Re: Internet connection drops forcing renew IP lease to resume working

TheFinalProphet · ‎2021-03-15

I am having the EXACT same problem as the one found in this thread (https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Internet-Connection-Drops-Re-Enabled-by-Testing-or-Renewing-Ip...). Sadly it was close due to inactivity or I would have posted there.

Every 24 hours, the internet WAN connection will drop when my ORBI RBR750 tries to renew the lease on an IP. Everything drops including the wifi and direct ethernet connections. The internet instantly comes back on when the ip address is released and renewed. The modem is outside the house with direct fiber to house to ethernet port. No double NAT situation exists as the modem is an ethernet modem set for you to connect router to. If I directly plug my computer in to the port, it works fine. The internet connection lasts as long as it doesn't try and automatically renew the IP address lease. As soon as it tries to do this, the internet dies (basically every 24 hours). I have to manually release and renew to get it to work.

This seems like an on-going netgear problem and firmware problem as this has been reported NUMEROUS times by lots of folks on here going back to 2019. Fixed really only by changing mesh system brands. I don't want to do this and so hoping that someone has a fix or way to get this done. It looks like changing to shorter lease times by telneting into the router didn't fix it fully.

I've done fully factory reset and have latest manually updated firmware on both RBS750 and RBR750. Firmware V3.2.17.12_1.4.14.

Thoughts or help?

TheFinalProphet · ‎2021-03-18

Well, I finally fixed by problem. For the last several weeks, I have had the RBR750 drop internet connection. It would drop the connection after 24 hours since I rebooted the router. I figured out that the problem was when the IP address lease was up the router would stop working. The router was not renewing the IP address lease correctly or effectively. Once internet access would drop, I'd just log into the router and release and renew the IP address manually and the internet would magically work again fine. Something had to change over the last few weeks as this router was working great from May 2020 to just a few weeks ago. I tried everything, upgraded to latest firmware (3.2.17.12) since I was previously on 3.2.16.22, resetting to factory settings and setting up router again from scratch, and trying everything. Sadly, the suggestion on other threads to telnet in and reset the IP address lease time to shorter was unable to be done since I couldn't get telnet to work.

Well, after trying a lot of other things, I decided to downgrade the firmware to a version prior to the one I was using as outlined above. I downgraded to version 3.2.16.6 and have not had one issue since. The router has been up for over 24 hours now and already successfully renewed it's IP address lease on it's own without intervention. This fully solved everything.

Sadly, I think there is a bug in the newer firmware versions that caused a problem with IP address lease renewal. Nothing including factory reset fixed the issue until I downgraded firmware. Hopefully this gets fixed in an update so that I can have the other bug fixes as well, just not new bug introductions.

Hope this helps someone else who finds it. Suprised not more issues have been reported, but then again, maybe not a lot of people upgrade firmware religiously.

View solution in original post

CrimpOn · ‎2021-03-15

@TheFinalProphet wrote:
If I directly plug my computer in to the port, it works fine. The internet connection lasts as long as it doesn't try and automatically renew the IP address lease. As soon as it tries to do this, the internet dies (basically every 24 hours). I have to manually release and renew to get it to work.

(I am horribly literal.) The computer works fine, BUT.. it is not the computer that is connected to the fiber ONT for 24 hours, correct?

I doubt that the computer could simulate the DHCP problem by doing a 'renew' or a 'release/renew'. Would take research, but my guess is that the packets that devices send to begin the renewal process are somehow 'different'.

How are you doing the manual release/renew on the Orbi? (telnet commands? Buttons on the Advanced Tab, Connection Status? Power cycle?)

I love my Orbi.

TheFinalProphet · ‎2021-03-15

Thanks so much for the quick reply. On my Orbi RBR750, I can fix the issue by releasing and renewing my IP address lease by doing one of two things. I can either open up 192.168.1.1 and clicking advanced, connection status, then release and renew OR setup, internet setup, and test without changing anything. Both work to manually release and renew the IP address lease.

The internet works fine for the first 24 hours after doing this or rebooting the router, but as soon as the router should have renewed the IP address lease (24 hours is my ISP default renewal time) then it drops connection until you manually do this.

Regarding the computer, (and no worries for being literal at all), if I unplug the LAN port from my wall that is connected to the ONT and plug it into my computer directly, the problem is instantly fixed for my computer. If I replug it into the ORBI it is also fixed (but that basically forces a renew and release and so would obviously fix the issue).

I have not left the computer plugged directly into the ethernet to ONT for 24 hours. I really can't do that since my family would kill me with having nothing connected to the router. The natives are already upset when I get home and the internet is down again.

It is becoming a huge pain when I'm out of town as I cannot manually reset this or remote in to fix it. I also lose internet camera and alarm access and that's not good at all.

CrimpOn · ‎2021-03-15

@TheFinalProphet wrote:
Regarding the computer, (and no worries for being literal at all), if I unplug the LAN port from my wall that is connected to the ONT and plug it into my computer directly, the problem is instantly fixed for my computer. If I replug it into the ORBI it is also fixed (but that basically forces a renew and release and so would obviously fix the issue).

