New - RBR750 / RBS750 Firmware Version 7.2.6.31 Released

[rbeekink]

Hi Furrye38, thanks for your swift reply.

System is working but it is very slow and will often have time outs where nothing happens.

House is about 2.500 sqf over two floors. RBR than about 16ft to RBS1 (hallway) and than some 30ft to RBS2 (back in the house near my office) and also some 30ft to RBS3 (first floor).

I will try the sequence you suggest and let you know soon after that.

Thanks again.

Remko

[FURRYe38]

For that size of home, the RBR and just one RBS would be needed. Maybe two RBS with the power on the RBR set to 25%. 

30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR 📡 and RBS 🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wired or wirelessly connected.

[rbeekink]

Ok, it is a big concrete building with thick floors (concrete and steel).

We started up everything in the order you suggested and it seems to have improved drastically. If i understand you correctly it is best to put the power % down in the advanced settings? Only for the RBR?

I'm going to stick with the first RBS close to the RBR because I started with two and it did not work at all. For 1,5 years it was stable, until the firmware update.

But I'm glad this reboot in this order appears to be working!

Thanks,

Remko

[FURRYe38]

OK, understood about concrete building then. Ya seems you might need what you have.

Glad the power cycle cleared things up. Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System
Enjoy. 📡

[Dreas89]

Installed this, had some issues with One of the RBS but after unpacking the zip with the firmware and two factory resets it also got updated.

The IOT that never went away with the old firmware is gone. The app does not seem to like the firmware. The RBS that worked right away is showed as unconnected but if I log on to the RBS it has devices connected and is running as it should. Got big hopes for this firmware!

[FURRYe38]

Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router and RBS been performed since last update?
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.

Be sure to disable any MAC Address randomizers on phones and pads while at home:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-App/NETGEAR-Mobile-Applications-and-Apple-Devices-FAQ/td-p/222...

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@Dreas89 wrote:
Installed this, had some issues with One of the RBS but after unpacking the zip with the firmware and two factory resets it also got updated.

The IOT that never went away with the old firmware is gone. The app does not seem to like the firmware. The RBS that worked right away is showed as unconnected but if I log on to the RBS it has devices connected and is running as it should. Got big hopes for this firmware!

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[Foo42]

Just a quick update. Today, i installed v7.2.6.31. Satellites one after another, then finally the router. Manually because i couldn’t update automatically via the web UI from latest v4. Everything went flawlessly. Even without pulling the plug on the devices or resetting to factory defaults. The network is up and running. In addition I activated the IoT network. It feels snappier than before.

What didn’t work was to switch both main WiFi and guest WiFi from WPA2 to WPA2+WPA3. For example, my iPhone failed to connect to the main network. Even forgetting and reconnecting to the network entering the password again did not work. Network was totally unstable. Back to WPA2 and both networks work fine again.

[FURRYe38]

What iphone model and iOS do you have? 

Be sure to disable any MAC Address randomizers on phones and pads while at home:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-App/NETGEAR-Mobile-Applications-and-Apple-Devices-FAQ/td-p/222...

[Foo42]

I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max with iOS 17.5 installed. MAC address randomization is turned off. Only thing that is enabled is „disable IP tracking“.

[FURRYe38]

I'm still back on iOS 16.5 on my 12 Pro Max. WiFi Protected Address is disabled. Last time I had my 850 series online with v.31 FW it connected fine with mixed mode. Possible iOS issue. 

Might try a full on factory reset and setup from scratch and see. Set Mixed mode with a simple SSID name and password first. Something that the phone hasn't used or seen before. 

[Foo42]

Not sure it’s an iOS issue since this OS shares the relevant code with macOS and iPadOS and at least macOS could connect. Same goes for Raspberry PI and Windows (have all of those devices for work here). Network was still unstable for all of them until i switched back to WPA2 only.

Will do a factory reset later this year when my connection finally transitions from DSL to fiber. For now i get a pretty fast connection (106 Mbit through a 100 Mbit DSL line – yes, we‘re still stuck in the middle age here as 1 Gbit will only be available by the end of the year).

