Re: RBK50 internet connection issues with iOS devices (and now Dell Latitude laptop computers as wel

P95357 · ‎2019-03-18

Dears,

I wonder if you could help me as I'm running out of hope and patience here. The experience seems very similar to chrystal meth. Orbi gave me that first fix which was fantastic. It was fast, it was stable and it was fun. One day later, I was into a dark hole and another fix helped me to stay happy for some time. I'm back to the dark hole again, longing for a fix that could get me back to that very first experience. I didn't know I was subscribing to an addiction by becoming a NetGear customer. And chrystal meth is cheaper.

Jokes aside, when the Orbi RBK50 was initialy set up by me, I had wonderful WiFi around the house for about a day. After that, even though all devices could connect to the WiFi network created by the Orbi, two Dell Latitude 7390 laptop computers had regular internet access, one Android device had regular internet access and two iPhones had issues. One iPhone couldn't access the internet at all (of course, this was my wife's iPhone, much to my aggravation). The other iPhone had "partial" internet access, by partial I mean that I could watch Youtube videos and, when using Chrome, I could search and see the Google results page of my search. However, from that iPhone, I couldn't access Spotify, NetFlix and many other apps, I couldn't fetch e-mails from my job's server and I couldn't surf the Google results, meaning that clicking in any of the results of the search would result in a screen "This site can't be reached" page.

After updating the iOS version on both iPhones to 12.1.4, I have followed the thread below and was able to restore access to all devices in all conditions, fixing the problem.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-RBR50-iOS-disconnection-issue/m-p/1715810#M54492

Yesterday, after 18 days of successful use, I realized that, although all devices are able to connect to Orbi's WiFi network, one of the iPhones had partial internet access again. I also then found out that the two Dell laptop computers could connect to the Orbi's WiFi but also couldn't access the internet. The app shows Orbi as "offline". As I write this, I'm using a hotspot created by my iPhone via the 4G network.

So troubleshooting mood started and the first point of verification was the modem. Modem is manufactured by Arris (provided by Ziggo NL), model TG2492LG-ZG, set on Router mode with all WiFi channels disabled and running firmware version 9.1.116.605.

During modem troubleshooting, I connected one of the laptop computers via Ethernet directly to the modem, using the same cable that was previously connected to the Orbi Router and I can confirm I have internet access. I took the opportunity to check for updates of the modem's firwmare and confirmed that I was running the latest firmware already. I rebooted the modem, waited it to sparkle to life again, confirmed one more time that I had internet access via the Ethernet cable. The modem is not the issue.

The Orbi Router is set on AP mode and has 2 Orbi Satellites in a wired backhaul setup. Both satellites are directly connected to the Orbi Router via Ethernet cable and all are running firmware V2.2.1.210.

That same cable previously connecting the modem to my laptop computer was then unplugged from the laptop computer and plugged to the Orbi Router. I then waited for the Orbi's WiFi network to show up and connected the laptop to the network and confirmed that I didn't have internet access. I tried with one iPhone and I also didn't have internet access. I tried with the Android device and I had internet access. So, basically, I was back to square one. The only difference is that, prior to applying the settings of the thread above, both Dell laptop computers could access the internet and now they cannot.

I decided to isolate the issue and focus on the Orbi Router so I manually disconnected the Orbi Satellites and turned them off. I figured that I first needed to restore internet access via the Orbi Router and I would fix the satellites later.

I accessed orbilogin.com and commanded a reboot of the Orbi Router. Again, the process of waiting for the WiFi network to show up was repeated and the same tests were performed, no internet access.

I connected to the Orbi Router via the NetGear app and checked that the firwmare of the Orbi was up to date, meaning V2.2.1.210. So, not having any other resource apart from a factory reset or spending 3 hours with NetGear's Customer Support basically to redo everything that I have done, I surfed the NetGear support forums and found out that indeed there is a firmware update available. However, orbilogin.com still shows V2.2.1.210 being the last version and I would have to update the firmware manually. I've never done that and I don't know if it would help me solve the issue anyway or add yet another layer of complexity into something that it's not quite right already.

Another alternative would be to call Ziggo NL and ask them to set the modem on bridge mode (I can't do it myself, they need to do it remotely) and then change the Orbi Router from AP mode to router mode. But that's just to see what happens because it has been working for the past 18 days with the modem on router mode and Orbi on AP mode.

