RAX120 V2 Constant Random Reboots

[stolnsol]

Thermal Pads as far as the eye can see!

[stolnsol]

 And the bottom side

[dude8370]

Man, I'm simply at a loss here. It's a Perfect storm  of  a lot  going wrong at once. 

Netgear engineers: Help A guy and us out here 

[tr4sh80]

I'm starting to think this thing was designed by BMW engineers 😂

[dude8370]

No kidding. All the electrical gremlins.

And update! - it's rebooting constantly now. After i keep throwing file transfers on it cpu % rises and it reboots. Fan i think did nothing. Extra thoughts folks? I'm willing to do whatever at this point

[tr4sh80]

Hopefully it's firmware related. Kinda feels like memory leaks too.

[stolnsol]

I love my BMWs. Though yeah you're right. I do spend a lot of time chasing small problems here and there. 

[stolnsol]

Ok. I made a few cooling alterations and lets see how long I can hammer this with no cooling pad and all the default settings on the normal firmware. 

[FURRYe38]

If it was BMW, it would be working correctly. 😋

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@tr4sh80 wrote:
I'm starting to think this thing was designed by BMW engineers 😂

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[dude8370]

Has this issue been happening with all previous firmware versions? (forgive me if this has been discussed). I remember whenever I set this thing us it always forces the latest firmware. 

I'm desperately trying anything here. 

[DannyLin]

Yes, you can always upload old firmware to confirm.

I tried, and it reboots.
So I think it can be a hardware issue or a bug that is existed in the firmware for a long time.

I remembered the disconnection (not reboot) that happened to my previous RAX120v1 before, though it doesn’t seem like a serious issue like the v2 reboots.

[DannyLin]

Guys, I have helped test and collect debug logs to NG for about a month.

Trust me. I don't think it's related to the heating issue.

There's no way to reproduce the reboot issue. Sometimes, it reboots within 2 days, sometimes every 1 or 2 weeks. Unless it has not been rebooted for more than 3 months, I wouldn't say it is resolved.

I have tried the latest firmware for debugging provided by NG, but it still reboots.

BTW, I have no additional fans installed on the top or bottom of the router. When the reboot happened earlier this month, the router was not hot. I wouldn't even say it is “warm”. But it still rebooted.

Honestly, I think it’s so silly to ask customers, especially paid a premium price longing for a matched performance, to help debug.

It’s hard to find the real reason until NG recalls all defective routers and replaces them with a newer model without issue.

[FURRYe38]

I would try testing with enabling the onboard fan and adding additional cooling under the router to see if the reboots stop for you. Others have already mentioned that this helps stave off the reboots. 

If the router IS hot and is rebooting, the onboard fan is not being triggered ON thus would be one cause of the system rebooting. 

The longer you wait on cooling, the more damage to the electronics on the board will become. Need to get cooling going ASAP. Heat over time will permanently damage electronics. 

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@DannyLin wrote:
Guys, I have helped test and collect debug logs to NG for about a month.

Trust me. I don't think it's related to the heating issue.

There's no way to reproduce the reboot issue. Sometimes, it reboots within 2 days, sometimes every 1 or 2 weeks. Unless it has not been rebooted for more than 3 months, I wouldn't say it is resolved.

I have tried the latest firmware for debugging provided by NG, but it still reboots.

BTW, I have no additional fans installed on the top or bottom of the router. When the reboot happened earlier this month, the router was not hot. I wouldn't even say it is “warm”. But it still rebooted.

Honestly, I think it’s so silly to ask customers, especially paid a premium price longing for a matched performance, to help debug.

It’s hard to find the real reason until NG recalls all defective routers and replaces them with a newer model without issue.

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[DannyLin]

I think that's what many others did. And so did I, as instructed by NG folks, to help debug almost anything they thought might cause the reboot.

It still reboots. That's why I said I doubt it's related to the heating. And frankly, if it’s the heating that causes the reboot, then it's a product defect.

[FURRYe38]

What kind of cooling did you add? 

Others have already mentioned adding cooling to there's stopped the reboots. 

Possible your not adding enough? 

Possible the thermal heat pads on yours is defective. 

What FW version are you using? 

What's all connected to the router? 

Did you try and disable 2.4Ghz WMM as some suggested? 

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

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@DannyLin wrote:
I think that's what many others did. And so did I, as instructed by NG folks, to help debug almost anything they thought might cause the reboot.

It still reboots. That's why I said I doubt it's related to the heating. And frankly, if it’s the heating that causes the reboot, then it's a product defect.

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[dude8370]

For me, i added the AC infinity 140mm fan set to high. Here is photo of how it looks and is setup.

For me, it's running cooooool with it. Without, it warm-ish. I'm officially on the camp it's not a cooling issue.

[FURRYe38]

Just curious if yours reboots with out the additional cooling? 

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@dude8370 wrote:
For me, i added the AC infinity 140mm fan set to high. Here is photo of how it looks and is setup.

For me, it's running cooooool with it. Without, it warm-ish. I'm officially on the camp it's not a cooling issue.

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[dude8370]

Yes, it reboots even with the extra cooling unfortunately .

[doctorcito]

Same here Martin, spent months, many hours troubleshooting. Dropping from zoom calls daily, hurting my productivity at work! Could never watch a movie without multiple interruptions. They never stepped up to the plate and offered me a solution.Then at the end close my ticket due to inactivity. THEY DO NOT CARE! I've switched over to the Asus GT-AXE11000 and have had a stable network for over a month now. It's amazing when your router just works! My Netgear router is currently serving as a paperweight (it's really good at that). Finally, I can not believe that this post was marked as "solved" and the "solution" is a damn cooling pad. What a joke!

[DannyLin]

I’ve done everything that is discussed here.

Frankly, I’m not going to answer all these details.
Two years ago, I purchased the Asus router, which is quite unstable. Still, fortunately, their customer support was great, and their QA engineer was assigned to help investigate my case and help troubleshoot the issues that I encountered.

Unfortunately, the issue cannot be resolved. And luckily, they agree to exercise a full refund.

And then one of my friends recommended Netgear.

My experience with the Rax120v1 was great until it died about 15 months, and I got this problematic Rax120v2 through RMA. I thought it was a newer version, and I could enjoy a happier life with it. But damn, it’s not like what I have imagined. And then I have tried to help the NG team diagnose all possible issues So far, it’s still not resolved.

I have 3 versions of firmware provided by them, the latest one is V1.2.4.34-Internet-0601.

I don't think I'll spend more of my time on this.

[tr4sh80]

It might just be Wifi6 growing pains. It is still a standard in it's infancy.

[nestorsamelo]

Mine rebooted with cooling, with 140 mm fan blowing air down from top or blowing air up from bottom. I have fan always on, a configuration that turns off after a reboot. I also have WMM for 2.4 GHz disabled.

I installed the beta firmware 1.2.3.29-normal.

Despite all of this, if I start streaming from one device to another over wireless, Tablo DVR to TV or phone, 720p, it reboots in under 10 minutes.

[FURRYe38]

NG IS AWARE of this problem and is NOT avoiding anything about it. Just because it's been 6 months since this was first and FW hasn't fixed it yet, doesn't mean NG has swept it under the rug. 

If your not happy with your router, please contact NG support and ask about an RMA.

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[FURRYe38]

I wouldn't say infancy, rather maybe young adult. AX has been around since 2019. Been a few years on it so far. Maybe need some more maturity, However I don't think this is the case with the v2. Just seems to be a HW and FW issue at this point as the v1 works. 

[tr4sh80]

My other theory is faulty memory.