Installed Orbi and data usage quadrupled!

[FURRYe38]

Resetting can clear out any corrupt configurations and or problems that maybe a problem on the router. Even though it's a basic setup to try, it's still valid. Not everyone is having a problem with this. So there maybe an issue with your unit, faulty or something in the configuration that needs to be cleared out. The reset is a valid trouble shooting step and has helped others. 

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Your-experience-with-Firmware-2-2-1-210-released-as-of-10-3-18...
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/How-i-solved-90-of-my-quot-some-devices-keep-disconnecting/m-p...
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Firmware-2-2-1-210-released-as-of-10-3-18/m-p/1647303/highligh...
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/RBK40-Download-Speed-Slows-Down-After-5-Days/m-p/1643475/highl...

However if you don't choose to try it, thats up to you. I'll recommend you contact NG support and ask for there help and information. 

Good Luck. 

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@josepie wrote:

It seems to me, resetting my router to factory default is not the best option. This issue is with the router not being able to track data per device. Why do you think resetting my router will help me solve the problem? This option is basic troubleshooting advice at best. 

I think its time to find a better option. Its a pity, I like this router but the lack of options is a deal breaker. 

The world is changing, everyone is streaming more nowadays, the internet providers are changing faster than Netgear's ability to keep up. I just think having this basic feature is must. 

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@josepie wrote:

It seems to me, resetting my router to factory default is not the best option. This issue is with the router not being able to track data per device. Why do you think resetting my router will help me solve the problem? This option is basic troubleshooting advice at best. 

I think its time to find a better option. Its a pity, I like this router but the lack of options is a deal breaker. 

The world is changing, everyone is streaming more nowadays, the internet providers are changing faster than Netgear's ability to keep up. I just think having this basic feature is must. 

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[josepie]

Hi Furrye38, so here is something weird... I removed the Orbi yesterday morning, returned to my apple airport extreme and my data usage has dropped considerably. With the Orbi, in 3 days I used 240GB. WIth the apple router, in 1.5 days I have used 25GB. 

Am I missing a setting on this router that could stop this? I will reset the router to factory default, but I'd like to configure it correctly. 

Any adice is appreciated. 

[FURRYe38]

I'm wondering if something either on the Orbi is using up data or something connected to it. I see why your looking at the ORbi. Good test by putting your prior router online.

Was the same devices all connected to the prior router as they were with the Orbi being online?

After a reset, and setup from scratch. Lets see if we can narrow things down a bit. Can you set up a different SSID for wireless temporarily. Disconnect ALL other wired LAN and wireless devices accept for one PC or a mobile device. Ensure this PC is working well and not using any apps and is bug and malware free. Malware can cause data usage. You might even go with disconnecting ALL wired and use 1 or two mobile devices only connected to the Orbi. I would disable the satelite as well. Keep all connected to just the router for now. Test for a couple of days and check the usage. You might turn ON Traffic meter as well right after the setup from scratch to start a base line. Keep track of whats connected and what your doing. Trying to help you isolate the devices from the router first, then graduate adding if the usage isn't seen after the reset. 

If you don't see lots of usage, start by adding devices. 

I found a couple of historial related posts:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Installed-Orbi-and-data-usage-quadrupled/m-p/1632679

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-RBR-50-high-download-traffic-volume/m-p/1325070

Please review and see if anything applies or helps.

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@josepie wrote:

Hi Furrye38, so here is something weird... I removed the Orbi yesterday morning, returned to my apple airport extreme and my data usage has dropped considerably. With the Orbi, in 3 days I used 240GB. WIth the apple router, in 1.5 days I have used 25GB. 

Am I missing a setting on this router that could stop this? I will reset the router to factory default, but I'd like to configure it correctly. 

Any adice is appreciated. 

---

[roberto1234]

This is continued and resulted in various overage charges from ISP.  Luckily I was able to return the system and get my $450 back after 10 months of paying extra to my ISP.  

