Netgear drops the ball... again. RBR50 on FW2.5.1.8

[UnCapitano]

I'm a longtime Orbi user.  I bought the system as soon as it was available.  I'm also fairly knowledgeable with tech devices.  The Orbi worked flawlessly for me since he beginning.  Like most of you, I started having issues with their latest batch of firmware due to the auto updating feature of the Orbi. 

Now, I've been on 2.5.1.8 with absolutely no issues since it came out... until last week.  My Orbi is now dropping connection to my internet provider (Xfinity) seemingly every two or three hours.  I'm in California and everyone is on a Shelter-At-Home order so my wife and I are conducting work meetings over VC all day every day.  Add in four kids who are streaming video and playing videogames, and you have a recipe for utter disaster when your wifi system goes down.   We cannot be rebooting a wifi router every two hours to stay online.

I have now read multiple threads with this same exact issue, but no answers from any of the moderators.  So the question must be asked... has Netgear abandoned their first model?

I'm tempted to switch to Nest Wifi today, if only because in my experience, Google support of their hardware is top notch.  The spotty answers we get from NG show me that in the end they're just about getting the next product out.

[SW_]

@UnCapitano , was there anything in the logs that would be out of place?

I've also had the first generation Orbi RBK53 on v.2.5.1.8 and it's been working okay so far.  However, my setup is quite different than a would be normal Orbi setup.   I've already given up trying to get Orbi to function as a proper Router + Disney + Armor, because it's nothing but trouble.  To get Orbi to a stable state, I have to disable practically everything that I could disable, including its internal DHCP client.  I'm currently keeping Orbi for its WiFi capability and delegate all other router functions to my DIY PC pfSense Router Firewall for Gigabit speed.

Everyone of us in CA are in a similar situation, Shelter-At-Home, with heavy WiFi usage.  It's the worst time for Orbi to fail.  I'm lucky that my Orbi setup is still holding up...

[UnCapitano]

But isn’t that the issue? I mean, I don’t have Disney or Armor enabled due to the issues I had ( mostly with Armor). I literally only have my home devices ( various iPhones, gaming systems , MacBooks and iPads ) online.

The only recent changes were adding Xfinity security, which runs wired and a video doorbell, which is also wired.

The orbi just loses connection to the internet and I can’t tell why. I will check the logs to see why it may interrupt.

[SW_]

Yes.  Orbi FW is buggy to say the least, regardless of versions.  I just have to deal with it.

I have Nest Doorbell + Nest thermostats + Google Home Mini, etc., Those IoTs can also cause problem if their DHCP lease time is less than 24hours.  My past experience has been that whenever my Orbi network is unstable, i.e. Orbi rebooting itself, leading to brief WiFi connectivity issues, I would have to reboot/power cycle the entire network to get rid of stale/sticky IP, which I eventually gave up, resulting in my current setup.

FWIW, this current setup will be the last straw, i.e., if Orbi can't hold up during Shelter-At-Home period, I will likely go with a single vendor, Google Nest WiFi.

[UnCapitano]

Exactly my point. Nest Wifi seems to have less power but I guarantee that they also have less issues.

Now, that said, I’ve had long windows where things went just fine. But it’s unacceptable to see this many threads chronicling the same exact network behavior and have no answer at all from Netgear.

[tomschmidt]

Add me to the list of users that will go to any other vendor than Netgear if my Orbi crashes during the heavy usage it is getting now with working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.  For me, v2.5.1.8 has been the most stable firmware yet, I experienced a lot of dropouts with all the v2.3.x releases.

Really considering ordering the ASUS RT-AX92u two-node mesh router even though I don't have any AX-capable clients yet. At least it comes with a 3 years warranty, and my previous routers from ASUS have been rock-solid.

[Retired_Member]

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@UnCapitano wrote:

I'm a longtime Orbi user.  I bought the system as soon as it was available.  I'm also fairly knowledgeable with tech devices.  The Orbi worked flawlessly for me since he beginning.  Like most of you, I started having issues with their latest batch of firmware due to the auto updating feature of the Orbi. 

Now, I've been on 2.5.1.8 with absolutely no issues since it came out... until last week.  My Orbi is now dropping connection to my internet provider (Xfinity) seemingly every two or three hours.  I'm in California and everyone is on a Shelter-At-Home order so my wife and I are conducting work meetings over VC all day every day.  Add in four kids who are streaming video and playing videogames, and you have a recipe for utter disaster when your wifi system goes down.   We cannot be rebooting a wifi router every two hours to stay online.

I have now read multiple threads with this same exact issue, but no answers from any of the moderators.  So the question must be asked... has Netgear abandoned their first model?

I'm tempted to switch to Nest Wifi today, if only because in my experience, Google support of their hardware is top notch.  The spotty answers we get from NG show me that in the end they're just about getting the next product out.

are you saying that NG auto pushed 2.5.1.8 to with no action on your part?

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[UnCapitano]

No, but I’d had earlier firmwares pushed to the system via the auto updates. I followed the threads like many of you and updated to 2.5.1.8 when everyone felt it was close to stable, which it was until just last week.

