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Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

BBAZ
Guide

2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

I'm on my second RAX80 replaced by Netgear under warranty and this POS drops the internet about a dozen times a day.  The wife was video conferencing from home and once in each of three different video meetings over a 4 hour period the internet died.  She was furious 😞   Before I burn this for warmth (and thus $300 dollars) is there any hope?  The interface is buggy as hell as well.  It seems like a half baked crowd funded product.

Model: RAX80|Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi Router
Message 1 of 14
avtella
Prodigy

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

What settings are you using on the router and what channels and is HT160 and MU-MIMO or Smar Connect enabled? I've been fortunate not face anything like that so far, could be multiple factors involved so if you give some more info, some us may be able to help you.

 

Also on a side note for future refrence, there have been quite a few people having issues with new AX routers regardless of what brand/company router you buy (they pretty much use the same base chipsets from either Broadcom or Qualcomm). When it comes to consumer networking gear, not the greatest idea to buy the latest and greatest as you will run into issues as the devices are stabalized over multiple firmware updates, especially when a whole new WiFi standard is involved. Some of these issues need to be resolved by chipset makers themselves who send updates to the actual router vendors. If you wan't reliability go for a router that's at least 6 months to better yet a year old, regardless of what brand you buy.

 

Message 2 of 14
mfsinger
Star

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

So I'm going to chime in here to let you know that I am sitting in the same boat regarding throwing $300 out the window and buying a router that isn't garbage. I have similar issues plus a host of others. I bought the router in May 2019 and I've had a CONSTANT support case opened since. Netgear support has actually had the balls to tell me that nobody else is reporting the same issues, yet I jump on the forum and see post after post. A part of me has a really hard time spending that kind of money and then walking away but I'm sick of fighting with this garbage device. I don't think there's any hope to be honest. I am hoping enough people get sick of this and a class action suit is created. 

Message 3 of 14
avtella
Prodigy

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

Well this is why always tell people to buy older firmware stable routers and not jump to latest and greatest, you can try Asus and you will likely face similar issues as they use the same Broadcom AX chipset.... infact I have seen a few, not a lot, similar complaints. However it depends on your specific clients and settings that’s why not everyone faces issues, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are waiting on Broadcom for fixes, so they can include in another firmware assuming they figure it out. Considering not everyone has issues I doubt you’d have luck with any suite.

Message 4 of 14
avtella
Prodigy

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

If you have unsolvable issues, I would honestly just return it and get something older like the R7800, R8500 or their Asus counterparts.
Message 5 of 14
BBAZ
Guide

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

Not buying the "latest and greatest" router is not the answer to devices (wifi router) which has been arround for decades now.  It's certainly no excuse for bringing such a flawed consumer product to market.  While I agree that older tech is sometimes more stable, that isn't the answer any more than sticking with carburetors over fuel injection was the answer.

Model: RAX80|Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi Router
Message 6 of 14
BBAZ
Guide

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

If I could return it I would.  I'm outside of the Amazon 30 day window for electronics.

Message 7 of 14
avtella
Prodigy

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

If they cant fix your issue I would ask for an upgraded unti like the RAX120 for no additional cost because that is pretty painful if you had it that long. RAX120 is a Qualcomm shipset based unit and should be better relative to the Broadcom based RAX80 and RAX200.

Message 8 of 14
GabboCH
Apprentice

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

I'm in the same boat like many other users given the number of complaints here.
I can't return it as I don't have the packaging.

I could accept some of the advanced Wi-Fi6 functionally might be buggy in a new device but out of the box with the default settings & only SSID change it is not able to even maintain a 2.4G connection.

If Netgear really acknowledged there was a problem I think many people could understand that there was someone at least looking into it with the hope of a solution.

But until recently there's not even been an acceptance there is an issue which makes it much more frustrating.
Message 9 of 14
MatttyD
Tutor

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

Alas, same problem with my RAX80. Spent time with customer support in mid-Feburary 2020, made some config changes, reset the router, and the problem seemed to go away... but then internet connection (both wired and wirefless) started dropping periodically throughout the day... but only for some URLs and not others. Extremely frustrating. 

