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Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

Flibbidyfloo
Guide

RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

I hope someone else has run into this weird problem and can offer some advice, so I appreciate anyone that can help! I'll be as detailed as I can to get started.

 

We have an RBR50 + satellite set up with over a dozen devices. Nothing at all has changed in the last few weeks, and before that the only change for months was to update to the latest firmware. This problem started on Sunday, March 14th.

 

Certain devices on the network will suddenly have no internet. They remain connected to the network, and can be seen by the router, showing up as connected in the attached devices list. Once this happens the only fix is to reboot the router.

 

These devices lose internet, but stay connected to Orbi and show up in the attached devices list:

 

  • My cell (Samsung) (WiFi)
  • Wife’s cell (Motorola) (WiFi)
  • My laptop (WiFi)
  • Roku, office (WiFi in same room as satellite)
  • Wife’s desktop (wired into the satellite)

 

These devices do not lose internet:

  • My desktop (WiFi, connects to satellite)
  • Roku, living room (wired into Orbi base station)
  • Camera system (WiFi, connects to base station)

 

As you can see, it’s a combination of connection types that stop working. Unfortunately testing is hard because if it goes down during the day I have to just reboot it so my wife and I can get back to work. It has only gone down twice so far outside work hours.

 

During those times here's what I've tried, all with no luck:

 

  • Checked for firmware update (already on latest)
  • Turn off WiFi on the affected devices and reconnect
  • "Forget" WiFi settings on the devices and reconnect
  • Made sure access control and parental controls are still disabled
  • Tried connecting to the guest network instead - same result
  • Get devices to connect to main router instead of satellite, or vice versa
  • Turn off satellite
  • Reboot just the satellite
  • Release/renew ip, both on devices and on router
  • Enable fast roaming
  • Enable IGMP Proxying
  • Turn off  "Anywhere Access" inside app
  • Changed DNS settings in router to use Google's DNS, just in case OpenDNS was having an issue
  • Manually disabled individual devices inside the app then reenabled them
  • Wait 8 hours to see if it fixes iteself

I can’t think of any other options short of a factory reset, which I can try this weekend, but I’m hoping someone has other suggestions or thoughts as to why this would just suddenly start happening now.

 

I found an old archived thread on Reddit where someone had what sounded like the exact same problem. One other person replied that they also had the issue, but there were no other replies.

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 1 of 31

Accepted Solutions
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

So far, the reports seem to confirm that EITHER turning off DST *or* TM no longer triggers the problem, using the standard graphical interface.

 

There are other fixes that also work but require debug-level direct access, e.g., restarting dnsmasq (recovers). Note that setting clients to no longer relay DNS through dnsmasq has *not* been shown viable; it would allow clients to continue working using their current DHCP assignment but if dnsmasq crashes then new assignments and renewals would fail.

View solution in original post

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 13 of 31

All Replies
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

what orbi firmware are you running?

Message 2 of 31
tak1313
Luminary

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

That's interesting.  Yesterday (3/18) while I was at work, my wife, who works from home, texted me that we had no internet (her laptops lost internet and her phone which was latched on to wifi at the time).  She did not check anything, as I'm the "computer guy" (SNL reference) for the house.

 

Within a couple of minutes, she said the laptops were fine, but her phone (only) kept doing the same thing.  I was able to see the various IOT stuff in the house from work (plugs, switches, cams, etc.) so I don't know what else it may have been affecting, or if anything else was affected but by the time I looked at them the problem resolved.

 

From her description I knew the Wifi worked, since her phone stayed tapped in and didn't hop over to data, but was not connecting somehow to the internet.  At the moment, I feared the dreaded DNS problem, since she described the phone as "reloading" and going through, but constantly happening (but could not describe what error she was seeing).

 

But all was well even with the phone in another few minutes.  I have noticed over the last couple of days, the signal STRENGTH as viewed by the wifi icon, would drop a little, but I wouldn't lose signal completely, and the icon would show full strength within a few seconds.

 

hmmm...

Message 3 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

This appears related to the recent DNS/NTP issue. The router appears to lose the ability to relay DNS requests.