I ran out of intelligence to continue.

I have attached some screenshots for reference.

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-04-30

I would manually download the v48 files, re-load the RBS's first, then the RBR, then factory reset and setup from scratch. Use a wired PC, and IE11 or Firefox or Opera browsers for this process. Once you get the system setup again, do a back of of the configuration to file for safe keeping.

@P95357 wrote:
And then I updated via the app to Firmware Version 2.3.1.48. And the Orbi router is offline ever since.

What a pain in the ass this system is. They never heard of set and forget. You need to buy into a brotherhood to survive.

Any ideas before I give up and try another brand?

View solution in original post

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-18

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. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

Try this as well:

Advanced Wireless Settings both 2.4GHz and 5GHz changed CTS/RTS Threshold to 2307.

Or...

Change the CTR/RTS threshold values for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (2341 and 2345 respectively), changed preamble modes to long preamble, and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only.

@P95357 wrote:

Dears,

I wonder if you could help me as I'm running out of hope and patience here. The experience seems very similar to chrystal meth. Orbi gave me that first fix which was fantastic. It was fast, it was stable and it was fun. One day later, I was into a dark hole and another fix helped me to stay happy for some time. I'm back to the dark hole again, longing for a fix that could get me back to that very first experience. I didn't know I was subscribing to an addiction by becoming a NetGear customer. And chrystal meth is cheaper.

Jokes aside, when the Orbi RBK50 was initialy set up by me, I had wonderful WiFi around the house for about a day. After that, even though all devices could connect to the WiFi network created by the Orbi, two Dell Latitude 7390 laptop computers had regular internet access, one Android device had regular internet access and two iPhones had issues. One iPhone couldn't access the internet at all (of course, this was my wife's iPhone, much to my aggravation). The other iPhone had "partial" internet access, by partial I mean that I could watch Youtube videos and, when using Chrome, I could search and see the Google results page of my search. However, from that iPhone, I couldn't access Spotify, NetFlix and many other apps, I couldn't fetch e-mails from my job's server and I couldn't surf the Google results, meaning that clicking in any of the results of the search would result in a screen "This site can't be reached" page.

After updating the iOS version on both iPhones to 12.1.4, I have followed the thread below and was able to restore access to all devices in all conditions, fixing the problem.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-RBR50-iOS-disconnection-issue/m-p/1715810#M54492

Yesterday, after 18 days of successful use, I realized that, although all devices are able to connect to Orbi's WiFi network, one of the iPhones had partial internet access again. I also then found out that the two Dell laptop computers could connect to the Orbi's WiFi but also couldn't access the internet. The app shows Orbi as "offline". As I write this, I'm using a hotspot created by my iPhone via the 4G network.

So troubleshooting mood started and the first point of verification was the modem. Modem is manufactured by Arris (provided by Ziggo NL), model TG2492LG-ZG, set on Router mode with all WiFi channels disabled and running firmware version 9.1.116.605.

During modem troubleshooting, I connected one of the laptop computers via Ethernet directly to the modem, using the same cable that was previously connected to the Orbi Router and I can confirm I have internet access. I took the opportunity to check for updates of the modem's firwmare and confirmed that I was running the latest firmware already. I rebooted the modem, waited it to sparkle to life again, confirmed one more time that I had internet access via the Ethernet cable. The modem is not the issue.

The Orbi Router is set on AP mode and has 2 Orbi Satellites in a wired backhaul setup. Both satellites are directly connected to the Orbi Router via Ethernet cable and all are running firmware V2.2.1.210.

That same cable previously connecting the modem to my laptop computer was then unplugged from the laptop computer and plugged to the Orbi Router. I then waited for the Orbi's WiFi network to show up and connected the laptop to the network and confirmed that I didn't have internet access. I tried with one iPhone and I also didn't have internet access. I tried with the Android device and I had internet access. So, basically, I was back to square one. The only difference is that, prior to applying the settings of the thread above, both Dell laptop computers could access the internet and now they cannot.

I decided to isolate the issue and focus on the Orbi Router so I manually disconnected the Orbi Satellites and turned them off. I figured that I first needed to restore internet access via the Orbi Router and I would fix the satellites later.

