Re: ORBI Wifi Speed Drops

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-08-25

Hey Guys, So I have had my Orbi several months now. Every 3-4 weeks the wifi speed drops to below 30 mbs for download. However the speed test on the unit read 190 mps. The wired speeds also drop to even lower levels. The only way to get the wifi and wired speeds back up that I have found is to do a full factory reset, which as you can imagine is a real pain with so many things running off the system in my home. Can anybody think of what might cause this every few weeks? its goes from consistently 190mps + download speeds to 20-30 mps while still reading full speeds at the unit itself using the genie app thing.

DarrenM · ‎2017-08-28

Hello antipodeansam7

I would first check the basics make sure nothing is wrong with the ethernet cords connecting the orbi to the modem and your PCs also when this happens check the modem by connecting directly to it and run a speed test see if its still getting full speeds.

DarrenM

tucsontico · ‎2017-08-28

There have been reports on this forum of people getting slow speeds after doing a speed test through the ORBI QoS page. It appears that doing a nvram reset via telnet commands and then factory resetting the ORBI solves the issue. The important point is to DO NOT do a speedtest via the on-board test mode of the ORBI. Use another website to test your speeds after doing the nvram/factory reset. So far, this advice has worked for me for about 3 weks!

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-08-30

Hey guys, thanks for ideas. Sadly I have tried a few new Ethernet cords, I have done speed teats at the modem which consistently show speeds of about 190mbps which is what I would expect. I agree this speed test does cause problems and has made me reset router. However these regular random drops to around 40mbps continue to happen every week or two even when removing the above factors. So any other ideas what might be causing these regular slow downs that then remain until reset?

DarrenM · ‎2017-08-31

Send me a PM with your name, email and phone number I want to get you to support to troubleshoot the issue.

DarrenM

bayers · ‎2017-08-31

Same boat as you my friend. I'm on GoogleFiber with a PC connected to a TV box (ethernet) and it always reaches 90+ Mpbs Down/Up (capped at 100 Mpbs). Every couple of weeks I get speeds below 50 Mpbs or random disconnects either on my iMac 2013, iPhone 6s, MacBook, and or Nexus 7 yet my PC is still fine so it is not my ISP. Even a SpeedTest now is giving me below 100 Mpbs when I usually get over 500 Mpbs Up/Down. This is after a reset, reboot, network box reboot, computer reboot, and re adding the SSID under Preffered Networks. My Airport Extreme and Express are more stable. Can someone send me a beta of the new firmware?

Edit: I've tried all possiblities with Beamforming and MU-MIMO ON/OFF. Beamforming On is my current setting that seems to help a bit.

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-09-03

Still no news from support and same random speed drops every couple of weeks, wired and unwired

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-09-05

Just happened again today, all speeds down to below 50 Mbps, wired and wireless, but still reads full speed at the box 195mbps at the box. Haven't changed, added or done anything other than use my handful of devices as usual? Any ideas anybody before I go through the whole factory reset process all over again? Anybody use any other mesh network type routers that do or don't have this problem? I'm losing my patience with this system now

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-09-27

Still no luck with this and haven’t heard from tech support. Only fix I have found is a complete factory reset every time the speed drops from 190 down to about 30mbps. Anybody else coming across this or have any ideas? Ethernet cord and speed test at the modem are all consistent

bayers · ‎2017-09-27

After updating to 2.0.0.74 manually - https://kb.netgear.com/000048467/RBR50-RBS50-Firmware-Version-2-0-0-74

Haven't had too many issues and found the 5GHz band to be bit better. My iMac would fall back to 2.4 GHz after 8 hours on the older firmware. Hope this helps.

Late 2013 iMac 5 GHz WIFI - GoogleFiber. Beamforming, MIMO, and Fast Roaming on. I still haven't played with these on the latest firmware though. Speedtest in the admin panel shows 585 Down and 742 Up.

