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I just noticed that my units have upgraded to the lates POS firmware, this is despite the nvram settings etc.
I too run a business from home as it happens it is an IT Support Business, and I also install wifi systems for cliients in both commercial and residential - I don't think I will be using Orbi at any of my clients. The firmware releases are a joke and you always feel that they have not been fully tested.
So now on the lookout for another system that I can safely use at my clients, and oc course replace the Orbi's that I have.
Finally Netgear why have you not responded to the many complaints. I learnt many years ago that the best approach to these sort of issues is to be honest and upfront with your customers, admit you have a problem, what are you doing to fix it and if possible timescales.
Rolling back to an older firmware only fixed my 5Ghz radio to work again. So I updated back to the latest and created a guest connection. I read someone was able to stay connected on a guest connection and that works for me too but my 5Ghz still doesn't work! Factory reset doesn't help either.
Stop rolling out firmware without thoroughly testing. Especially on high prices devices.
I'm about to rewire all my phone lines to Ethernet lines since the people who built my house used CAT5 wires. Then install wireless AP on each floor. I won't be able to use my full 1Gbps connection but it would be way better than being stuck on an unstable 100mbps connection.
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
I have updated my nvram to not upgrade. I am going to be monitoring it closely. If it upgrades, I am going to call Netgear and ask for a refund on the product. I agree the quality is horrible and the silence is deafening from Netgear.
Move on people. Likemany of you, I spent 3-4 months waiting, hoping, praying that Netgear would do better. I was beginning to fit within the description of insanity.
Urban Dictionary: Insane - "The definition of insanity, is, doing the exact same****'ing thing over and over again, expecting **** (stuff) to change. That. Is. Crazy.
Move on. I already updated my case asking Netgear for a refund or a differentproduct to compensate. I will not be holding my breathe of course.
I have my life back. Now, go get your life back. Accept your loss. You will make more money to replace the money lost to Orbi. But you will not make "MORE TIME".
I am very grateful that my system has remained pretty stable. A few drop outs but not to a serious level here. I use mine in router mode with about 27 connected devices and I turned implicit beamforming back on for best results at this time. I join others in amazement that NetGear would just sit by offering no commentary or reassurance that they are working on problems that are so important to many--feels like they subcontract their software development. If I did begin to have problems with Orbi, I would consider another mesh product but cannot find one at present that offers the 4 ethernet ports I need on the base unit to make needed hardwire connections to places around the house. I admire the other brands apparent support of ethernet backhaul. If Orei supported that, maybe that would fix issues for some of us and even potentially give us the third Wi-Fi band back for connecting to clients. NetGear is often early to market with new cool things but often is less than optimal with support and firmware updates. I hope this works out soon and I hope NetGear replies with some reassuring message.
The ironic part is 2-3 times now I've had stable beta firmware then a new official release is avaialble and the system auto updates and breaks everything. And yes I have done a factory reset each time and had all devices "forget" and re-join network. I was inituially drwan to the Orbi because of the dedicated backhaul band between the router and sateliite but now care less about that and just want a stable connection. Shameful Netgear has not jumped in on this. My v1.11.0.8 beta firmware went almost a month stable and if I get have that back and not auto update I think I'd be fine. I did a factory reset to try and re-load this beta firmware as I saved the files but again system always reverts to newest firmware. Crazy!
This is getting to not be funny anymore. This kind of ignoring the problems have to STOP. Please put a way to absolutley turn OFF and ON auto update. This the first thing to do. We will then see if we can live with your progress on the other problems. I asked nicely several months ago to do this, and explained to you the problems you will have down line if you don't, and you can see what is happening now. You should be able to do this by the end of this week NO excuses.
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Ok I am a little blown away that we are on 257 replies and,nothing from Netgear. If you look at Amazon for the RBK40 they are beginning to see the repercussions for the la k of support. It will bite them in the ass in the end, you can't have so many screaming for help and nothi g is done
For those of you who want your life back, and have better things to do than wait for Netgear to solve your problems (never going to happen). Take a look at Linksys Velop and Lyra. Velop seems to be the winner for speed and features. Most sites say its slightly faster and better than Orbi. Lyra is new, so it may take a few weeks to see reviews and for ASUS to release some updates. But still, Lyra is looking better than Orbi on its first day.
For those of you who want your life back, and have better things to do than wait for Netgear to solve your problems (never going to happen). Take a look at Linksys Velop and Lyra. Velop seems to be the winner for speed and features. Most sites say its slightly faster and better than Orbi. Lyra is new, so it may take a few weeks to see reviews and for ASUS to release some updates. But still, Lyra is looking better than Orbi on its first day.
Lol. You're missing the point there pal. You think i'm going to go drop another $600 on a Velop or Lyra system?? Not a chance. There has to be some accountability here on Netgear's part. Sure if they want to reimburse me my $600 then I'll maybe try a Velop or Lyra system (or Eeero, Google Wifi, TP-L Deco M5, etc, etc) but until then, this is their issue to address and all they're doing by ignoring us is damaging their brand image.