I've installed a Cisco Meraki system in my home, which shows analytics and data usage per device.  I'm seeing about 1/10 the usage since yesterday. I wish I would've put the Meraki system "in front of" Orbi to see what it was sending, but too late for that...

Netgear has lost a customer here.

[josepie]

I'm curious, how did you manage to return this after 10 months? 

[roberto1234]

One word... Costco 🙂

[FURRYe38]

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Installed-Orbi-and-data-usage-quadrupled/m-p/1641362/highlight...

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@josepie wrote:

I am having this exact same issue. 

Anyone know of a way to check what is causing this data usage? I'm at 1.2TB in 4 weeks, up from 300GB last month. Nothing new added, current firmware etc. 

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[Richsmol]

Purchase the Orbi AC3000 on Black Friday.  I also have Comcast/Xfinity wifi modem.   My data usage is now 3x.   I hit the 1TB in Dec and Jan.  I unplug the Orbi in February and my usage went back to normal, which was less than 300mb.   Does anyone know what is going on? Is there something I need to do with the Xfinity modem in my account?  I really like this unit, but I may have no choice and try to return it and buy buy the xfinity extenders.

[FURRYe38]

What FW is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

What devices do you have connected to the Orbi system? 

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Installed-Orbi-and-data-usage-quadrupled/m-p/1641362/highlight...

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@Richsmol wrote:

Purchase the Orbi AC3000 on Black Friday.  I also have Comcast/Xfinity wifi modem.   My data usage is now 3x.   I hit the 1TB in Dec and Jan.  I unplug the Orbi in February and my usage went back to normal, which was less than 300mb.   Does anyone know what is going on? Is there something I need to do with the Xfinity modem in my account?  I really like this unit, but I may have no choice and try to return it and buy buy the xfinity extenders.

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[yata001]

The Orbi makes three types of requests from the router itself:

1. makes a request to www.netgear.com every 5 minutes to check if the router has an internet connection.
2. makes a request to updates1.netgear.com hour to check for new firmware updates.
3. on the latest version, makes a request to nimbus.bitdefender.net every 1 minute. Netgear repackage bitdefender for the Armor security product but who knows why it needs to sent day every minute even when not enabled.

Since the excessive data usage problem does not occur for everyone and occurred before the latest release, I suspect the problem is that the router has the stored the incorrect firmware version (that is the version it's tracking does not match the actual installed version) and is consistently downloading firmware in an attempt to update it. If so, then updating to the latest version, 2.3.0.32, should fix the problem since firmware updates are no longer automatically downloaded.
If updating to the latest firmware is not an option, try disabling the auto update, https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Disable-auto-update-of-orbi-firmware-additional-steps-needed/m...

[FURRYe38]

You might try a full factory ERASE on the RBR and setup from scratch to see if this continues after updating FW. 

I presume the system should not be needing to make all these requests in such short order. 

@Blanca_O 

@ErnestTheGreat 

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@yata001 wrote:

The Orbi makes three types of requests from the router itself:

1. makes a request to www.netgear.com every 5 minutes to check if the router has an internet connection.
2. makes a request to updates1.netgear.com hour to check for new firmware updates.
3. on the latest version, makes a request to nimbus.bitdefender.net every 1 minute. Netgear repackage bitdefender for the Armor security product but who knows why it needs to sent day every minute even when not enabled.

Since the excessive data usage problem does not occur for everyone and occurred before the latest release, I suspect the problem is that the router has the stored the incorrect firmware version (that is the version it's tracking does not match the actual installed version) and is consistently downloading firmware in an attempt to update it. If so, then updating to the latest version, 2.3.0.32, should fix the problem since firmware updates are no longer automatically downloaded.
If updating to the latest firmware is not an option, try disabling the auto update, https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Disable-auto-update-of-orbi-firmware-additional-steps-needed/m...

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[roberto1234]

900GB+ per month with Orbi.
This month without Orbi, I’m at 334GB with one week left.