It’s more frustrating that I can read multiple threads saying the same thing without seemingly any acknowledgement from NG.

[Retired_Member]

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@UnCapitano wrote:
No, but I’d had earlier firmwares pushed to the system via the auto updates. I followed the threads like many of you and updated to 2.5.1.8 when everyone felt it was close to stable, which it was until just last week.

It’s more frustrating that I can read multiple threads saying the same thing without seemingly any acknowledgement from NG.

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The part about 2.5.1.8 ever being stable is debatable.  There are some on here that enjoy living on the edge and claim that it works fine.  However, I believe there are far more users where it is NOT stable.  Of course, you never hear from those who it works well.

As a long time user to another, your only mistake was performing the upgrade IF you system was working.

[UnCapitano]

I can agree on that. The question for those like me is... did it degrade over time or did something else change that we didn’t have control over?

[Retired_Member]

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@UnCapitano wrote:
I can agree on that. The question for those like me is... did it degrade over time or did something else change that we didn’t have control over?

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The one area where folks seems to have lost control  is with the app.  I've heard ( I don't use the app) that the app doesn't give you a choice...?  I don't know but several report opening the app and it starts to donwload the latest FW...??

You probably heard the stories a few years back where folks kept complaing how NG pushed all updates.  Now from what I was told, today they only push 'critical' updates.  I've been on 2.5.30?? ...since Oct 2019.

[cmac1156]

Same issues. Was very stable the first year it came out. Frequently dropping internet connection even prior to work from home onslaught. Now can't see all devices connected to network. Netgear support nonexistant. I have no solutions. The only thing that is preventing me from ditching it and going with google is the number of ethernet connections a available in the router a d the subs.

[SW_]

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@UnCapitano wrote:
Exactly my point. Nest Wifi seems to have less power but I guarantee that they also have less issues.

Now, that said, I’ve had long windows where things went just fine. But it’s unacceptable to see this many threads chronicling the same exact network behavior and have no answer at all from Netgear.

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Yeah, it would be nice if NG were to step up and do the right thing like other tech companies, ZOOM, Microsoft, etc.,  at time like this by providing FREE online services and supports for their products that are essential to Shelter-At-Home needs.

[UnCapitano]

And just like that we haven’t had problems in the last 24 hours. Not like I’m holding my breath that they have magically gone away, but wondering if anyone else is “better” today.

[Retired_Member]

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@UnCapitano wrote:
And just like that we haven’t had problems in the last 24 hours. Not like I’m holding my breath that they have magically gone away, but wondering if anyone else is “better” today.

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good job...now stay put and enjoy life

[ssgtweasel]

I was given this info

This has helped my issue

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Another-RBR50-Dropping-Internet-Connection/m-p/1875405#M84885

[Dblanch369]

I fail to see why setting the ISP Renew to 20 mins would be better than the default setting of 1 day. That would likely make things worse IMO

[UnCapitano]

Well, since Netgear refuses to comment, and I need a better solution, I’m trying Amplifi and Asus to see if I can get a better customer service experience.

Good luck you all of you.

[UnCapitano]

Ok, so when I complain, I complain hard, but since I was able to solve this, I think I should come back and explain how.

Due to the continual internet drops, I ended up ordering an Asus Zenwifi AX (XT8) two mesh node system.  The Asus system is extremely configurable and worked fairly well, except for the fact that in my network topology, two nodes just aren't good enough.

The Asus app (as well as the web interface) give way more information than the Orbi app ever has.  I think that's because Netgera has taken the Apple approach that shielding most users from settings will reduce the number of bad ones you could set up.

However, the Asus router could only serve me aroud 500Mbps of the 900 that I enjoy on my Orbi (RBR50).    The node was also much slower than the Orbi satellite.

Now, during this test, I noticed that the Asus had a few network drops just like the Orbi did.  So, as most of us would do, I started searching to see if my Xfinity service was failing here and there.  My modem logs didn't show any faults, but I persevered until I spoke with an Xfinity rep.   He confirmed that my modem logs were good and that nothing he could see on his side would justify the problems I was having with the dropped signal to the router.

As it so happened, I decided to use the new ethernet cable supplied by the Asus router set to connect the modem to the router.  Since that change, I have had no more connection drops.   

So, after all that, a $3 ethernet cable was the culprit.   My apologies to Netgear (and Xfinity).

[CrimpOn]

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@UnCapitano wrote:

So, after all that, a $3 ethernet cable was the culprit.   My apologies to Netgear (and Xfinity).

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Where do you get ethernet cable for $3?

[UnCapitano]

LOL.... they’re thrown in with every networking item I’ve ever bought, so I have plenty of them.

[FURRYe38]

Well, certainly glad it was just a cable that was the cause of all your frustation. Something to keep in mind should anything like this happen again. And we can presume that your Orbi system is working and FW v2.5.1.8 is not the problem anymore. 

Please mark your thread as solved so others will know. 

Enjoy.