Looking for the best / most stable firmware for my Orbi network (RBR50 + RBS50 + RBW30)

[SteveAtHomeCIO]

I saw that 2.7.3.22 is currently available for my RBR50 and although I NEVER upgrade to the most recent software version as soon as it is released, the update notification did make me think about whether I should upgrade what I have to a stable, well tested version.  I'm currently running the following firmware...

RBR50 - V2.5.2.4

RBS50 - V2.5.2.4

RBW30 - V2.5.0.4

Folks seem to be happy with 2.7.2.104 but I wanted to specifically check here before upgrading.

Thank you!!!

Steve

[FURRYe38]

I enjoyed v104. If you update you may get v22 updated from NG automatically. 

If your system is working you might want to just keep it running on whats loadded. Until such time as it real maybe needed. 

[SteveAtHomeCIO]

Thank you!!  I get periodic (once every few weeks) reboots but stable aside from that. I recently modified the WAN_LEASE setting to see if that would fix the reboots and will let that settle to see if that is the fix for that but if there are other reasons to upgrade (e.g. security fixes / features), I'd consider a move to another stable relaese.

[FURRYe38]

You might try a factory reset and setup from scratch if that hasn't been done in a while and see if it clears the reboot item.

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

I ran v104 for a while. No issues seen for me. 

[SteveAtHomeCIO]

It's a FiOS ONT model ALCATEL-7342L

[FURRYe38]

👍 Ok, just checking for a router here. It's a ONT only. 

[SteveAtHomeCIO]

Yep. All my routing and DHCP is provided by the Orbi.

[FURRYe38]

👍

[SteveAtHomeCIO]

UPDATE: After about 1 week, no Orbi reboots. Although I need to give it another week to be reasonably sure. However, my Dell laptop has lost connectivity to the network twice so I may be upgrading to 2.7.2.104 to potentially address that isuue.  Regardless, I'll wait at least another week until I do.

[FURRYe38]

Good to hear. 👍

Be sure your laptops wifi and ethernet drivers are up to todate as well. 

[SteveAtHomeCIO]

The drivers are company controlled (work laptop) and the IT dept keeps them fairly up to date. But, the image we run is sooo burdoned with other stuff that the issue is most likely with the laptop (and not the Orbi).

[FURRYe38]

Ok then. Good ol IT. 

Enjoy. 

[SteveAtHomeCIO]

UPDATE: Two nights ago, my Orbi rebooted in the middle of the night. How did I know? My daughter complained about a blue light in the hallway (RBW30) "fading in and out" at 2am.  So I figured that the router just rebooted again and I resolved to upgrade to 2.7.2.104.  However, things got interesting when my wife started complaining about slow speeds the next day and my laptop dropped internet again. Taking a look at the router I noticed that it had auto-updated to 2.7.3.22!!!

I'm sorry, but Netgear has not earned my trust enough to autoupdate so I dropped back to 2.7.2.104 on both my RBR50 and RBS50. Also factory reset both after the downgrade and neutered the routers ability to auto-update again by telnet-ing into the router and performing the following...

$ nvram set orbi_auto_upgrade=0
$ nvram set auto_check_for_upgrade=0
$ nvram set auto_update=0
$ nvram commit

I'll keep you guys posted on the stability of the network now that I'm downgraded.

[SteveAtHomeCIO]

Another UPDATE:  Woke up this morning to no internet. After catching an earful from the family, a simple restart of the FiOS ONT fixed it. So why did I lose connectivity in the middle of the night? You guessed it, the router re-booted after upgrading itself to 2.7.3.22.

I just consulted the network team at my company, and after discussing requirements, I bought an Eero Pro 6 - 3 pack from Amazon but the good news for you folks is that I have an RBK-50 (RBR50 & RBS50) and RBW30 available for sale with recently upgraded firmware!