@Flash008 The Asus Lyra appears to be a much less powerful device than the Orbi. From their FAQ I read that there's no separate SSID's (same as Orbi), no manual updating, no power level adjustments (currently removed from Orbi), no USB ports, and it even said you can't change the wireless channels. I find that a little odd, but if that's the case I would never consider the Lyra.
I am absolutely shocked that this thread has gone on for so long with complaints appearing everyday and still no acknowledgement from Netgear. The single moderator of the Orbi forum has been replying to minor questions everyday, but has yet to make a statement in this thread. The Orbi has been out for 11 months but the current state of these forums is indicative of a beta product full of bugs.
The latest firmware update was released 2 weeks ago, and not only has it caused severe issues for many users, but it also removed valuable features such as disabling individual bands, adjusting power levels, and shutting off each band via schedule. No reason has yet to be given for this removal. As others have posted, I am now seriously considering returning the Orbi and looking into another product. This is not the kind of support I expected from a $400-$500 high end product 1 year after release. I still believe the Orbi is the most powerful "whole home wifi" product on the market, but its capabilities are crippled by unstable firmware.
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Obviously, something strange is going on, whereas many are posting problems with the update while some (including me) are finding everything working very well. I agree that the lack of response by Netgear is irritating - I expect better from a company this size selling a product at a premium price. But the fact remains that it works for some users and causes severe problems for others. Without going into the things that were eliminated (i.e., disabling individual bands, adjusting power levels, shutting off each band via schedule and the auto-update issues), perhaps we should be looking at what is different among our systems.
While we may have somewhat different Orbi units, I would think that they're pretty close in their architecture. Similarly, we all have the same firmware (1.12.0.18). Yet it works for some and not for others. This tells me that the only variable left is the environment in which the other two factors (i.e., the hardware and the firmware) are being used. There is always the possibility that a device within our own network is affecting things. Understanding the plethora of networks and their affect is a major undertaking, if not impossible. But if Netgear cannot figure it out, then perhaps we can collectively identify what is different among us.
So, what is different among those for which it works and those for which it does not? As for me, I have the RBK50 bought from Costco - One RBR50 router and two RBS50 satellites. I also have two Negear Prosafe GS108Ev3 Switches (downstream of the RBR50 for Ethernet-wired devices). I have several assorted clients, including various Apple computers, Lutron Hub, Smarthings Hub, two Rokus, two AppleTV's, Acurite Weather Hub, connected TV's and DVR's, a WD NAS, Chamberlain SmartQ's, Rachio Irrigation and most importantly, a home security system and cameras (Nope – I’m not disclosing info on the last two items). I'm connected to a cable modem (Arris).
So again, my question to the users that are having issues is: What is different from what you have? Anything that could cause the rest of the system to go askew?
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Obviously, something strange is going on, whereas many are posting problems with the update while some (including me) are finding everything working very well. I agree that the lack of response by Netgear is irritating - I expect better from a company this size selling a product at a premium price. But the fact remains that it works for some users and causes severe problems for others. Without going into the things that were eliminated (i.e., disabling individual bands, adjusting power levels, shutting off each band via schedule and the auto-update issues), perhaps we should be looking at what is different among our systems.
While we may have somewhat different Orbi units, I would think that they're pretty close in their architecture. Similarly, we all have the same firmware (1.12.0.18). Yet it works for some and not for others. This tells me that the only variable left is the environment in which the other two factors (i.e., the hardware and the firmware) are being used. There is always the possibility that a device within our own network is affecting things. Understanding the plethora of networks and their affect is a major undertaking, if not impossible. But if Netgear cannot figure it out, then perhaps we can collectively identify what is different among us.
So, what is different among those for which it works and those for which it does not? As for me, I have the RBK50 bought from Costco - One RBR50 router and two RBS50 satellites. I also have two Negear Prosafe GS108Ev3 Switches (downstream of the RBR50 for Ethernet-wired devices). I have several assorted clients, including various Apple computers, Lutron Hub, Smarthings Hub, two Rokus, two AppleTV's, Acurite Weather Hub, connected TV's and DVR's, a WD NAS, Chamberlain SmartQ's, Rachio Irrigation and most importantly, a home security system and cameras (Nope – I’m not disclosing info on the last two items). I'm connected to a cable modem (Arris).
So again, my question to the users that are having issues is: What is different from what you have? Anything that could cause the rest of the system to go askew?
perhaps we should be looking at what is different among our systems.
Yes... I've wondered the same thing, My setup is working. And, it's a simple one, One RBK50 and one RBS50 with an Arris cable modem feeding the router. A dozen devices connecting, including 2 iPhones, 3 iPads, 2 MacBooks and a handful of slower devices like printers and an audio receiver. Only problems I've had have been the first day I got these two Orbis and the first day after the last fw update. System running with default settings except for DNS pointing to Google Public DNS.
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
For those who have rolled back their firmware, and blocked updates using the telnet/nvram method described earlier in this discussion: is it sufficient to do this just on the router, or does one need to block updates directly on the satellites also?
Any thoughts gratefully welcomed - it sucks not having my two satellites working!
I have posted a review of Lyra on Amazon and started a fair, and unbiased, discussion.
I have fully disclosed that Lyra is much slower than Orbi.
