Your experience with Firmware 2.2.1.210 released as of 10/3/18

[esiebert7625]

The other long thread on the new firmware is useless and has become a tech support thread. Please only post your experience after upgrading to the new firmware, good or bad. I'd like to see everyone's feedback only to judge if this release is worth upgrading to or not. If you are having issues please open a new thread for support.

[FURRYe38]

Users should keep posting in this thread, regarless of good or bad experiences:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Firmware-2-2-1-210-released-as-of-10-3-18/td-p/1646960/jump-to...

Helps to keep posts about this version of FW central and so users and NG support and see whats going on. Instead of having posts all over the the place.

[Donnnn]

This update was applied automatically and a taken my one satellite offline. It's in "config sync" mode. I definently did not choose to apply this update.

Even a hardware reset has not solved the issue. Tonight I will reinstall the older firmware.

[OzzzieMike]

This latest firmware bricked my RBR50 router. After around 3 hours and 3 phone calls with NETGEAR yesterday, they are sending me a replacement router.

Symptoms after the firmware update (accomplished via iOS Orbi app)...below is a condensed listing of what happened.

— App said Update was complete, and was reconnecting to WiFi.
— Tried several times (tapping Retry) in the app, but still couldn’t connect to WiFi.
— Checked available WiFi networks, and mine wasn’t listed.
— While on phone with NETGEAR, tried both a 30 second and 60 second reset on the router...WiFi signal never appeared.
— While on phone with NETGEAR, I connected an Ethernet cable between a PC and the router. Wasn’t able to access orbilogin.com.
— At this point, support said they’d done all they could, and the router will have to be replaced.

So there’s nothing more I can do until the replacement router arrives. (Am also hoping the satellite wasn’t bricked as well....won’t know until I try setting up the router).

[FURRYe38]

You should always have a PC connected to the Orbi wired for doing any FW updates. https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Firmware-2-2-1-210-released-as-of-10-3-18/m-p/1647303/highligh...

Have you tried recovering the Router?

https://kb.netgear.com/000059633/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-TFTP-client

Some say using the Windows TFTP program works over the one mentioned in the link. Try both...

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@OzzzieMike wrote:
This latest firmware bricked my RBR50 router. After around 3 hours and 3 phone calls with NETGEAR yesterday, they are sending me a replacement router.

Symptoms after the firmware update (accomplished via iOS Orbi app)...below is a condensed listing of what happened.

— App said Update was complete, and was reconnecting to WiFi.
— Tried several times (tapping Retry) in the app, but still couldn’t connect to WiFi.
— Checked available WiFi networks, and mine wasn’t listed.
— While on phone with NETGEAR, tried both a 30 second and 60 second reset on the router...WiFi signal never appeared.
— While on phone with NETGEAR, I connected an Ethernet cable between a PC and the router. Wasn’t able to access orbilogin.com.
— At this point, support said they’d done all they could, and the router will have to be replaced.

So there’s nothing more I can do until the replacement router arrives. (Am also hoping the satellite wasn’t bricked as well....won’t know until I try setting up the router).

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[Retired_Member]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Users should keep posting in this thread, regarless of good or bad experiences:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Firmware-2-2-1-210-released-as-of-10-3-18/td-p/1646960/jump-to...

I beleive the first thread you mention was more intended as an announcement.  Whereas the one started here is actually looking for experiences.

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[Tbsteph]

Never ending saga. Now satellite backhaul connection at 2.4. Also, satellite drops internet connection frequently. Skipped 2.1..4.16 for same reason. 2.1.4.10 works fine.  Please don't ask about how my system is connected. The mere fact that this firmware update and the previous one don't work is all you need to know. I've had the system for about 1.5 years. Until 2.1.4.16 it worked fine. What a POS.

[FURRYe38]

Did you manually update FW or use the auto update process. Auto update seems to cause problems. It's been recommended to manually download the FW files then apply them with a wired PC. Update the satellites first then the router then factory reset and set up from scratch. https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Firmware-2-2-1-210-released-as-of-10-3-18/m-p/1647303/highligh...

