RBK40 v2.2.1.210 Satellite drops internet

[rsquarev1]

My RBK40 was setup more than a month ago and it was updated to latest firmware by that time to 2.2.1.210. Then I had to factory reset my router twice to work properly. Issue is that devicess connected to Satellite will not have any internet after around 7-10 days from fresh setup of router. Everyone at home frustated with this issue and asking to go back to old router R7000 which didn't have many issues. I thought it was an upgrade, but seems like pain and losing trust on netgear. 

Currently I am turning off the satellite whenever the issue appears until my next factory reset.

I read many issues in this community about orbi RBK40. But couldn't find an issue similar to me. 

I have unchecked all these settings as I read they can cause issue

  Enable Daisy-Chain Topology (i have only 1 satellite)

  Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING

  Enable MU-MIMO

  Enable Fast Roaming

On orbilogin portal, connection to satillite shows Good.

Does anyone has similar problem and have any solution for this? I appreciate your help.

I see a new FW version 2.3.0.28 available now whcih I am going to update manually (orbilogin portal says no new firmware avaialble) and try that.

Also, is there any tool or import method to setup IP reservations in bulk rather than 1 by 1? I know settings restore feature there, but netgear community/support doesnt recommend that when upgrading to newer FW version.

[rsquarev1 · Accepted solution]

Netgear support replaced the satellite with other one. New satellite didnt work plug and play. Had to reconfigure both router and satellite together. But finally it works.

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?
Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode?

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.

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
What WPA security modes are you using?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO.

[rsquarev1]

Modem: Centurylink | Actiontec C2000A (on transparent bridge)

Model: RBK40

Mode: Router

Home SqFt: 3500

Distance: Router in Basement and Satellite on Main floor. Distance would be about 20-25ft. 

Channels: Auto. I checked thru wifi analytics app and the channels Orbi used and they NOT overloaded by neighbors' routers.

Security options: WPA2-PSK [AES]

Beamforming and MIMO: I tried these once before doing factory reset. But no change in issue.

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

Distance between base and satellite maybe too close. try to move the satellite a bit farther out. I would test with just the Orbi base to see if the problem continues. 

Try manual channels and enable Beamforming and MIMO. 

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@rsquarev1 wrote:

Model: RBK40

Mode: Router

Home SqFt: 3500

Distance: Router in Basement and Satellite on Main floor. Distance would be about 20-25ft. 

Channels: Auto. I checked thru wifi analytics app and the channels Orbi used and they NOT overloaded by neighbors' routers.

Security options: WPA2-PSK [AES]

Beamforming and MIMO: I tried these once before doing factory reset. But no change in issue.

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[Chuck_M]

Using your web browser, go into your web gui (probably 192.168.1.1) and add to it /RST_conn_status.htm

The address will look like this:

http://192.168.1.1/RST_conn_status.htm

What are your DNS servers and your lease obtained/expires times?

And while you are in there, please let us know the NTP settings under

http://192.168.1.1/adv_index.htm

I suspect you have the lease renewal issue which has a simple fix.

[FURRYe38]

Thanks for confirming the ISP modem info. 

Let us know if any of the suggestions helps...

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@rsquarev1 wrote:

Modem: Centurylink | Actiontec C2000A (on transparent bridge)

Model: RBK40

Mode: Router

Home SqFt: 3500

Distance: Router in Basement and Satellite on Main floor. Distance would be about 20-25ft. 

Channels: Auto. I checked thru wifi analytics app and the channels Orbi used and they NOT overloaded by neighbors' routers.

Security options: WPA2-PSK [AES]

Beamforming and MIMO: I tried these once before doing factory reset. But no change in issue.

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[Chuck_M]

Here is link on changing lease time... which sounds to me like the issue you are having.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-RBK50-Cannot-connect-to-the-internet-unless-I-use-a-VPN/m...

[rsquarev1]

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@Chuck_M wrote:

Using your web browser, go into your web gui (probably 192.168.1.1) and add to it /RST_conn_status.htm

The address will look like this:

http://192.168.1.1/RST_conn_status.htm

What are your DNS servers and your lease obtained/expires times?

And while you are in there, please let us know the NTP settings under

http://192.168.1.1/adv_index.htm

I suspect you have the lease renewal issue which has a simple fix.

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connection time now shows 19:12:00. I didnt check when it was a problem.

I use google dns servers. 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4.

if the lease issue, shouldnt router also lose internet? I am having problem at satellite. NTP settings are here.

[Chuck_M]

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@rsquarev1 wrote:

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connection time now shows 19:12:00. I didnt check when it was a problem.

I use google dns servers. 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4.

if the lease issue, shouldnt router also lose internet? I am having problem at satellite. NTP settings are here.

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My bad, I read this as network wide....  

Disregard the above.

[Chuck_M]

Can you give a list of the types of devices that would connect to that satellite?  

Any speakers?  Any other devices that may carry with it their own network?  (Example:  Sonos)

[gr8sho]

This may not be pertinent, but when I setup my Orbi, it wasn't until I logged into the management console on PC that I spotted a slick notification indicating the subnet of the router was changed from 192.168.1.x to 10.0.0.x.  Until that change was made, most of my devices were unable to access the internet.  This matters if you have an ISP like ATT which uses the former as the root subnet on their gateways.

