I was given the beta version of the firmware (1.1.10.167514).  Hoping that was the magic bullet, I installed it, only to have it fail 3 days later, then again a few days after.

The office was good at letting me know when it went down.

I should add that since I am not on site, I was doing the firmware changes remotely, so I never did a hard reset after the firmware change.  I've NEVER had to do that on a router, so I find it an odd request to do so.

So finally, last Friday (3-4-2016), I went into the office and downgraded the firmware (from the Beta version) and installed 1.0.4.28_1.1.64

This time I did the hard reset after the downgrade and reconfigured the router.  We don't have any port forward rules, so it's general config that I had to do.  I've not heard of a problem yet, but since guys are in and out of the office regularly, I'm not sure how much use it's gotten.  I will keep the forum updated on way or the other.

 

Having said all that, I understand Fishbone's position.  I'm VERY thankful that this client is very patient and understanding.  I have other clients that would not be so understanding and would have expected this fixed after the 2nd or 3rd time it failed.  Since I recommended the router, I would be on the hook for it.  While I'm glad that Netgear has acknowledged the problem - and purports to be working on it - we all have, essentially, a faulty product.  I like to standardize on hardware because it makes support and management much easier for me.  But there's no way that I'll buy another R7000, why would I risk my time and reputation? 

 

Linksys had a problem with their WRT-1900AC (v1) a while back.  The router would reboot itself several times a day, dropping all connections for a couple of minutes until it came back up.  Linksys knew they had a bad product, and even after a year they are accepting the routers back for a full refund!  BestBuy is aware of it and handle the returns effortlessly.  Netgear may want to take notice.

 

Having worked in IT for over 20 years, I'm willing to give some slack to software and hardware vendors, and am willing to work with the vendors in resolving problems.  But the key word there is "resolving".  I struggle to believe that a company like Netgear hasn't solved this by now.

Message 288 of 426
J_Gonzalez
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

I wanted to make another point, but felt this should be seperate...

 

I'm wondering if the problem with this router has to do with the hardware or chipset.  The reason I think that is that in my office I recently installed a Linksys EA9200.  This router also drops the 2.4GHz channel every so often.  Not as often as the Netgear, but maybe once or twice a  month.  And much like Netgear, the hard wired and 5GHz connections remain solid.

 

Just throwing that out there.

Message 289 of 426
KazzMANIA
Apprentice

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

J_Gonzalez - I know your pain. I spent about 80 hours testing the heck out of this router. 1.0.4.28 has been rock solid for over a month. I have about a dozen devices (including switches) connected via Ethernet, about ten 5ghz devices, and several 2.4Ggz devices connected almost continuously. Every other firmware version after 4.28 (I tried them all for multiple days) had issues. Because 4.28 is so reliable, I am inclined to think there is not a problem with the chipset per se but is almost certainly a firmware bug introduced in 4. 30 and carried forward thereafter.
Message 290 of 426
Nifer
NETGEAR Employee

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Hi all, I'm sorry for my delayed response. I've been out of the office with a root canal, so I have not been able to speak directly to the engineer about this, but have only swapped emails with him. Let me share what I understand, recognizing that I may not have all the information.

 

When we began testing the new beta firmware, we added some new test cases to evaluate the 2.4 GHz in a very noisy environment. In these new tests, we see some wireless disconnects. We think the issue may be with the chipset driver. 

 

Interestingly, most people on this thread have had good success with the beta firmware. Perhaps our noisy testing is more extreme than most customers experience and we're being too cautious in delaying our beta firmware release. But when I read KazzMANIA's post and saw the time investment he made, I'm reluctant to release firmware unless we're certain it's rock solid.

 

JGonzalez, I'm sorry to hear that the beta firmware didn't work for you, but if you have any config files you could share, we would love to see them.

 

Again, I'm very sorry for the delay and continue to appreciate the feedback.

Message 291 of 426
J_Gonzalez
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

I do have a config file.  Let me know how to send it to you and I will.

 

Regarding the noise, my client that is having this problem is in a "creative space", which is neo speak for an open floor, a large table with a bunch of people on laptops sitting side by side and across from each other.  So perhaps the "noise" comes from a bunch of laptops being spaced  a couple of feet apart.

The router in this environment is wall mounted on a backboard, up high, without anything nearby.  So it's in a pretty clean location.  And it's the only WiFi device in the office.

Message 292 of 426
KazzMANIA
Apprentice

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

REGARDING MY LAST POST - please note that I have not tried the beta. I spent more than enough time being a test subject and will wait for a confirmed working release before giving up 4.28
Message 293 of 426
Squimmy
Aspirant

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Oh no, oh no oh no oh no. I've just been experiencing problems on the 2.4Ghz channel with my brand new R7000 on the latest firmware which is frankly a disaster - because I bought the R7000 to replace an Asus AC68U that had the same issues with the 2.4Ghz channel!

 

It's like i'm doomed to never have a working 2.4Ghz channel. I'm starting to think the issues both routers have might even be related, they share a lot of the same hardware I believe. 

 

Does anybody know of alternative firmwares work? E.g. Tomato / DD-WRT?

Message 294 of 426
KazzMANIA
Apprentice

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Yes - use 1.0.4.28_1.1.64 - it definitely works.
Message 295 of 426
fishbone
Star

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

Sorry, this may have been covered before but I am hesitant to re-read 30+ pages...

 

I realize starting with a fresh factory set is ideal, but...

Can I flash 1.0.4.28_1.1.64 and the settings from 1.0.6.28_1.1.83 survive?

Or can I save the 1.0.6 setting, flash and factory reset 1.0.4... and restore settings from that file?

 

Thanks.

Message 296 of 426
houseofbugs
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

This is what I am running and it's 100% stable:

 

https://advancedtomato.com/downloads/router/r7000

 

Message 297 of 426
houseofbugs
Tutor

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine


@fishbone wrote:

Sorry, this may have been covered before but I am hesitant to re-read 30+ pages...

 

I realize starting with a fresh factory set is ideal, but...

Can I flash 1.0.4.28_1.1.64 and the settings from 1.0.6.28_1.1.83 survive?

Or can I save the 1.0.6 setting, flash and factory reset 1.0.4... and restore settings from that file?

 

Thanks.


 

Factory reset and manually re-enter your settings. I wouldn't recommend using your stored config file.

Message 298 of 426
KazzMANIA
Apprentice

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

I think you need to start fresh. Change firmware to 1.0.4.28_1.1.64 then reboot router. Do a hard reset. Give router 5 minutes to settle. Set up router as you wish. I tested this firmware extensively and it has been perfectly stable for about 6 weeks now.
Message 299 of 426
KazzMANIA
Apprentice

Re: R7000 2.4ghz not working but 5ghz is fine

I doubt you can flash the settings. You can try. Worse case, refash and redo setup
Message 300 of 426
Top Contributors
Announcements

Orbi WiFi 7