I bought the ORBI wifi 6 system last year and must say not happy anymore. The system was working until about 6 months ago. Many issues I am seeing. I am on Fiber internet and wired speed I am getting is 950mbps. Wifi was about 450mbps but for the last 6months, it has been pathetic. One of the satellite constantly losing connection to the main router. Then speed drops to 100mbps regardless where I am. I have reset the satellite but then it will not allow me to re-add. Sorry but this is really a painful issue. I called Netgear and they told me that I have to purchase a 2-3year support package before they even would look at the issue. I am pretty sure it is hardware issue. I followed the message board and they said that I can try to update firmware. I did try and that of course did not work. Personally I am just fed up with the system but nothing I can do anymore. One of the satellite works. I will have to just deal with this until the units fail altogether. I have netgear switch and have no issues but this is the 2nd time i am having issues with their wifi products.
Not happy at all. I have wasted hours trying to reset and get the satellite to work. I have changed the SSID today but now it will not even connect to it. Every time I tried to re-add, it gets added for sometime then within days, it will start flashing white light first then it goes to magenta or blue. Then the app shows 1 satellite is offline. I used to have google wifi and never had any issues like this. One more thing: The Netgear Orbi App for iphone is bad. I have not seen this type of interface before. Not user friendly. As i said, I will just have to let the units fail. It cost me $350 which now I am regretting..
What Orbi model system do you have? There are many Orbi 6 models...
What happens if you swap RBS locations with each other?
What WiFi devices do you have connected? Brand and model...
What Firmware version is currently loaded? What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. 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 🛰
Does this happen with the RBS turned OFF? Does this happen with both wireless and wired devices? What channel configurations are currently set on the router?
When you factory reset the RBS, did you reset the RBR as well?
What Orbi model system do you have? There are many Orbi 6 models...(The model is have RBR750 for Router and RBS350 for satellite)
What happens if you swap RBS locations with each other? (I did have the satellites in different floors after it was setup. It worked fine until about 6months ago. The speed shows up at 150mbps or sometimes 250mbps. Before it was stable at 455mbps).
What WiFi devices do you have connected? Brand and model... (I have 2 separate SSIDs created. I have smart device tied to the 2nd SSD, such as Roku sticks, garage door opener. Other devices are hardwired so I would think wifi should be much more stable and should provide more speed. FYI: i have never seen wifi speed upstairs over 400mbps. The router had to be installed at the basement since the builders will not move it as per their policy).
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
For router: version is V7.2.6.31
Satellite 1: version is V4.6.14.3
Satellite 2: version : V7.2.6.31
I tried to manually upgrade the firmware on one of the satellite but it will not work. It keeps saying invalid file. Another steps where I spent few hours.
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? (The modem is from Quantum Fiber/Centurylink. Their technician was here and tested the modem and told me modem is working fine. I tested it by connecting directly to the modem. I was able to get stable speed (it varied between 550mbps and 750mbps).
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 is recommended. (All the cables I have are cat6 and cat6e. I changed those months ago. Like I said, it was working until about 6months ago. There was a power outage since then the satellites have been acting up.)
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? The house is about 4400sq feet. it's a modified 2 story home (it has 3 levels).
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? (The router is in the basement since modem is there. The 1st satellite is in the main level where the kitchen is but is away from appliances. 2nd satellite is in the Loft. The devices are more than 30 feet apart for fact).
Does this happen with the RBS turned OFF? (I did leave 1 of the satellite powered off. The other satellite did work but speed remained under 250mbps. Does this happen with both wireless and wired devices? (at times its' mostly wireless. sometimes it is on wired. I did connect my laptop to the satellite and max speed i got was like 250mbps). What channel configurations are currently set on the router? (The first SSID is set to 02 channel at 2.4ghz and 5Ghz is set to 40. I had it set to AUTO before but wanted to test it by changing it).