However, I have used Lyra for 5 days now and it wins the stability argument without question.
You are correct with your comments, except you are wrong with the auto-updating. Lyra will not auto-update, but notify you with the option to execute the update. It will not update unless you click or tap update. And, as of the latest firmware it does allow manual updating.
As you have written, Netgear is unstable and they are now stripping features, rather than adding features. If an automaker did this to you, I am sure there would be a lawsuit.
Netgear does not feel they need to respond to any of you with any real response of value.
Guess what. ASUS just replied to my Amazon post, and are ready to work with me to make Lyra great. It’s only been on market for 1 week. My Amazon post in only 24 hours old. How long has Orbi been on market, and how many meaningful responses have you seen from Netgear?
Like you, I spent my hard-earned cash on Orbi. Like you, and many others, I am beyond belief that Netgear could operate so poorly.
And, like you, and many others, I have given up. I want my life back. I am only trying to help others by sharing my experience as we try to solve the “Orbi Issues”. And maybe that resolve includes looking at, and discussing, other products such as Velop. Have you seen Linksys Velop’s forum. Linksys engineers are very active and very responsive with REAL results. They actually have a daily/weekly dialog with the Velop users to fix problems and add new features and they do it quickly. From what I have read, Velop is actually faster than Orbi and covers more space. Plus is has more advance controls when compared to Orbi. Lyra offering even more advanced control.
How many months have we asked Netgear to disable auto-update. Have they? Everyone else has that option.
I am not telling anyone that Lyra is better than Orbi. You must each make that choice yourself. What is best, is always an individual choice, based on your needs. I need stable WIFI, and Orbi cannot do that, and Netgear doesn’t seem to care. If I must sacrifice some speed, or a USB port (that I never use), and this sacrifice leads to less time playing technical support and hearing my family complain and being able to do my job (work from home)…Yeah…Sign me up!
I agree the latest firmware is a step back in a way, options have been removed such as not being able to adjust or disable radios. now I have a 2.4GHz radio blasting away and polluting and contributing to interference to all my neighbours and I don't even use 2.4GHz and I can't do anything about it can't even reduce power let alone disable it, this to me means regression not smart Engineering and forcing people not to have options based on their needs and environment, surely Engineering knows this fact a basic networking concept one size shoe does not fit all! A very basic fact and it is being ignored!
After reverting to v1.11.0.20 manually and disabling updates in the NVRAM, I've suddenly started getting random disconnects on most of my WiFi devices that I wasn't getting before the release of v1.12.0.18 and the rollback. I was going to give Netgear until month's end to straighten this mess out, but the competition just made me a much better offer. Gonna audition the Linksys Velop and D-Link Covr as replacements this weekend.
@MacrossMike if Netgear does not plan to add the option to adjust radios I am going to look elsewhere also sadly because I did like Orbi but Netgear is determined to handicap it, please do post comparison of Velope performance and stability experience.
@MacrossMike if Netgear does not plan to add the option to adjust radios I am going to look elsewhere also sadly because I did like Orbi but Netgear is determined to handicap it, please do post comparison of Velope performance and stability experience.
Can you explain why you want to adjust radios? I just have a plain Orbi router/satellite system and have no deep knowledge of wifi and don't know if I -should- be able to adjust transmitter power or why.
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
@MacrossMike if Netgear does not plan to add the option to adjust radios I am going to look elsewhere also sadly because I did like Orbi but Netgear is determined to handicap it, please do post comparison of Velope performance and stability experience.
Can you explain why you want to adjust radios? I just have a plain Orbi router/satellite system and have no deep knowledge of wifi and don't know if I -should- be able to adjust transmitter power or why.
With respect to why you'd want to adjust radios... there are a few reasons. Mostly it has to do with reducing co-channel interference in areas where there are several WiFi APs operating in close proximity to each other. Being able to command your router to stick to certain channels, and/or modifying transmit power can do a lot to improve service quality in apartment buildings and unseparated condos, or homes where there are multiple WiFi APs operating for different things.
(For instance, I have three separate wireless networks in my home. One is heavily firewalled and meant for IoT devices, one is for the home security system, and one is for everyday use.)
I'll certainly share my evaluations of the Linksys Velop and D-Link COVR-3902 mesh network systems once they arrive. I'm expecting the Velop this Friday, and the COVR sometime next week.
With respect to why you'd want to adjust radios... there are a few reasons. Mostly it has to do with reducing co-channel interference in areas where there are several WiFi APs operating in close proximity to each other. Being able to command your router to stick to certain channels, and/or modifying transmit power can do a lot to improve service quality in apartment buildings and unseparated condos, or homes where there are multiple WiFi APs operating for different things.
(For instance, I have three separate wireless networks in my home. One is heavily firewalled and meant for IoT devices, one is for the home security system, and one is for everyday use.)
Thanks. I'm in a single home, but I can see at least a half-dozen networks around, but then don't appear to interfere with me.
Question: Would I gain anything by turning off 2.4ghz? Not that it's possible with the current fw. I do have b/g/n devices, like printers. Can they connect to 5 ghz? Or, do they require 2.4?
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
