Rax80 smart connect issue wifi dropping

[GabboCH]

My router has been in meltdown again this weekend with probably 50% downtime with nothing able to connect.

No devices were connected to the 2.4Ghz band at all (sonos, cameras, phones & televisions were all offline).

Reboot via Nighthawk app & phyiscal power button made no change, still no Wifi connection.

I logged into the web interface to see if I could try to disable something else.

i saw that 2.4Ghz was using Channel 1 (selected by Auto). - see image at the bottom.

I am running the latest firmware (46) which states in the release notes:

" [Bug Fixes] Channels 1, 11, 12, and 13 will no longer be used when the 2.4 GHz channel is set to Auto. "

I then changed the timezone for the NTP server which was wrong & the router rebooted.

Afterwards, all my devices came back online & I noticed  the 2.4Ghz channel had changed to 9+5 (see image).

This gives me many questions?

Why are channels 1, 11, 12, 13 not used in Auto mode? These are just standard channels in the 2.4Ghz band?

Despite this change, the router still seems to select channel 1 (bug in the new firmware or wrong release notes) ??

Could this be the main cause of the connection problems that some of the channels are not working correctly?

I could understand if it was some of the exotic 5-ghz channels but 2.4ghz is more than 10 years old....

Ch1 - NOK

Ch 9+5 - OK

[GabboCH]

Firmware 64 not 46...

[wayno4]

Thanks @GabboCH I've just updated the timezone for my NTP settings as well.  Also noticed that the "region" setting under wieless settings was incorrect, updated that to.  I'll be happy if it's as simple as this, but mine seems very random!

[GabboCH]

I don't think the timezone setting had anything to do with it working rather the change of channel...

Since its been working again I've been monitoring the channel & it's stayed on 9(p)+5(s).

If I get the house to myself this week I'll try setting the channel manually to see if 1,11,12,13 are causing the problems like the new firmware release notes suggest.

The are no other networks in range of my house except one (wifi anywhere from my internet provider which I cannot control/disable) so I don't think the 2.4ghz channel should change very often.

[PigletRider]

I "fixed" my RAX120 Wi-fi issues by installing a beta version of the firmware from Netgear's website, doing the factory reset and just going with the default settings, not making any changes.  (My 5GHz radio would disappear periodically and I could only get 25% of the speed provided my my ISP over the LAN cable.)  I'm not using the "Smart Connect" feature.  I connect to 5GHz only with my laptops and iPhone.

Everything was fine for about a week.   This morning I had lost about half my speed over the 5GHz band.  I immediatley rebooted the router and my speed returned to what it was before (~230Mbps down).

So now I'm at the place I was with the previous Nighthawk (R8000).  (His Internet port died and I went with the AX120.)  The router needs to be rebooted periodically to maintain performance over the Wi-fi radios.  How is this NOT seen during testing by the engineers at Netgear?  (Just bring one of these puppies up, put a moderate amount of traffic over the 5GHz radio, and let it sit for a week.  You guys MUST be doing this.  Right?)  Or is just those of us who complain have this issue and the zillions of other routers out there are just fine?  I'm serious.  Are we just the unlucky few and all those other routers are fine?

Netgear (Christian?)... what should I do the next time I encounter this serious reduction in speed?  Is there something in the logs I should be looking for to hint as to why?  This all smells like a resource/memory leak to me, since the reboot "fixes" the immediate problem.

[robledrew]

I'm not sure I would bother; I made a public dropbox folder and have been placing my router debug logs there, packet captures, smart connect logs, screen shots, videos I've taken, etc.

The conversation with the Netgear techs was frequent (communicating with me every day, sometimes multiple times) productive (I thought) up until I mentioned just getting a replacement unit. Now they have been radio silent for five days! Funny how that happens.

I had issues with my R8500, which was discontinued, ostensibly due to the same issues (if Amazon reviews are legit).

I've spent many days and hours trying to figure out how to talk this Router in to working the way it advertises to. I still get daily dropouts. I've tried channels, settings, etc. I just don't think the hardware or software is up to the challenge, either due to subpar programming of the firmware or rushed design of the electrical components / cost cutting.

[SirLansalot]

Thanks for everyone sharing their solutions and experiences. Does anyone know what the solution is or our options what with this router being well within warranty period? Is this something which warrants a refund as a fix or functioning replacement doesn't seem to be on the horizon. I love the router but if I can't use the AX WiFi 6 function or smart allocation then I have effectively paid 3 times what it would have cost for a regular router. 😞

[thinksinc]

I appreciate the noble efforts everyone seems to be putting in helping Netgear troubleshoot this awful product, but I decided not to waste my time being a beta tester for this rushed-to-market technology. The best decision I made was to return my AX router for a refund, and go back to AC WiFi until the technology matures a bit more. And when I buy another one, it won't be from Netgear. The fundamental problems in this round of routers is absolutely inexcusable.

[SirLansalot]

Just for reference. How long after purchase did you get a refund?