To confirm, try to set the DNS on your laptop or phone to something other than the router.

 

Here's a link to one of many other threads on this topic:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-DNS-and-DHCP-and-NTP-Broken-Short-Term-Fix-Options/m-p/20...

 

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 4 of 31
Flibbidyfloo
Guide

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

DOH sorry, the malformed HTML detection on these forums apparently stripped out the line in my original post with the firmware.

 

Both devices are on the latest, according to the update button: v2.7.2.104

Message 5 of 31
Flibbidyfloo
Guide

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

@l8nc - This DNS issue would affect only specific devices each time?

 

 

Message 6 of 31
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet


@Flibbidyfloo wrote:

DOH sorry, the malformed HTML detection on these forums apparently stripped out the line in my original post with the firmware.

 

Both devices are on the latest, according to the update button: v2.7.2.104


and there lies your problem....v2.7.2.104

Message 7 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

It would affect only devices that are currently relaying DNS through the router whose DNS is set to 192.168.1.1 (the router).

 

You can get around this by either restarting the dnsmasq process on the router (as posted to the thread link I gave previously) or setting your device to use some other DNS (e.g., Cloudflare 1.1.1.1).

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 8 of 31
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet


@l8nc wrote:

It would affect only devices that are currently relaying DNS through the router whose DNS is set to 192.168.1.1 (the router).

 

You can get around this by either restarting the dnsmasq process on the router (as posted to the thread link I gave previously) or setting your device to use some other DNS (e.g., Cloudflare 1.1.1.1).


Not exactly...I use 192.168.1.1 to get to the router and my Orbi clock / DNS is fine, but of course I'm not running the latest wiz-bang firmware.

Message 9 of 31
Flibbidyfloo
Guide

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

Ahh, so having my own DNS IP addresses entered into the router itself doesn't automatically set it to that via the router's DHCP like you'd expect?

 

Ok, I've read the other thread on possible fixes, so I'm going to start with the simplest - turning off the DST and see if that helps. If not then I'll have to switch to my cable modem for DHCP functions.

 

Though I really don't understand why it wouldn't also affect some devices that don't have a way to manually set the DHCP, like the Roku that's hardwired into it, or the WiFi cameras that don't have any manual setup options at all. Those devices are 100% relying on the Orbi for all DHCP/DNS configuration...

Message 10 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

Ahh, so having my own DNS IP addresses entered into the router itself doesn't automatically set it to that via the router's DHCP like you'd expect?

 

There are two outcomes you might expect:

  1. the router provides those DNS IP addresses in DHCP responses
  2. the router uses those DNS IP addresses for its requests, but still tells DHCP clients to use itself (192.168.1.1) as their DNS

 

NG routers support #2 but not #1 (yet - I hope this might eventually change).

 

I.e., you can override only the DNS the router sends its queries to, not the DNS the DHCP clients use.

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 11 of 31
Flibbidyfloo
Guide

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

So far turning off DST in the NTP screen seems to have resolved the issue - but it's only been a few days, so I'm going to let it ride for a few more to confirm.

Message 12 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

So far, the reports seem to confirm that EITHER turning off DST *or* TM no longer triggers the problem, using the standard graphical interface.

 

There are other fixes that also work but require debug-level direct access, e.g., restarting dnsmasq (recovers). Note that setting clients to no longer relay DNS through dnsmasq has *not* been shown viable; it would allow clients to continue working using their current DHCP assignment but if dnsmasq crashes then new assignments and renewals would fail.

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 13 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

Hi, all,

 

I confirmed the following with tech support this AM:

- DST and TM interact and crash dnsmasq, killing DHCP and DNS relay

- the current recommended fix is to disable either DST or TM and appears to be stable

- a firmware fix is in the works and will be posted when ready

 

I also noted the following two issues:

1. IPv6 DNS override does not work; the address entered is not correctly saved in /tmp/resolv.conf as it is for IPv4

2. IPv6 DNS override fields are too narrow (3 characters), though you can just type 4 characters in the fields

3. DNS override on Orbi devices sets the DNS for the router; the DNS for clients (provided in DHCP) is always the IP of the router, not the IP of the DNS; this is a widely-known deficieny in the Netgear graphical interface (there are ways to override via the debug console)

 

 

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 14 of 31
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

Did support mention that this DST fiasco appears to only effect those with latest firmware?  I'm on a older version and never blinked an eye 

Message 15 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

There are reports of this affecting other firmware versions too.