I accessed orbilogin.com and commanded a reboot of the Orbi Router. Again, the process of waiting for the WiFi network to show up was repeated and the same tests were performed, no internet access.

I connected to the Orbi Router via the NetGear app and checked that the firwmare of the Orbi was up to date, meaning V2.2.1.210. So, not having any other resource apart from a factory reset or spending 3 hours with NetGear's Customer Support basically to redo everything that I have done, I surfed the NetGear support forums and found out that indeed there is a firmware update available. However, orbilogin.com still shows V2.2.1.210 being the last version and I would have to update the firmware manually. I've never done that and I don't know if it would help me solve the issue anyway or add yet another layer of complexity into something that it's not quite right already.

Another alternative would be to call Ziggo NL and ask them to set the modem on bridge mode (I can't do it myself, they need to do it remotely) and then change the Orbi Router from AP mode to router mode. But that's just to see what happens because it has been working for the past 18 days with the modem on router mode and Orbi on AP mode.

I ran out of intelligence to continue.

I have attached some screenshots for reference.

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

P95357 · ‎2019-03-19

Thanks for trying to help out, @FURRYe38

Answering your questions.

Size of home: 2,700 sq ft. (built area I want to cover, spanning basement + ground floor + 2 floors up).

Distance between router and satellites: Ziggo modem and Orbi Router are on the ground floor, Satellite 1 is on the first floor (some 40ft away from the Orbi Router) and Satellite 2 is on the 2nd floor (some 50ft away from the Orbi Router and some 30ft away from Satellite 1). There's a thick layer of concrete between the floors so I decided to backhaul the satellites by Ethernet cable to the Orbi Router. I get strong and consistent WiFi signal in all areas of the house).

Channels I'm using: Manual setup. 2.4 Ghz is on channel 01 and 5 Ghz is on channel 48.

WiFi neighbors: Yes, I can see the network of 2 of my neighbors in my iPhone. Each has a 2.4 Ghz, a 5Ghz and a Guest network so we're talking about at least 6 neighbor networks.

WPA security mode: Settings are WPA2-PSK [AES]

Beamforming: Enabled.

MU-MIMO: Enabled.

Daisy Chain: Enabled. I read another post that, for firmware V2.2.1.210 we should keep that enabled as it has the reverse effect, enabled means disabled. Go figure.

Fast Roaming: I don't know where to set this. I see not such option on Advanced Wireless Settings.

ipv6: I don't know where to set this. I see not such option on Advanced Wireless Settings.

20/40 Mhz Coexistence: I don't see such an option. In Advanced Wireless Settings, it's a check box that I can either enable or disable coexistence. It's currently disabled.

CTS/RTS Threshold: 2.4 Ghz is set at 2341 and 5 Ghz is set at 2345, both on long preamble modes .

These are the current settings and they also were the actual settings during the 18 days the Orbi was working flawlessly. I didn't change any settings as of today. Should I?

I invite you to check the screenshots in the pdf attachment of the original post, I think there's a lot of information there regarding what I see in the various screens.

P95357 · ‎2019-03-19

On another note, @ekhalil suggested the following:

Please follow the following steps:

From browser go to the router's debug page (http://192.168.1.1/debug.htm). Use your router's IP address or http://orbilogin.com/debug.htm
Enter admin as user name and your router’s management password
Tick "Enable Telnet" option
Use Telnet from a computer attached to Orbi to connect to your Router telnet 192.168.1.1 and enter admin and the same password as above
Enter the following commands:
- root@RBR50:/# config get wan_lease —> Should give you 86400 which means 24 hours
- root@RBR50:/# config set wan_lease=3600 —> 3600 means 1 hour
- root@RBR50:/# config commit

I'm able to complete the 3 first steps, but on Step 4 connecting an Ethernet cable to the Orbi Router and typing 192.168.1.1 in a browser returns a "this page can't be reached" error screen.

I'm certain I'm doing something wrong as it seems to be a quite simple task to change the lease time but I just got stuck and didn't change anything.

Tips on how to accomplish it are very welcome!

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-03-19

@P95357 wrote:

Answering your questions.

Size of home: 2,700 sq ft. (built area I want to cover, spanning basement + ground floor + 2 floors up).

