I am pretty sure the backhaul problem would show up in their lab tests both before release and now. Who knows if anyone even touches the debug logs, Wireshark logs, and network diagrams support makes users send in. Slightly for my amusement I drew my network diagram with a crayon and made it look like a 5 year old did it. All I heard from it was the standard line about the engineers reviewing the diagram.
I really don't think it is a hardware issue as I was having problems similar to those described by many on here. Darren from Netgear reached out and put me in touch with support who gave me a beta version to try. My system is now rock solid and v fast across all 4 floors of my house, even into the garden. I am therefore now thrilled with my Orbi and also grateful to the support from Netgear.
I really don't think it is a hardware issue as I was having problems similar to those described by many on here. Darren from Netgear reached out and put me in touch with support who gave me a beta version to try. My system is now rock solid and v fast across all 4 floors of my house, even into the garden. I am therefore now thrilled with my Orbi and also grateful to the support from Netgear.
Which version of the beta was this, specifically? There are three known releases in the wild, two of which are reportedly awful.
I think it is disgusting of Netgear to rely on their customers to beta test their products. The Orbi has been out for 9 months and they are still using their customers to fix it instead of hiring some talented IT people to fix. They are dishonest in marketing a product to the public that is full of bugs.
private beta testing with a group of willing users is actually a far better option that releasing it to the wild and letting the early adopters be beta testers , this happens with many manufactures as they can afford the r and d and testing time , netgear do and have a specific team employed to beta test with various users and various setups and countries , the orbi being a completly new and different way of doing things has come across some complex and to be honest quite confusing situations that even i cant explain , one being why many have perfect working orbi's and others have nothing but issues , this massive a descrepency can be hard to fatom never mind resolve but the r and d team are still on this even today as its not like they have just dumped the orbi on the market and moved on as is obvious by the amount of fw updates there has been
I have version "V1.11.0.2 dpg 1" or something like that. I am not at home now so can't guarrantee the 3 letters are correct but the numbers are.... if that helps?
What inclines me to think that this is not a hardware problem is that i started with a fully working system, the latest stock firmware gave me the same symptoms others are describing and now this beta has solved all my issues. I can now stream UHD wirelessly from the sat to my Samsung smart tv whilst surfing my ipad at full speed whilst having a wifi calling conversation over my iphone. (I'm not really that sad to do all 3 but i tried it to see how much the sat could cope with)
OK - I'm about to load 1.11.0.2, but I'm aware that 1.11.0.3 is also out there in beta and offers some USB port support and reportedly better stability/more consistent performance. I didn't want to risk wrecking my network entirely on a known-bad build, which I believe predates 1.11.0.2.
"the r and d team are still on this even today as its not like they have just dumped the orbi on the market and moved on as is obvious by the amount of fw updates there has been"
Couldn't that just be one guy putting in an hour a week? It doesn't seem like the firmware updates are fixing anything. It sure seems like they just dumped it and moved on, they are absent on these forums and all support is going through a 3rd party in the Philippines and not Netgear. The only engagement these days is DarrenM occasionally pm'ing a random person about the beta or telling someone to update their iPad. I'm glad he's at least on here but I wish we heard something at all anout all of these problems.
Does anyone know which level of support is actually Netgear? Level 3 is still done by Concentrix and that's as far as I've gotten with a 3 month old very active case.
no it is not the case , i can assure you that the beta team are still very active on this project as well , there has been a huge amount of resources and effort put into this project and it is continuing even today as we speak , i know this as im in the beta project and have been from the start , you can become a beta tester if you like as netgear beta testing of new devices is open to anyone who would like to put their hand up
as to the level of support i will ask for you and get back to you on this when i find out
as a beta tester you get to keep what you test and when it came to orbi that quite a saving
i dont particapate in all beta testing but i help where i can
my aim is to help where i can when i can and tbh i dont bias one manufacturer over another as i test for many , i have cupboards full of routers most of which i agree to not sell and most dont have serial numbers , but its fun to have a play and test the differences , keeps the mind active , idle hands and all :)\
as i said anyone can apply to become a beta tester with netgear as long as you are keen to help and learn at the same time as thats the key as no matter how much i know there is always something new to learn and be amazed by , im just like a kid in a lolly shop when it comes to this network stuff 🙂
Speaking of new systems coming out, the Samsung Connect Home 3-Pack is out soon. Its claim to fame is a built in SmartThings home automation hub. I think there is a speedier version of this called PRO, but the stats for the basic 3-pack are:
2x2 Mu-Mimo 802.11AC
866 MBPS @ 5 Ghz, 400 MBPS @ 2.4 Ghz, AC1300
Coverage for homes up to 4,500 sq feet (1,500 per device).
One App controls it all, home automation, router configuration
Updates Automatically
2 Ethernet Jacks per Device
Can have 5 devices total.
PRO is AC2600 1.733 Mbps on 5Ghz, 800 Mbps on 2.4 Ghz, 4x4 Mu-Mimo 802.11AC
Don't have any info about what the backhaul signal is, or if it is true mesh topology, or if it can do wired backhaul.
@Retired_Member wrote: Exactly jleecloak1, because all the evidence points to that. If it is, would Netgear admit to it? I doubt it when they can take people along for the ride for another yeah promising firmware fixes. Soon everyone's warranty will be over and that's the light at the end of Netgear's tunnel in my opinion.
im not sure about the code and rules in the country you live in but here in australia there is code of conduct and department of fair trading that would with the onbudman force the company to fix or replace fauylty unit evenb after any warranty period if that fault was hardware based and not fixable
I think it is disgusting of Netgear to rely on their customers to beta test their products.