Thanks in advance

[thinksinc]

I bought mine through Amazon, so depending on how you return it you're given several options for a refund. Mine came in a few days after they received the product back, but sometimes you get a refund as soon as the return has been checked into the UPS system.

[Clibert]

Wish I knew a way to get a refund. I’m stuck out of refund period basically screwed. Out $650 between my two devices can’t return and if I sell it the person I sell to will likely ask for a refund because of these issues. Really love wasting money

[mlotov83]

Every call with tech support wants to sign up for the extended warranty. I'm thinking they know it's defective... at this point if we can'g get a refund it may be worth getting the extended for an extra two years. Maybe we can get the updated "fixed" model rather than the expesive router we have. My ac3200 was still strong without issues. 

[mspa]

Has anyone come across a fix for this issue yet?

When I turn off smart connect the wifi drops are reduced, but still occur.

I have been through two units, Netgear sent me a new RAX80, (same problems on both) I also tried multiple firmware revs.

The last firmware tested was 1.0.1.64 and yes I attempted older versions as well before I got so frustrated I took the router offline until this problem can be addressed by Netgear. 

I needed a stable network so I went back to my R7900.

If anyone has found a solution please let me know. I would not mind even hearing that Netgear has finally acknowledged the problem. Their support certainly has not. Sorry for the frustrated post. It is a very expensive paper weight. 

[GabboCH]

Further up in this post there is a message from Christian_R from Netgear that their engineers are looking into an issue.

However, so far theres no confirmation of which issues they are aware of (because there seem to be some many) or a timeline for any resolution.

[mspa]

GabboCH
Thank you for the reply. I've decided to leave it in the family room (turned off) and I tell people it is a model of a new Star Wars fighter. At least it looks good.

[GabboCH]

lol, it funny but this was the main reason I bought the RAX router, not really for the Wifi6 (although that was a bonus) but this was the only high-end router that I could get "approval" for as most of the others have big antennas sticking up everywhere.

The RAX looked like something from StarWars so was acceptable stuck to the wall.

I just assumed that any branded router would be fine as I dont really have an special requirements & run with default settings & only change the SSID.

How wrong could I be...... My life has turned into a constant queue of people complaining the wifi isnt working or YouTube on the TV isnt working...

[GabboCH]

After my problems with the 2.4Ghz Wifi at the weekend, I've had a couple of days of reasonable uptime, although still several quick "connected to Wifi" messages on my phone during use.

Last night & continuing through to this evening I now have problems with the 5Ghz channel becoming excrutiatingly sloooow.

It takes about 120s to render the router "admin" page & accessing the internet is almost impossible as its so slow.

Reboot doesnt improve the situation & from what I can tell there has been no changes to the 5G channels the router is using.

Devices connected only to the 2.4Ghz channel have almost instant internet access & I'm clocking 500mpbs (100% of my max speed) from an ethernet connected computer...

At the weekend, I'm going to disconnect the RAX80 and go back to my previous internet provider router just to prove to myself I didnt have these kind of connection problems before...

[SirLansalot]

I think I'm going to give up on this router too. Had issues for well over a month now.

Does anyone know if I change the name and password of my sky router wireless network to the same as the nighthawk e.g. NETGEAR99 would all my wireless devices automatically reconnect to the renamed sky network? It's going to be a right effort to reprogram all 20 or so plugs, alexas, tvs etc. If it doesn't work.

[GabboCH]

I did the same when I moved from the previous router to the RAX80 (gave the RAX80 the same SSID as my previous router) and all devices connected automatically without any problems or re-authentication.

[SirLansalot]

Oh nice one. I'm looking at getting a replacement WiFi 6 router in black Friday sales now. I'm going to make sure I read reviews properly this time and ensure it's a router that's had time to iron out issues.

[robledrew]

Yes if you keep the same SSID and password your clients won't know the difference.

[robledrew]

I've also experienced issues very similar to this. The ethernet connected devices don't even blip. It's mostly the 5ghz clients that either don't work at all or are SUPER slow like you mentioned, and using them to get to the admin or debug screens takes forever or doesn't even load.

Netgear, please just tell us you have some idea of what's going on and are working on a firmware patch for us. This silence is deafening.

[Binstead5]

I have never had to look at Netgear Router reviews before because the products have been so good. I now regret purchasing the RAX80 router its so unstable. The router either drops out or drops to a lower band output. Please let me know if a major firmware update is due to correct these problems

[Christian_R]

Hi Binstead5, 

Welcome to the Community! If you recently purchased the device, I would recommend contacting our Support Team using the link below. 

https://www.netgear.com/support/default.aspx

Christian 

[GabboCH]

@Christian_Ras several people have asked, can you confirm that Netgear is aware of these issues and is working on a solution?

From my conversations with the Level2 support, it is still not clear that any of these problems are even recognised.

I was kind of expecting to try out a beta firmware or something when I offered to help find a solution...

Even if its something out of Netgears control, at least we would know someone is looking at it.

I guess like many, I'm in the position that I've spent €350, cant get a refund & dont have a working product.

Do I just take the hit & buy a replacement or will there be another firmware update in the next days, weeks, month??