When you factory reset the RBS, did you reset the RBR as well? Yes. I did a factory reset on all 3 devices (Router and the satellites). Wifi speed varies and I am aware of that but I cannot figure out why one of the satellite continues to fail. It will either show up as Flashing white or Blue or Magenta then will go lightless. I find it quite frustrating as I have tried multiple options by reading the threads here or somewhere else. )
Hello, I am seeing 2 different firmware version on my satellites. One of them says V7.2.6.31 while the other says V4.6.14.3. When I click "CHECK", it says no new version found. I did try to manually update the firmware but it failed. I tried multiple times. Why would 1 satellite show old version while the other one shows current version matching Router. After spending hours, I was able to get the Satellite added but now it says "Backhaul status-POOR".
Is there any other way to ensure the firmware version is current? I did try manual update but it failed many times so I gave up.
The problem is most likely that one satellite remains on version 4 firmware while the router and other satellite have been updated to the latest (version 7.2.6.31) firmware. The first step is to update that satellite firmware.
As of now, my laptop is connected to the Satellite and I just did a speed test. It says 57mbps ... That is just laughable. The wifi on my phone is giving me 150mbps connect to the main router. One of the reasons I bought this Mesh system as my understanding was if I connect a device to the satellited via Ethernet cable, then i should get much more speed than 50mbps. Apparently, it's not anywhere near. This satellite has issues and when I called Netgear support few months ago, they told me they cannot do anything since my device had 90 day Warranty. That is very disappointing policy. It was not even a year when I called.
I will just have to wait till the satellited stops working.
Thank you but please note that I tried to update the firmware few times. It will just not allow me. I just looked at Netgear support https://www.netgear.com/support/product/rbs350/#download and it says current version is 4.4.1.29 but when I log in to the router, it says version 4.6
Someone needs to update the documentation on Netgear website.
I will try to run a new firmware update again but don't think it will work. I did try few months ago. It just says invalid file or some crap. Sorry< I am just frustrated with this device altogether.
You have RBS350s connected which are not compatible. These are appart of the RBK650 series SKU. You'll need to downgrade the RBS750 back to v4 FW to get the RBS250s to work. NG hasn't updated the 350's to support v7 FW and not sure if they are going to. If you have a RBS750 as well, this will need to be downgraded back to v4 as well FIRST, then the RBR.
Or remove the RBS350 and find you another RBS750 for any additonal wifi converage needs and keep v7 FW on the RBR and other RBS750.
For a 4400 sq ft home, the RBR and just one RBS750 should work for you. Maybe a 2nd RBS750 and set the power settings to 50% to help with too much wifi over lap.
Thanks Furrye38/ I have no idea why i have those different models. This is ridiculous. I bought this at BestBuy. Why would they have 2 different devices part of their product? I can try to downgrade the firmware. I am not sure if I want to buy a new satellite as I am already unhappy with this. But thanks again for your advise. Much appreciated.
Ya we don't get information on the various different model SKUs. Some is done for budget and cost reasons I presume to help with some with low budget get into something. I personally would not have let that go out the door like that with out having better support for the RBS350s. Basically not usefull since they don't have v7 FW support. And NG didn't really make it known to customers who bought these.
It appears that Netgear wanted a less costly package and combined the RBR750 router with two RBS350 satellites. For most of 2024 users reported problems when they upgraded the RBR750 router to the newer version 7 firmware and there was no new firmware for the RBS350 satellites.
However, Netgear released version 7 firmware for the RBS350 on Nov 27, 2024 (literally a month ago). Now owners of the RBK653 package can upgrade both their router and satellites to version 7 firmware.
(One might also note that Netgear has not released version 7 firmware for the RBR350 router, so customers who have a package of only 350 products can get themselves in trouble if they update their RBS350 satellites but cannot update their RBR350 router. Who knows? Maybe there is a firmware update for the RBR350 "in the works". We'll find out if new firmware "shows up".)
