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Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

jsubscriptions
Aspirant

Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

I have had this Orbi since Feb.2018. It worked great for a few months. Since early July it started randomly dropping devices (wired or wireless). There is no particular device that is always dropped. The devices dropped range from laptops, desktop, Roku, Samsung smart tv (purchased 2018), voip phone (wired), samsung S8 phone etc. 

I called Netgear 3rd week of July. We went through all the steps to fix it - changing the channel (1,6,11 for 2.4GHz), turning on/off daisy-chain, mu-mimo, roaming, firmware update (my router was up to date so there was nothing to update) etc. Only thing that works (for a short period) is turning off EVERYTHING - all the way to modem and then reconnecting everything one by one!!! Since none of their trouble-shooting steps fixed the problem and since my device is still under warranty, Netgear sent me a new router. That worked for about a week and the problem continues. So obviously this is a software problem, not a hardware problem. I have called Netgear again and it looks like they do not have a solution yet.

Over the past month I have looked through the forums and see that this is a common issue many people are having. Netgear has gone through several firmware iterations and the problem persists.

For an equipment this expensive, this is unacceptable. My return window is closed. If it had not, I would have definitely returned this item. I have already told one of my friends who is currently looking for a new router to stay away from Orbi. Posting here so hopefully someone else can read this (in addition to the gazillion other posts with the same issue) and avoid wasting their money on Orbi. Just go buy a cheaper router. 

Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 1 of 9
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

Has a full factory reset and setup from scratch been done after the last FW update?
What is the Mfr and model# of the IP modem the Orbi is connected too?
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials.

Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
Disable the following and see:
MIMO, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

 

If you have tried two orbi systems, and still have issues, this maybe a a mis-configuration issue or a environment interference issue.

Other users as well as I have not seen these issues.

I set up my friends 50 series system a couple of months ago. Loves it:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-firmware-update-v2-1-4-16-availability/m-p/1592753/highli...

 

Message 2 of 9
jsubscriptions
Aspirant

Re: Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

FYI...plenty of other users have seen this issue. All you have to do is search "dropped devices" on this forum and you will see many posts with this same issues.

Answers to your questions:

Has a full factory reset and setup from scratch been done after the last FW update? ...YES. Once with the old Orbi router and again with the replacement that Netgear sent me.
What is the Mfr and model# of the IP modem the Orbi is connected too? ...brand new Arris TM1602 from charter with upgraded 200mbps speed
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? ...4200sq ft. But the devices that are being dropped is either directly wired and sitting right next to the router or wifi within 10-20 ft.
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials....about 30ft

Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? ...of course. I live in a SF house in the city, not in the middle of a forest!!! 🙂
Disable the following and see:
MIMO, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). ...already tried, except IPv6 which is disabled.

Message 3 of 9
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

 
 
Any network switches in the mix? If so, what is the Mfr and model# of the switch?
 

"Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? ...of course. I live in a SF house in the city, not in the middle of a forest!!! 🙂"

How many?

What channels are they using?

If you live in the city and have many wifi neighbors near by, you maybe seeing some wifi congestion. Where theres many wifi neighbors and there crouding up channels 1, 6 or 11.

One thing you can try, turn OFF the satellite and run just the router for now. Go into Advanced tab/Advanced settings/Wireless settings. Turn down the power from 100% to lets try 50% or 75%. Pick channel 1, 6 or 11, which ever has the least nieghbors using it. Save with 5Ghz channels. Set channel width to 40Mhz only on the Basic/Wireless settings page. Set WPA2 and AES only. Keep MIMO, Daisy Chain and Fast Roaming disabled. Save settings and reboot the router.

Message 4 of 9
jsubscriptions
Aspirant

Re: Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

Thank you for these suggestions. I will try them and post back here in about week.

Message 5 of 9
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

Please give feedback on the other questions as well. Helpful to give us as much details as possible. Hopefully we can help you get this up and running correctly or figure out what the real problem is.

Message 6 of 9
Kstip
Initiate

Re: Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

Exact same issues going on here, tried all the fixes said in this thread.  Internet works without issues when the Orbi system is disconnected and the computer is hardwired to my cable router.  Ran across someone in here that said their RBW30 plug in satellite was causing the issue (my issues began after the purchase of that, but also coincided with a move - also of note, I had zero issues before the upgrade to v2.1.4.16).  The cable company even brought out a new router (Arris TM822) so there would be no conflict with my old cable wireless router and no need for AP mode (Orbi is now the only wireless source).  I ran a test to determine what channels are most used in my neighborhood and set to the best channels as recommended by my MAC.  I did a full factory reset today (for the 3rd time) but set everything up via desktop instead of the orbi app.  All the items suggested in here to disable are now defaults after the reset today so I did not need to disable them.  I have also unplugged my RBW30 for now.  Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Have a MAC computer, Arris TM822 cable/phone modem, RBR50 router, 2 RBS50 satelittes and a RBW30 plug in satellite.  Speeds are perfect, no issues other than the Orbi dropping wifi on and off all day, and always around 9:30pm at night.  Have to do multiple power resets a day over the last week.  I have had this Orbi system since Nov. 2016 (AC3000) and had zero issues until this June! 

Message 7 of 9
Tbsteph
Star

Re: Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

I have been fighting random drops from wifi and the satellite connecting at 2.4Ghz for some time. After reading many posts here and trying many different "fixes" (None of which worked) it finally dawned on me this never happened with the previous firmware version. So, I manually downgraded my satellite and router to 2.1.4.10. Ureka, problems solved. 

 

I've had my Orbi system for about 1.5 years. The firmware has been revised many times during that time period. To me, it is shocking how many issues Netgear has had with this product. They have been in this business for decades - which was one of the reasons I chose the Orbi over newer start-up mesh network vendors. Apparently that was poor reasoning. Saying I'm disappointed is an understatement.

 

  

Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 8 of 9
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi drops random devices on wifi and wired connection

For those upgrading to v.16, other users have mentioned that upgrading seemed to have cause some problems, and that doing a full factory reset on everything and setting up from scratch has resolved there problems.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-MR-2-1-Update-3-23-18/m-p/1548414/highlight/true#M27868
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/speed-slows-down-Orbi/m-p/1551822/highlight/true#M28289
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Is-2-1-3-4-in-auto-update/m-p/1553979/highlight/true#M28616
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-Satellite-RBS50-Not-Connecting-via-Ethernet/m-p/1556692/h...

 

Something to try as a last resort next time.

My friends Orbi is working well on v.16 since it's installation:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-firmware-update-v2-1-4-16-availability/m-p/1592753/highli...

Message 9 of 9
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