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R8500 2.4GHz network not working...less than 3 years old, can't get any Netgear support without pay
Purchased the R8500 just under 3 years ago and never had an issue until the last couple weeks. Suddenly my smart plugs and switches would lose connection and I would find that the 2.4GHz network was not showing up in my phone's WiFi list (or from any other device). I reboot the router and it would come back up and work fine again for a few days. Yesterday, I lost the 2.4 network and rebooted and it did not come back. I have tried factory reset and turning off and on the 2.4 broadcast from the advanced settings and still nothing. LED on the router indicates 2.4 is on, and everything in my wireless and advanced wireless setup are showing it should be broadcasting as well, but nothing. Tried to turn on the guest 2.4GHz network as well and that doesn't show up either. Only thing I haven't tried is rolling back the firmware, running v1.0.2.130. Haven't tried that yet because it was working with this firmware installed, so not sure why it would just suddently stop working from this firmware, but will try rolling back as a last resort unless I can get it working some other way. Starting to lose faith in the Netgear name after getting this kind of issue having the unit for less than 3 years, and purchasing as one of the top of the line models when purchased. Expected better from something this expensive, thought to be the best of its kind at the time. Used my old D-Link for several years before upgrading to this one, and gave it to my mom and it is still working fine with her...might go back to D-Link after this experience. Impossible to get any customer service without paying unless you are within the first 90 days of purchase with Netgear...crazy.
Re: R8500 2.4GHz network not working...less than 3 years old, can't get any Netgear support without
Follow up...after a long power down (left completely unplugged for a few hours) of the old router the 2.4GHz network came back! But...only for about an hour before it stopped broadcasting again. So, couldn't get support from Netgear without paying...why would I pay for support on this thing I already spent so much money on when I can just put that towards a new one? Which is what I did...ordered on Best Buy and picked up in store the same day. Went with an ASUS - ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Tri-band after reading reviews and seeing that ASUS does a 2-year warranty. Hopefully it lasts longer than this Netgear did...not even 36 months. On the bright side, I now have a nice 5GHz access point in the R8500, so it isn't a complete paper weight now. Between the two I now have good 5GHz access in most of the house where faster speeds are needed the most. This new ASUS AX11000 has AiMesh WiFi capabilities though, and WiFi 6 (802.11ax). Probably a little overkill for what I need right now, but I'll be ready when I start getting new devices with ax and can go to mesh wifi setup if needed.
Re: R8500 2.4GHz network not working...less than 3 years old, can't get any Netgear support without
Follow up...after a long power down (left completely unplugged for a few hours) of the old router the 2.4GHz network came back! But...only for about an hour before it stopped broadcasting again. So, couldn't get support from Netgear without paying...why would I pay for support on this thing I already spent so much money on when I can just put that towards a new one? Which is what I did...ordered on Best Buy and picked up in store the same day. Went with an ASUS - ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Tri-band after reading reviews and seeing that ASUS does a 2-year warranty. Hopefully it lasts longer than this Netgear did...not even 36 months. On the bright side, I now have a nice 5GHz access point in the R8500, so it isn't a complete paper weight now. Between the two I now have good 5GHz access in most of the house where faster speeds are needed the most. This new ASUS AX11000 has AiMesh WiFi capabilities though, and WiFi 6 (802.11ax). Probably a little overkill for what I need right now, but I'll be ready when I start getting new devices with ax and can go to mesh wifi setup if needed.
