Re: New - NetGear Orbi Firmware Version 2.3.0.32 now available...

No_username · ‎2019-03-25

My RBR50 auto updated to fw 2.3.1.44, not sure when update happened. Manually updated to fw33 2 or 3 weeks ago.
Experiencing intermittent loss of wifi.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-25

What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
What WPA security modes are you using?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO.

@No_username wrote:
My RBR50 auto updated to fw 2.3.1.44, not sure when update happened. Manually updated to fw33 2 or 3 weeks ago.
Experiencing intermittent loss of wifi.

1midniterider · ‎2019-03-28

Any progress on this issue?

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-28

What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
What WPA security modes are you using?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO.

Has a factory reset been performed if needed?

@No_username wrote:
My RBR50 auto updated to fw 2.3.1.44, not sure when update happened. Manually updated to fw33 2 or 3 weeks ago.
Experiencing intermittent loss of wifi.

spas · ‎2019-03-28

I found 2.3.1.44 for download this morning. I manually updated 2 - RBS50s (through .212) and then updated the RBR50 (through .212). I report the following:

1) WEB UI Backhaul Status no longer (at least for now) cycles through "config sync" and is steady "good".

2) Devices connect much quicker to the closest Satellite than before

3) Traffic Meter still not reporting statistics

3) The IOS Orbi App is worse. It shows "daisy chain" when I'm clearly in "star mode" as well as shows devices connected to a my Guest Network which is disabled.

When I reverted back to .210 after trying .33, everthing worked as expected, including the IOS Or.bi app

I've been a loyal NG customer for many, many years and now extremely frustrated with consistently buggy minor firmware releases..It shouldn't be like this...

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-28

You might try a full factory reset on the system and setup from scratch.

The Traffic Meter not working is known.

Make sure the Orbi app is up to date. Might remove the app and re-install to see if it changed the reporting behavior.

@spas wrote:

I found 2.3.1.44 for download this morning. I manually updated 2 - RBS50s (through .212) and then updated the RBR50 (through .212). I report the following:

1) WEB UI Backhaul Status no longer (at least for now) cycles through "config sync" and is steady "good".

2) Devices connect much quicker to the closest Satellite than before

3) Traffic Meter still not reporting statistics

3) The IOS Orbi App is worse. It shows "daisy chain" when I'm clearly in "star mode" as well as shows devices connected to a my Guest Network which is disabled.

When I reverted back to .210 after trying .33, everthing worked as expected, including the IOS Or.bi app

I've been a loyal NG customer for many, many years and now extremely frustrated with consistently buggy minor firmware releases..It shouldn't be like this...

spas · ‎2019-03-28

Thanks Furry. Whatever success I had vanished within minutes after posting. The "config sync" cycle reappeared, devices attached to a non-existent "guest network", and multiple device are off line. I reverted back to .210 on the RBR and RBS units and everything is back to normal and working fine..

Furry, reseting back to factory defaults is not in my plan and will not be. I believe your theory is sound but shouldn't be needed for MINOR software revisions of any knid, I could see it for a major (1st digit revisions), but not for 3rd and/or 4th digit revisions.

I'll keep .210 until I find a suitable replacement.

Anyone here have any thoughts they wish to share regarding Amplifi HD, Unifi or Synology?

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-28

Do you have separated SSIDs or default single SSID? One other posted about this and there not using single SSID which seems to be one cause of the config sync issue.

A factory reset would be needed in this case and to validate the FW is working correctly. Applying over older FW may have traces of older code which should be cleared out with a reset and setup from scratch. Applying FW over older version doesn't seem to be working for NG and Orbi. Some do work and some don't. Reason for those that don't to at least try a reset and setup from scratch using default settings.

@spas wrote:

Thanks Furry. Whatever success I had vanished within minutes after posting. The "config sync" cycle reappeared, devices attached to a non-existent "guest network", and multiple device are off line. I reverted back to .210 on the RBR and RBS units and everything is back to normal and working fine..