Distance between router and satellites: Ziggo modem and Orbi Router are on the ground floor, Satellite 1 is on the first floor (some 40ft away from the Orbi Router) and Satellite 2 is on the 2nd floor (some 50ft away from the Orbi Router and some 30ft away from Satellite 1). There's a thick layer of concrete between the floors so I decided to backhaul the satellites by Ethernet cable to the Orbi Router. I get strong and consistent WiFi signal in all areas of the house).

Channels I'm using: Manual setup. 2.4 Ghz is on channel 01 and 5 Ghz is on channel 48.

WiFi neighbors: Yes, I can see the network of 2 of my neighbors in my iPhone. Each has a 2.4 Ghz, a 5Ghz and a Guest network so we're talking about at least 6 neighbor networks.

WPA security mode: Settings are WPA2-PSK [AES]

Beamforming: Enabled.

MU-MIMO: Enabled.

Daisy Chain: Enabled. I read another post that, for firmware V2.2.1.210 we should keep that enabled as it has the reverse effect, enabled means disabled. Go figure.

If you have satellites wire connected Disable Daisy Chain as it's not needed when they are wire connected.

Fast Roaming: I don't know where to set this. I see not such option on Advanced Wireless Settings. Might check under Basic/Wireless Settings.

ipv6: I don't know where to set this. I see not such option on Advanced Wireless Settings.

IPv6 is under Advanced Tab/IPv6 I believe. if there isn't a check box to disable IPv6, change the drop down menu item to Local Only Connection.

20/40 Mhz Coexistence: I don't see such an option. In Advanced Wireless Settings, it's a check box that I can either enable or disable coexistence. It's currently disabled. Might check under Basic/Wireless Settings.

CTS/RTS Threshold: 2.4 Ghz is set at 2341 and 5 Ghz is set at 2345, both on long preamble modes .

Change Advanced Wireless Settings both 2.4GHz and 5GHz changed CTS/RTS Threshold to 2307.

These are the current settings and they also were the actual settings during the 18 days the Orbi was working flawlessly. I didn't change any settings as of today. Should I?

I invite you to check the screenshots in the pdf attachment of the original post, I think there's a lot of information there regarding what I see in the various screens.

DO not do anything with the telnet. Those setting are for odd cases with Orbi and ISP modems. This has nothing to do with that.

If your on v210 FW version, there is more newer FW available:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/New-NetGear-Orbi-RBR50-RBS50-Firmware-Version-2-3-0-32-now/m-p...

P95357 · ‎2019-04-09

Hi.

I had to leave the country for work during a few weeks so I didn’t have the opportunity to change any settings.
Today, when I came back, the system was working fine so I decided no more troubleshooting is needed.

Thanks!

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-04-09

Ok, let us know.

@P95357 wrote:
Hi.

I had to leave the country for work during a few weeks so I didn’t have the opportunity to change any settings.
Today, when I came back, the system was working fine so I decided no more troubleshooting is needed.

Thanks!

P95357 · ‎2019-04-29

And then I updated via the app to Firmware Version 2.3.1.48. And the Orbi router is offline ever since.

What a pain in the ass this system is. They never heard of set and forget. You need to buy into a brotherhood to survive.

Any ideas before I give up and try another brand?

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-04-30

I would manually download the v48 files, re-load the RBS's first, then the RBR, then factory reset and setup from scratch. Use a wired PC, and IE11 or Firefox or Opera browsers for this process. Once you get the system setup again, do a back of of the configuration to file for safe keeping.

@P95357 wrote:
And then I updated via the app to Firmware Version 2.3.1.48. And the Orbi router is offline ever since.

What a pain in the ass this system is. They never heard of set and forget. You need to buy into a brotherhood to survive.

Any ideas before I give up and try another brand?

P95357 · ‎2019-04-30

Done. Factory reset with the paper clip on the router did the trick. It took me 2,5 hours with Netgear’s support on the phone but I finally have the main router and the 2 satellites online again.

I don’t think I’ll update the firmware anytime soon.

Thanks for your support.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-04-30

Glad you got it working. FInally.

Enjoy.

Re: RBK50 internet connection issues with iOS devices (and now Dell Latitude laptop computers as wel

RBK50 internet connection issues with iOS devices (and now Dell Latitude laptop computers as well)