Usage is pretty much cut in half.

[FURRYe38]

What FW is currently loaded?

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

There is more recent FW available.

All 50 series:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/New-NetGear-Orbi-RBR50-RBS50-Firmware-Version-2-3-0-32-now/m-p...
20/40 Series:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/New-NetGear-Orbi-20-40-Series-Firmware-Version-2-3-0-28/td-p/1...

You might try a full factory ERASE on the RBR and setup from scratch to see if this continues after updating FW. 

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@roberto1234 wrote:
900GB+ per month with Orbi.
This month without Orbi, I’m at 334GB with one week left.

Usage is pretty much cut in half.

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[Maroman]

I'm curious to see if resetting to factory settings after updating the fw resolves your issue.  Since I've had the Orbi I've hit my 1TB limit 3 times now in the past 5 months.  I just updated the firmware but haven't reset to factory yet.  
The usage and the lack of per device traffic monitoring are making me think of switching over to something else.  

[Ragar99]

Serisouly?  Reset and load current firmware? That makes zero sense.  That is supposed to fix a problem of data usage 3-10x times greater on an Orbi?

Did you guys get fired from Geek squad for incompetence?  

[Chuck_M]

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@Ragar99 wrote:

Serisouly?  Reset and load current firmware? That makes zero sense.  That is supposed to fix a problem of data usage 3-10x times greater on an Orbi?

Did you guys get fired from Geek squad for incompetence?  

---

Resetting makes perfect sense to me if there is orphaned code that is still running -- that would be eliminated by a factory reset.

Errors can be generated within not only the firmware itself but within the firmware upgrade routines.  A reset potentially takes care of the second half.

Finally please remember this community is just a bunch of people trying to help.  If you take pot shots for people giving ideas or advice, you are killing any brainstorming or willingness to help each other.  No one here works for Netgear.

[FURRYe38]

It would be nice if the users who have posted about data usage give feedback on the questions presented and if a factory reset helped or not. Also there is new FW out as well since they posted. 

This issue only seems to be effecting a few users. Maybe those who have not seen this data usage on there Orbi's chime in as well. 

[josepie]

I'll bite!

What I did to fix mine is return the Orbi. Get a new one. 

Then, did some research... found out that the Nividia Shield I have was using some of the data that caused me to go over. Not too much but in combination with all the other streaming devices it adds up. 

The changes I made are the following:

1. Ditch the Nvidia shield. (going to add back in April to test data usage)

2. Stop my sons xbox one from auto updating. (Auto updating games non stop kills data, he now does it manually prior to playing). 

3. Switch Netflix from auto streaming 4K (this is the real issue and I tested this by doing one at a time). This requires logging into your Netflix account via web, making the changes. I switched mine to 720, dont really notice the difference. 

These changes switched my data usage from 1.3TB to under 1TB (about 800GB). 

Hope this helps. 

[FURRYe38]

What FW version are you using? 

So you did exchange the 1st Orbi for another Orbi system? 

Have you done any kind of reset since the new system went online? 

Thank for this information. Seemed like there was some other items that were causing some data usage. Ya, not a fan of the auto update or stream anything. I swear the entire industry wants on connected ALL the time.  

Thanks for responding. 

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@josepie wrote:

I'll bite!

What I did to fix mine is return the Orbi. Get a new one. 

Then, did some research... found out that the Nividia Shield I have was using some of the data that caused me to go over. Not too much but in combination with all the other streaming devices it adds up. 

The changes I made are the following:

1. Ditch the Nvidia shield. (going to add back in April to test data usage)

2. Stop my sons xbox one from auto updating. (Auto updating games non stop kills data, he now does it manually prior to playing). 

3. Switch Netflix from auto streaming 4K (this is the real issue and I tested this by doing one at a time). This requires logging into your Netflix account via web, making the changes. I switched mine to 720, dont really notice the difference. 

These changes switched my data usage from 1.3TB to under 1TB (about 800GB). 

