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How does a factory reset of an Orbi RBR50 affect the registration of the device? I am asking because the mobile app shows that a router owned by someone else is mistakenly registered to my email address and NG support seemingly cannot resolve the issue.
Background:
A friend purchased an Orbi RBR50 and I did the setup for her using my mobile app. There are certain functions (e.g. Security/Armor and Parental Controls) she cannot use in the app because the app says the device is registered to me. The MyNG website also shows the product as mine.
A call to NG support eventually resolved the MyNG registration, such that when I login to MyNG the device is no longer listed and when she logs in to MyNG the device is listed. However, the mobile app still shows the device registered to me.
A second call to NG support, resulting in a new case number, still remains open and I cannot even get the support agent to understand the problem. When I describe how my friend goes into the app and goes to Security, instead of seeing the Activate Armor Trial screen, it tells her the device is registered to me. And the support agent continues to say that you can't activate the Armor trial a second time--even though I told him I never activated the trial and that is besides the point. The point is the app says it is registered to me. I'm still hopeful he will finally understand and provide a real solution.
Based on other discussions in this forum, I reached out to a moderator who submitted an escalated request for me, and this case is still open with me waiting for further instruction.
Dilemma:
This type of Orbi registration issue seems to be exceptionally common and has been experienced by others for at least 5 years based on discussion dates. Some of these discussions suggest performing a factory reset on the device. My network and Orbi config has 50 devices all using assigned/static IP addresses, DDNS config, and other custom config settings, so performing a factory reset is not really desirable, especially if it is not going to fix the registration problem.
So my specific questions are:
1. Is the device's registered email address stored in the router?
2. Is the device's registered email address saved in the backup of the router config?
3. If I backup the router config, then perform a factory reset, and then restore the config backup I just exported, will it restore the previously incorrect registered email address along with all the other router config settings?
4. Why does the Orbi app show a different registered email address than the "My Product" page on the MyNetgear website?
I am really hesitant to perform a factory reset if it's not going to solve the registration issue, so would appreciate any assistance and information I can get.
Conclusion:
I am really frustrated that this seems to be such a common problem for so many years and requires the intervention of senior level support techs to be resolved. You would think transferring the ownership and registration of a device from one person to another would be something the end user could do on their own, without the intervention of second level support agents.
Again, I look forward to the assistance I may receive regarding my factory reset questions listed above.
1. Is the device's registered email address stored in the router?
My guess is "no". When I dump Orbi parameters, my Netgear logon email does not appear. The emails that do appear are part of the "email Orbi log" function. (sender, receiver)
2. Is the device's registered email address saved in the backup of the router config?
Again, I think not.
3. If I backup the router config, then perform a factory reset, and then restore the config backup I just exported, will it restore the previously incorrect registered email address along with all the other router config settings?
Again, I think not.
4. Why does the Orbi app show a different registered email address than the "My Product" page on the MyNetgear website?
I believe this is because the user does not have to use the Netgear account login to set up an Orbi the first time. (Once an Orbi has been tied to the "app" with an email account, I believe the actual lookup in the app "Cloud" is by serial number. "oh, that Orbi is controlled by this email address.)
I see the "app" as the root of the problem. For example, I have a spare Orbi router that I use for experiments. When I do a Factory Reset and configure it using the web interface, my email address is never a factor until the setup drops me out to the Netgear registration page. (Which is annoying because (1) I do not want to register it, and (2) I still have "things to configure") So, I close that window and sign back into the Orbi web interface to get back to what I was doing. And..... I am never asked to Register again!
It is wanting (or needing) to use the "app" that is the issue.
Netgear has moved some features to the app (which I think should not have been done), such as Orbi Voice Amazon account info. (cannot be done on the web interface, only with the "app") My primary Orbi web interface has no link to Parental Controls. Does not appear on any menu. Which makes sense because I have never (not ever) tried to activate Parental Controls. Not Disney Circle. Not the "New" Netgear controls. BUT... the brain-dead "app" says I am "part way done" configuring Parental Controls and wants me to finish. And, there is NO WAY to tell the "app", FORGET THE DAMN PARENTAL CONTROLS. LEAVE ME ALONE.
Sorry about the Rant. I think you are correct that there is an entry in the Netgear database linking her Orbi to your email in terms of the Orbi app and only Netgear can correct it.
I am asking about the factory reset of her Orbi, not mine.
We both have the Orbi app, and we both have our own login account for our own Orbi app and MyNetgear account.
