Orbi satellite dropping connection

[sleepr88]

verified... turned off wifi on my phone(Oreo 8.1) last night, haven't had any issues with Orbi... Netgear still has to come up with a fix for their end because no way should a client be able to disrupt and REBOOT a router!

[guzzijason]

In the Pixel forum, people have been reporting similar problems with reboots and/or dropped connections on  D-Link, TP-Link, Google WiFi, FiOS, Openmesh, and ASUS routers as well (and possibly more that I'm forgetting here). The longer the thread goes on, the more people come out of the woodwork with other brands/models of WiFi devices that are suffering similar problems.

So far, there doesn't sem to be an obvious common denominator. For a while, I was thinking it was devices that shared a particular chipset, but that's definitely not the case as the affected hardware seems to use a wide array of chips.

[rickatron]

I have both RBK50 base unit and RBS50 satellite. Now running Router Firmware Version
V2.0.0.74. It is now January 18, but same Firmware version as of October 16. Not sure if it is auto-updating. My satellite keeps on dropping signal to my Samsung S6 (Android) phone. There appeeard to be no rhyme or reason.  I get a message on my phone tat says "Authentication error occured." I can fix it by restarting my phone. (My phone does not have any problem auto-connecing to other secure Wifi networks in other locations when I travel. Just at home with Orbi system. ) At home with the Orbi system, multiple other devices connect to base system router with no problems. (Note: My iPad connects to stellite with no problem although signal sometimes drops from 5G to 2.4G. )
Although NetGear states this reply is an accepted solution, the solution seems to say that one should abandon the Orbi and buy a Google router. Is there a software fix for this "satellite" problem?

[RogerSC]

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@rickatron wrote:

I have both RBK50 base unit and RBS50 satellite. Now running Router Firmware Version
V2.0.0.74. It is now January 18, but same Firmware version as of October 16. Not sure if it is auto-updating. My satellite keeps on dropping signal to my Samsung S6 (Android) phone. There appeeard to be no rhyme or reason.  I get a message on my phone tat says "Authentication error occured." I can fix it by restarting my phone. (My phone does not have any problem auto-connecing to other secure Wifi networks in other locations when I travel. Just at home with Orbi system. ) At home with the Orbi system, multiple other devices connect to base system router with no problems. (Note: My iPad connects to stellite with no problem although signal sometimes drops from 5G to 2.4G. )
Although NetGear states this reply is an accepted solution, the solution seems to say that one should abandon the Orbi and buy a Google router. Is there a software fix for this "satellite" problem?

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Currently auto-update of Netgear firmware for the Orbi is turned off on the Netgear end, so no auto-update until Netgear turns that back on. You can, of course, manually update your firmware anytime you want:

https://www.netgear.com/support/product/RBK50?cid=wmt_netgear_organic#RBS50 (Orbi Satellite) Firmwar...

You can also go backwards in firmware versions, should that be what works best for you.

Sorry I can't help with the Samsung Galaxy S6 problem...no problems here with the iPhone 7 or 8, or Pixel phone on the Orbi.

[diggle]

The “problem solved” note I believe was an accidental entry by an earlier post. The problem remains.

I have temporarily worked around the problem by manually setting every device in the house. I only have Apple products....phones, iPads and MacBooks so can’t help much with Android devices. The difficulty seems to be that when connection is lost, the devices are being forced onto “Router 0.0.0.0” which doesn’t exist. By manually setting the router to the correct address the problem seems to be temporarily fixed....but there is no way this should have to be done, and the problem has recurred after this ‘fix’.

[myriad_rocker]

Alright, update since it has been a bit.  I've noticed every once in a while, my phone wifi will drop.  I have an Android phone (Galaxy).  It happened today when I was standing in the living room.  Also, I'm not sure my devices are connecting through my RBW30 anymore.  When I pull up the orbilogin page, the devices are connected to the RBS50 even though I know I'm only barely in range of that one.  This is causing some speed issues since they are "stuck" to that sattelite.  I'm getting 5mbps when I expect to get 50mbps through internet.

I tried disconnecting from wifi on my phone and reconnecting.  It still shows being connected through the RBS50.  I haven't tried resetting the RBW30 yet.  I really don't want to...I don't want that to become an acceptable practice.

