ethernet connections dropping plus firmware updates failing

[jp4120]

purchased from amazon july 2018. - model sold as RBK33 (not an option on the model dropdowns)

NETGEAR Orbi Tri-band Whole Home Mesh WiFi System, with Wall Plugs (RBK33)

i have switched ethernet cables, have rebooted the router 2x, have a flashing light at the desktop ethernet connection

is there a setting that i can check to see if ethernet got turned off?  this worked fine for years.

i tried updating firmware - my based FW is ok, my satellite FW update failed.

right now running on wifi but i want to use ethernet for my desktop.

any suggestions on next steps? thx.

[jp4120 · Accepted solution]

the flashing light is on the computer connection.  

i switched ethernet cables and i googled a bit about troubleshooting my Acer Aspire computer. 

based on that i went into device manager and enabled a network access driver (not sure how it got disabled)

then i rebooted everything and waited about 30 minutes and now the ethernet connection is working.

so the issue may not have been Orbi after all.

2nd issue today was my older HP laptop was suddenly 'blocked' from the internet by the Orbi router.  I must have done something while troubleshooting the first issue because this was the first time this ever happened.

per Orbi instructions you should be able to allow access or unblock devices but this would not work for me.  So i found via google a way to reset/renumber my MAC address on my laptop and this resolved this 2nd problem.

[CrimpOn]

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@jp4120 wrote:

is there a setting that i can check to see if ethernet got turned off?  this worked fine for years.

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On the Orbi web management interface, click on the Advanced Tab, then select the blue box Show Statistics.

That will bring up a box showing what the router believes about the WAN port and the three LAN ports.

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@jp4120 wrote:

have a flashing light at the desktop ethernet connection

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Can you please describe this flashing light?  Is it on the Ethernet connector on the desktop computer?  What does the computer user manual say about the light?

[jp4120 · Accepted solution]

the flashing light is on the computer connection.  

i switched ethernet cables and i googled a bit about troubleshooting my Acer Aspire computer. 

based on that i went into device manager and enabled a network access driver (not sure how it got disabled)

then i rebooted everything and waited about 30 minutes and now the ethernet connection is working.

so the issue may not have been Orbi after all.

2nd issue today was my older HP laptop was suddenly 'blocked' from the internet by the Orbi router.  I must have done something while troubleshooting the first issue because this was the first time this ever happened.

per Orbi instructions you should be able to allow access or unblock devices but this would not work for me.  So i found via google a way to reset/renumber my MAC address on my laptop and this resolved this 2nd problem.