Hi, within the last couple of days, any device on WiFi that tries to open prime video is greeted with a message saying a VPN is active. This is not the case. Chrome casts, iOS devices, laptops, etc all get that message. I just hard wired into the modem and prime works so clearly it’s something with the router. I also just did a factory reset on all 3 of the units and the issue persists. Firmware is 2.5.1.16 (I’m not aware of any recent software updates on the router).
@zcastagna84 wrote: Hi, within the last couple of days, any device on WiFi that tries to open prime video is greeted with a message saying a VPN is active. This is not the case. Chrome casts, iOS devices, laptops, etc all get that message. I just hard wired into the modem and prime works
When that device that was hard wired directly into the router is wired into the router, does it get the same VPN Active message?
Hi, I just checked and yes it does 😞 it’s my Lenovo laptop, I just hardwired it into the back of the main Orbi unit and the same issue comes up. I also tried popping onto the guest network and same issue on there.
@zcastagna84 wrote: Hi, I just checked and yes it does 😞 it’s my Lenovo laptop, I just hardwired it into the back of the main Orbi unit and the same issue comes up. I also tried popping onto the guest network and same issue on there.
Thanks for doing the experiment. I am at a loss for an explanation.
It is really clear that Orbi does not support any type of VPN "Client" capability. (People post all the time wanting this, and Orbi doesn't do it.) The OpenVPN function on Orbi is only to allow connections into the Orbi from the internet, not the other direction.
From what I can gather, streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime refuse service to VPN clients based on the IP address of the connection. This should be the public IP the ISP provides to the customer, which should not match any known VPN services. (And should be the same public IP if the laptop is connected directly to the modem or the Orbi is connected.)
The only difference is that the Orbi will be doing NAT on the connections.
I stream Netflix and Amazon Prime every day on a Tivo. Very puzzled.
Is there some way to get more information from Amazon Prime?
The error message includes a note saying go to Amazon.com/PV-VPN (though I can’t glean anything useful from that site). I did contact Amazon customer support and the guy I chatted with didn’t see any issues on their end. I also did ipconfig /release, /renew and /flushdns this morning. No dice there.
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
@zcastagna84 wrote: Hi, within the last couple of days, any device on WiFi that tries to open prime video is greeted with a message saying a VPN is active. This is not the case. Chrome casts, iOS devices, laptops, etc all get that message. I just hard wired into the modem and prime works so clearly it’s something with the router. I also just did a factory reset on all 3 of the units and the issue persists. Firmware is 2.5.1.16 (I’m not aware of any recent software updates on the router).
I don’t think I can give you an answer on that, our ISP is called Desert INet and they use some type of Motorola canopy-Esque setup. There’s a receiver dish on the roof and some cabling that runs down into the house into a power brick looking thing that has a couple of Ethernet lines in it, one of which goes directly into the router. The line that goes into the router is what I hooked into my laptop, which worked as far as getting prime video
You need to check with your ISP to see if there is any router buit in to there system. Having a router in front of the Orbi router can cause problems having two routers on the same line.
I can call them again and ask, but I know when we got the service, they hooked up the Linksys router I had. I've had this thing set up for quite a while without any sort of issues so I'm unclear as to what could've happened in the last several days that'd trip it up. Heck, I never even touched the settings for the thing. I set it up months ago and that was it. Is there a way to see if/when any firmware updates rolled through?
Check the RBRs web page, if your at v16 still then nothing has come thru however there is several versions of FW available.
Someting on your Amazon device that changed?
Only other thing would be to factory reset the RBR and power off the ISP modem or service unit for 30 seconds then back ON then walk thru the setup wizard on the RBR and see if this changes anything.
My device is on v16 that you mentioned. I'll try and reset the unit from the ISP tonight once everyone is done working, and see if that helps. I did do a factory reset on all three of the Orbi units and set it all back up again last night and nothings changed. There havent been any changes to Amazon devices. The issue exists on any device that is on my network (iOS, PC, Fire Stick, etc.).
Yes, I would try that as well. Seems like Amazon is fixed on your current WAN IP which for some reason maybe causing problems. Worth asking them about.
@zcastagna84 wrote: I don’t think I can give you an answer on that, our ISP is called Desert INet and they use some type of Motorola canopy-Esque setup. There’s a receiver dish on the roof and some cabling that runs down into the house into a power brick looking thing that has a couple of Ethernet lines in it, one of which goes directly into the router. The line that goes into the router is what I hooked into my laptop, which worked as far as getting prime video
Would it be convenient to determine the public IP (WAN) address of your system?
