Firmware V2.1.4.10 is a disaster. Countless posts on various underdeveloped and poorly tested firmware versions. Most of us have countless hours of factory resets, and many of us have had the misfortune of sitting on the phone with helpdesk folks who have been hung out to dry trying to support a system that does not work.
I have had one period of approximately 2 months duration from February to mid April 2018 where the orbi system was relatively reliable. I don't know which firmware was making this happen, and as an end user, I shouldn't need to. In any event, need to know what firmware to roll back to, and how to disable auto update.
Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Firmware V2.1.4.10 is a disaster. Countless posts on various underdeveloped and poorly tested firmware versions. Most of us have countless hours of factory resets, and many of us have had the misfortune of sitting on the phone with helpdesk folks who have been hung out to dry trying to support a system that does not work.
I have had one period of approximately 2 months duration from February to mid April 2018 where the orbi system was relatively reliable. I don't know which firmware was making this happen, and as an end user, I shouldn't need to. In any event, need to know what firmware to roll back to, and how to disable auto update.
Orbi is resetting itself every 5-10 minutes and service is gone for 5 minutes minimum. Kind of a disaster. Factory reset done. This is about my 30th factory reset with this system.
Orbi is resetting itself every 5-10 minutes and service is gone for 5 minutes minimum. Kind of a disaster. Factory reset done. This is about my 30th factory reset with this system.
The Orbi is a router, not a modem. There will be or should be a modem or service box someplace, even for wireless P2P service. My uncle has this at his place. Has a motorola cable modem that interfaces there wireless ISP services with his router.
Do you know if the ISP is using DHCP or PPPoE connections with the ISP services?
When this happens do you have access to the routers web page at all via wireless or wired connections?
How big is your home? SqFt?
What is the distance between the router and satellite? Feet?
What channels are you using? Auto or manual?
Have you disabled MIMO, Daisy Chain and Fast Roaming and IPv6?
First off, I really want to thank you, I am grateful that another user would take the time to try and help me.
It is possible that there is a modem built in to the antenna outside the house, but inside the house, the data cable connects to to the antenna cable at a small power supply.
I can plug in my old Dlink router and I will have near perfect service, right now.
I don't if DHCP or PPPoE.
The isp has no page that opens up. no local settings. When their techs come out they connect to a remote management interface for any changes.
I have been down the turn this on, turn that off, hold your left leg in the air path with tech support through 4 previous firmware updates. Yes I want to fix it, but honestly, they should not be releasing firmware that does not support their stock build anyway.
House is 4500 Sq ft. Distance from Satellite approximately 70 feet, virtually clear line of sight.
Distance from wired connection to wireless antenna power supply approximately 35 feet.
Orbi was finally working somewhat reliably until this latest firmware. Sorry for the delay in responding, but Orbi has reset itself twice since I started typing.
If you can tell me what the flavour of this firmware is, ie what on, what off, I can certainly make all those changes again.
Ya, they maybe doing NAT or translation at the antenna or serivice box out side then.
Lets try v2.1.3.4. Download it and apply it to the router. I would turn OFF the satellite while your doing this. After applying the FW file, I would use IE11 or FF browser. After it's loaded, do a factory reset and set up from scratch. I would disconnect the ISP cable from the router as well before you start the FW update. After you reset the router, and set up from scratch, try setting up a configuration to BLOCK the FTP ports 20 and 21 and point it to 192.168.1.1. Might also add the posted addresses to block as well:
First off, I really want to thank you, I am grateful that another user would take the time to try and help me.
It is possible that there is a modem built in to the antenna outside the house, but inside the house, the data cable connects to to the antenna cable at a small power supply.
I can plug in my old Dlink router and I will have near perfect service, right now.
I don't if DHCP or PPPoE.
The isp has no page that opens up. no local settings. When their techs come out they connect to a remote management interface for any changes.
I have been down the turn this on, turn that off, hold your left leg in the air path with tech support through 4 previous firmware updates. Yes I want to fix it, but honestly, they should not be releasing firmware that does not support their stock build anyway.
House is 4500 Sq ft. Distance from Satellite approximately 70 feet, virtually clear line of sight.
Distance from wired connection to wireless antenna power supply approximately 35 feet.
Orbi was finally working somewhat reliably until this latest firmware. Sorry for the delay in responding, but Orbi has reset itself twice since I started typing.
If you can tell me what the flavour of this firmware is, ie what on, what off, I can certainly make all those changes again.