Hope this helps. 

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[josepie]

Honestly, I was so frustrated that I tried to exchange the Orbi for a different brand @ Bestbuy. But they would only swap for the same. 

Current FW is V2.2.1.210. Its set to auto update FW. 

No resets - its working as expected. 

As on other threads, this is partially the problem with this device and also with Comcast/ATT etc. 1TB of data is not a lot. 

Another thing I did was test the data used by my Orbi and what Comcast stated I was using. Per the Orbi, I was using between 700-800GB. Per Comcast, I was using 1.3TB. The metrics they use to measuer, well who knows. Other threads on here about that. Its sad the internet companies are going this way. 

Good luck. 

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

Sounds good. Thanks for letting us know the process. There is newer FW available. I would keep what is loaded for now. I don't know if you'll get an update as the system(rbr) has to be updated to v212 then v32 manually. Then you might see v44. 

Hold off on this for now and run with v210. I think you'll be fine now. 

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@josepie wrote:

Honestly, I was so frustrated that I tried to exchange the Orbi for a different brand @ Bestbuy. But they would only swap for the same. 

Current FW is V2.2.1.210. Its set to auto update FW. 

No resets - its working as expected. 

As on other threads, this is partially the problem with this device and also with Comcast/ATT etc. 1TB of data is not a lot. 

Another thing I did was test the data used by my Orbi and what Comcast stated I was using. Per the Orbi, I was using between 700-800GB. Per Comcast, I was using 1.3TB. The metrics they use to measuer, well who knows. Other threads on here about that. Its sad the internet companies are going this way. 

Good luck. 

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[Chuck_M]

@yata001 wrote:

The Orbi makes three types of requests from the router itself:

1. makes a request to www.netgear.com every 5 minutes to check if the router has an internet connection.
2. makes a request to updates1.netgear.com hour to check for new firmware updates.
3. on the latest version, makes a request to nimbus.bitdefender.net every 1 minute. Netgear repackage bitdefender for the Armor security product but who knows why it needs to sent day every minute even when not enabled.

I get the first two... but the last one is unsat if true.  If you have Armor disabled, why would they take it upon themselves to continue to ping bitdefender at all!?

Can this information be verified?

[FURRYe38]

@Blanca_O 

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@Chuck_M wrote:

@yata001 wrote:

The Orbi makes three types of requests from the router itself:

1. makes a request to www.netgear.com every 5 minutes to check if the router has an internet connection.
2. makes a request to updates1.netgear.com hour to check for new firmware updates.
3. on the latest version, makes a request to nimbus.bitdefender.net every 1 minute. Netgear repackage bitdefender for the Armor security product but who knows why it needs to sent day every minute even when not enabled.

I get the first two... but the last one is unsat if true.  If you have Armor disabled, why would they take it upon themselves to continue to ping bitdefender at all!?

Can this information be verified?

---

[Maroman]

So I applied the latest firmware manually, which I guess then allowed the router to update on it's own to version V2.3.1.44 on its own.  Yesterday I reset everything back to factory and set everything up again.  

The usage didn't get any better and as mentioned before NG screwed with something cause the traffic meter no longer works with DST.  I'm unable to see what usage is being recorded in the Orbi so I'm relying on Xfinity's usage over the month.  I hit my limit of 1TB 2 days ago and since then I've used about 84 GB from Tuesday night at 11pm up until this afternoon (1pm).  So far the overage will cost me about $20 since I went over my two free months of no extra charge.  

My model of router is RBR50 and sat is RBS50 and I'm out of free tech support.  I'm not sure what else to try at the moment, perhaps going back to each device as another person suggested and turn off any auto updates on gaming systems, computers, etc.  I've had this router since June of last year and it's just strange that this data usage has steadily increased with no changes to the devices I'm using.  

[josepie]

I should also mention I upgraded my modem to a new model - NETGEAR CM1000. Not sure how big a part this played in lowering my data usage.