Considering Orbi but concerned about comments about power outage reconnection

[Retired_Member]

I'm considering buying the latest Orbi Mesh System but am very concerned about comments I see online about problems people have with it after a brief power outage, or after simply unplugging it. Is this still an issue with the latest model firmware?

[MacrossMike]

The ones regarding satellites no longer working as wireless access points after a reboot or loss of power?  Yes, that's an issue with the current/latest firmware (v1.12.0.18).

[Retired_Member]

Is Netgear good about releasing fixes to firmware? Have they addressed this issue for a future firmware release?

[MacrossMike]

... well, I'm not really sure how to give a fair answer to this one.

There is a noticeable lack of official acknowledgement and response to the major issues that've been caused by the latest 1.12.0.18 firmware build.  It'd be nice if an admin or someone official posted an acknowledgement of the problems and gave us some kind of timeline for a fix.  That doesn't mean they're not working on it, though, and this is the first really problematic build that escaped into the wild so it's not exactly a typical situation.

They're good about getting routine updates and fixes out to address minor bugs, performance improvements, new feature additions, etc.  I think the present situation is the first real test of the Orbi team's crisis response. <_<

[Retired_Member]

From your initial reply, it sounds like this only affects a satellite unit, not the base unit. That said, what does the user have to do to the satellite unit after a power outage to get it to work with the base unit the way it was before the outage?

1. Can the user just wait 10-15 minutes and it handles this without user intervention?
2. If not, is a reset button sufficient?
3. Does the user have to reconfigure it?

[MacrossMike]

There are a couple different issues with the version 1.12.0.18 firmware, but that's the big one... the one that I would characterize as being a potential showstopper.  It's not really tied to a power outage or anything like that, it's a glitch in the firmware that seems to trigger on boot of the Orbi system that causes the satellite to never turn its wireless access points on and enable communication on the LAN ports.  It's some kind of interaction between the router and satellite firmware.

The reason people are upset is that, thus far, the only fixes are somewhat complicated.  They are:

• Doing a factory reset on the router and satellite(s), which causes them to behave normally until the next reboot.
• Manually reverting to the previous firmware (1.11.0.20) on the router and all satellites by directly plugging into them and installing the firmware through the configuration page, though this only lasts until the next time it checks for updates.
• Enabling Telnet configuration on the Debug page and turning off automatic firmware updates manually to prevent the new firmware from installing itself (potentially after the previous one).

The problem is unfortunately a constant/persistent type on the latest firmware, so just waiting will not banish it... nor will power-cycling the system.

It's frustrating, but I can attest that the problems are thoroughly atypical of the normal user experience.  I've been using a RBR50 with a couple satellites for several months now, and the problems caused by the new 1.12.0.18 firmware are the first problem I've actually had from the Orbi.  (I'm not gentle on it either, I normally have around two dozen devices connected at once, several of which are using VPNs, and it's so far proven more resilient than the Google and Linksys alternatives.)  I just finished disabling automatic updates using the Telnet approach after reverting to the more stable 1.11.0.20 firmware, and I expect my setup will be back to being rock solid.

Were I in your shoes, I would wait a week or two to see if Netgear rolls out a firmware fix for this issue in a timely fashion before deciding to jump or not jump on buying an Orbi system.

[Retired_Member]

Thanks so much for the detailed reply I needed, MacrossMike. This is indeed a showstopper for me. If it wasn't for the specs I've read regarding this system, I'd be out of here now. But I'll wait a little while. This is not urgent.

[Retired_Member]

Given the lack of official support on this forum from Netgear in the presence of a persistent and widespread problem with their latest Orbi firmware update, I have moved on to another manufacturer's product.

[MacrossMike]

I'm giving serious thought to following suit... even disabling automatic updates in the NVRAM doesn't stop the Orbi from getting this crippling "update".