[FURRYe38]

I'll load up my 750 series and observe. Been a while. 

[FURRYe38]

Ok, RBK752 is online with v.31:

Mixed Mode WPA2 and WPA3 enabled. 

WiFi Protected Address disabled on both phones and the pad.

Two different iPhones connected. 

iOS 15.8 and 16.5 here. 

Windows 11 PC on 5Ghz using BE200 PCI adapter:

SSID: RBK752
Protocol: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Security type: WPA3-Personal
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Description: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 7 BE200 320MHz
Driver version: 23.10.0.8
Network band: 5 GHz
Network channel: 48

[Foo42]

Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to try it out!

I have 3 RBS750 satellites in the mesh, house is big, at least 10 m distance between them. Router is on 1st floor connected to a Fritz!Box 7590 which connects to DSL and provides DHCP, one satellite on the 2nd, one on the ground floor and one in the basement. Basement routes its traffic through the ground satellite to the router. After i enabled WPA2+WPA3 the ground floor satellite did not connect to the mesh. Seems like it didn’t want to sync.

Some of the 24 devices that are permanently connected to the WiFi could connect while others didn’t. Back to WPA2 only and everything is smooth again.

Guess the only chance is to factory reset satellites and router. As said, i will do that when fiber is in the house.

[FURRYe38]

I would check the ground floor RBS. You sure it updated or got updated? 

Something I would do to check this, factory reset the system and setup from scratch. Do this with the ground floor RBS in same room or with in 15-20 feet of the RBR when you do this. Walk thru the setup routine using default settings. Go in and check and enable mixed mode. Make sure all RBS are synced with the RBR after setting mixed mode. Check each RBS web page for this. All should report mixed mode on there web pages. If you can get to this point, then you should be good to power them off and place back in there remote locations. 

Follow this PDF

[Foo42]

Thank you very much for the detailed instructions! Much appreciated!

Unfortunately, my wife and me are working from home, so i can't "quickly" factory reset everything. I made sure though, to log into all satellite's web pages and check the version: all of them display 7.2.6.31. The RBR shows the same in the upper right corner of its web page.

Again, i will follow the steps you provided once we get the new internet connection, as i will then remove the Fritz!Box from the chain and use the RBR as a router and setting it as DHCP server, not as an AP as it currently configured.

[FURRYe38]

Understand, when you get the chance and some time to do this. 

Let us know how it goes. 

[Foo42]

Just a few hours after the upgrade and the problems came back (iOS devices loosing connection occasionally, etc.).

Your tests made me curious… downgrading wasn't an option as i need the IoT network. Since we have two days of bank holiday i decided to "pull the plug" today, reset the RBR750 and three RBS750 to factory defaults and set them up again from scratch. This went quite quick and easy (setting up the router first, afterwards connecting satellites one after another).

Already after setting up the RBR750 i noticed some differences:

- for example neither WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES] nor WPA3-Personal [SAE] were available in the wireless security options before the factory reset! The suddenly showed up

- from the Orbi mobile app i noticed, that some devices now suddenly receive much more bandwidth! For example my iPhone 13 Pro Max went from about 120 MBit/s over 2.4 GHz to 864 MBit/s over 5 GHz. Most of the time it didn't connect to 5 GHz at all.

To me it looks like upgrading the firmware never worked quite well without a factory reset. Even uploading a saved configuration didn't fix those issues – it has to be a factory reset (sigh).

WP2+WPA3 is now setup and running. For now, no more connection loss. Let's see how this turns out in the next days. Of course, i saved another configuration backup, just in case… The only thing that bugs me is that Orbi forgets all customized device name/icon combinations from the connected devices list. They have to be setup manually again after the factory reset. If you like me have a lot of devices, this is a quite tedious process.

Fingers crossed the improved situation will last until i switch to fiber connection.

[FURRYe38]

Ok, Thanks for the update. Mines been online and running well since I posted. Seen it where a FR is needed sometimes after a FW update. Specially maybe coming from old FW to new stuff. 

Ya need to save off a new back up after competing a FW update and a FR. Then you'll have a good backup file for this level of FW version. 

