LBR20 keeps disconnecting from LTE

[ssmitty67]

I just got one of the new LBR20 Obri routers with LTE connection.  I was looking forward to this product for quite a while as I live in a rural area without high speed access and all I have available to me is cellular internet connections.  It is a unique product in the market that fits my needs perfectly (without breaking the bank).

Since I recieved it 3 days ago, I have been having issues with it sporadically loosing the LTE (verizon) connection which prompts me to have to reboot the router to fix it.  Wondering if this is a potential known problem and if so, are there any possible fixes? 

I have solid cellular service and swapped the SIM out of my old Verizon jetpack (which had it own issues - battery overheating).

It auto configured itself to use vzwinternet for the APN.

Thanks,

Matt

[Mstrbig]

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@ssmitty67 wrote:

Since I recieved it 3 days ago, I have been having issues with it sporadically loosing the LTE (verizon) connection which prompts me to have to reboot the router to fix it.  Wondering if this is a potential known problem and if so, are there any possible fixes? 

I have solid cellular service and swapped the SIM out of my old Verizon jetpack (which had it own issues - battery overheating).

It auto configured itself to use vzwinternet for the APN.

Thanks,

Matt

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One thing that may be causing it is low signal. Can you see what the signal strength is for the LTE connection?

Second, Verizon may not be fully supported on the LBR20 yet.

[ssmitty67]

I attached the mobile status info the router provided.  It shows I have pretty decent signal with a RSRP value of -94 dBm.  Im consistently getting 35 meg dl throughput when the router is up.  So based on this I am shying away from low signal being the culprit.

Do you happen to have any additional information about the router not supporting Verizon?  It includes Verizon's Band 13, so it seems to been built to at least accomdate Verizon.

Thanks,

Matt

[Mstrbig]

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@ssmitty67 wrote:

I attached the mobile status info the router provided.  It shows I have pretty decent signal with a RSRP value of -94 dBm.  Im consistently getting 35 meg dl throughput when the router is up.  So based on this I am shying away from low signal being the culprit.

Do you happen to have any additional information about the router not supporting Verizon?  It includes Verizon's Band 13, so it seems to been built to at least accomdate Verizon.

Thanks,

Matt

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OK so you are connected to the Verizon network, so it still may be signal.

A couple of things to check:

What are your roaming settings, maybe take off roam?

Try setting the network mode to 4G, instead of auto.

The Verizon Wireless LTE bands are 2, 4, 5, 13, 46, 48, 66 

[ssmitty67]

I’ll give those a try and monitor

Thanks for your suggestions.

[darwin1991]

I have the same issue like yours too! I'm using AT&T sim and I just got it setup yesterday with less than 48 hours of use, suddenly the internet didn't work and I need to reset the LBR20 to bring back the internet. Hopefully this can be addressed on next firmware update.

[Mstrbig]

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@darwin1991 wrote:

I have the same issue like yours too! I'm using AT&T sim and I just got it setup yesterday with less than 48 hours of use, suddenly the internet didn't work and I need to reset the LBR20 to bring back the internet. Hopefully this can be addressed on next firmware update.

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Can you be more specific?

The internet you are referring to, is it ISP provided  or 4G/LTE?

[darwin1991]

My home internet is 4G LTE sim from ATT. It is a hotspot. 

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@Mstrbig wrote:

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@darwin1991 wrote:

I have the same issue like yours too! I'm using AT&T sim and I just got it setup yesterday with less than 48 hours of use, suddenly the internet didn't work and I need to reset the LBR20 to bring back the internet. Hopefully this can be addressed on next firmware update.

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Can you be more specific?

The internet you are referring to, is it ISP provided  or 4G/LTE?

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[Mstrbig]

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@darwin1991 wrote:

My home internet is 4G LTE sim from ATT. It is a hotspot. 

Can you be more specific?

The internet you are referring to, is it ISP provided  or 4G/LTE?

 Is the 4G/LTE the only internet you have or do you have an internet servoce provider as well, (cable internet and 4g/LTE)?