Message 10 of 14
BBAZ
Guide

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

6 weeks ago I discovered a permanent fix for all of my RAX80 problems.  It's called the Archer C4000.  Tri band, $150.00 dollars hasn't had ONE disconnect on anything period.  I tossed the RAX80 in the garbage where it belonged. 

Message 11 of 14
MatttyD
Tutor

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

Thanks BBAZ! Sounds like a great solution, despite shelling out another $150. Looks like prices have gone up a bit... best price I found online was $189 through amazon.

 

Message 12 of 14
KzooQdobaFan
Aspirant

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

My AX8 is a piece of crap.

 

I am within the 30 day window. I work in tech, and just....need reliable service. I can't be sitting around rebooting my stuff constantly, tinkering with settings. I am about ready to setup a return. If it isn't devices disconnected from wired or wireless; its just crap service. The performance is all over the place. From absolutely terrible, to spectacular.

 

I have 400/20 service.

 

This device I am on.... google speedtest shows 70 down/11 up. Speedtest.net shows 204 down/20 up. Moments later, I run google speedtest again - 327 down/3 up. Seconds later - Google speedtest shows 170 down/20 up.

 

Next to this device....a Macbook Pro...its pulling 7.5 down/2 up on google speedtest. Speedtest.net shows the same terrible performance. This time, it started around 3-4 Mbps - crept up to 52 download, with upload hitting the full 20. Now....now I dont know what just happened but within a timeframe of 2 minutes here - the same Macbook Pro is pulling 391/18 (the service I actually expect). Within 90 seconds - my Macbook Pro is back to 28 down/11 up - creeping up to the full 18.I really never know what the performance is going to be like on the AX8.

 

I have disabled QoS (WMM enabled), also disabled Smart Connect and IPV6. 5ghz is on channel 44. 2.4ghz is set to auto. Beamforming is enabed. MU-MIMO enabled. AX enabled. Running the latest firmware.

 

 

I thought I solved some latency issues while working from VDI desktops with the latest firmware, but today - the latency is back. The performance tho - the wireless performance, is just all over the place. The stability of the device - just sucks. Half the time, smart devices aren't able to communicate with Google Home, or they've been kicked off the 2.4ghz network.

 

Netgear support is useless. I totally recommend returning mine. In fact, during this email - I've come to the conclusion I cannot live with this device. This device will get me fired from work..........

 

 

Update! - Swapped out for my AX8 for an old TP Link Archer C8 - and all these devices that were throwing speedtests as low as 3-4 down/2 up; is now solid 400 down/20 up - on everything. It really sucks I spent 2 weeks+ living with this device. Constantly tinkering with it, constantly trying to get it stable.

 

After seeing everything all over the house up and down like a yo-yo after upgrading the firmware, and dealing with wildly inconsistent wireless speeds - I just had to return it.

 

Bless you all who are willing to tolerate this kind of product. I don't know how this product is sold all across America in stores. I don't know how Netgear feels proud of this lineup of devices. It is just amazing to see the amount of dissatisfaction surrounding these devices.

 

It sounds like Netgear has no interest in addressing the issues. They will just continue to ask you to reset to factory default, go try a bunch of different configurations that might get the device in a reliable/consistant state; but only temporary. Like I had a pretty decent experience with wireless performance post-firmware upgrade....it wasn't bad. The devices kept getting kicked off 2.4Ghz, and even wired devices would get disconnected, so if you can tolerate that, lol....

 

I have no idea what Netgear is doing here, and I cannot be a customer of theirs again. There is not a single positive thing about the experience. 

 

Nothing but frustration and wasted time....

 

 

Message 13 of 14
BBAZ
Guide

Re: 2nd RAX80 and all it does is drop the internet connection a dozen times a day.

Congratulations, 

 

I went with the Archer C4000.  Half the price and solved all of my connectivity issues.  Not to mention the Netgear interface software was garbage.  I would go through my list of conected devices and change their name and icon so I could tell exactly what they were; then when I closed the software down and re-opened it all of my changes would have been eradicated.  The problems with the RAX80 go beyond the product and it's performance.  The internet gateway and it's services are junk too.  Netgear should be put in prison for creating such a piece  of garbage.   Good luck to you.

Message 14 of 14
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