I have been watching dozens of posts from several disgruntled Orbi users over the past few weeks, and I wonder if I have been blessed with a unique RBK50 system. I have none of the issues many of you seem to be having. My history is not perfect, however, as I had problems with Lifx and HomeKit, so I downgraded to V2.1.2.18, and carried out the Telnet autoupdate fix, obviously with success as I have not seen any auto updates since.
I was able to work with Netgear support, who pointed me at firmware V2.1.4.10-0430-dbg, which I am still using with no issues anywhere including HomeKit and Lifx.
I should also also point out that I live in Australia, where I have a very stable but slow ADSL broadband service, I use a Billion 7800VDOX VoIP modem/router with WiFi disabled, plugged in to my Orbi RBK50 router, which is in Access Point mode. My household is a purely Apple environment with communications with the Orbi coming through an iMac, a MacBook, and my iPad. I have Ethernet cabling throughout my 2000m2 house, with my satellite centrally located on an Ethernet backhaul. I use Ethernet cabling where I can, but there are still around 20 WiFi connections, most with the satellite. Between the Satellite and a patchpanel is a 16 port Netgear switch (yes, Netgear), but my backhaul is direct between the two Orbis.
My Billion handles router functions, particularly DHCP, where I have set up about 30 reserved IP addresses, mainly for fixed devices. This means device names stick, which assists in troubleshooting.
By the way, did you know that computers have a Hosts file that acts as a local DNS server? I have a Qnap NAS, so using DHCP I give the Qnap a fixed IP address (say 192.168.125.14). Then in Hosts I enter this string
192.168.125.14 Qnap NAS box
there are three sections, separated by one or two tabs. The first is the location to redirect to - the fixed IP address as per your DHCP. The second is the address to redirect, and the third is an optional description. Thereafter you can directly access the Qnap’s web interface by entering http://qnap (or.just “qnap”) in your browser’s web address field
There have been one or two reboots of the Orbis, which is a pain. When this happens I learned to disconnect the Ethernet backhaul and power cycle both devices. Last time it cost me an hour of frustration watching random magenta ovals alternating between each Orbi, but it eventually came good, and reconnecting the cable posed no real dramas
i think my setup is simple, which means there’s fewer things to break, and finding the source of issues is not so hard. I also use the Device Map of the Netgear Genie to check signal strength
Sorry about being long winded, but I thought if I shared how I manage my system, others having a less satisfactory experience might find some benefits if my approach is different to theirs.
Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
I left something out of my earlier lengthy commentary on my experiences with orbi
But first I want to address a rather negative review of Orbi on You Tube in which the reviewer returned his, and went back to his Nighthawk. His criticism was twofold.
1. Users can’t choose the network band (5Ghz or 2.4Ghz) they want for individual connected devices
2. Users can’t choose the Orbi device (the router or the satellite) they want individual devices to connect to. The reviewer claimed his devices continuously chose the 2.4Ghz band, and seemed to favour the main router to connect to, with a poorer signal strength than the closer satellite. This review was dated September 2017.
My experience here is the opposite, so despite people experiencing various issues, it seems the core stuff is getting better
My experience with these two matters follows
Just before writing this, I checked the device list and found that every device capable of 5Ghz is connected to 5Ghz, and those that are not advertise the fact that they are 2.4Ghz only, for example, Lifx, TP-Link and Wemo switches, Wemolink and Roomba. Also, there are 13 Devices on the Satellite list, all of which are in the same room or outside it but close by. The router is 15 meters away from the Satellite, and has just three devices connected. There are five Ethernet-connected devices also appearing on the router list
So far I have not seen much discussion around these matters, so can we open a discussion about whether your devices connect to the right Orbi, and is the band they connect to the best for the device?
Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
I will try a factory reset. But I don’t really have an hour or two to spend on this. It will have to wait till next week. I do have a switch in between. Netgear gb switch.
A Factory Reset is a drastic step, particularly if you have your Orbis in Router mode (Not AP mode), and you have set up reserved IP addresses in DHCP. Are you sure?
Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
When I have a power cycle (like when I lose powerr for a storm), when everthign comes back up my wired computers aren't on the internet. It appears like wireless is fine. So far, the only way I seem to get it back working is to turn off and unplug router and both sats... then I plu in router and wait 10 minutes. Then I start up and plug in one sat and wait anohter 10-15 minutes. Then I do the last one. This is sort of a pain and when I travel and need to remote back in to my system I can't because the network is down. It seems like the Orbi system should be able to much more gracefully start back up without having to physically disconnect satellites everytime the power cycles.