[darwin1991]

It is my only internet service provider.

[Mstrbig]

what is your 4g/LTE signal strength

[ssmitty67]

So I tried the suggestion of unchecking roaming and setting to 4G only.   I am still seeing disconnects.  I experienced 4 disconnects in the last two days.  When looking at the signal strength while the internet is down, the indication via the router is that the signal strength is strong.  

I am confident it is not related to signal strength.  When the router is connected speeds are very good.   Additionally, all the other devices I have have no issues with loosing signal. 

Plus even if the router lost signal momentarily, it should not require a manual reboot. 

This seems to me to be a bug with the router, especially given there is a  similar issues being experienced with a different carrier (AT&T). 

I plan to try to get ahold of netgear support.  I hope it can be resolved as the router is great in every other way, but routine disconnects requiring a reboot are not something that can be accepted.

[Mstrbig]

The answer needed is are you losing LTE connection or is your device losing access to the Internet, and the LTE connections is still connected. 

Try This:

monitor Internet traffic:
1. Launch a web browser from a computer or mobile device that is connected to your Orbi network.
2. Enter orbilogin.com.
A login window opens.
3. Enter the admin user name and password.
The user name is admin. The password is the one that you specified the first time that you logged in. The user name and password are case-sensitive. The BASIC Home page displays.
4. Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > Traffic Meter. The Traffic Meter page displays.
5. Select the Enable Traffic Meter check box.
6. From the WAN Interface menu, select the interface to monitor:
• Ethernet. The router monitores the traffic volume that passes through the LAN/WAN1 Ethernet port when that port functions as a WAN port.
• 3G/4G Mobile Connection. The router monitores the traffic volume that passes through the mobile broadband interface.
7. To control the volume of Internet traffic, use either the traffic volume control feature or the connection time control feature:
• Select the Traffic volume control by radio button and then select one of the following options:
- No Limit. No restriction is applied when the traffic limit is reached.
- Download only. The restriction is applied to incoming traffic only.
- Both Directions. The restriction is applied to both incoming and outgoing traffic.
• Select the Connection time control radio button and enter the allowed hours in the Monthly limit field.

[ssmitty67]

Can you elborate how this will help with this issue? 

I think my best bet is to call netgear to continue this troubleshooting..  This seems like a bug with the router.

[darwin1991]

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@Mstrbig wrote:

The answer needed is are you losing LTE connection or is your device losing access to the Internet, and the LTE connections is still connected. 

Try This:

monitor Internet traffic:
1. Launch a web browser from a computer or mobile device that is connected to your Orbi network.
2. Enter orbilogin.com.
A login window opens.
3. Enter the admin user name and password.
The user name is admin. The password is the one that you specified the first time that you logged in. The user name and password are case-sensitive. The BASIC Home page displays.
4. Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > Traffic Meter. The Traffic Meter page displays.
5. Select the Enable Traffic Meter check box.
6. From the WAN Interface menu, select the interface to monitor:
• Ethernet. The router monitores the traffic volume that passes through the LAN/WAN1 Ethernet port when that port functions as a WAN port.
• 3G/4G Mobile Connection. The router monitores the traffic volume that passes through the mobile broadband interface.
7. To control the volume of Internet traffic, use either the traffic volume control feature or the connection time control feature:
• Select the Traffic volume control by radio button and then select one of the following options:
- No Limit. No restriction is applied when the traffic limit is reached.
- Download only. The restriction is applied to incoming traffic only.
- Both Directions. The restriction is applied to both incoming and outgoing traffic.
• Select the Connection time control radio button and enter the allowed hours in the Monthly limit field.

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I tried this one and it's been happening every 1-2 days. I keep losing internet connection requiring me to reboot the router. I'm tored if I'll be returning or keeping this router. I'll be contacting support chat tomorrow about this.

[ssmitty67]

I've heard nothing from NETGEAR support after an initial email - not impressed at all.