Furry, reseting back to factory defaults is not in my plan and will not be. I believe your theory is sound but shouldn't be needed for MINOR software revisions of any knid, I could see it for a major (1st digit revisions), but not for 3rd and/or 4th digit revisions.

I'll keep .210 until I find a suitable replacement.

Anyone here have any thoughts they wish to share regarding Amplifi HD, Unifi or Synology?

1midniterider · ‎2019-03-28

Are you saying that separate SSIDs are no longer supported with the 2.3.x.xx firmware releases? Is this a feature or a bug?

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-28

Separating of SSIDs has never been supported officialy by NG on Orbi.

If you have separated SSIDs, this would be the cause of the sync issue.

@1midniterider wrote:
Are you saying that separate SSIDs are no longer supported with the 2.3.x.xx firmware releases? Is this a feature or a bug?

1midniterider · ‎2019-03-28

Well, the way I see it is as long as Telnet is officially supported, then making changes using the options provided should also be supported. So either remove the option or continue to support it as in prior releases. Just my two cents.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-29

Again, it's not officially supported by NG. Telnet is included due to the fact that the Orbi FW is based on code that includes telnet support. Users can use this as they wish. However when it comes to separating SSIDs, it's NOT officialy supported. If you try the system is NG intended it to work, then you'll not see this issue of the config sync. Others are not seeing this, however they are using there systems as NG intended. Orbi does work in the intended design. If your trying to change the design, then your introducing problems and issues that you think NG is supporting. You would be incorrect in this thinking.

Good Luck.

gr8sho · ‎2019-03-29

Probably also a matter of how much testing goes into each feature. The closer to default config, the more likely those areas have been thoroughly tested.

1midniterider · ‎2019-03-29

We will have to agree to disagree on this issue. When a feature is deprecated, and separate SSID's is feature, no matter you slice it, it is usually listed In the release notes. So NG should officially state this feature will no longer be supported AND remove it from the config. I, like many others, have chosen to use separate SSID's because of issues that we have with some connected devices. In my household there are iPhones, Android devices, Windoze, Apple IOS and numerous other network devices, some of which were having connection drop issues, until I the Orbi to use separate SSID's. So I am not using because it is a nifty feature, but because it resolves an issue. So either NG needs to fix the connection drops or continue to support an included feature which does resolve it.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-29

NG wont depreciate the code or feature, it's not there to depreciate. The core code and feature comes from some other sources. I believe the Orbi is based on some form of WRT code. This feature is seen in many other router code. NG and some other Mfrs don't built there own code anymore. NG wont fix something that dosn't happen using support configurations.

People been asking about separation of SSIDs for a while now, the only thing so far that NG has offered is hiding of the SSID on either radio to help those with IoT device setup problems get there devices connected.

You can surely post about it here though:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Idea-Exchange-For-Home/idb-p/idea-exchange-for-home

Good Luck.

gr8sho · ‎2019-03-29

I'd be more interested in getting to the bottom of the disconnects instead of covering up the issue by breaking band steering .

1midniterider · ‎2019-03-29

I have a very old Linksys that cost way less than the NG Orbi and is rock solid. Now it does have a custom WRT firmware... So my expectations is the Orbi should be just as rock solid. I am not asking NG to do anything other provide is with a rock solid solution to Home WiFi... Nothing more and nothing less. I am hoping my frustration does not get the better of so I don't turn all 5 of my Orbi devices into boat anchors.

gr8sho · ‎2019-03-30

Given the amount of effort I'm having to expend on a much simpler configuration, it would make sense for Netgear to allow Orbi customers the option of controlling firmware updates. This would be a step towards improving stability IMHO and allow the user to schedule the update and restore the network. The issue with firmware updates breaking things is not unique to Netgear, but I do know it takes time to get things working again in a satisfactory manner. I also know this issue isn't true for everyone, but my setup is very vanilla with almost all settings in default, and yet I find it necessary to factory reset after every firmware update I get. I'd just rather do it when I can rather than get stuck in an emergency having to scramble to get things back working because of something that happened overnight while I was sleeping.

