I bought an Orbi RBR50 v2 router with sattalites and connected it to a Netgear CM 1000 cable modem. Since disconnecting my Apple AirPort Extreme and connecting the new Orbi, however, the location services in all my devices are no longer supported: iPhones, MacBooks, iMacs, nothing. If I connect an old Airport Express to one of the Sattalites, I get the location services back, but without that, nothing. None of my devices can determine their location. It's frustrating. I've chatted with NetGear for hours, tried changing settings on the router, updated firmware, restarted the device, but all to no avail. Any advice?
Also, I'm trying to get rid of the Airport. That's why I bought the Orbi. Is the Orbi unable to provide a location by itself? If that's the case, I'll likely return it.
The Orbi should be providing location or passing thru the services for your devices. Mine does. I have a CM1100 modem.
Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?
What DNS are you using? ISP provided or something different? You might try 1.1.1.1 and 9.9.9.9 on the RBR to see if this changes anything..
Be sure to not enable Armor or Circle when you go to facory reset the RBR and setup from scratch.
I would also power OFF the ISP modem during the reset of the RBR for 30 seconds then back ON. Then walk thru the setup wizard on the RBR with a web browser.
Thank you for the advice. I've had the device over two weeks now and spent over a week in chats with Netgear trying to resolve the issue: updating several firmware packages, rebooting the router, performing a factory reset on the router and setting it up again from scratch, tried various DNS addresses, trying many other settings, and more. Finally, Netgear admitted the device might be defective and offered on December 18 to send me a replacement. It took them a week, apparently, to locate that replacement, which should be here tomorrow.
I will do as you suggest and walk through the set-up wizard, turn off the modem (Also a Netgear CM1000), and cross my fingers. I have already turned off Armor and Circle. I appreciate the help. I'll let you know what I find out, but I admit, I've been pretty frustrated with Netgear's response.
RBR50v2 with 2 satallites and a CM 1000 modem. Running Firmware version 2.5.1.8
I have now installed the replacement router that Netgear sent me assuming my original was defective. I still have no location services without using an Apple Airport Express. No location service on either of my MacBook computers, my 2 iPhones, or my iPad
I'm beginning to think it's a router setting. The Airport Express is merely plugged in to power. It's not installed with an ethernet cable, so it must be getting the location information wirelessly somehow from the router, but then why do none of my devices see that as well.
I don't pretend to be a tech, but I'm trying to get this set up.
Funny this question does come up that often - it's neither a router not an ISP issue:
Apple (and for the sake of it also Google, Microsoft/Here, and others) are maintaining location service databases, allowing non-GPS equipped devices to get location information - which is based on information collected from GPS-assisted systems while accessing your wireless SSID, plus some.
When you bring up a wireless AP with a new name (SSID) not used anywhere, the MacOS and other non-GPS/Glonass equipped systems (or out of satellite reception) will fail to find any correlation in the database - so no location information. When you are using Apple systems with GPS, which are accessing your WiFi and have the location services enabled, the database will be propagated. Similar with Android devices and Google.
Now we have those privacy fans which are disabling any kind of location services on their mobile devices - so your WiFi network name (SSID) and whatever other factors are taken into consideration (ESSID, router MAC addresses, ISP, IPv4 subnet, ...) will never make it to the databases.
In the past, Google collected wireless names while doing the data collection for Google Maps, Street View & Co. This was forbidden by some law makers for blah blah privacy reasons in some countries.
Don't know what people expect ... location information from a router, POTS cable, or fiber endpoint coordinates, ... there is no "magic".
And I'm amazed that Netgear does replace devices based on this "issue". They better rethink training for their support personnel.
PS. This text is copied and slightly extended from my earlier reply on a similar subject.
If I connect an old Airport Express to one of the satellites, I get the location services back, but without that, nothing. None of my devices can determine their location.
This is because already the presence of a (known to the location service cloud) wireless device (SSID, wireless MAC address) in the vicinity is sufficient so the cloud based location services can create a correlation and provide location service.
At least your iPhones should be able to get the exact location from the built-in GPS/Glonass modules, unless the devices are located in the underground or to far away from the building hull/windows. If these can gain satellite location information while in the wireless range, and you have not decided for not sharing location data (that would be a show stopper!), the cloud location databases will be updated with your new Orbi wireless name, MAC address, and location. Of course, this process does take a while - and it has to happen for the Orbi router and the Orbi satellites due to the different MAC addresses.
This is - among the re-config hassles for the possibly many wireless devices - the key reason why we suggest not to change the wireless name (SSID) when installing a new router or wireless system, and carry forward the existing name and wireless security key.