I called Verizon and they told me that the IMEI of the router is not valid for their network.   This seems like it may be the culprit??   Verizon told me they set up my SIM to not be associated with any particular IMEI, I thought this might have fixed it as it worked for two days with out a disconnect.  But I have had 3 disconnects today, so no luck....

Another post talks about the possible certification with Verizon - maybe this is related?

Im also torn about returning this router, when it is working it is great, but the disconnects are not acceptable and if I cant find a solution I will have to return.

[frank199]

I have the same issue as well. Intermittently I will lose the internet connection. Rebooting the router does not reconnect the VZ wireless LTE connection, I have to power off the unit.

Router firmware:

V2.5.2.20

Cellular Modem firmware: 

EG18-NA-PAR01A05M4G

[ssmitty67]

Curious, is your account pre or post pay?  My suspicion is the pre pay accounts (what I have) have some sort of of IMEI conflict with Verizon.   I have not been able to get an answer out of Netgear if the LBR20 is certified with Verizon (or not).  There was some chatter about it in another thread, but nothing definitive.

[frank199]

I'm on the play more unlimited plan with VZ, rural area, works great when it's working but just drops the internet connection on an intermittent basis. I have to power off the unit to get it back online, a router reboot doesn't appear to do anything. My received signal quality is in the minus 70's, RSRP -105 range, RSRQ -9 .... all in all I'm getting anywhere from 37Meg up to 90Mbs download and anywhere from 5 to 10 up without an antenna... works great until the modem disconnects...

[PersistentHack]

Hi NETGEAR Communitiy,

Count me in among the folks encountering these apparently random and somewhat long lasting LTE disconnects as well. Good RSRP, SINR, and data rates. Using internal antennas. FWIW, Verizon gUDP. Rebooting doesn't solve the problem. It just decides to come back at some point. Works great for hours on end and then suddenly seems unable to maintain a connection. Connects to the network, disconnects a few seconds later, process repeats several times before it seems to give up. Other devices (phones & USB modem) connect to the same tower and work reliably - albeit more slowly.

Will do some more diagnostics... But I sure hope this is fixable. This is the most cost-effective option I have for decent primary internet right now.

[darwin1991]

Surprisingly I’m not the only one experiencing this problem. Up to now I’m still dealing with this problem. Sometimes more than 2 times in day of disconnection with full bars of signal and sometimes the connection comes back after 5 minutes and sometimes it requires me to remove reboot the lte router.

[frank199]

Thought I would provide an update... I disconnected my lan connection - I had it connected to an ethernet switch. I have also added in ipv6 as a protocol. So far I am 2 days and 3 hours online...... I'm not certain if this due to the lan connection or to the ipv6 change.... If I go for  4 days without any drops I'll reconnect the lan and monitor.

Does anyone know of a telnet or ssh process to issue an AT command to reboot the modem?

[ssmitty67]

Thanks for the tips.  Im going to try the Ipv6 setting (I dont have any wired connections on mine currently).

[PersistentHack]

Update: My LBR20 stopped connecting to LTE entirely a few days back. AT+CREG? reports 0,3 (Registration denied) and AT+CPIN? reports SIM not inserted. Performed a factory reset per guidance on my support case. Afterwards, new router setup fails with the same error - no SIM inserted. Double checked that the SIM was, in fact, inserted - correctly. Removed SIM and verified that it continues to work fine in UML 295. Tried same SIM again in LBR20 - same error. So unit is going back to NETGEAR on RMA. We'll see how it goes with the replacement...

[ssmitty67]

Update:  For me, unfortunatley none of the suggested settings have had any impact on the disconnect issue.  It has gotten so bad, I have stopped using the router altogether and gone back to my jetpack.   Netgear support is saying that the router is now incompatible with Verizon. (even though it was advertised as such initially).   They are saying it is in the process of certification with Verizon and should be completed in Q4 or Q1 (I will post the response when I have a minute).   

Im contemplating retunring the router and just wait until the certification process is complete and repurchase if it actually happens.