I've been tracking down an issue where my Orbi just suddenly drops wifi and reboots. I've isolated it to be associated with an Android device running 8.0 or higher. And I've proven it turning off wifi on my Pixel (now running 8.1 with the same issue) and starting out using my old Nexus 6P on 7.X. No issues for 2 straight days. I upgraded my 6P to 8.0 and BAM. Router crashes periodically when using this device. Turned that phone off and also kept my Pixel wifi off. 2 straight days, no issues.
Obviously there is something in Android 8.X that is causing issues but a client device should NOT be able to crash a router! Anyone else having this issue? I've even tried factory resetting both my Pixel and my router. No dice.
Any suggestions? Is there a way to dump a log file before a crash (or at least periodically so we can see what's happening?
Yes I an having the same issue, where whenever my Pixel 2 XL wakes up my Orbi reboots disconnecting all my devices. It is very annoying. I have not seen it happen though on my original Pixel XL, both of which are in 8.0 with the November security patch. I was wondering if it was an app doing it but haven't had much chance to troubleshoot further yet. I don't remember it happening when I first got the phone, but not positive. I have noticed some times it is fine, I don't get any reboots for the day, then it reboots and it will keep rebooting everytime I wake my phone up.
Yes!! Definitely happens when waking the phone up. Almost guaranteed to happen in that situation.
I know that it doesn't happen on Android 7. I've confirmed that.
Super annoying! I've had to leave my wifi off in order not to drive the family crazy!
I just upgraded my Orbi to 2.1. I've turned my Pixel wifi back on to see if the issue still exists. In guessing it does. Will test over the next few days.
Yes it is still happening for me on 2.1, and 2.1 seems to have an issue with WiFi passwords, possibly ones that have a $ sign in them, when it reboots none of my devices will connect anymore. I have to change the password to something else using the web interface and then change it back using the app, then it is fine till the next reboot. So for now I just have forgot the network on my phone.
So far I haven't had any reboots on 2.1 but I'm sure they are coming - just a matter of time. It almost ALWAYS happens first thing in the morning when I first pick up my phone. So I'm expecting a reboot tomorrow morning.
But it's been stable all day since updating to 2.1.
I am not having a problem with an original Pixel running 8.1 Beta crashing the Orbi router.
I am also not having a problem with a Nexus Player android TV running 8.0 doing anything either. But I'm not sure if that one ever really goes to sleep and wakes up the same as a smartphone.
The Pixel is on 8.1 BETA, but it keeps trying and failing to install a further small update to 8.1 BETA, not sure if that is related to the lack of interferring with the Orbi.
Interesting that you have two devices on 8.0 that aren't causing issues. This makes me wonder if it's a particular App that's causing issues. That could be particularly difficult to troubleshoot!!
Both devices running Oreo are in the android beta preview program, but I don't think the Android TV/Nexus Player moves ahead as quickly as the Pixel in updates. They have been around the Orbi with 8.0 beta or higher in the preview program for a couple months, I think they were both on the early 8 betas before the Orbi was reintroduced to this house. Orbi are still running beta firmware from a beta that finished up a bit ago. It is 2.1 branched. It is not release firmware for sure. I am in no rush to update to "release firmware" till all the branches of the many betas are released and functionalities are all combined.
So I am not sure if the Orbi Beta firmware is playing a factor. But both Android devices running pre and post Oreo betas were existing in the house with a Linksys Velop system when the Orbis were brought back in to run the Orbi Beta, and have remained since.
I will definitely keep an eye on the system and check the log on the Orbi to make sure I am not missing anything. Like many of you I'm sure, I get an earful when the "wifi isn't working".
I'm pretty sure my wife's Samsung S8+ has been on 8.0 since she got it in August I think as well. No problems from that either, and its NOT in the beta preview android program at all. I totally forgot about that.
Yea, I am not understanding this either, there is definitly an issue with the Pixel phones and mesh wifi systems in general as is evident by this thread, but it seems Orbi is the only one that completly crashes from the devices.
Hmm, I haven't gotten 8.1 pushed to me yet, I was going to join the beta to get it but it seemed from this thread it was still present in 8.1. I am wondering if is is carrier specific maybe. What carrier to you have? I have at&t and it mostly happens when I wake the phone up so maybe something with mobile data and wifi.
You may be on to something. I was poking around in the Developer Options and I noticed that the setting "Mobile Data Always Active" is enabled. After reading a little bit about this setting it seems that it wasn't enabled by default prior to 8.0 and for some reason it's now enabled on SOME phones but not all. It's enabled on mine.