I hope this isn't a sign of things to come...

[rickatron]

I manually updated the firmware on both satellite and then router base.  Ugraded to V2.1.1.16. Upgrade was successful. Reconnected my wireless devices. Now I will have to see if  my Samsung S6 stays connected to the satellite. Thanks to the community for help!

[myriad_rocker]

Well, I did what I didn't want to do and power cycled the RBW30.  It reconnected and my devices still stayed on the RBS50.  I started Googling around and reading...didn't find much.  Then, all of a sudden I go to the attached devices page and they are now connected to the RBW30.  I'm getting full speed again.  Maybe the signal finally dipped to where it forced it over to the RBW30, not sure.

I'm wondering if rebooting the RBR50 every once in a while would help?  I wish you could schedule reboots.  It's always good to get a thearaputic reboot in.

EDIT: I spoke too soon.  Before I could post this, my connection switched back over to the RBS50 on my laptop.  This is really frustrating.  My phone remained on the RBW30 and was still getting full speed.

EDIT2: I moved the laptop further into the shop and it finally connected to the RBW30 again.  So far so good.  However, I'm getting about half the speed I expect.

[Guyfromunion]

My Orbi satellite keeps dropping Internet connection on my nest cameras .
What is the latest firmware update?

[RogerSC]

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@Guyfromunion wrote:
My Orbi satellite keeps dropping Internet connection on my nest cameras .
What is the latest firmware update?

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V2.1.1.16 is the latest/current firmware version. For the RBK50:

https://www.netgear.com/support/product/RBK50?cid=wmt_netgear_organic#RBS50 (Orbi Satellite) Firmwar...

[Bchildress]

So this article brings to mind my first theory when I saw the office.k wifi signal when the ORbi went down - I dismissed it as being a result of the Orbi reboot rather than the cause of Orbi reboot but now - I may have been correct the first time!

https://www.androidcentral.com/google-looking-home-and-chromecast-devices-kill-wi-fi-networks?utm_so...

[sleepr88]

it appears that Google Home App v1.26.30.8 on Android devices seems to be the culprit... 

but Netgear still needs to come up with a fix for their end

[myriad_rocker]

Not sure if anyone is following what I post, but I'm trying to throw out some updates for people.  I went back out to the shop today to do some work and ended up working on the Orbi instead.  Why?  Because as usual, my devices were stuck to a different sattelite instead of the RBW30 like they should have been connected to.  Speed tests sucked, of course.  Also, I've been getting drops a lot even in the house with my Samsung Galaxy S7.  Nothing new here to those of you having that issue.  I keep getting authentication error issues.

So then I started looking into things and noticed a new version of firmware was available.  I figured why not.  So I updated the main router to the latest (2.1.2.18).  Then I ran into issues updating the RBS50.  It kept saying things like Service Unreachable and Update Failed.  Some Googleing revealed that maybe a re-sync on the sattelite would work, but I tried a power cycle first.  Once it was back up, I was able to update the firmware on the RBS50 as well.  Kind of a frustrating process up to this point.

I then brought the RBW30 into the house from the shop.  On the OrbiLogon page, it kept saying "Config Sync" and it also wasn't showing up in the firmware update page.  I plugged it in inside the house and was able to get it to update firmware, which was actually more than a few versions behind.  I plugged it back out into the shop.  I'm posting this from the shop now and so far so good.  I don't like the trend of power cycling the RBW30, but maybe this new firmware will help.

Also, so far, I don't have any drops on my Samsung Galaxy S7.  Maybe now I can do some shop work.  I'll report back if anything changes.

[Jclapper1814]

Hey - Thanks for the update. I updated to the newest firmware as well. Satellites still drop periodically, and router occasionally. While less frequent, it still isn’t acceptable. As you might recall, I purchased Google WiFi several weeks ago out of frustration with Orbi reliability. Of course, Google WiFi hasn’t had one single issue. It isn’t as fast as Orbi, and it is exceptionally frustrating to see a $600 investment sitting in a box and not being used, but reliability has to come first. Hope others have better luck than I have. Netgear needs to make this right for everyone who has had to deal with this headache. Look at the amount of time everyone has invested trying to help solve this...