When I have a power cycle (like when I lose powerr for a storm), when everthign comes back up my wired computers aren't on the internet. It appears like wireless is fine. So far, the only way I seem to get it back working is to turn off and unplug router and both sats... then I plu in router and wait 10 minutes. Then I start up and plug in one sat and wait anohter 10-15 minutes. Then I do the last one. This is sort of a pain and when I travel and need to remote back in to my system I can't because the network is down. It seems like the Orbi system should be able to much more gracefully start back up without having to physically disconnect satellites everytime the power cycles.
I have lastest version of Comcast X1 modem and box. I have two sats and I connect them both wired - dont have this issue when I just connect wirelessly, but one Sat is rather far away and reports poor. This is why I want wired backhaul to work.
I only have one PC wired and it does go through a Netgear swtich (G5605 v5).
I did do a factory reset one time during trouble shooting and was able to get system back working, but only wireless. When I plugged in wored it took the wired part fo the system down. Only wireless to the main router appeared to work.
After my initial post, I did find a Netgear comment somewhere about connecting wired to satallite and waiting several minutes for it to work - as opposed to being relatively quick (instanaeous) when you normally plug in a wired connection.
I did this to both satellited and waited and it still didn't work. It was only when I got both on wireless connection first, then one wired, wait 15 minutes, then the other wired, did it appear to work.
Again, my frustration is that this requires me to physically be here to physically unplug the hardwire connection and go throuigh a 30 minutes process to get it back working whenever my house has a power cycle.
So for now, it appears I have a workaround, Just need to be present and have patience.
I would disable MIMO and Daisy Chain on the router. This may help.
Yes it takes about 5 minutes after you add one satellite via wireless then connect the ethernet cable, for the system to reconfigure for wired backhaul. The top LED should turn BLUE.
I have lastest version of Comcast X1 modem and box. I have two sats and I connect them both wired - dont have this issue when I just connect wirelessly, but one Sat is rather far away and reports poor. This is why I want wired backhaul to work.
I only have one PC wired and it does go through a Netgear swtich (G5605 v5).
I did do a factory reset one time during trouble shooting and was able to get system back working, but only wireless. When I plugged in wored it took the wired part fo the system down. Only wireless to the main router appeared to work.
After my initial post, I did find a Netgear comment somewhere about connecting wired to satallite and waiting several minutes for it to work - as opposed to being relatively quick (instanaeous) when you normally plug in a wired connection.
I did this to both satellited and waited and it still didn't work. It was only when I got both on wireless connection first, then one wired, wait 15 minutes, then the other wired, did it appear to work.
Again, my frustration is that this requires me to physically be here to physically unplug the hardwire connection and go throuigh a 30 minutes process to get it back working whenever my house has a power cycle.
So for now, it appears I have a workaround, Just need to be present and have patience.
Having the same issue that @WimLibby described. As suggested by @FURRYe38, I already had MIMO disabled, but Daisy Chain was still enabled. After unchecking and applying the change, both units rebooted.
I did not unplug my ethernet backhaul from the satellite before the reboot. After a minute or so, wired connections had internet and after about 2-3 minutes WIFI was back up.
Having the same issue that @WimLibby described. As suggested by @FURRYe38, I already had MIMO disabled, but Daisy Chain was still enabled. After unchecking and applying the change, both units rebooted.
I did not unplug my ethernet backhaul from the satellite before the reboot. After a minute or so, wired connections had internet and after about 2-3 minutes WIFI was back up.
I ended up returning my RBK50 to Costco and got an Eero system, which has been working perfectly, including Ethernet backhaul. Crossing my fingers since the Orbi worked well for three weeks until 2.1.4.10 was auto-updated.
I could not bear any more jumps through various hoops as part of a support ticket that has been open since April 29 until today (May 29). It included trialing a beta version 2.1.5.2, which did not fix the ethernet backhaul issues, with more requests for me to do more things. I had never spent so many hours over so many weeks on any other networking equipment I have owned. My Arlo cameras have been terrific for two years, and my Netgears switches have been great too. My experience with the Orbi has been shockingly bad given my experiene with the other Netgear products.
Netgear should appreciate all the patience and persistence of their customers going through an inordinate amount of experimental permutations of settings and troubleshooting sequences shared on this and other forum in attempts to self-fix what is clearly problems with the firmware. With such a rich feature set and a strong marketing machine (all the great reviews), it is Netgear's market to keep, but I couldn't take any more.
Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