Also any wifi neighbors year by?

What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials.

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@Tbsteph wrote:

Never ending saga. Now satellite backhaul connection at 2.4. Also, satellite drops internet connection frequently. Skipped 2.1..4.16 for same reason. 2.1.4.10 works fine.  Please don't ask about how my system is connected. The mere fact that this firmware update and the previous one don't work is all you need to know. I've had the system for about 1.5 years. Until 2.1.4.16 it worked fine. What a POS.

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[soundersfc]

Working great for me.

I have a RBR50 and an RBS50 and both upgraded fine. Same throughput and everything so far!

[FURRYe38]

Enjoy.

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@soundersfc wrote:

Working great for me.

I have a RBR50 and an RBS50 and both upgraded fine. Same throughput and everything so far!

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[OzzzieMike]

My replacement router, which I'd requested be expedited, arrived a while ago.  Was able to set it all up (only deviation from their setup instructions was that I had to sync the satellite and router).

Everything appears to have the latest firmware 2.2.1.210.

Still wondering why, if "firmware-update-thru-Orbi-app" doesn't work, why is it still available in the app?  Maybe someone should post a new thread asking others how they update their firmware?

[FURRYe38]

I agree, i don't much care for updating FW thru mobile apps. Leaves too much open to problems. Wired PC with routers and satellites is perferred and safer.

Hopefully something can be done.

@ChristineT

@AmitR

@Christian_R

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@OzzzieMike wrote:

My replacement router, which I'd requested be expedited, arrived a while ago.  Was able to set it all up (only deviation from their setup instructions was that I had to sync the satellite and router).

Everything appears to have the latest firmware 2.2.1.210.

Still wondering why, if "firmware-update-thru-Orbi-app" doesn't work, why is it still available in the app?  Maybe someone should post a new thread asking others how they update their firmware?

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[RocketSquirrel]

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@esiebert7625 wrote:

Please only post your experience after upgrading to the new firmware, good or bad. I'd like to see everyone's feedback only to judge if this release is worth upgrading to or not.

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2.2.1.210 is working perfectly for me. All 3 Orbis updated fine except 1 satellite needed to be restarted. No factory reset required and all is well.

[Retired_Member]

Auto update to V2.2.1.210 this morning.  So far all is well.

[netadmn]

TLDR: Updated without issue. Devices showing slightly decreased signal strengh but the wireless network has been up/down so it'll probably sort itself out after roaming a bit.

I manually updated tonight to work out any issues before next week and risk any unplanned outage from Orbi updating itself. I've had that happen in the past and I'm still mad about it. I wasn't looking for any specific features or fixes from this firmware. It's hard to get excited about release notes that say esentially "fixed some stuff" without going into detail about what was fixed. I'm used to release notes being dozens of pages long that details specifics... Netgear has major updates with 4 line release notes. haha!

Disclaimer: I have a nonstandard deployment in AP mode doing all the things that gives FURRYe38 nightmares...

Setup: I have the RBK53 in AP mode connected through a managed switch (yes... with IGMP snooping enabled!). My gateway is a pfsense sg3100 with the RBR50 as the Orbi "router" and two sats RBS50. L3 services such as gateway/routing, DHCP, DNS, mDNS/IGMP, etc. are all handled by my sg3100 firewall. Orbi has BEAMFORMING, MU-MIMO, and Fast Roaming enabled. 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs split with different names. Daisy Chain is disabled. I'm wireless backhaul with pretty close proximity (4000 sq ft 3 floor home) with maybe 40 feet betwen the sats and the router. I have the router and one sat on either end of the middle floor. I have another sat in the middle of the top floor.

Update Experience: I've read to update sats before the router so I started to do that. I updated one RBS50 and it rebooted twice. No issue. Uploaded firmware to the other RBS50 but it timed out before I could complete the firmware upload (so I thought). Turns out the RBR50 (which I didn't upload firmware to) had decided to update itself. When the 3 devices came back up, they all reported updated firmware. 5G backhaul to the BRK50 like before. I did NOT perform a factory reset and have not for the past several firmware updates.

