Does Netgear have an ombudsman to escalate issues ?
Despite an RMA and 6+ months of back and forth - I have received no resolution to my issue - because of the delaying tactics and slow responses via engineering, L2 support I am out of the window to dispute it with my credit card company or Amazon
Is there an ombudsman or consumer advocate within Netgear who can help hear concerns ?
Context : On a Fios 1 gig network (850+ mbps wired ) I only get about 400-430mbps constantly on different devices even when sitting next to the router - latest iPhone ( WiFi 6 ) MacBook Pro 2018
Timing: Call 1 : Support tried - changing channels ( locked me out of the router, couldn’t connect)
Escalated to L1 or some other support Accepted device replacement needed Call 50 - months later Beta firmware - didn’t work Latest firmware - didn’t work Long pause - 1+ months RMA process started - Warnings about needing a credit card Device arrived Setup with same ssid - none of the devices could connect Reset to default settings Upgrade firmware - no connection WiFi network seen Message support to call - no response for 2 days Downgrade firmware - same issue Upgrade firmware - same issue , can’t connect
Reset Hardwired and tried again ignoring app and going to console Setup succeeded Speedtest - new hardware, no difference Change channel Locked out, devices won’t accept password Reset Hardwire Go back to console - ignore app Setup succeeded
$700+ Hundreds of hours and another $700 hold later , back to square one
Please let me know if you know of a reliable escalation path
I might be wrong though, however 300-400 Mbps wireless with AC seems to be pretty decent. In any case the router you are using is a Wifi 5 (AC) router, so it doesn't matter that you use client that are wifi 6 (AX) capable, the bottleneck remains the router.
I am sure Netgear support must have said this. They can't be that bad right, keeping you months on support and doing pointless RMA's.
Re: Does Netgear have an ombudsman to escalate issues ?
Most wifi devices max out at around 400-500Mbps, even on AX mode. The main issue is that some of these devices antenna configurations only support 2x2 which has it's own limtation on performance. Devices with 4x4 antenna configurations can handle more speeds, like seeing near 900Mbps.
I would note that my Mac Book Pro seen around 700 once or twice. Most of the time test come back at around 400-500 range. However my Mac Book Pro 2018 is AC only supporting. My iPhone 12 Max is around the same range, however its AX supporting but 2x2 antenna configuration. If I connect my ASUS GT-AX11000 wireless bridge mode to the Orbi system, I can see near 900Mpbs however it's 4x4 antenna supporting.
Re: Does Netgear have an ombudsman to escalate issues ?
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
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.
Re: Does Netgear have an ombudsman to escalate issues ?
If you connect wired through the the router and you get +800 Mbps, then being wireless connected and sitting next to the same router you should be able to get 560-640 Mbps. I am getting this while being connected to a satellite (not even the router) on a RBK752 set, using the TP-Link AX3000E PCIe adapter on a desktop PC. This is a 2x2 adapter (802.11ax 2x2 160 MHz 2402 Mbps). However, on the client side the Orbi limits me to 2x2 80 MHz 1200 Mbps, as the Orbi doesn't support 160 Mhz for clients.
In your case, I do not think there is anything wrong the router hardware. Your issue I think could be either 1) client devices 2) external signals that interfere with your wifi. 3) the device you are downloading data from is reaching max upload capacity.
In your testing, also make sure that you are actually connected to the main router if you're like sitting next to it. You can check this on the configuration/status page. However, reading how much you went through already with support. I think you might have also done that.
edit: You have the RBR850 which is also 4x4 for clients, not just for the backhaul. So your potential (2402 Mbps 80 MHZ) should be even greater. However your clients should then also have 4x4. What sort of speed (Mbps) are you clients reporting, if you look for example in the network adapter? In your case it should at least report +960 Mbps for a 2x2 stream on 80 MHz.
Re: Does Netgear have an ombudsman to escalate issues ?
Device is an iPhone 12 Pro Max and a MB pro 2018 15” One is a WiFi 6 client and one is not - devices don’t breach 450 mbps on speedtest (app,site) speed of me, fast.com