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-09-30

Have the new firmware and the same old problem. The admin panel still shows speeds of 190 mbps which is about what I pay for and the wireless is still at around 40mbps and stuck there, until I do a factory reset, then it will do it again after a few days or a few weeks.... any suggestions? I have changed wires, channels, moved router and satellites around, done speed test of multiple devices. I’m stumped

bayers · ‎2017-10-05

From what I see on this forum/reddit a NVRAM reset (don't have the exact instructions) and Factory Default Reset are the best things to do after the 2.0 upgrade. Do a basic setup and do NOT load in any saved settings from a saved configuation file. Other users are also saying not to do any speedtests in the admin panel and to try disabling Daisy-Chain. https://kb.netgear.com/31486/How-do-I-reset-my-Orbi-system-to-factory-default-settings

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-10-15

So another couple of weeks later and I wake up to find our baby monitor for our 5 week old has no internet connection (netgear arlo q). Immediately I see it has low signal for wifi. It is placed no more than 2 metres from the orbi satelite but maybe 10 metres from the router through some thick walls. I do my usual speed checks and surprise surprise wifi speeds have dropped down from 180 mbps + to below 10mbps again. So I have done everything suggested in terms of factory reset but still it goes from working perfectly and superfast to dropping connections (I am not sure if the satelitte is even working except for its wired connections?!), I can see no obvious action or common cause for this to happen to frequently since day 1 of installing it and through all of the firmware changes. My final step I havent tried is sending it all back to be replaced under warranty, but that leaves me with no router for probably weeks and with no firm reason to suspect the hardware is at fault?! Any ideas please guys, I never heard back from support despite Darryn's comments above and free support has expired......

bayers · ‎2017-10-15

I did a factory reset last week and saw no meaningful improvments in doing so. Actually had a couple WiFi drops on an iPhone / iMac after reset but speeds seemed to slighty improve. This is just my personal experience though. I hope someone from support reaches out to help.

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-10-15

So further to my issues, I just checked the wired speeds using my Xbox one and a laptop and they have both dropped to around the 40mbps mark. But the speed test on the app and in the interface still show 190mbps plus, the upload seems to stay around my limit of 25-30mbps. It is stuck around this mark for last couple of days, so back to good old short term factory reset.... netgear support guys feel free to jump in here, calling you on premium line from New Zealand is not appealing after spending $800 on this router already, surely there must be a simple explanation for what would keep slowing it down and keeping it down every couple of weeks?!

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-10-15

Then as if by magic......

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-10-15

I will let you know how long this factory reset lasts, before the inevitable drop of wired and wireless speeds down to 40mbps and below...

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-10-16

So less than 24 hours later the speeds vary between 8mbps and 190 mbps, but most at that top end. Anybody had any ideas what might cause the speed drop down to 40mbps to wired and wireless but still getting speeds of 190+ at the router froim the fibre modem?

NickC4555 · ‎2017-10-17

Do you get the same problem if you run your Orbi in AP mode? I've had mine in router and AP mode in the few months I've had it, and it seems more reliable as an access point.

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-10-17

I can’t say I have tried as this is my only router and purchased it as such, so wouldn’t help even if it did. Interesting though, were you having the same problems or different ones?

NickC4555 · ‎2017-10-17

Different, mine was frequent disconnects. I thought if your modem was a modem/router it might have been worth a try.

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-10-17

Absolutely, I will give it a go next time I reset, just out of interest, may help narrow down the problem . Thanks

morrisseysb · ‎2017-10-18

Just curious, in the QoS setup what do your speeds show there? Dont run the test again would like to know what the readings are before.

Spaceman29 · ‎2017-10-18

anybody got a fix for this issue atleast.

i have a 300 mbps connection and right now happy if i get a steady and stable connection of atleast 10mbps.

The orbi speed was very good but after the firware update i am seeing the slow speeds issue as well.

Will the moderator advice us to switch back to the older versions to atleast keep the router functioning for what it is supposed to do!!!

Antipodeansam7 · ‎2017-10-18

They are consistently 190+ whenever I use that. So it is getting that speed but then stops passing it through for some unknown reason