Before/After Testing: I have a Verizon FIOS 150/150Mbps connection. Download speeds before and after remained mostly the same 151/149 has been the average from my Samsung S9 over the last hour and a "quiet network" (everyone else is in bed) and I'm just listening to music. I ran some tests on DSL Reports before and I was getting A+ or A ratings for Overall, Bufferbloat and Quality. (I'm using pfsense + CoDel to manage my up/down bandwidth.) Bufferbloat rating went down a bit but tweaking the queue has helped a little bit. mDNS browser shows all my Google Home/minis, chromecasts, echos, wemo plugs, etc. are all back up. At first glance the majority of our devices are online... I normally see 40+ active devices during the day and tonight I only see 30 which is about normal for night.

Conclusion: If this stays the same... that will be 2 firmware updates without issue. Time will tell as to the stablilty but initial impressions are looking good. Family will put stability/streaming to the test with their devices over the weekend.

[AC641]

I updated my RBR50 and RBS50 manually on 03 Oct.  I had no issues with the previous firmware except that I used to see occasional momentary loss of WiFi on my iPad when it was conected to the satellite.  So far I have not seen this with the updated firmware but I think it's too early to say that it has definitely been eradicated.

[AllanSor]

2.2.1.210 made my sat useless. 

Beta 2.2.1.204 has been stable for a week, no drops in wifi from router of sat, wireless backhaul.

Autoupdated from beta 2.2.1.204 to 2.2.1.210 via web gui, sat would not connect again. HW reset sat and removed sat from router web gui. Added sat again. All looked fine, no packet loss and backhaus status "good" 

Lost wifi on sat 3 to 4 times pr. hour, router is still fine. Backhaul status is "poor" all the time, moving sat closer to router made no difference, backhaul will not connect via 5 Ghz and status is "poor"

Manual updated fw to 2.2.1.210 first on sat and the router. Factory reset and started over, all worked for 2 hours, backhaul 5 Ghz "good"

now sat loses connection to router 3 to 4 times pr. hour again. Wired backhaul is not an option for me and 2.2.1.204 was fine (the best to date)

Wifi on router is fine and has no drops but 2.2.1.210 made my sat useless. 

[steve8411]

Knock on wood.  This one has worked flawlessly for the past 2 days.

No factory reset...

It was a bit wonky after install waiting for sats to come back online ...  

But, so far it appears my problems have subsided.

[ratb3rt]

Update went smoothly. However my two Carrier Infinity Touch thermostats lost connection and I could not get them to connect manually no matter what I tried. Every other device had no problem. I rolled back to 2.1.4.16 firmware, and they connected within minutes. They identify themselves as "Microchip Technology Inc.". Please fix this incompatability. I have a router and two satellites. When I check for networks to connect to it shows all three devices as separate networks. Three networks with the same SSID. I don't see this on any other clients. 

The roll back procedure needs some work. When trying it with the cable modem connected the firmware kept going back to the latest version even after manually updating to the old firmware. I don't know if it was really, but the router kept insisting that is was on the latest 2.2.1.210 firmware. Once I disconnected the cable modem I was able to update everything back to 2.1.4.16. 

[OzzzieMike]

This is not specific to this latest update, but I've noticed a lingering problem with my Orbi RBK50 system still exists:

Often (at least once a day on at least one device) I'm not getting a response when I surf to a website or social media site.  I've found that turning WiFi off/on on the device cures the problem. 

As this happens on my Macbook Pro, iPhone, iPad, and a Windows Surface Book 2, it can't be operating system specific....and the only common link I can think of is the WiFi network.

[steve8411]

This is the problem most of us have had .... 

This build seems to fix it. 

