RBR20 blocking *something* with Amazon Firestick 4k

[DrillSGT]

I have seen a few older posts sort of around this topic, but nothing exactly the same.

• New Fire TV Stick 4K connected to RBR20/RBS20 network seems to have extremely slow network connection for some functions.
• Initial installation complains of slow network and takes a very long time do update software (many 10's of minutes, vs. a couple minutes when tested on a different network).  Eventually, I can get the Firestick software updated to latest.
• Connecting to Crave app, TSN app, CTV app extremely slow - splash screen stays up for 5 minutes then may connect or may complain of no network connection (vs. loading in a couple seconds when tested on a different network)
• Updating of home screens is generally slow with many missing thumbnails until the Firestick is running for some 10's of minutes.
• Other apps seem to run fine - Netflix for example seems OK. Global app seems OK.  And the analiti app on the Firestick runs quickly and reports 70 Mbps downlink and 30 Mbps uplink.
• It's as if the Firestick is having something blocked by the router, or failing to resolve something, and retrying.  Eventually it seems to get enough throughput but via a seemingly REALLY slow connection.  Again, for some functions but not others.

I know the problem is not the Firestick hardware because I have tried two different ones, and also proven they work fine on other networks.

And the problem seems to be something with the Orbi, because I tried switching out my Orbi for a 2016 vintage Dlink DIR-842 I had kicking around.  With the D-Link, all works fine, through the same cable modem as the Orbi was using.

First I thought it was a DNS issue, so hard-configured DNS in the Firestick to Google and CloudFlare, but no difference.

I tried setting NAT filtering to Open instead of secure.  No difference.

I tried turning off the Port Scan and DoS protection.  No difference.

I don't see any conflicting IP addresses, and it has moved around to a few different addresses along the way as it's been restarted 50 times by now.

I don't really see much of anything in the Orbi WebGUI in terms of available diagnostic tools and logs, so I am stuck where to go next, and hoping somebody here has had a similar experience or has some ideas.

I don't have Armor enabled. I saw one older post with something about that.  It think the RBR20 did install with some free Armor trial initially, but that expired a couple years ago and has been inactive ever since.

Thanks.

[DrillSGT · Accepted solution]

For the benefit of others, here is an update on the resolution to the problem.  In the end, this is not an Orbi problem, but one take-away relevant to Orbi is the use of the http://orbilogin.net/debug.htm page.

NETGEAR support instructed me to capture WAN/LAN traffic using the built-in http://orbilogin.net/debug.htm page and email it to them.  This is a great tool and what I was hoping for.  I don't know why it's not documented in the User Manual. 

They also requested that I put the router back to factory default and report back to them.  Resetting made no difference, but I took that opportunity to use a different wifi SSID and isolate all the other wired/wireless items on the network. I found the cause of the issue was related to having a TP-Link TL-R600VPN device connected in the wired network.  This device is being used just as a LAN switch (no WAN connected, DHCP disabled).  Here's where you can use that capture from the /debug page and really go to work!  I captured traffic both with and without that TP-Link switch in the network.

I saw in the failure logs that there is a lot of IPv6 communication from the FireStick, and seemingly a fallback to IPv4 at some point, but very slowly and it doesn't really recover. Including some link-local ICMPv6 neighbor solicitation/advertisements between the TP-Link and the FireStick, which I did not see in the success logs.

The success case logs showed all IPv4 communication from the FireStick, and of course no ICMPv6 exchanges.

Then I found a setting in TP-Link TL-R600 in the IPTV section that had IGMP proxy enabled (default maybe? I don't think I've ever even looked at that). I disabled that, and I believe that solves the problem.

I did not go back and capture new success traces to see if it is all IPv4 or if it is IPv6 working better.  I understand that IGMP can affect exchange of IPv6 info info but my understanding of what exactly is happening is a bit shaky. I also can't explain why the Firestick had issues with some apps, while other apps were fine and all other devices on my network were fine - including an AppleTV running exactly the same apps that fail on the Firestick.  I assume it comes down how the devices/apps are using IPv6, but since it is working now, I'm not looking any deeper at this point.

Thanks to all for the input and help.

