Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

TheHolmes2018
Aspirant

What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

Added a new RBS850 to my exiting RBR50 & 2 RBS850s.  

Tried all varieties of instructions, most of which differe from each other.  None work.  Sync button, close, far away, nothing.

Right now I have it next to the RBR850 WIRED/PLUGGED IN.  I boot up and get the blue light.  Whether I pressed the sync button or not.  Sometimes I get no light at all. However it still shows as out of sync on the admin page.  Sometimes it shows as Good briefly, then revets back to 'out of sync' What a failure of a design - this should be plug and play.

So then I look into firmware.  Here is another failure - It lists everything out: 

Shows the RBR and 2 RBSs as V3.2.18.1.  The bad one is V3.2.16.22.  Here is the kicker:  The current FW version is V4.6.3.9.  What the Actual F?  It is clearly wrong in all 4 cases, and doubly wrong on the new one.  I just bought these frickin' things 3 months ago and they are that grossly out of date?  And it is unable to report correctly?  And the most basic fundamental aspect of connecting a Slave to a Master doesn't work b/c the FW versions are slightly out of sync?  WTF.  Is it working but just mis-reporting?

 

Someone help me with this crap or I am done with Netgear.  I've invested quite a bit in other NG gear, but this is just pathetic. This is C Level design at its best.

 

Message 1 of 9

Accepted Solutions
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired


@TheHolmes2018 wrote:

Someone help me with this crap or I am done with Netgear.  I've invested quite a bit in other NG gear, but this is just pathetic. This is C Level design at its best.


It is not surprising that the add-on satellite has a different firmware version than the packaged system.  It has what was current when it was packaged at the factory. That the existing system has not updated firmware automatically is also not surprising, although there is a raging controversy over (a) should Netgear be forcing updates on customers, and (b) whether version 4 is better or worse than version 3.

 

The general practice when adding a new satellite is to do a Factory Reset on the new satellite and then sync it with the existing system over WiFi using the "Add Orbi Satellite" entry on the web interface home page.  Only after getting the satellite to sync over WiFi do most people move on to a wired connection.

 

Once it has become integrated into the Orbi system, the Firmware Update process should recognize that all components can be updated to the current firmware version.

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Message 3 of 9

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FURRYe38
Guru

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

Netgear has set up a community forum specifically for the Orbi AX (WiFi 6) products. Most of the people who watch that forum are more likely to have experience with Orbi AX and know how to work it better than those of us who follow this "general Orbi" forum. Might be more likely to find someone who has a solution if the question is posted there:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/bd-p/en-home-orbi-ax

Thank you.

Message 2 of 9
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired


@TheHolmes2018 wrote:

Someone help me with this crap or I am done with Netgear.  I've invested quite a bit in other NG gear, but this is just pathetic. This is C Level design at its best.


It is not surprising that the add-on satellite has a different firmware version than the packaged system.  It has what was current when it was packaged at the factory. That the existing system has not updated firmware automatically is also not surprising, although there is a raging controversy over (a) should Netgear be forcing updates on customers, and (b) whether version 4 is better or worse than version 3.

 

The general practice when adding a new satellite is to do a Factory Reset on the new satellite and then sync it with the existing system over WiFi using the "Add Orbi Satellite" entry on the web interface home page.  Only after getting the satellite to sync over WiFi do most people move on to a wired connection.

 

Once it has become integrated into the Orbi system, the Firmware Update process should recognize that all components can be updated to the current firmware version.

Message 3 of 9
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

Heres the kicker,  The bad oneV3.2.18.1 then it will work. 

I recommend avoiding v4 FW for now. 

 


@TheHolmes2018 wrote:

Added a new RBS850 to my exiting RBR50 & 2 RBS850s.  

Tried all varieties of instructions, most of which differe from each other.  None work.  Sync button, close, far away, nothing.

Right now I have it next to the RBR850 WIRED/PLUGGED IN.  I boot up and get the blue light.  Whether I pressed the sync button or not.  Sometimes I get no light at all. However it still shows as out of sync on the admin page.  Sometimes it shows as Good briefly, then revets back to 'out of sync' What a failure of a design - this should be plug and play.

So then I look into firmware.  Here is another failure - It lists everything out: 

Shows the RBR and 2 RBSs as V3.2.18.1.  The bad one is V3.2.16.22.  Here is the kicker:  The current FW version is V4.6.3.9.  What the Actual F?  It is clearly wrong in all 4 cases, and doubly wrong on the new one.  I just bought these frickin' things 3 months ago and they are that grossly out of date?  And it is unable to report correctly?  And the most basic fundamental aspect of connecting a Slave to a Master doesn't work b/c the FW versions are slightly out of sync?  WTF.  Is it working but just mis-reporting?

 

Someone help me with this crap or I am done with Netgear.  I've invested quite a bit in other NG gear, but this is just pathetic. This is C Level design at its best.

 


 

Message 4 of 9
TheHolmes2018
Aspirant

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

I think it is working properly - I ran a long cable outside and took my phone even further away and it had great speeds.  Unplugged it and couldn't even connect.  So as far as a device goes it seems good.

What I don't know is what other comms between the R and S that could be bad or cause problems.  Is it still "bad" that it says out of sync? or it it no big deal and just annoying to see?

Or, it could simply be misreporting it.  While I was outside, it said that my phone was wired directly into my Router.  I've seed other examples of how it misrepresents whats going on.  

 

For upgrading the FW on the Satellite, I saw a post somewhere about plugging the satellite directly into a PC and going in to its IP via  a browser - is that the way to do it?

Thanks for the guidance.  Will give it a try tomorrow if I have the courage and am ready for some stress.

Message 5 of 9
TheHolmes2018
Aspirant

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

Interesting.  I'll try this before the FW update.  I have done the reset a few times already, but have not tried a wireless setup first.

The RBS should be close or far away from the RBR when doing this?

 

Message 6 of 9
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

What you need to do is factory reset the RBS. Wire connect a PC to the 1st satellite. Already have the most current FW version files downloaded on to this PC. 

Wire connect 1 PC to the back of the RBS. Factory reset the RBS, wait about 5 minutes. The PC will get a IP address from the satellite. The RBS will be 192.168.1.250. Use this IP address in a web browser to log in to the satellites web page. Log in as admin and password. Use the satellites web page FW update feature to select the FW update file that was unpacked from the .zip file. Then factory reset and then re-sync the satellites to the RBR. 

Message 7 of 9
TheHolmes2018
Aspirant

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

Ok, so everything is looking good now.  Going wireless initially, with a reset worked.  It was then able to update the FW so they are all in sync.  Then plugged in the Ethernet and its showing as Good.

Thanks for the guidance!  I still think the engineering is weak.

Message 8 of 9
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: What a trainwreck of a design - RBS850 Satellite out of sync while wired

Glad the wreck wasn't that bad.

Please mark your thread as solved so others will 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.

Message 9 of 9
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