I spend most of my time in the ReadyNAS forums, but happened to run across this.
To clarify - Netgear certainly does their own Q/A, and that includes automated testing in shielded rooms that allows them to precisely measure wifi performance under a lot of different signal conditions. I was able to visit their San Jose facility last year, and saw them testing Orbi in one of those rooms.
They use closed beta testing to supplement the normal testing, not to replace it. Only some products are chosen for closed betas - I imagine it is quite expensive to do. In my opinion Orbi is a good candidate for these betas, since it's ideal to test the backhaul performance in homes, and not just in lab conditions.
If you participate in these tests, you do get to keep the equipment. Generally it is beta-quality, and not final production. In my opinion the beta testers do more than enough to earn that equipment - the testing takes quite a bit of time.
FWIW, I do have an Orbi setup and it is working out well for me. Nighthawks gave better near-router wifi speeds, but Orbi gives good wifi speeds throughout the house. I agree there's more that can be done, and no doubt there are still bugs to fix.
@Nsiddons the why are we charged a Full price for a half finished product? Would you be expected to pay full price for a half cooked meal? Do we get a discount? NO!
@Nsiddons the why are we charged a Full price for a half finished product? Would you be expected to pay full price for a half cooked meal? Do we get a discount? NO!
@JMU1998 First let me start off with Orbi is not a half finish product. I personally have had no issues with my Orbi and I’m on the latest firmware I also have 2 other clients who also have no issues. Some people are having issues yes, but for every 1 person on this forum that is having an issue how many units are out there that are working flawlessly. This I how we know that Orbi is not a half finished product. Secondly and your gonna laugh 😆 how many pop up restaurants are out there charging FULL price for them to test out their restaurant idea on you. This is not me say Orbi is doing this but I just want to kill that way of thinking. We are not beta testers but we are using a product that is the first of its kind and we are in the trenches. And I’m gonna have tons of people saying how is Orbi the first of its kind, I’m not gonna get into that cause that’s a whole other topic.
Nsiddons, you are coming off more defensive and argumentive then actually proving a point. I understand what you are trying to say but I think your argument is flawed. Just because we don't have hundreds of people on this message board complaining doesn't mean the product is working for them. Some people don't go to message boards to complain. The Orbi mesh system connection issue is completely random. I have 24+ devices connected to my network wifi and wired. I spend a great deal of time online so whenever my connections drop I notice it right away.
I want the Orbi to succeed because I put my trust and money into this product after reading and watching of reviews on Youtube, Cnet and others. The bottom line is this product has issues let's not pretend it doesn't.
Question, if your Orbi is working perfectly why are you posting on this thread? I can tell you I would not be on the Orbi message board if my system was working as advertised. There are plenty of websites I could be on other than an Orbi Message board.
Question, if your Orbi is working perfectly why are you posting on this thread? I can tell you I would not be on the Orbi message board if my system was working as advertised. There are plenty of websites I could be on other than an Orbi Message board.
The Internet is full of people trying to help others. Go look on the Ubiquiti forum, the Mikrotik forum, DSLreports, etc. Many people enjoy using their specialized knowledge to help others solve problems.
True, but what part of that post had anything to do with helping. The only thing I read was how very few people seem to have issues with the Orbi and therefore the hardware is not the problem.
If you were to go out and read any of the Orbi user reviews on BestBuy, Amazon and etc.. You will find the people who gave the Orbi the lowest review usually a 1 star, all say the same thing. The Orbi has connection issues. I rated the Orbi a 5 star originally on Amazon after installing it the first week and after I figured out the Orbi was causing my connection issues I changed it.
@JMU1998 I’m sorry if I have come off as defensive or argumentive this was not my goal. Netgear is a business first and foremost they would not continue to produce a failing product, that is costing them money from all the RMA’s. I doubt many people would keep a defective $250-$400 device. Also the fact you call the Orbi a mesh is a testament to the fact you don’t understand the technology. I am an IT specialist and run a business from home using my Orbi. 4 Apple TV 4’s 3 MacBooks, and iPads, constantly downloading software for clients machines. I have about 20 wireless devices not including my smart switches and plugs and about 13 wired devices in my living room. Without internet nobody watches tv in my home. I promise I would know instantly if my network went down. I don’t think anyone on this board wants Orbi to fail or why complain if not to see changes.
@jleecloak1 I'm glad you brought up reviews Amazon 5 Star 82%, 4 star 8%, 3 star 3%, 2 Star 2%, 1 Star 5%. I don't think 82% of people were like ah I'm too lazy to change my review. Best Buy 1150 reviews, 4.7 stars out of 5. I'm simply trying to say that Orbi is not a half finish product, a few kinks to work out yes. But the reviews say not as many people have issues like you think.
Sure, let's talk about the Eero. I am looking forward to a better product being released that is a true Mesh system. I am happy to see it being promoted here on the Netgear message boards.
They been working on it for 9-10 months. I owned Orbi before my Eero now, and have had EERO for the last 4 months. ORBI was nothing but a disconnecting nightmare. Always promising they would fix the issue. Wasted so much of my time. Ignore Petey as he is a fanboy and ignores the fact the Orbi is a failure of a wifi system and terrible support. They don't seem to care to fix the issue. It doesn't take 10 months to get this issue fixed. I worked on enterprise grade hardware, and an issue like this would be fixed in just a matter of days.
