I bought an Orbi system with two satellites (RBR40). The Orbi disconnects from the internet every so often and, after a while, reconnects. Here's what I figured out already:
1) It's definitely the Orbi. The modem shows the internet is flowing and when I connect a Nighthawk router instead of an Orbi, everything works again. So it's not Comcast or the modem.
2) The problem is NOT connectivity to the Orbi from electronic devices. I'm always able to connect to the Orbi via my phone, etc., but the Orbi shows as being offline.
3) I've tried in router mode and wireless access point mode, and the same problem persists.
About to pull my hair out and Orbi's "technical support" is literally worse than Comcast's. Any help would be appreciated.
Have you tried a manual update to the satellite by plugging a pc directly into it?
The satellite isn't the problem, the central Orbi router is the problem (I've tried in WAP mode and regular router mode, same problem persists). The satellites are working fine. If you're asking whether I have anything plugged into the ethernet ports of the Orbi router - the answer is yes (Philips Hue). Those devices work when the Orbi is offline. So again, we have connectivity to the Orbi itself, but the Orbi is offline for internet purposes.
Do you have your comcast modem bridged or modem only? Have you tried to factory reset the orbi unit?
I'm using an Arris modem. I've factory reset the orbi probably a dozen times now.
Thanks for your help. Is there a number I can call? The last number I called, that I thought was a Netgear service number, was not effective.
Problem still not solved and from a quick Google search, it seems thousands of customers are having the same problem. After hours of trying to get the actual phone number of Orbi support, I spent even more hours on the phone with Orbi support, who troubleshooted our way to nowhere. Now they are exchanging the physical router unit to make sure it's not a hardware problem, and after that, they are going to send me to the engineers to see if they can create firmware to solve the issue. Not very inspiring since so many are having this same problem and Netgear cannot create firmware that solves it. Good luck to anyone else having this issue - if you're within your return window, RUN DO NOT WALK to your retailer and switch out the Orbi for literally any other mesh network system.
Should the problem ever be solved I will return and update as needed.
Doubtful. Frustrating for you for sure, but no way there are "thousands" of customers having this issue. I don't there are "thousands" of Orbi systems deployed.
Same issues here. WhenI got the system a few months back it had an older firmware that per all the google searches is the most stable. Well like many other reviewers of this system stated it worked great for the first few weeks then started to drop the wifi every night between 9:30-10:30. At first it would fix itself in about 3-6 minutes. But now when the wifi drops I need to push in the reset on the main unit to get it going again. My TV which is hard wired to the main orbi works fine its all the wifi devices that keep losing connection. I have now tried different firmware, auto and manual updates, turning Mu-mimo and Beamforming on and off with no luck. I'm getting close to the Costco return window and I'm ready to just box it back up. When this system does work its great. Excellent coverage and fast speed but whats the use if it disconnects while I'm away and my entire house dissconects.
Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
"My TV which is hard wired to the main orbi works fine its all the wifi devices that keep losing connection."
Absolutely the same here. Internet is fine when it gets to the router from the modem, internet is fine when it is hardwired to the modem, internet does not work when transmitted via WiFi to wireless devices. And Netgear has no answer and will not refund outside of window. I would absolutely love to be in your shoes and be able to get a refund. Unfortunately I am outside that window so I have to fight with tech support who "has never seen this issue before."
I had this problem too but seems to have stopped being a problem when I switched the router back to the default password. With this change, the router and both satellites have the same PW so when devices move around among the RBK and RBS (which does happen), they connect properly. At least this solved my problem.
Does anyone know how to change the satellite PW, or is this not possible, which seems stupid given my apparent solution to the problem.
Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
I've been having the same frustration and I do mean frustration. The main router seems stable, but the satellites keep dropping internet connection. I'm on the latest firmware. I'm boxing it up and taking it back to Costco tonight. I'm going to exchange it for another system and try it out again, but if the new system exhibits the same behavior I'll be moving on to EERO Pro or Velop. I need a reliable system that stays up and connected.
Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Not sure why you would give Orbi a second chance if you are lucky enough to be within the return period. Friends of mine with Eero have zero problems. Would love to be in your shoes.
I was about to return and exchange my system but I did hard reboots, which I had done previously and everything has been stable since then. Will continue to monitor and I hope it continues to be stable because when it's working it's great.
Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
I was about to return and exchange my system but I did hard reboots, which I had done previously and everything has been stable since then. Will continue to monitor and I hope it continues to be stable because when it's working it's great.
I do have beamforming and fast switching, daisy chaining, and MU-MIMO all disabled. Coincidentally, not even an hour after I posted my hopeful post of a few days of uninterrupted service I opened up my iPad and launched the Youtube app and 2 minutes into a video I lost connection to the internet via one of the satellites. Confirmed it wasn't just my iPad by asking my Echo what the temperature was outside and it gave me the tell tale red ring of no connectivety to the internet.