I have not left the computer plugged directly into the ethernet to ONT for 24 hours. I really can't do that since my family would kill me with having nothing connected to the router. The natives are already upset when I get home and the internet is down again.

I agree completely. My domestic happiness is directly related to internet connectivity.

"Desperate Times call for desperate measures" (Hippocrates). You could connect the Orbi router to a Smart Plug that is set to power off the Orbi router at some arbitrary time (such as 3am) and power it back on again at 3:01am. I have verified that the schedule in Smart Plugs (at least for TP-Link Kasa) is actually kept on the plug itself. At 3am, the router would power cycle, get a new DHCP lease and be good until the next 3am.

I love my Orbi.

TheFinalProphet · ‎2021-03-15

Thanks for the info about the plug with memory kept on plug. Hopefully it won’t come to the bandaid type fix of unplugging and replugging nightly even if automated. It shouldn’t be like this. It was fine and working great May 2020 through until a few weeks ago. No change on my end but maybe I should try downgrading firmware in case it auto updated. I was hoping there was a fix outside of daily restart even if automated. Any idea how to get telnet access now if debug menu doesn’t list it anymore? Anyone else have any other thoughts?

FURRYe38 · ‎2021-03-15

Please visit and post about this over in the Orbi AX forum:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/bd-p/en-home-orbi-ax

Thank you.

My Setup | ISP SparkLight | Internet Cable 1000↓/50↑ CAX30 Mode Mode | Wifi Router XR500 and RBK863 Router mode | Switches NG GS105/8, GS308v3, GS110MX and XS505M | Additional NG HW: C7800/CAX3/CAX80/CM1100/CM1200/CM2000, Orbi: CBK40, CBK752, RBK50, RBK853, RBK752, RBK953, SXK30 | NightHawk: MK63, R7000, R7800, R7960P, R8000, R8500, RAXE500, RAX120v2, RAX50v2, XR450/500/700/1000, EX7500/EX7700

CrimpOn · ‎2021-03-15

The reason we often recommend posting in the community forum for specific products (AX, for example) is that there are differences between products that are not obvious. I have a (dim) memory that the AX products do not allow telnet access, but as I do not have one, I am unable to verify that.

I love my Orbi.

TheFinalProphet · ‎2021-03-18

Well, I finally fixed by problem. For the last several weeks, I have had the RBR750 drop internet connection. It would drop the connection after 24 hours since I rebooted the router. I figured out that the problem was when the IP address lease was up the router would stop working. The router was not renewing the IP address lease correctly or effectively. Once internet access would drop, I'd just log into the router and release and renew the IP address manually and the internet would magically work again fine. Something had to change over the last few weeks as this router was working great from May 2020 to just a few weeks ago. I tried everything, upgraded to latest firmware (3.2.17.12) since I was previously on 3.2.16.22, resetting to factory settings and setting up router again from scratch, and trying everything. Sadly, the suggestion on other threads to telnet in and reset the IP address lease time to shorter was unable to be done since I couldn't get telnet to work.

Well, after trying a lot of other things, I decided to downgrade the firmware to a version prior to the one I was using as outlined above. I downgraded to version 3.2.16.6 and have not had one issue since. The router has been up for over 24 hours now and already successfully renewed it's IP address lease on it's own without intervention. This fully solved everything.

Sadly, I think there is a bug in the newer firmware versions that caused a problem with IP address lease renewal. Nothing including factory reset fixed the issue until I downgraded firmware. Hopefully this gets fixed in an update so that I can have the other bug fixes as well, just not new bug introductions.

Hope this helps someone else who finds it. Suprised not more issues have been reported, but then again, maybe not a lot of people upgrade firmware religiously.

eakwil · ‎2021-03-22

My Orbi RBR50 is 20 months old. $300
I have had this same issue for about a week. Tried reset. Thought this was it. Dropped again this evening. So I tried releasing and renewing IP address. Looks like this fixed connection with restarting modem/Orbi. Looks like Netgear knows there is a problem. If a fix is not coming soon I will purchase another router /satellite. Not Netgear!

eakwil · ‎2021-03-22

Thank you. I will try this.

Rbr19 · ‎2021-03-25

I recently purchase a nighthawk RAX50 and I have the exact same issue. Does anyone know how far back (ie version #) I need to roll the firmware to get this corrected?

Is Netgear working on a solution for this in upcoming releases?

Ha_Ku_Na · ‎2021-03-26

@Rbr19 wrote:
I recently purchase a nighthawk RAX50 and I have the exact same issue. Does anyone know how far back (ie version #) I need to roll the firmware to get this corrected?

Is Netgear working on a solution for this in upcoming releases?

The fix is "DISABLE Traffic-Meter". There are a lot of threads in this forum regarding this bug.

Do the opposite from:

https://kb.netgear.com/000061419/How-do-I-enable-the-traffic-meter-in-the-NETGEAR-Nighthawk-app

RBR50 / 2xRBS50 WiFi / 1xRBS50 wired / FW2.7.3.23

Rbr19 · ‎2021-03-26

Thank you! I will try this and update in a couple of days.