From my limited reading it appears that this setting allows for fasting switching between mobile networks and wifi. I wonder if this is somehow creating an IP conflict on Orbi which causes the reboot?
I'm out of the country this week but will toggle this setting to off and see if it resolves my issue. Won't be able to test until this weekend.
I tried this this morning and the "Mobile Data Always Active" did not make a difference.
I have RBK53 on newest v2.1 firmware (issue began before v2.1, but has been worse on 2.1)
I have 2 Pixel 2 XL phones. Mine is on release 8.1 (Mobile Data Always Active ON). My wife's is on 8.0 with November security patch (Mobile Data Always Active OFF). We have been experiencing disconnections of both satellites and all devices connected to Orbi at least every 2 hours for the past several days. This is in AP mode. An Asus router serves as the router and other devices connected to it seem unaffected.
Last night, after reading this thread, I turned off wifi for both phones. We went 10+ hours without a disconnection. I turned on my phone wifi (8.1) and wifi dropped across the network within 2 minutes. I turned wifi off again. I waited over 1 hour, with no disconnection. I toggled Mobile Data Always Active to OFF on my phone and connected to wifi again. Within a few minutes, the network dropped again.
I disconnected my phone (8.1) from the network and connected my wife's (8.0). After about 20 minutes, I left for work and the network had not disconnected. She will be home most of today, so I'll report back after work wether the network stayed connected for 9+ hours with her 8.0 phone connected and my 8.1 phone gone.
My reboot-free system involves a Verizon Pixel 2 XL on 8.1. I unchecked "Monile data always active" in the developer settings menu soon after installing 8.1 last week.
Yea I just checked, mine was never enabled. It seems after a reboot of my phone it doesn't cause the crashes, at least for a little while and on my old Pixel that is on the same version of Android it never happens, that phone has no carrier now, which is why I was wondering if it had something to so with the carrier, I know AT&T doesn't like unlocked devices. Have to test more and see.
My Pixel 2 XL on 8.1 is making my Orbi reboot. Each time it wakes up is causing the problem. It's super annoying because all my smart home devices don't always come back up functioning correctly so I have to manually play with them to get them to work correctly (usually around 28 devices on at one time). I just got the Orbi as well so I'm brand new to this (replaced an R7000). Why would a client ever cause a router reboot? That's crazy. I went into the Developer Options on my Pixel 2 XL and unchecked the "Mobile data always active" but that doesn't seem to have worked but I haven't rebooted the phone yet. I'm going to reboot it now and monitor. When I pull my phone off wifi, everything works well.
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
After changing my phone setting in developer options to not stay connected to mobile network on wifi AND rebooting my phone, I have had no disconnects tonight. I suggest people try it.
I've had the false sense of security that I had solved the issue many times. I'm guessing that when you woke up this morning and woke your phone up the Orbi crashed? If not then I'm all ears. However, I'm on my way to Best Buy in a few minutes to pick up the Eero. Even if your Orbi is stable now who knows what will happen on the next firmware update. I'm just tired of dealing with it and my family is tired of have Wifi disappear all the time.
Got me Eero up and running with no issues. Super solid and super reliable. Yes, I gave up a little speed in the far corners of my house and yes, it's an overall more expensive solution BUT... it's super stable.
If I have to chose between stability and absolute speed then stability wins all day, every day. I've got gigabit service so the difference between 300mbs and 180mbs is insignificant. It's easy to get caught up in maximizing speeds but we have to remember that in 99% of cases, anything over 50mbs is overkill for almost any application.
I truly wanted Orbi to work but Netgear clearly has some big turds to work out. And when you consider the superio customer support of Eero it's a no brainer. In this case I'm going with the underdog. I wish I had stuck with them to begin with. I left them for the Orbi which was a huge mistake.
Sorry to hear your experience was not good. I've been Rock solid with my Orbi, hosting a handful of Rokus, Android devices (including my Pixel 2 HD), security cameras, a pair of laptops, Nest, a bunch of additional peripherals, and my SmartThings. No drops at all. I wonder if maybe it is a quality control thing, and some folks simply got dud Orbis?
@btonetbone I do not doubt that. I had an excellent experience for multiple months. Zero issues and rock solid performance. Then suddenly things went south. And unfortunately it only take a week of instable performance to bring a household of users to its knees. I'm tired of fighting with it. Eero is super solid, although a little slower. But stability is a huge premium - especially once you lived on the other side of the fence.