On the web browser, open the Orbi web interface, click on the Advanced Tab. The IP address under "Internet Port" should match the address from whatismyipaddress.com (This information can also be found on the Orbi "app" under Settings...Internet Port.
I checked on that website you mentioned as well as the Orbi management site and both have the same IP starting with a 204. I don’t see that in the range of IPv4 addresses on the wiki page you linked. That means no double NAT right? No forum on desert iNet. That discussion you found from a couple years ago, that’s interesting. A cursory read through it seems like they set up new equipment and Amazon’s VPN algorithm was erroneously flagging things as VPN. The guy in that Reddit post, who claimed to be a network engineer said as much in his situation too. However, wouldn’t the ISP be ruled out if I can connect into the modem and have it work?
@zcastagna84 wrote: I checked on that website you mentioned as well as the Orbi management site and both have the same IP starting with a 204 . ... However, wouldn’t the ISP be ruled out if I can connect into the modem and have it work?
Yes, of course. It worked before. It works when connected to the modem. It should still be working.
Did the Orbi replace a previous WiFi router? (I always keep the old one in a box "just in case".)
I have a linksys router sitting around I can hook up which I assume would work. This morning I saw a FW update come through so I did that and it still gives the same issue. What’s curious is my work laptop which is the only thing with an Ethernet plug besides my desktop, I connect that into the modem. And we use something called ZScaler which is a VPN of sorts. Prime video works fine with or without that enabled. So there’s something screwy going on with Orbi. I wonder if I take the satellites offline, maybe it doesn’t like the mesh network? I’m running out of ideas and about to pay Netgear for support
IF you have a 2ndary router handy or prior router, if you do, i would put this in place as the host router then try configurting the RBR for AP mode.
Nother idea would be to test your Orbi system at a different location, say a friend, or familys place and see if the problem follows or not. Would help identify weather this is a Orbi or ISP issue.
@zcastagna84 wrote: I have a linksys router sitting around I can hook up which I assume would work. This morning I saw a FW update come through so I did that and it still gives the same issue. What’s curious is my work laptop which is the only thing with an Ethernet plug besides my desktop, I connect that into the modem. And we use something called ZScaler which is a VPN of sorts. Prime video works fine with or without that enabled. So there’s something screwy going on with Orbi. I wonder if I take the satellites offline, maybe it doesn’t like the mesh network? I’m running out of ideas and about to pay Netgear for support
I can try and set up the Orbi at my gf's place this weekend and see if the issue persists. The other thing I wanted to try was to nuke it back to factory once more, and then set it up using a different password, that way all the devices on my network can't reconnect to it. I'm not sure if one of them is creating an issue. All I know is Amazon is useless. They deflect it back to Netgear, however I've had this thing set up for like 8-9 months, haven't touched a single setting in the router and now it doesn't work. It makes me wonder if they changed something on their end that suddenly doesn't play nice with Mesh wifi, or maybe Orbi in particular.
I had an issue with my Pixel 2 XL where it use to get WiFi calling on my old linksys router, then it stopped working after an update to the phone and Google would just punt it back saying I should've gotten a verizon branded Pixel 2 to guarantee. Except my phone would work on other networks fine.
I can try and set up the Orbi at my gf's place this weekend and see if the issue persists. The other thing I wanted to try was to nuke it back to factory once more, and then set it up using a different password, that way all the devices on my network can't reconnect to it. I'm not sure if one of them is creating an issue. All I know is Amazon is useless. They deflect it back to Netgear, however I've had this thing set up for like 8-9 months, haven't touched a single setting in the router and now it doesn't work. It makes me wonder if they changed something on their end that suddenly doesn't play nice with Mesh wifi, or maybe Orbi in particular.
I had an issue with my Pixel 2 XL where it use to get WiFi calling on my old linksys router, then it stopped working after an update to the phone and Google would just punt it back saying I should've gotten a verizon branded Pixel 2 to guarantee. Except my phone would work on other networks fine.
Out of curiosity, how does access point mode work? Would I be able to connect the modem to the yellow ethernet input on the back of the old linksys router, and then wire that into the yellow plug on the back of the orbi and then configure it into access point mode? I'm a little fuzzy on router mode vs AP mode, but it seems like the orbi would act as an extension of the linksys.