Thanks again. I find it quite strange still that they would include incompatible devices to the main router. Like I said, I had Netgear router years ago and had issues with support so I stopped buying but then last year, i thought ORBI got good reviews and i will try. Disappointed big time. I will have to see what happens after i downgrade the firmware and then reboot. Much appreciate again. It's been bothering me for a while now. Not happy with their Router.
Thanks again. I just did another speedtest like 2mins ago and now it is showing me 5mbps. I will respond back here after I downgrade the firmware on both satellites then re-try. I still think it's a hardware issue since my iphone is showing over 300mbps but probably it's getting it from the router, not this satellite. Is there way to dedicate the satellite to a specific SSID? or does it automatically use same SSID?
Oh I must have misread it then. I just downgraded the satellite and now it's not even detecting it. Should I downgrade Router first? Also, what version should it be then? I have never had this much issues with any other wifi router.
I looked for the firmware version for the RBR (I believe you are referring to the router) and it is showing as V7.2.6.31 just like what it is showing on the portal. So not sure how i will downgrade it. After downgrading the firmware, i now cannot get the working satellite to connect. It keeps flashing WHITE and the app says "not found". I tried to RESET it and it's not working either. I have only 1 working satellite looks like.
I don't plan to purchase another satellite as this system has been very difficult to deal with. So now i will just wait till it stops working and i will put it in the recycle bin or something. Then will move on with a different company. The sad part is NETGEAR wont' even honor product warranty when I called few months ago. Most products have 1 year warranty but they told me it's 90 days only for support. I have been trying to reset and Re-add this satellite for about an hour now. I had to reboot the modem and the router itself.
I will try to reset the router next then start over. What a waste of time.
Thank you..I will upgrade both of them again even though one of them is currently powered off. I had to put it away as I think I spent a lot of time on it ..
You have two different versions of firmware on your router and satellites because they are different models. Your router is an RBR750 which the current firmware is V7.2.6.31 and your satellite is an RBS350 that still had a current available firmware of 4.6.14.3. As of 11.27.2024, the firmware update 7.2.6.31 has been made available for the RBS350. If this version is not present in your Orbi app for automatic update, you can manually install it or wait for it to be available.
If you choose to manually update your RBS350, navigate to the link below for the most current firmware release for your RBK653:
As of now the issue I am seeing is that the Satellite is blinking WHITE and keeps failing to be located by the APP or on the desktop. I tried to reset it but the reset option is not working. The WHITE light is flashing non-stop since I tried to upgrade the firmware. I appreciate everyone's advice but I will not spend anymore time on this. I will just have to use the 1 satellite for now until the unit fails completely. I will not purchase another one either. Sorry but I have never had this many issues with a WiFi mesh system. The product has hardware issue and I called before the 1year mark (as the issue started back in June/July) but they refused to even help troubleshoot the issue. I find it very sad that companies do not even want to honor 1yr warranty for their device.
The product has hardware issue and I called before the 1year mark (as the issue started back in June/July) but they refused to even help troubleshoot the issue. I find it very sad that companies do not even want to honor 1yr warranty for their device.
This is a confusing aspect of Netgear's Terms and Conditions.
Yes, the hardware warranty is 1 year. If the product no longer does anything within one year of purchase, Netgear will replace it. (although see below)
However, Netgear provides only 90 days of 'complimentary support' with a purchase from an authorized vendor. This appears to be intended to assist the customer in getting their new device set up and working. After 90 days, the only way to get support from Netgear is to purchase a support contract.
Getting Netgear to honor the one year hardware warranty starts with contacting Netgear support at this email address: customer.service@netgear.com Without the ability to contact support to ask questions and explore "what's going on?" it is not entirely clear how a customer makes a warranty claim. As I said above, the most obvious claim is, "It won't turn on. It's broken."
So, I am very confident that Netgear honors their one year hardware warranty, but confused about how a customer would go about it after the initial 90 days have elapsed.