Cheers

Ragar99 · ‎2019-03-30

If Netgear sent quality updates that didn't require a reset this would be a moot point. Their poor quality is the core issue.

gr8sho · ‎2019-03-30

@Ragar99 wrote:

If Netgear sent quality updates that didn't require a reset this would be a moot point. Their poor quality is the core issue.

If it were just Netgear having the problem I'd be more willing to indict them, but there must be something intrinsically problematic with firmware updates to routers in general that I feel compelled to factory reset . I do this reset to my Arris router as well .

I don't even trust the settings backup function and choose to reenter the settings myself.

But yeah, it would be nice if in the future these updates were transparent and non disruptive.

DougB628 · ‎2019-03-30

I totally agree! It is well understood that factory resets and reconfiguration from scratch is often needed after a firmware update. Why would anyone think that automatically updating the firmware would be a good idea??

Thank you Netgear for creating the emergency situation with my wife and kids being very upset that our internet / WiFi is not working right.

If you want to automatically update the firmware, you have to solve the “saved configuration may not be compatible with new firmware” problem.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-30

I fully agree with everyone on the FW update issue. Seems that in history, NG has been pretty good at doing updates. However seems like over the past several years this process has become more and more problematic. I see this even on there R and XR router series. I agree, users should not really have to worry about the operation of there HW after a update and should be able to upate and continue to use the HW with out any kind of intervention. Just sesms like development and testing at NG has changed over the years. I presume this also mabye due to the fact that the core FW isn't developed my NG anymore. I see more and more 3rd party chip set Mfrs and develop companies doing different areas of the router base. You have CPU, WiFi and QoS, some all using different or same 3rd party chip sets and developers. Then router Mfrs put all this together and who knows what kind of testing is actually done before released as a beta or officially to the public. I wish Mfr would stop relying upon ther customers to do there testing. Ya is kewl for those of us who want to do beta testing. Helps find some issues. However when it's comes to just the average user, should have to be messing around like this.

dklimas · ‎2019-03-30

I updated the router and all three satellites to .44 after the web UI seemed to reset on it's own and most my settings were set back to defualt. Still haven't reassigned all 40 static IP's but no weird issues so far. Daisy chain is checked and the satellites are cleary in star configuration in the app though.

Everything seems to be working as expected for the past week. Coverage and speed is really good. No error messages on my mobile about WiFi calling.

I got around the lack of device usage tracking by purchasing a Firewalla Blue firewall. It allows me to see what each device is doing at any given time. Very happy with it.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-30

After setting up the router again, do a backup of the configuration for safe keeping.

Thanks for letting us know your experinece.

@dklimas wrote:

I updated the router and all three satellites to .44 after the web UI seemed to reset on it's own and most my settings were set back to defualt. Still haven't reassigned all 40 static IP's but no weird issues so far. Daisy chain is checked and the satellites are cleary in star configuration in the app though.

Everything seems to be working as expected for the past week. Coverage and speed is really good. No error messages on my mobile about WiFi calling.

I got around the lack of device usage tracking by purchasing a Firewalla Blue firewall. It allows me to see what each device is doing at any given time. Very happy with it.

Dugite · ‎2019-03-30

Hey all, although the option for what model I have is Router Only, it is with Satelite. I have one. I am currently living in Australia and I am using Bitdefender Total Security on my system. I note that we now have support for Armor, however, there is a not on the firmware that people from Australia should "hold off for a while". Is this still the case and what is it about Australia that seems to be the issue. I have checked my firmware update on the admin page and I'm told I have the current firmware which is V2.2.1.210

option Should I be playing with this or just wait. How long before an official firmware will be released that will include Australia? This system is fantastic BTW and is the only successful one I've managed to get to work. I used the Netgear Extender which totally sucked prior. This system is fantastic. If I could get the Armor working I'd be even happier.

Cheers