My RBK50 is also sticky on surface. Purchased Jan 2017. Never in direct sun but near window. In So Calif beach area - not too hot or cold, not very humid. Support no longer available. Not sure if it can be cleaned and no way to contact support due to age of product. Added photo.
It’s old cheap rubber paint used to give the housing a soft touch like feeling. It degrades over time and gets sticky. No way to fix it. It will get worse over time.
I had the exact same issue with my Orbi RBR40, both router and satellite. I've had it for a year and noticed it become stickier as time progressed to the point that it was like duck tape when you picked it up. I suspect its this rubber coating that is slowly melting or degrading as the unit gets hot when it use.
Obviously a manufaturing defect in the coating they decided to use on the product. I called in an RMA and Netgear sent me a replacement. We will see if the replacement gets sticky after a few months, as the outer coating is the same as my original router.
I see some posts point out humidity as a factor but I live in southern california. It didn't say on the box that the routers should only be used in desert conditions, so the humidity comments seem dumb. More a screw up on Netgears part when the did the design and decided to coat the outside of the plastic housing. Anyway, I will update this if I find it's getting sticky again.
I too live on the Southern California coast and have Orbie's that have become sticky /tacky to the touch. There seems to be no way to remove the annoying tacky coating except with a brick.
Purchased in 7/2017 from Amazon, so the unit is a little over 2.5 years old. When I read your question, I went to look at mine and noticed there were cat hairs sticking to the unit in tufts. I tried to gently wipe them off with a cloth and a gooey layer of the router smeared off, embedding the hairs. Now I have cat hair, streak marks from the wiping cloth and a fingerprint embedded on the unit. The Orbi is on a desk, near a window but protected from sun. I know that plastic degrades but this accelerated decomposition is not what I expected from my super router from Netgear. Might this be a manufacturing defect?
I bought a sticky yellow router & satellite off e-bay for cheap and am now experimenting with how to remedy. Fooled around with it for a few minutes. Liberal use of acetone seems to destroy and gum up -- but not remove -- the sticky finish. However after it dries it can then be sanded off with 120 grit.
I'll keep fooling with it. If I can't get a nice looking finish, I'm sure I can at least get a spray-paintable finish and I'm handy with a rattle can.
I have a new Orbi router and Voice. They do not have the velvet touch finish, just plain hard white plastic. I do not expect problems from the finish.
I bought a sticky yellow router & satellite off e-bay for cheap and am now experimenting with how to remedy. Fooled around with it for a few minutes. Liberal use of acetone seems to destroy and gum up -- but not remove -- the sticky finish. However after it dries it can then be sanded off with 120 grit.
I'll keep fooling with it. If I can't get a nice looking finish, I'm sure I can at least get a spray-paintable finish and I'm handy with a rattle can.
I have a new Orbi router and Voice. They do not have the velvet touch finish, just plain hard white plastic. I do not expect problems from the finish.
Just wondering if anyone ever got a fix for what seems like a manaufacturing problem? I've 3 units around my house which I've had for nearly 3 years and all of them are sticky, one is so sticky, it's turned yellow! They all look really ugly now and whilst they still operate, it's put me off the ORBI's. I've tried cleaning them as gently as possible but it just makes them look worse. Thanks
I bought a router-satellite pair; both had a very yellow stick finish. I only wanted the satellite. I decided I had to clean up both, and I needed to make the one I was selling look good.
I tried several things. What finally worked was:
1. Scrub the sticky finish off with fine steel wool and acetone. Use the acetone liberally.
2. After getting as much as you can, let it dry. It will look horrible. However, when the residue dries it will be hard, not sticky.
3. Use masking tape over the openings in preparation for the next step.
4. Sand off the hard residue. I used an orbital sander, started at 100 and moved up to 220 grit.
5. Use a knife or thin metal piece to scrape the residue out of the cracks.
6. Blow dust out of cracks and holes.
7. Remove tape.
It was a lot of effort, but the end product was nice and white. Pictures attached.
Re: Orbi RBR50 material became sticky-Tale of Two Orbi.
I have two orbi devices. One which has never received direct sunlight (not stick at all. still velvet to the touch) and the other which has received direct sunlight on its upper half (sticky and now collecting dust and other debris). Have been dusting and trying to wipe clean for months. Went on line and saw various remedies includling the ascetone/sanding suggestion. No way for me but clever idea.
My partial solution; use a clean white cloth and white household vinegar to gently clean with soft strokes in one direction until debris and dust are collected into a little gummy mess. Then use a toothpick to pick the gummy mess up and discard.
It will not correct the sticky situation but it looks a little better.
This is only a partial solution. If Netgear is sending replacements (at least one user got one) that do not have the velvet, rubbery finish, please let me know. I will gladly experiment with the finish. I am on Corona-time.
Same problem here in the UK - I don't know why manufacturers persist in using soft touch surfaces, they never last the distance. I've had so many items from Wacom pens to these routers with what is initially.a nice finish, but one that turns into the worst there is.
Come on Netgear - and others - either test the material first or stop using it if you can't. No one wants this sticky mess.
+1 for the casing going all sticky and gross. Definetly seems like a manufacturing issue. Bummer is that it looks so terrible I want to hide it but need to keep it out in the open for best signal. Pre-COVID several visitors noticed and commented on how icky it looked. Not expecting anyone to purchase Netgear products based on what they saw with mine.
That link has a good step by step guide on eradicating sticky rubber! I note my second RBS50 - recently purchased to extend coverage further - is not covered in the rubber texture.
The rubber texture can make basic plastic feel more expensive, but as it doesn't seem to last, we're best off without it.
Re: Orbi RBR50 material became sticky-Tale of Two Orbi.
Jumping on the sticky Orbi bandwagon... Satellite partially exposed to sun has become one big messy dust attracting gunk covered box... Beyond warranty period, so not thinking of exchange - so looking for ideas to clean up the sticky stuff and prevent further deterioration... Living in So Cal...
Model: A6150|AC1200 Dual Band WiFi USB Mini Adapter
Came here to add to the sticky list. I really do believe this should be a warrantied issue. Too many sticky Orbi units. I have also had mine for a couple of years and it’s super sticky. I used a little rubbing alcohol and a lint feee cloth to clean up the sticky hair and dust, so it looks “clean” but it’s stickier than duct tape. It also has a yellow tinge to the coating. In a relatively low humidity place and not in direct sunlight. Didn’t expect this unit at the price to have such a cheap outer build. I’ll be contacting customer support to see how they’ll deal with it. Netgear has been good in the past... maybe if this is known issue and they are unwilling, class action?