[Chuck_M]

It is very pertinent....

Sounds to me like you may be in a double nat condition.

Your Orbi is connected to what?  (make & model please)

Is your Orbi in AP or Router mode?

Can you please from a pc on that network do a TRACERT to 8.8.8.8 and tell us if the first two lines are private IPs?

[FURRYe38]

Let us know if any of the suggestions helps...

@rsquarev1 wrote:

Modem: Centurylink | Actiontec C2000A (on transparent bridge)

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@Chuck_M wrote:

It is very pertinent....

Sounds to me like you may be in a double nat condition.

Your Orbi is connected to what?  (make & model please)

Is your Orbi in AP or Router mode?

Can you please from a pc on that network do a TRACERT to 8.8.8.8 and tell us if the first two lines are private IPs?

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[Chuck_M]

Sounds to me like his Centurylink modem may not really be in bridged mode OR he still has the wifi turned on in it.

[FURRYe38]

Anything is possible. 

[rsquarev1]

It is in bridge mode and wifi is disabled on modem. When there is problem with satellite, i brought my phone to basement which then connects to router and internet works. As i come close to satellite, phone connects to satellite and lose internet. I checked attached devices and made sure phone connects to router vs satellite.

Devices connected to satellite are iPhone X, Galaxy Note 8 and brother printer.

[Chuck_M]

So then the question has to be is it the backhaul that is not making it or is there something wrong with the satellite itself.

You could temporarily test this (if you had a good length of cat5) by hardwiring your satellite to the router and see if that clears up the disconnects.  You would know that for some reason the signal from the router isnt making it -- perhaps you are just on the fringe of the range based on construction materials of your house.

If the problem didnt clear up, you know it has to do with the satellite and wifi radios.

[FURRYe38]

Try a reset with the Satellite. Do this while in the same room as the router. See if the satellite will reconnect and gets a BLUE light on top. If so, take it back to the remote location and turn on. Still get a BLUE light on top? 

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[rsquarev1]

I updated the firmware to 2.3.0.28. That didnt seem fix the issue, except now the satellite connected devices lose wifi every few minutes (more often than before). Sometimes my phone connects automatically after couple of minutes. Sometimes it doesnt connect at all. When I try to connect mannually from phone, it fails to connect. One time I saw phone complaining "authentication error". 

Before I left this morning I connected satellite with ethernet. I will check how it works once I am back to home.

Are there any debug tools (on phone or router/satellite) to see what is the actual issue?

[FURRYe38]

Try a reset with the Satellite. Do this while in the same room as the router. See if the satellite will reconnect and gets a BLUE light on top. If so, take it back to the remote location and turn on. Still get a BLUE light on top? 

You can collect debug logs from Satellite IP address\debug.htm. However you'll have to read the logs to see if you can pick out anything. 

Might be time to ask NG about an RMA. 

[gr8sho]

In the management console you can find some information indicating connection status of the satellite to the base router.

[AlmondRoca]

I'm having the same issue with current unit and prior TWO units that were returned. This is not an isolated issue. It has been happening for months. 

Netgear: Where is the fix, not a workaround? Did not expect this from Netgear.

[Apisto75]

I’ve been having this issue for some time too. Runs fine for a few days then all devices disconnects. Needs several reboots of both satelite and router to get it running again. Then it works great again for a few days. Then same thing again...

[rsquarev1]

I have done this several times and no improvement with this.

I also tried to separating SSIDs for 2.4 & 5ghz bands. It was ok for a day. Then again problem comes back. 

The problem is with Satellite. Router seems okay. If I turn off satellite, things are okay. But then why do I need mesh router?

I am going to give support call to netgear and see what they gonna say. I will update their conversation here later.

Thanks to all for your help

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Try a reset with the Satellite. Do this while in the same room as the router. See if the satellite will reconnect and gets a BLUE light on top. If so, take it back to the remote location and turn on. Still get a BLUE light on top? 

You can collect debug logs from Satellite IP address\debug.htm. However you'll have to read the logs to see if you can pick out anything. 

Might be time to ask NG about an RMA. 

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[FURRYe38]

I see there is newer FW out and availble for the 40 series Orbi. Something you might want to give a try:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/New-NetGear-Orbi-20-40-Series-Firmware-Version-2-3-0-28/td-p/1...

Let us know if you notice any changes. 

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@rsquarev1 wrote:

I have done this several times and no improvement with this.

I also tried to separating SSIDs for 2.4 & 5ghz bands. It was ok for a day. Then again problem comes back. 

The problem is with Satellite. Router seems okay. If I turn off satellite, things are okay. But then why do I need mesh router?

I am going to give support call to netgear and see what they gonna say. I will update their conversation here later.

Thanks to all for your help

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Try a reset with the Satellite. Do this while in the same room as the router. See if the satellite will reconnect and gets a BLUE light on top. If so, take it back to the remote location and turn on. Still get a BLUE light on top? 

You can collect debug logs from Satellite IP address\debug.htm. However you'll have to read the logs to see if you can pick out anything. 

Might be time to ask NG about an RMA. 

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