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Everything is runnning fine for me. My auto update settings were slightly different than the post above and after commiting the NVRAM and performing a reboot, one of the settings when back to enabled. I then set it to disabled for a 2nd time, commited the NVRAM and rebooted 10+ times and it's been running perfect for a few nights now.
A few nights is not really long enough. Tell us when it's been more than a week without an update.
There are so many firmware versions available for Orbi since it came out that it is ashame the auto update feature kills the option to choose what works for your system. In the perfect world, every firmware update should be an improvement but clearly it is not the case for Orbi. I know some people figured a way for the auto update to stop working but we should not be spending 3 hours with reboots and googling a way to do it... I don't buy that because some dude here mention a lawsuit Netgear cannot communicate in this thread anymore. The ratings for this product everywhere went from 4.7 stars to 4.2 and keep going down because of this lack of customer service. I sure hope this company is not charging customers for wasting their time with a rep after the three month "free" support. Not to justify Orbi but other mesh wifi systems are plagued with issues as well. Difference is that their customer service responds and make people feel that they are heard and things will get better. It's been almost a month since the last update. I hope the new firmware comes soon and definitely turns the auto update off. We can then at least pick which firmware works best for our situation...
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Thanks dazzywazzy! That's plenty more settings than I changed - and I didn't change any settings on the satellite since I didn't know that was necessary. I'll give those a shot and see what happens... (or _doesn't_ happen, as I'll hope) 🙂
Mine has been stable for several weeks on 1.11.0.20 (only difference here is Orbi is in AP mode with a R7000 ahead of it with downloads.netgear.com blocked - perhaps thats it).
Working with a support call on a Orbi System router + 3 sattelites because of constant wifi signal dropouts. After numerous resets and many times emails back and forth with support i summarize: 1.12.0.18 seems not to be ready for prime time for a lot of people who spent a lot of money.
some people here are already happy if the systems works for a few days with out issues., i would not call that a reliable stable technology at all.
no ETA's for new firmware. maybe one day they will fix it, till then hardly to be recommended.
Lucky those people where it works, great signal strength , great penetrations through difficult walls, but stability sucks ..
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Just out of curiousity, since 1.12 remains broken for lots of folks and 1.11 seems to have a nasty habit of regularly dropping iOS devices, what are others' thoughts on rolling farther back? Is there any sort of consensus on what the last stable version of the system's firmware was?
Just out of curiousity, since 1.12 remains broken for lots of folks and 1.11 seems to have a nasty habit of regularly dropping iOS devices, what are others' thoughts on rolling farther back? Is there any sort of consensus on what the last stable version of the system's firmware was?
For me, 1.10.x was rock solid for my 90+ devices as were all releases prior to that. Interestingly 1.12 seemed to have fixed that for me for about a period of 3 weeks, UNTIL I rebooted the orbi and the sats and then began experiencing the reboots and "Internet Not Available" in Android and Windows. Note, I have no iOS devices.
Of course Netgear is censoring / moderating their forum their own forum.
Considering how much time i and other people wasted with support with no solution in sight, i dont understand why they dont officially concede that there are problems and they are working on a solution right now.
If i dont get results soon from support or an ETA of new firmware i will leave an appropriate review on amazon where i bought it.
Its fair game when you spend more then 1000$ on their products with flaws to warn other customers .
Customer review on amazon can help or really hurt.
Wondering what will happen now, i still give netgear a chance for an honest statement about the current situation with their Orbi system., would love to keep it.
I hope Netgear does read this and puts more effort in case #28835167). I would love to keep the system
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
I went back to V1.9.1.12 per dazzywazzy's recommendation, and my satellite has stayed connected ever since (4-5 days now, no auto firmware updates yet due to settings changes I made via nvram) - /me knocks on wood.
