I have two LBR20’s bought December 2020 neither of which has been able to use Verizon, ever. Our first LBR20 bought earlier last year continues to function on Verizon without issues. No explanation has been forthcoming from either Netgear or Verizon. Can’t imagine I’m the only person with this experience.
If anyone here is interested in diagnosing their LTE connectivity issue themselves, please PM me and I can provide you the instructions I've used to get more detailed logs from the connection manager. I don't have a diagnosis yet. But what I have so far points to the NETGEAR version of the connection manager being fairly modified from the current "stock" version from the LTE module manufacturer. When I have a chance, I'll try running the router with a build of the "stock" version and see whether that helps or doesn't. I'm sure I wouldn't have a bunch of carefully-engineered NETGEAR capabilities when doing so. But perhaps at least the functionality I need (stable connectivity) will be achievable.
That said, it seems like there are at least two kinds of issues represented in this thread:
1. Issues with maintaining an LTE connection. In my particular case, I go sometimes for days without issues. So debugging is a SLOW process for me as the interesting logs only occur when connectivity issues occur. Folks with more frequent disconnects could help by collecting their own logs and perhaps sharing them so we can compare notes.
2. Issues with establishing an LTE connection at all. This is most likely a different problem than the first - perhaps the carrier not liking the IMEI of the device and/or your SIM/plan? Again, detailed logs might help to understand what's going on. If you're not getting any support from either your carrier or NETGEAR, you might be interested in this thread on LTEHacks - Orbi LBR20 How-To / Megathread - LTE HACKS. Part way through the thread is a discussion on how the router could work with any plan with some configuration... I can't speak to the details of such configuration, whether the OP's approach works or not, and/or whether it would be a viable option in your situation. I've never tried it.
@cnwdon wrote: I have two LBR20’s bought December 2020 neither of which has been able to use Verizon, ever. Our first LBR20 bought earlier last year continues to function on Verizon without issues. No explanation has been forthcoming from either Netgear or Verizon. Can’t imagine I’m the only person with this experience.
I'm not quite following. Do you have three LBR20's with different SIMs and only one works? Does the SIM in the one that works work in the other LBR20's? Are the SIMs all the same? Pre or Post paid?
Three LBR20's, yes, 3 different SIM cards, all purchased separately after the device (Verizon doesn't sell this router on their own website, so has to be ordered from Netgear or elsewhere.)
The reason for three routers is Verizon's inexcusable choice to have a 15 GB per line/device high speed data limit, no matter what plan you have, unless you open a different account for each device to get higher limits, at much higher total cost. We both work from home with data-intensive employer systems, so 15 GB is sometimes not enough for even one of us for a month. Our distance from the nearest cell tower means we need a directional antenna for each router, and at least at the time the LBR20 was the only high speed router/hotspot with external antenna SMA cable inputs that was also (originally, supposedly) compatible with Verizon cell service.
The one obtained early 2020 right after LBR20 finally became available works with Verizon fine, no hiccups. The two added in December 2020 could never be added, and eventually Verizon cust service said it wasn't an approved device per their IT department, as I recall. A request to get it approved since one was already being used (!!!) got no response from IT, apparently, because I never heard back and couldn't get someone on the line to answer the question later. Pandemic-induced staffing issues or whatever else has made this worse, I'm sure.
However, the "not an approved device for Verizon" is something definitely stated by Verizon service rep after they tried to get the latest routers activated.
I lucked into buying Verizon's pre-paid unlimited data plan when it was available for a short period of time a few years ago. Other than the daily disconnect issue with the Orbi has been fine. Was using a Mofi before and while it was rock solid it was SLOW. Now getting 25+ down which is plenty for all day video calls these days and streaming. There are some good facebook groups out there that have some other solutions could try with the Orbi if it is a Verizon network issue rather than an Orbi issue. The link someone else posted is a place to start.
I check daily. I am not going to move back to this device until you all confirm that it fixed the problems. I need to swap out to a new sim again and don’t want to do that until I know it’s been fixed.
MR5100 on eBay for $400 sold my Orbi and my new MR1100 financed by ATT for a total of $400.
No issues stable for days. Reboot occasionally to reset speeds. No issues with disconnects. It even buffers for awhile very rarely but it catches up and does not disconnect .
Knock on wood...I've gone over 24 hours without a disconnect after the firmware upgrade to 2.6.3.50 and a factory reset. Now, my usage is lower on the weekends so we will see how it goes tomorrow.
Hmm. Router took an unrequested firmware update today from NETGEAR.
Good news? We'll see. It was no LTE again earlier today - had to reboot. Not sure if the firmware update happened before or after that.
Bad news. Telnet capability seems absent in the new firmware. Grrr... Is it running a proprietary OS now? Used to run OpenWRT, which was one major reason I bought it - because I could connect to it and diagnose issues...
I'm also seeing a "new LTE firmware upgrade is available" notice in the router web UI. Given no telnet access, I'm currently reluctant to take that update in case doing so renders the router a brick...
We'll see how it runs with the V2.6.3.50 firmware though for a few days. If it's stable now, I may not care about being able to get into it anymore.
V2.6.3.50 has been pretty stable for the last week or so. Is this the "surprise firmware" you mention? I'm having to reboot a few times a week maybe. About the same I was with my Mofi. I hadn't noticed yet that the Telnet is taken away. I"ll try that later.. I had no reason to go back in there. I was considering trying out my T-Mobile SIM so would have to go in to make some edits.
I just took the new LTE firmware update and it didn't brick it. We will see what enhancements I see.
I had an odd experience last night. I couldn't get on the internet even though it showed connected. A reboot didn't respolve the issue. I place the SIM in my Verizon device and it worked fine. And then putting it back in the Orbi resulted in a "disconnected" state. I couldn't get it to work and just went to bed. Looks like after about 90 minutes it connected again and is fine this morning.
I guess I'm keeping my T-Mobile home internet as a backup even though it is slower and less stable.
