RBR50 stops serving some content to Macs after a few minutes
I've tried searching the forums and have tried some solutions that have been described in other posts, but I'm not finding the correct solution here.
I have an RBR50 with 2 RBS50 that serves a house with a bunch of devices, mostly macs but we do have 1 PC in the house as well.
Recently the system stopped serving our macs certain content. Typically sites like amazon.com, turbotax.com, linkedin.com all won't work if it is either a secondary screen like a login, or a product search in amazon, etc. Most sites work, and fast as usual. What is even stranger is that if I turn on my PIA VPN on my macbooks, all the sites will start working no problem. Also, the PC laptop has no problem at anytime. If I reset the RBR, things will work for about 5 minutes and then start failing again. Even stranger, if I reset the incoming HTC Fiber box even without resetting the RBR, things will work for about 5 minutes and then start failing again.
I turned off the Orbi system and plugged the original HTC crap pucks that they gave us back in and have been waiting to see if the same issue persists, but it does not.
At this point I am sure it is the Orbi. I've tried different DNS settings, I tried the "ORBI is blocking HTTPS websites that are not explicitly defined in URL" solution, but so far nothing has worked.
I am going to try and factory reset the Orbi system and start over, but I have to imagine I'm not the only person who has encountered something like this. The firmware is the latest that it will update to on its own.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated as this as you
Re: RBR50 stops serving some content to Macs after a few minutes
No defender or SPCs are enabled.
Macs are on latest version of Chrome, PC is on Edge, I just updated to 2.7.5.4 manually since the auto update wasn't working, so I'm waiting to see what happens in a few minutes.
*update*
It has not appeared to make any difference in the above issue. =/
I just updated to 2.7.5.4 manually since the auto update wasn't working, so I'm waiting to see what happens in a few minutes.
As you discovered, when new firmware is released, Netgear waits a while (an unspecified length of time) before "fliipping a switch" so that customer routers discover it when they check in (twice every day) and announce "New Firmware Available". After an even longer period of time, Netgear flips another switch and begins to push new firmware to routers in the middle of the night. (There are thousands of customers who never look at the Firmware Update menu or even open the Orbi 'app'.)
The diagnosis steps are exactly what people on the forum almost always recommend:
Substitute a different router for the Orbi.
Connect directly to the ISP (no router at all).
Change DNS servers.
Clear cache on web browsers.
In addition, I like to do what seems like a silly test:
type the command ping ford.com, which should result in a response something like this:
>ping ford.com
Pinging ford.com [19.12.97.37] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 19.12.97.37: bytes=32 time=57ms TTL=244 Reply from 19.12.97.37: bytes=32 time=58ms TTL=244 Reply from 19.12.97.37: bytes=32 time=58ms TTL=244 Reply from 19.12.97.37: bytes=32 time=58ms TTL=244
Ping statistics for 19.12.97.37: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 57ms, Maximum = 58ms, Average = 57ms
If this fails, try ping 19.12.97.37
>ping 19.12.97.37
Pinging 19.12.97.37 with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 19.12.97.37: bytes=32 time=57ms TTL=244 Reply from 19.12.97.37: bytes=32 time=57ms TTL=244 Reply from 19.12.97.37: bytes=32 time=57ms TTL=244 Reply from 19.12.97.37: bytes=32 time=58ms TTL=244
Technically, there is a difference between having "no internet" and not being able to resolve Domain Names.
The original post did not describe "what happens". Is an error message displayed by the browser?
Re: RBR50 stops serving some content to Macs after a few minutes
As described above, I had already put back the original mesh system (Plume) provided by HTC (my ISP) and tested and did not have the same issues. Followed all of the troubleshooting steps above, including DNS (fail), connecting directly (which has no issues) and clearing cache.
What I am now seeing is that it is a Chrome to Orbi issue. Chrome just won't load the page, or if it does, it is very partial, and it is only for certain websites. I don't know what changed in the last week. Or why when I reset the Orbi it works for 5 minutes before bombing. If I use Safari, I seem to have less issues. The pages in question will load, but slowly. On one of my macs, the page looks like it has loaded successfully but no page is rendered.
My pings have no issue, so it is definitely Chrome, but what I can't figure out is, why when I turn my VPN on, or switch back to the ISP provided mesh, or connect directly, does it resolve the issue?
Re: RBR50 stops serving some content to Macs after a few minutes
Just curious,
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 is recommended.
What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR📡 and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite 🛰️
What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz. Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?
Try disabling the following and see: Armor, Smart Parental Controls or Circle, Traffic Meter, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set CTS to 64. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
I've tried searching the forums and have tried some solutions that have been described in other posts, but I'm not finding the correct solution here.
I have an RBR50 with 2 RBS50 that serves a house with a bunch of devices, mostly macs but we do have 1 PC in the house as well.
Recently the system stopped serving our macs certain content. Typically sites like amazon.com, turbotax.com, linkedin.com all won't work if it is either a secondary screen like a login, or a product search in amazon, etc. Most sites work, and fast as usual. What is even stranger is that if I turn on my PIA VPN on my macbooks, all the sites will start working no problem. Also, the PC laptop has no problem at anytime. If I reset the RBR, things will work for about 5 minutes and then start failing again. Even stranger, if I reset the incoming HTC Fiber box even without resetting the RBR, things will work for about 5 minutes and then start failing again.
I turned off the Orbi system and plugged the original HTC crap pucks that they gave us back in and have been waiting to see if the same issue persists, but it does not.
At this point I am sure it is the Orbi. I've tried different DNS settings, I tried the "ORBI is blocking HTTPS websites that are not explicitly defined in URL" solution, but so far nothing has worked.
I am going to try and factory reset the Orbi system and start over, but I have to imagine I'm not the only person who has encountered something like this. The firmware is the latest that it will update to on its own.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated as this as you
Re: RBR50 stops serving some content to Macs after a few minutes
2500 sq ft
RBR is ground floor more than 30 feet away from the RBS units upstairs, also more than 30 feet apart from each other
House is standard stick built construction, brand new.
LAN cable is CAT6 brand new
I can't get to the HTC panel as it is the incoming fiber connection and belongs to HTC behind a locked panel outside, all I can do is reset it by resetting the breaker for the panel.
I have tried manually setting different channels with no change in results.
There are a lot of wifi networks near by. Almost all of them are using the supplied cheap Plume mesh pucks.
There are no security features turned on.
Again, I ran the connection direct from the fiber to a computer with no issues for hours. Once the Orbi is back in, it just starts resetting itself frequently, or just dropping the connection entirely. I just don't have the time to screw with it at this point. My R6700 has been stable, it just isn't as fast and has issues with trying to stream and download simultaneously so I'll need to change that out at some point.
If you have lots of neighbors near by, try turning down the power output of the RBRs wifi radios from 100% to 50% and see if this changes anything. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