[DrillSGT]

I should have also said that I was running firmware 2.7.3.22 when I first experienced the problem so I upgraded to 2.7.4.24, but saw no change in behavior related to this problem.

[CrimpOn]

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@DrillSGT wrote:

I don't really see much of anything in the Orbi WebGUI in terms of available diagnostic tools and logs, so I am stuck where to go next, and hoping somebody here has had a similar experience or has some ideas.

---

This is perhaps the one area where the Orbi 'app' is superior to the Orbi web interface.  Whereas the web interface Attached Devices shows how the device is connected (2.4G vs. 5G) and to which Orbi unit, the app Connected Devices panel shows a list of devices that are currently connected in three groups: 2.4G, 5G, and Wired with a symbol indicating the strength of the connection. Selecting the device brings up a panel with the "Link Rate" of the connection. 

The troubleshooting steps appear to be "spot on". Updating the firmware was a smart move because one of the first things people suggest is, "update the firmware".

If performance was consistently terrible, I would look at "does it get a good WiFi signal?"  TV's are full of metal and something plugged into an HDMI port might not "see" the WiFi.  The network analysis (analiti) and good performance on some apps seems to rule that out.

As you indicate, this does not make sense.

[KevinLiT]

Hello DrillSGT,

Welcome to the NETGEAR Community!

When you install new firmware on your device it is best practice to also reboot your Orbi device for all of the changes within the firmware to take place.

Is UPnP enabled on your RBR20?

Best,

Kevin

Community Team

[DrillSGT]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, the router (and satellites) were rebooted following the firmware upgrades.

uPNP is enabled with the default settings: Advertisement period 30 mins, Advertisement TTL 4

The uPNP portmap table is empty both before and after attempting any of the functions on the Firestick.

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

[DrillSGT]

The modem is a Hitron CGN3.

In bridge mode, of course.

[KevinLiT]

Hello DrillSGT,

I sent you a private message regarding this issue. Please fill out the requested information for us to further assist in troubleshooting this issue!

Best,

Kevin

Community Team

[DrillSGT · Accepted solution]

For the benefit of others, here is an update on the resolution to the problem.  In the end, this is not an Orbi problem, but one take-away relevant to Orbi is the use of the http://orbilogin.net/debug.htm page.

NETGEAR support instructed me to capture WAN/LAN traffic using the built-in http://orbilogin.net/debug.htm page and email it to them.  This is a great tool and what I was hoping for.  I don't know why it's not documented in the User Manual. 

They also requested that I put the router back to factory default and report back to them.  Resetting made no difference, but I took that opportunity to use a different wifi SSID and isolate all the other wired/wireless items on the network. I found the cause of the issue was related to having a TP-Link TL-R600VPN device connected in the wired network.  This device is being used just as a LAN switch (no WAN connected, DHCP disabled).  Here's where you can use that capture from the /debug page and really go to work!  I captured traffic both with and without that TP-Link switch in the network.

I saw in the failure logs that there is a lot of IPv6 communication from the FireStick, and seemingly a fallback to IPv4 at some point, but very slowly and it doesn't really recover. Including some link-local ICMPv6 neighbor solicitation/advertisements between the TP-Link and the FireStick, which I did not see in the success logs.

The success case logs showed all IPv4 communication from the FireStick, and of course no ICMPv6 exchanges.

Then I found a setting in TP-Link TL-R600 in the IPTV section that had IGMP proxy enabled (default maybe? I don't think I've ever even looked at that). I disabled that, and I believe that solves the problem.

I did not go back and capture new success traces to see if it is all IPv4 or if it is IPv6 working better.  I understand that IGMP can affect exchange of IPv6 info info but my understanding of what exactly is happening is a bit shaky. I also can't explain why the Firestick had issues with some apps, while other apps were fine and all other devices on my network were fine - including an AppleTV running exactly the same apps that fail on the Firestick.  I assume it comes down how the devices/apps are using IPv6, but since it is working now, I'm not looking any deeper at this point.

Thanks to all for the input and help.

[FURRYe38]

Glad you got it working. Please mark your thread as solved so others will know. Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System
Enjoy. 📡