Also, if I login to my netgear account on the web to view my products, it does not list her Orbi--it only lists mine. If she logs in to her netgear account on the web, it does list her Orbi. So on the netgear website, each of our Orbis show up correctly under our own respective netgear account. The problem is that when she uses her Orbi app, certain functions are not accessible to her and the app says "Orbi registered to *me*. If I use my Orbi app to connect to her Orbi, either locally or using anywhere access, I can access the functions she cannot--presumably because the Orbi app still thinks I am the registered owner. We have deleted the apps from our phone and reinstalled them, but that did not resolve the issue.
1. Is the device's registered email address stored in the router?
My guess is "no". When I dump Orbi parameters, my Netgear logon email does not appear. The emails that do appear are part of the "email Orbi log" function. (sender, receiver)
2. Is the device's registered email address saved in the backup of the router config?
Again, I think not.
3. If I backup the router config, then perform a factory reset, and then restore the config backup I just exported, will it restore the previously incorrect registered email address along with all the other router config settings?
Again, I think not.
4. Why does the Orbi app show a different registered email address than the "My Product" page on the MyNetgear website?
I believe this is because the user does not have to use the Netgear account login to set up an Orbi the first time. (Once an Orbi has been tied to the "app" with an email account, I believe the actual lookup in the app "Cloud" is by serial number. "oh, that Orbi is controlled by this email address.)
I see the "app" as the root of the problem. For example, I have a spare Orbi router that I use for experiments. When I do a Factory Reset and configure it using the web interface, my email address is never a factor until the setup drops me out to the Netgear registration page. (Which is annoying because (1) I do not want to register it, and (2) I still have "things to configure") So, I close that window and sign back into the Orbi web interface to get back to what I was doing. And..... I am never asked to Register again!
It is wanting (or needing) to use the "app" that is the issue.
Netgear has moved some features to the app (which I think should not have been done), such as Orbi Voice Amazon account info. (cannot be done on the web interface, only with the "app") My primary Orbi web interface has no link to Parental Controls. Does not appear on any menu. Which makes sense because I have never (not ever) tried to activate Parental Controls. Not Disney Circle. Not the "New" Netgear controls. BUT... the brain-dead "app" says I am "part way done" configuring Parental Controls and wants me to finish. And, there is NO WAY to tell the "app", FORGET THE DAMN PARENTAL CONTROLS. LEAVE ME ALONE.
Sorry about the Rant. I think you are correct that there is an entry in the Netgear database linking her Orbi to your email in terms of the Orbi app and only Netgear can correct it.
May be late but I had the same issue. The easiest thing is to contact bitdefender (https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/), who runs the Armor protection, not Netgear. There are two places you need to check to confirm that everything is ok.
1. www.my.netgear.com - Make sure the Orbi system is under this account.
2. www.armor.netgear.com - This is where you confirm what account is under the correct email for the Armor protection.
If the orbi app -> Security shows the router is registered to the wrong email, contact bitdefender to have them change the email address.
If the Orbi system doesn't show in my.netgear.com, send Netgear proof of purchase and a photo of the serial number and they can switch it.
@CrimpOn: You are correct in that using the web interface and skipping the registration step instead of using the Orbi mobile app is the proper way to perform a new setup or a setup following a factory reset when doing so on a device you do not want to re-register to yourself. The Orbi mobile app is apparently too primitive, too restrictive, and too poorly designed to handle such a situation in that the app just ASSUMES the person performing the setup is the registered owner--and goes so far as to modify the Netgear systems to reflect a different registered owner. *Thank you so much for your assistance.*
Here are the specific answers to the questions I posed in my original post:
1. Is the device's registered email address stored in the router?
>> The device's registered email address is NOT stored in the router.
2. Is the device's registered email address saved in the backup of the router config?
>> The device's registered email address is NOT saved in the backup of the router config.
3. If I backup the router config, then perform a factory reset, and then restore the config backup I just exported, will it restore the previously incorrect registered email address along with all the other router config settings?
>> Restoring a router config backup does NOT affect the registered email address.
4. Why does the Orbi app show a different registered email address than the "My Product" page on the MyNetgear website?
>> The answer to this is still unclear, however, if you use the mobile app to setup either a new device or a device that has been factory reset, it will register (or re-register) it to the person logged into the mobile app. This will also change the registered owner which is displayed on the Netgear website My Products pages. But for some odd, unknown reason, the Orbi app will always remember the registered owner as the person logged into the app when it was setup--regardless of who the Netgear systems say is the registered owner.