My wife and I did notice that our Internet speed did seem pretty slow the past couple days, though - roughly 1/4 the speed it usually is (~24Mbps down instead of ~100Mbps down). I power cycled the Orbi router this morning and the speed went back to normal. I've yet to check if the satellite has become disconnected, if the auto firmware update settings have magically changed or if the firmware has gone and updated itself, though. /me crosses his fingers
@alberts It's one thing to moderate, but hiding criticism is plain dishonest.
Netgear have had a month and a half to respond, if they were going to they would have by now. I'm bettign we'll hear nothing until they have some kind of fix, but we won't be seeing any admissing they screwed up here.
Thanks. Since mine auto-disabled itself yet again (seems to be Friday night/Saturday morning thing here), I'll roll back to 1.10 and see how it goes.
I've gotten a couple of "we're still working on it" e-mails from support after sending them all of the logs, screenshots, etc..., they have asked for, but that's about it.
I've been having the same disconnect issues with the latest firmware (V1.12.0.18). It seems the WiFi is connected to my Android smartphone and tablet, but the internet is not available. My wife reported to me she's been having the same issue with her iPhone as well. Very frustrating. I tried to downgradt to V1.9.1.12, but I can't seem to get the main router to accept the firmware (the web page just spins and spins and doesn't finish). I'm at the point now of ditching this system and going back to a conventional single-Router system (not Netgear!).
I've been having the same disconnect issues with the latest firmware (V1.12.0.18). It seems the WiFi is connected to my Android smartphone and tablet, but the internet is not available. My wife reported to me she's been having the same issue with her iPhone as well. Very frustrating. I tried to downgradt to V1.9.1.12, but I can't seem to get the main router to accept the firmware (the web page just spins and spins and doesn't finish). I'm at the point now of ditching this system and going back to a conventional single-Router system (not Netgear!).
Try a Factory Reset and try to load the FW of the Satellite(s) first. May have to plug in directly to them with Ethernet. Even if you get the system to take a rollback without a factory reset, in my experience something still doesn't work right unless you do a clean load.
Also, if you can return the system for a full refund you will be better off than those of us who missed our window of opportunity. Even if you get it stable and working as it is supposed to, it is a crapshoot whether the next FW update jams up your system.
I've been having the same disconnect issues with the latest firmware (V1.12.0.18). It seems the WiFi is connected to my Android smartphone and tablet, but the internet is not available. My wife reported to me she's been having the same issue with her iPhone as well. Very frustrating. I tried to downgradt to V1.9.1.12, but I can't seem to get the main router to accept the firmware (the web page just spins and spins and doesn't finish). I'm at the point now of ditching this system and going back to a conventional single-Router system (not Netgear!).
Try a Factory Reset and try to load the FW of the Satellite(s) first. May have to plug in directly to them with Ethernet. Even if you get the system to take a rollback without a factory reset, in my experience something still doesn't work right unless you do a clean load.
Also, if you can return the system for a full refund you will be better off than those of us who missed our window of opportunity. Even if you get it stable and working as it is supposed to, it is a crapshoot whether the next FW update jams up your system.
Thanks for the advice. I bought this router system from Costco, so I do have the ability to return it for a full refund. I originally decided to go with this system because the back half of my house has a weak connection to my WiFi router. I've tried everything, but there's something in the walls that seems to block the signal between the front and back of the house. The Orbi system seems to work well so far as signal strength, but the constant internet disconnects is very frustrating. I'm leaning towards returning the system and going back to a single router. I may need to find a way to hardwire two routers together to get better coverage between both halves of my house.
Cohoman.. I have a similar house. One story, spread out with the main service plug in (modem and router) in one corner of the house. Fireplace and walls between that and Master bedroom in opposite corner of the house. I was using a Netgear R6100 and an extender but the speed was horrible from both. I have 125Mbs Down cable internet so I needed something like the Orbi. When it was working as advertised for about 3 weeks, it was the best I had ever seen. Sadly as you know that doesn't last. If I were you, I would run a 100ft Cat 5 cable from your modem (may need to buy an Ethernet Port Switch) to the part of your house that a single router won't reach. Then you can plug in another single router there and possibly just run it on 5Ghz if you don't need broader coverage. That is what I think I am going to do as soon as it cools off enough to go through my attic. It isn't as hard as it sounds. You are fortunate to have bought your system from Costco. I have heard from others on this Forum that they have the best return policy of anyone.