 

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 16 of 31
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet


@l8nc wrote:

There are reports of this affecting other firmware versions too.

 


Not mine 

Message 17 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

It does appear the 104 version is much more predictable in how it fails.

 

If you're running an earlier version, can you please post the following:

- which version of RBR50? (v1 has USB ports; v2 does not)

- which version of firmware on both router and satellite?

- is DST set?

- is TM set?

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 18 of 31
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet


@l8nc wrote:

It does appear the 104 version is much more predictable in how it fails.

 

If you're running an earlier version, can you please post the following:

- which version of RBR50? (v1 has USB ports; v2 does not)

- which version of firmware on both router and satellite?

- is DST set?

- is TM set?

 

v2.5.2.4

v1

 

yes

 

no

Message 19 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

If you set DST=yes and TM=no, you're using the fix that we already know works with v104 too.

 

I.e., your example of using old firmware is NOT shown as an alternate sollution; it uses the same fix.

 

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 20 of 31
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet


@l8nc wrote:

If you set DST=yes and TM=no, you're using the fix that we already know works with v104 too.

 

I.e., your example of using old firmware is NOT shown as an alternate sollution; it uses the same fix.

 


Nice

 

but my firmware never needed a fix for it was never broken 

 

it sounds what you're trying to say is the latest wizbang firmware couldn't handle TM 

 

or....if I set TM on my old firmware there would be hell to pay ???

Message 21 of 31
l8nc
Apprentice

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet


@vajim wrote:

@l8nc wrote:

If you set DST=yes and TM=no, you're using the fix that we already know works with v104 too.

 

I.e., your example of using old firmware is NOT shown as an alternate sollution; it uses the same fix.

 


Nice

 

but my firmware never needed a fix for it was never broken 

 

it sounds what you're trying to say is the latest wizbang firmware couldn't handle TM 

 

or....if I set TM on my old firmware there would be hell to pay ???


I don't know; the more recent firmware does protect you better against cyber attacks though.

 

The only way to know if this woud happen with DST+TM on your firmware is to test; the worst that happens is you lose DNS and DHCP; you can always login to your router, change the settings back, and reboot it to fix.

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 22 of 31
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet


@l8nc wrote:

@vajim wrote:

@l8nc wrote:

If you set DST=yes and TM=no, you're using the fix that we already know works with v104 too.

 

I.e., your example of using old firmware is NOT shown as an alternate sollution; it uses the same fix.

 


Nice

 

but my firmware never needed a fix for it was never broken 

 

it sounds what you're trying to say is the latest wizbang firmware couldn't handle TM 

 

or....if I set TM on my old firmware there would be hell to pay ???


I don't know; the more recent firmware does protect you better against cyber attacks though.

 

The only way to know if this woud happen with DST+TM on your firmware is to test; the worst that happens is you lose DNS and DHCP; you can always login to your router, change the settings back, and reboot it to fix.


No to the TM. Not interested 

 

still waiting on the cyber attack 

Message 23 of 31

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet

I might honestly just roll it back again. What firmware are you using?

 

I'm on the latest firmware right now, with DST on and TM off and the disconnects are constant, not intermittent but basically constant on my wifi devices.

 

Message 24 of 31
vajim
Master

Re: RBR50 + satellite randomly disconnecting specific devices from internet


@CaptainPing wrote:

I might honestly just roll it back again. What firmware are you using?

 

I'm on the latest firmware right now, with DST on and TM off and the disconnects are constant, not intermittent but basically constant on my wifi devices.

 


im on 2.5.2.4 but i doubt you can find it available

 

unless you have a copy of a older version, you might check the download area, enter your model number and see what is listed.

Message 25 of 31
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