Ya, backup config doesn't save lots of things and ya, a FR clears all user configurations out from the system so it's back to factory defaults. 

Let us know how it goes. 

[Dreas89]

I think it is time to throw the Orbi out. 

After the update the one Satellite is not showing up as connected, and if it does show up it comes up as Wireless. 
The other Satellite drops its internet unfrequently. 

My wired Satellite that is not showing up as connected has details in the ORBI app and can be accessed using its IP adress. 

So the app seems a bit off. I think I might need to check my LAN-port going to the wired Satellite as that maybe could explain this. If Satellite 2(Wireless) connects to Satellite 1(Wired) and the Wired one goes down. But has nothing that indicates that, not in the app or elsewhere. 

 Could you just work!? 

Have reset everything and put it back up. 

[FURRYe38]

How was the system updated? Automatic? Manually? Update all?

Did you update the RBS first then RBR lastly? 

Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router been performed since the FW was update?
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.

I updated mine and was working fine. I only have on RBS and it was wirelessly connected. 

How is the ethernet RBS connected? Directly to the back of the RBR or is there a LAN switch or patch panel in between them? 

What kind if CAT# cable is being used? CAT6 is recommended.

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router 📡 and satellite(s)🛰️? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR 📡 and RBS 🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wired or wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite ‌‌🛰

I posted that if user see issues after FW is loaded, a Factory Reset and setup from scratch maybe needed. 

[Dreas89]

Power off has been done. Reset off ALL(RBS and Satellite) has been done.

I did update the RBR first and then the Satellite. But as stated, did a reset.

One of the RBS is wired through a patch panel. The other one is wireless, now, after having taken the wire out of the first satellite and then putting it back in I have a straight line of connection RBR ---> Satellite 1(Wired) ----> Satellite 2. Before this Both looked connected to the RBR wireless. The Satellite 2 is in another building(6m) between Satellite 1 and 2.

CAT6 is used on most places. Or Cat5e, should be enough? 

Distance between RBR and RBS is 30 feet or more, bus the first one is wired. I have set the preamable to 50% or what it is called.  

[FURRYe38]

Be sure you update any and all RBS first before you update the RBR. Take a chance of the RBS becoming disconnected from the RBR and a hassle to get updated if something happens.

CAT6 is recommended. 

[Foo42]

After testing the new firmware for some time now i‘d like to give a quick update how it turned out:

After the factory reset and setup from scratch it worked quite reliable for a few days. Then suddenly some devices were thrown out of the network. Additionally, a lot of my Philips Hue light bulbs disconnected every now and then (sure, they are on separate Zigbee network not part of the Orbi network) and became unresponsive. After some research on the interwebs it dawned to me: the current Zigbee channel and the 2.4 GHz WiFi interfered with each other causing the network problems for some devices and the light bulbs. Changing the Zigbee channel on the Hue bridge finally did the trick. All light bulbs are now stable and stay connected. No more devices getting kicked out or getting slow. This is the first time i do not experience any problem with my Orbi mesh. Fingers crossed it stays like that.

[FURRYe38]

Thanks for the feedback and info. Yes, other devices that can broadcast there own wifi signals can interfere and cause problems on any wifi router system. Keeping far appart channels between them is a good start. Hope it keeps working well for you.

Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System
Enjoy. 📡

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@Foo42 wrote:
After testing the new firmware for some time now i‘d like to give a quick update how it turned out:

After the factory reset and setup from scratch it worked quite reliable for a few days. Then suddenly some devices were thrown out of the network. Additionally, a lot of my Philips Hue light bulbs disconnected every now and then (sure, they are on separate Zigbee network not part of the Orbi network) and became unresponsive. After some research on the interwebs it dawned to me: the current Zigbee channel and the 2.4 GHz WiFi interfered with each other causing the network problems for some devices and the light bulbs. Changing the Zigbee channel on the Hue bridge finally did the trick. All light bulbs are now stable and stay connected. No more devices getting kicked out or getting slow. This is the first time i do not experience any problem with my Orbi mesh. Fingers crossed it stays like that.

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