In the meantime, after a factor reset and clean load, followed by at least one power cycle, try changing the 2.4 and 5 Ghz channels, turn off anything not really necessary like Beamforming, MI-MUMO, etc.. and see what happens. You may also want to try changing MTU size to 1500. I read that was a solution NG Tech Support finally came up with for a user in another thread.
My two satellite system is currently working, but it was down for a month. The symptoms on my system were that the satellites showed as attached devices, showed that they were not transmitting on either channel on login to the device, and were obviously non-functional. The router continued to operate. I rolled back to v.1.11 and everything worked. However, I was not able to block the autoupdate despite jumping through the various hoops in this thread. I went through two levels of phone support. The first tier suggested replacing one of the satellites. (At the time it was consistently flashing magenta while the other was solid blue but not connected). That did not make alot of sense to me, as both were non-functional and there was obviously a firmware problem. Second tier support was really very professional but ultimately advised me to await a firmware update that should take about a week. (This was all two or three weeks ago). I posted an honest Amazon review while shopping for a replacement system. I explained this was a great system when it worked, but it stopped working with issues that have not been addressed. The review engaged a more poractive support level. I was advised to go through RMA to replace both satellites. I agreed but told them I was skeptical a replacement would work since the system would operate on the earlier firmware. After the RMA was initiated, I received a phone call from an engineer. He asked whether I have spaces in my password. I told him that I used a passphrase consistent with best practices recommendations. He suggested that removing the spaces would fix my issues, indicating that he had reproduced this in his office. He called while I was at dinner, and I did not have enough time to discuss the issue with him. However, I eventually had a chance to take out the spaces, and it did not fixed the problem. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to do more than reboot the system after the password change, and I never had a chance to discuss whether the proposed fix entailed something more. The new satellites were delivered shortly thereafter, I set them up, and they have been working consistently for the last several days (on 1.12.0.18 firmware). I have had a few brief wifi drops since, but no other problems.
My point here is that I wish I had the opportunity to test the "no spaces" hypothesis more. It is certainly dumb to not allow spaces in a password. However, two things changed to take my satellites from functional to non-functional. I removed spaces from the password, and I got entirely new satellites. If someone has the same symptoms on 1.12.0.18, I would suggest removing spaces from the password and performing a factory reset of all components to determine whether there is a "spaces" problem. If that does not help, I would conclude that some satellites have a hardware based incompatibility with v.18 firmware.
Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
I may need to find a way to hardwire two routers together to get better coverage between both halves of my house.
If you don't care about the high networking speeds that Orbi provides, and can still return the Orbi, I would recommend trying some AV2 powerline ethernet devices. Those are much better than AV first generation in terms of actually being able to connect.
AV1200 are the best deal. Don't count on achieving more than 50 Mbps sustained, but that is good enough for internet - not good enough if you are doing large LAN transfers between hosts. You can then attach an AP to each of the powerline ethernet units.
The TP-link units I got are firmware upgradeable, but they do not automatically upgrade their firmware.
I can telnet into the main router (192.168.1.1) to change the nvram settings so it will not auto update the firmware, but how do I do that for the satellite units? I tried to telnet to their IP addresses, but I get a "cannot connect to remote host. connection refused".
Did you go to the IP/debug.htm and enable telnet on the satellite first?
Yes, I figured out my problem. from the browser I needed to first log into the IP address then I could access the debug.htm page to enable telnet. After that, I was able to upload the older firmware to that satellite device. So, I have my 2 satellites downgraded to the older firmware (V1.9.1.12) but now I can't seem to upload the same firmware version to the main router. I go to Manual Update and select the V1.9.1.12 img file and click update, then all I see in the browser is a spinning wheel. After several minutes I try to refresh the page and I see the latest V1.12.0.18 firmware installed.