My ISP is Comcast and my cable modem model is TG3482G gigabit capable in bridge mode. The modem connected Orbi router never lost its internet connection.
Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
good luck - so far the only solution seems to be putting a smart outlet / timer on your satellite(s) to reboot them once every 24 hours (I'm not joking) or rolling back the firmware (but I still see people saying they experience the same issues on the older firmware)
Don't listen to the netgear shills on these forums that blame the user and give you the same bs about trying to disable beamforming/mimo or moving the satellites closer to the router. Waste of time until netgear releases a fix.
It's 100% the orbi and the symptoms are the same - hard wired devices are not impacted but wireless devices getting frequent disconnects.
I have the RBK43 with two satellites (on Comcast with Netgear modem) and continue to have the same disconnect issues as so many others! I have done everything recommended and still no change!
Beyond frustrating there are so many people having issues with a very expensive system and Netgear apparently has just washed their hands of the problem by their lack of action! Why treat their customers this way?!
Because they can? Welcome to the long suffering Orbi users club. I’m looking at the Asus lyra trio, sure it may not be as fast but at least they don’t disconnect!
Firmware: 2.1.4.10 (two satellites on this same firmware as well) I have regular daily disconnects for the internet only (message is "wifi connected no internet" or "no internet available on ssid xxxx"), BUT... it's only on one Android phone (LG G4). The phone gets an internet connection again on its own after maybe 5 minutes and works again for maybe thirty minutes to an hour. Sometimes I can trigger it to reset and start working again when I turn Wi-Fi off then back on., though it always says my Wi-Fi is connected to my ssid when I do this. This frustrating occurrence happens many times a day. Other Wi-Fi devices work all the way out to the internet during the times when my phone can't reach the outside world, including a Samsung phone, iPad, chromecasts, Google home, Kuna, Arlo, and two Windows computers. Unfortunately, the scenario makes it so I try not to use my phone for TV streaming (we use YouTube TV) because if the internet drops, the location in the video is usually lost even after a reconnect, which means then I can't fast forward through commercials or rewind to re-watch a section I missed. I have to start the show over and guess where I was. Ugh. This did not occur with my old router on this phone, but Orbi works fast and well for everything except my phone at this point (there were random disconnects with old firmware when I first got the system and one interference issue that I've also solved). Fairly recently, I have done resets on both the Orbi and the phone (two factory resets since the problem started) and then my phone bricked and I've have had two new (refurbished) phones with similar problems. What could be the problem? Buying a newer phone is of course an expensive option I'm contemplating, but I still have reason to believe it's the Orbi. I'd rather not buy a phone until I've solved/determined the source of the issue partly since I enjoy using my old phone to drive my music or tv streaming. What tests can I run to determine what is occurring when my phone loses the internet?
Try setting WPA and TPIK to test. Then try WPA2 and AES and test.
Try setting manual channels to 1,6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channels on 5Ghz.
Try disabling Beamforming MIMO, Daisy Chaing and Fast Roaming and test.
Re-enable Beamforming alone and test, the try enabling Fast Roaming and test.
@SKohler wrote: Firmware: 2.1.4.10 (two satellites on this same firmware as well) I have regular daily disconnects for the internet only (message is "wifi connected no internet" or "no internet available on ssid xxxx"), BUT... it's only on one Android phone (LG G4). The phone gets an internet connection again on its own after maybe 5 minutes and works again for maybe thirty minutes to an hour. Sometimes I can trigger it to reset and start working again when I turn Wi-Fi off then back on., though it always says my Wi-Fi is connected to my ssid when I do this. This frustrating occurrence happens many times a day. Other Wi-Fi devices work all the way out to the internet during the times when my phone can't reach the outside world, including a Samsung phone, iPad, chromecasts, Google home, Kuna, Arlo, and two Windows computers. Unfortunately, the scenario makes it so I try not to use my phone for TV streaming (we use YouTube TV) because if the internet drops, the location in the video is usually lost even after a reconnect, which means then I can't fast forward through commercials or rewind to re-watch a section I missed. I have to start the show over and guess where I was. Ugh. This did not occur with my old router on this phone, but Orbi works fast and well for everything except my phone at this point (there were random disconnects with old firmware when I first got the system and one interference issue that I've also solved). Fairly recently, I have done resets on both the Orbi and the phone (two factory resets since the problem started) and then my phone bricked and I've have had two new (refurbished) phones with similar problems. What could be the problem? Buying a newer phone is of course an expensive option I'm contemplating, but I still have reason to believe it's the Orbi. I'd rather not buy a phone until I've solved/determined the source of the issue partly since I enjoy using my old phone to drive my music or tv streaming. What tests can I run to determine what is occurring when my phone loses the internet?