[loomis1975]

After Manually Updating RBS40V to 2.2.1.62 and RBS50Y to 2.2.1.204, I then let Online Update take care of RBS50 and RBR50 to 2.2.1.210. This is through a PC Chrome browser connected wirelessly to the RBS50.  Only the RBS40V daisy chains and that is through the outside Orbi, the RBS50Y.

The internet starting working almost immediately and the correct diagnostics (satellites actually showing up under the satelittes header, backhaul showing poor or config synch etc) worked themselves out after about a half hour of leaving it alone.

So alls well that ends well here, so far.

[FURRYe38]

This is a dream, not a mightmare Sir. Glad all is working for you. Your one less user I don't have to dream about. 

This is just proof that Orbi DOES WORK!!!!

Enjoy. 

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@netadmn wrote:

TLDR: Updated without issue. Devices showing slightly decreased signal strengh but the wireless network has been up/down so it'll probably sort itself out after roaming a bit.

I manually updated tonight to work out any issues before next week and risk any unplanned outage from Orbi updating itself. I've had that happen in the past and I'm still mad about it. I wasn't looking for any specific features or fixes from this firmware. It's hard to get excited about release notes that say esentially "fixed some stuff" without going into detail about what was fixed. I'm used to release notes being dozens of pages long that details specifics... Netgear has major updates with 4 line release notes. haha!

Disclaimer: I have a nonstandard deployment in AP mode doing all the things that gives FURRYe38 nightmares...

Setup: I have the RBK53 in AP mode connected through a managed switch (yes... with IGMP snooping enabled!). My gateway is a pfsense sg3100 with the RBR50 as the Orbi "router" and two sats RBS50. L3 services such as gateway/routing, DHCP, DNS, mDNS/IGMP, etc. are all handled by my sg3100 firewall. Orbi has BEAMFORMING, MU-MIMO, and Fast Roaming enabled. 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs split with different names. Daisy Chain is disabled. I'm wireless backhaul with pretty close proximity (4000 sq ft 3 floor home) with maybe 40 feet betwen the sats and the router. I have the router and one sat on either end of the middle floor. I have another sat in the middle of the top floor.

Update Experience: I've read to update sats before the router so I started to do that. I updated one RBS50 and it rebooted twice. No issue. Uploaded firmware to the other RBS50 but it timed out before I could complete the firmware upload (so I thought). Turns out the RBR50 (which I didn't upload firmware to) had decided to update itself. When the 3 devices came back up, they all reported updated firmware. 5G backhaul to the BRK50 like before. I did NOT perform a factory reset and have not for the past several firmware updates.

Before/After Testing: I have a Verizon FIOS 150/150Mbps connection. Download speeds before and after remained mostly the same 151/149 has been the average from my Samsung S9 over the last hour and a "quiet network" (everyone else is in bed) and I'm just listening to music. I ran some tests on DSL Reports before and I was getting A+ or A ratings for Overall, Bufferbloat and Quality. (I'm using pfsense + CoDel to manage my up/down bandwidth.) Bufferbloat rating went down a bit but tweaking the queue has helped a little bit. mDNS browser shows all my Google Home/minis, chromecasts, echos, wemo plugs, etc. are all back up. At first glance the majority of our devices are online... I normally see 40+ active devices during the day and tonight I only see 30 which is about normal for night.

Conclusion: If this stays the same... that will be 2 firmware updates without issue. Time will tell as to the stablilty but initial impressions are looking good. Family will put stability/streaming to the test with their devices over the weekend.

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[Smudgepot]

I updated today - just routine checking into the app (I'd upgraded my mobile) and it said to update, so I did: I have 3 satellites.  It keeps showing "Current Firmware 2.2.1.210" and then "New Version Available 2.1.4.16" [huh???]   a couple times I actually paid no attention and just clicked "Update"  -- later the same old routine. I am utterly confused that it seems to be in an endless loop of recommending an upgrade to an earlier version.

[cahiatt]

Would love it if I could get wired backhaul to work. It doesn't seem like it should be that complicated really. If I connect the two devices via LAN cable they should easily see each other and switch to wired backhaul. Kinda like literally every other mesh setup out there.