[diggle]

myriad_rocker.....don’t worry mate.....I’m hanging on every word in this thread hoping someone will come in one day and say “ITS FIXED”....but not holding my breath. I haven’t checked the update yet but manually entering router address seems to have calmed things down a bit...but like I said...there is no way this should have to be done

ive got a couple of weeks to decide to hold on or take back...we were allegedly getting NBN cable connected on the 18th but not a soul was sighted.

[diggle]

I just fell about laughing....after posting the previous post, I went to login to Orbilogin to see what was happening.....and I got this......

‘You are not connected to your Orbi's WiFi network. To access orbilogin.com, your device must be connected to your Orbi's WiFi network. Check your current connection and try again.”

i probably dont don’t need to say...that the Orbi WiFi network is the Only one in the house and supporting this iPad at the moment.....dear oh dear........

[RogerSC]

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@diggle wrote:

I just fell about laughing....after posting the previous post, I went to login to Orbilogin to see what was happening.....and I got this......

‘You are not connected to your Orbi's WiFi network. To access orbilogin.com, your device must be connected to your Orbi's WiFi network. Check your current connection and try again.”

i probably dont don’t need to say...that the Orbi WiFi network is the Only one in the house and supporting this iPad at the moment.....dear oh dear........

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You can log into your Orbi anytime by using it's IP address. This isn't a big deal for those of us that have been playing with routers for years. In fact, I find the orbilogin thing to be convenient when I'm using a wireless client or wired to the Orbi router or satellite, but have no problem using the IP address of my router...in fact I have a bookmark in my browser's bookmark toolbar for both the router and satellite, which makes it pretty easy for me.

[sleepr88]

TP-link, Linksys, and others have already gotten it fixed... How long for a Chromecast/Android fix Netgear?

[diggle]

Yep thanks Roger, I’ve done that myself...login to IP....that is. It just struck me funny that that page would appear, probably cached from another attempted wifi access....like Netgear from the land of Mordor 😈

[myriad_rocker]

Pleasant surprise today.  I'm currently out in the shop and it has become routine now to open up the OrbiLogin page.  My Samsung Galaxy S7 is connected to the RBW30 as it should be.  No drops on my phone since updating firmware on the Orbi system.  My laptop also immediately connected to the RBW30.  I'm hoping this trend continues.  Backhaul status shows good on both satellites.

[peterts]

I officially hate the orbi and everyone in my family hates me for buying these paperweights. I keep losing connection on one satellite and it seems to be a frimware issue since I cannot get ethernet ports to work on the back yet wifi works most of the time. I switched it out with my working satellite upstairs and it somehow becomes magically functional. For some reason I can only get one satellite working with ethernet backhaul while the other **bleep**s itself when i attach ethernet leaving me to a spotty wifi backhaul which drops ethernet connectivity and wifi occasionally. Waiting for a replacement which I'm 90% sure won't do anything. How did the router system get such postive reviews? who was paid off?? I was on the phone with customer support for 4 hours. I'm a hair away from burning these crappy routers and swearing off netgear for the rest of my life. I DONT GET IT. WHY DOES THIS COMPANY SELL NON WORKING PRODUCTS?? They had 1 job. Switching to google unless this issue is resolved this week. I have cryptocurrency miners losing money because I decided to buy these glorified halfrate wifi extenders

[Surfer44]

I returned mine before the deadline ran out. I also don't understand how Netgear is avoiding a class action suit for selling a product that doesn't work. I did my research with many reviews AND I believe they must have been paid off.

[guzzijason]

FWIW, mine works perfectly fine.

I don't discount your problems - I just don't believe they are universal. It could be faulty hardware, or something environmental. Whatever the case, they don't affect all of their products or customers.

[animate]

My connection also drops all the time.
My home automation is effected big time.
None of the workarounds worked. I don’t have any android device.
I have two more weeks left till I can return it for refund at Costco.
To bad Netgear doesn’t take the problem seriously.

[tagteam]

You should be able to return it to Costco at any time; the electronics return policy (90 days) does not apply to routers.