Upgraded Orbi router - CenturyLink can no longer connect

NG seems to be getting users staged and once the beta FW is fully ready, they will send it out. 

Not sure what's taking so long. Please be patient. 😐

Has anyone heard any word on the beta firmware? No rush, but just seeking an update.

It's in progress. 

Man, still having issues with this. I moved to a completely new address, restored my Orbi system to factory settings and the same thing happens at my new address. When I have an Orbit Satellite connected via Ethernet backhaul I get extremely slow WiFi speeds. Plugging directly to the satellite is giving me about 80-90 MB down.

Still waiting on beta firmware, but not really sure what else to try at this point.

If your system hasn't already been updated, the beta was released a couple of months ago and is avialble for manual download:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-WIFI-6-AX-AND-Wi-Fi-6E-AXE/New-RBRE960-RBSE960-Firmware-Version-7-2-6-21-Released/td-p/2333935/jump-to/first-unread-message

If your system is still on older FW, Manuall apply the FW to the RBS web page first, then apply to the RBR lastly.

After the FW is sent and the system processes the new FW and seems back to ready, Front LEDs OFF, power off the ISP Modem, RBR and all RBS for 1 minute then back ON:
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem, RBR and RBS.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the RBR and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on RBS, computers and rest of network.

I've been on the beta for a while and no luck. But I think I made some progress. So, I factory reset EVERYTHING. Both my RBR800 Series and RBR900 Series. I've never had any issues with the 800 Series, so I set this up from scratch first. Everything works great. I'm able to get full 900MB down from all jacks and when connected via Ethernet to the satellite.

I then removed all 800 Series from the equation. Setup just the RBR 900 Series. Speed tests are what I expect when plugging in directly to the router. I then plugged in the other Ethernet cables to the router and ran a speed test plugging directly to the wall on each floor. When running a speediest through Ookla it fails every time and speeds are abysmal. I get a socket error message that a firewall could be in use or something is blocking the test. 

So, removed all 900 series again and put back the 800 series. Everything works great. Ran a speed test from each Ethernet jack on every floor in the house and no failures. I think it's the router. I setup an RMA with Netgear and a new one will be shipped soon. Hopefully the replacement solves the issue. Can't really think of anything else.

Do you know what CAT# is in walls for ethernet? 

How is the RBR and RBS connected to the RBR from the wall jacks? 

Keep us posted on how it goes. 

So I got my replacement RBR960 in from Netgear and the same thing is happening. I plugged my laptop directly into each Ethernet port one at a time on the router. I get an average of 900MB down and the speed test completes successfully on ports 3 and 4. If I try Port 1 (the 2.5G port) and Port 2, the test fails and I get a socket error from speediest.net. I'm really at a loss and not sure why both of these particular Ethernet ports on both routers fails and I am unable to complete the test.

Could you please double check that the 2.5G port is set to "Regular LAN" rather than WAN aggregation?

page 70-71 in the user manual.

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBKE963/RBRE960_RBSE960_UM_EN.pdf 

This situation is totally unreal.  There should make no difference which Ethernet port is used.

What brand and model is this laptop that your using with speed testing connnected to the 960? 

What CAT# LAN cable are you using when connected to the 10Gb and 2.5Gb ports? For good connection and performances, CAT6A STP is recommended, not UTP cabling. 

What brand and model ISP ONT is the RBR connected too? 

I'm using a MacBook Pro 2020 (M1 Model). The cable says CAT6 UTP. I can use the same cable on all Ethernet ports on the RBR850. 900MB or more down all the time every time. No lag. No issues.

But bring the 960 in and I can't even perform a speed test from LAN ports 1 and 2 on the 960. I've attached a screenshot of the error message I get from speedtest.net. Same message every time. It takes about 60 seconds from when I click the GO button for the test to even start. It's usually instant on the RBR850. Plugging my laptop directly to ports 3 and 4 I can get a connection but speeds are abysmally slow.

I can try and order the cable you recommend to see if that helps. The RBR is connected to a casa fttdp box in the closet. 

https://www.casa-systems.com/products/ntd/

Something to gather for NG support if your support ticket is still open, take a debug log capture while the 850 is online. 

Then put the 960 online and take a debug log capture there. Ensure the WAN/LAN option is enabled on both. 

Send these off to NG support. 

Seems like if two different 960s are having same issues with this ISP ONT, possible there maybe a problem between the 960 and your ISP ONT. Something else to try, take the 960 over to a friend or family members place and see if the problem follows. Would be telling.

I just connected my 960 up and ran the following from a Windows PC and Mac Book Pro 2018 connected to the 2.5Gb LAN port, No LAG enabled:

Mac Book Pro 2018 connected using 1Gb USB to Ethernet adapter connected to 2.5Gb LAN port:

So I bought some Cat6A STP cables. Issue still persists. I plugged into Ports 1 and 2 and speedtest.net test failed each time and I got socket error. Trying to browse the web hard wired is extremely slow. A simple Google search takes about two minutes to load. Plugged into Ports 3 and 4 and no issues.

So ethernet connected to ports 1 and 2 you have problems and then plugging into ports 3 and 4 on the RBR you don't have problems and things are good? 

Two different 960, both with bad ports, seems unlikely.  I suppose it could happen if a bad batch got out.

I would test those same ports with a different device/computer and different jumper cable.  In fact, I'd use the plainest old CAT5e cable you have or even CAT5 if you have any relics.  And I say that because in my testing, short patches don't really matter.  I have used 10' CAT5 cables from the 90s as a test and they work fine.  Even the cable that comes in the box with the 960 is only CAT5e.  At any rate, there has to be some weird combo going on there...or that unlikely as heck, bad batch of 960s.  I have CAT5e all over our house and maybe even CAT5 - whatever they were using in 1996 when it was built! 😄 And my 960 and wired SATs work like a champ.

Good luck.

That's correct. Anytime I connect to Ports 1 and 2, I do have a connection, but it's extremely slow. Speed test fails every time, always. Google.com takes about 1-2 minutes to load. Browsing websites with images is slow and images never load. They always show a broken image icon. When I mean slow I mean painfully slow. I wish I could tell you the speed, but the test fails every time.

Ports 3 and 4 have no issues. But this happened on the original RBR 960 and the replacement

Seems like if this is happening on two different 960s, something your connecting to ports 1 and 2 maybe causing problems? 

What is the brand and model of the device and if this is a PC, what is the brand and model of the ethernet adapter? 

And does this happen with only one device or happens with others? 

It's the MacBook Pro I mentioned earlier. It does this on all devices though. No matter what I plug into Ports 1 and 2 it's the same. Plugging in a Orbi satellite, a PS5, Apple TV, Windows PC, same issue occurs. Even plugging these devices into the satellite that's plugged into ports 1 or 2, same issue.

I've tried everything I can think of but no luck

Has NG support responded to your feedback with this problem being seen across two RBRs? 

So any updates or progress on this? 😉

Great to hear. Thank you for letting us know. 

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. 📡