Re: Orbi RBR50 specifically throttling MacBook Pros

ChrisEchWH · ‎2021-01-29

I've been struggling with this for over 6 months, and am about ready to abandon Orbi & buy Eero, but before I do, I'll give the Orbi one last chance here.

I have an RBR50 with 1 satellite & 1G service from ISP.

RBR50 is running on latest firmware (V2.7.2.102).

After I reboot the router, and generally for about 10 days thereafter, all is good: all devices in the house get full bandwidths via wifi, as expected. But then, for no apprent reason, usuallly between 1 & 2 weeks after the last reboot, and this change always happens overnight, I find that our MacBook Pros are throttled to <40Mbps, while our iOS and other devices remain unaffected.

I've seen other past posts about the same behavior, where updating to newer firmware helped: I started seeing this under an earlier version of the firmware, and the update did indeed fix it, but only for a while, and now, it's systematic that I'm ending up having to reboot the router at least every 2 weeks. A real pain since our whole house depends on bandwidth now with WFM under COVID, and each reboot inevitably disrupts various video meetings. This simply should not be happening with a supposedly top line product.

Advanced wireless config details shown in attached screenshot.

Is there a CLEAR fix, or should I just ditch Orbi & buy Eero?

vajim · ‎2021-01-29

this sounds like a question(s) for

FURRYe38 · ‎2021-01-29

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

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.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or may not be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, Circle, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

One User Experience/Configuration:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Most-Stable-Orbi-Configuration/m-p/1941087/highlight/true#M970...
You can find other speed diagnosis steps in the community faq: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/Community-FAQ-My-Orbi-speeds-are-slow-inconsistent-and-don-...

Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?

@ChrisEchWH wrote:
I've been struggling with this for over 6 months, and am about ready to abandon Orbi & buy Eero, but before I do, I'll give the Orbi one last chance here.

I have an RBR50 with 1 satellite & 1G service from ISP.

RBR50 is running on latest firmware (V2.7.2.102).

After I reboot the router, and generally for about 10 days thereafter, all is good: all devices in the house get full bandwidths via wifi, as expected. But then, for no apprent reason, usuallly between 1 & 2 weeks after the last reboot, and this change always happens overnight, I find that our MacBook Pros are throttled to <40Mbps, while our iOS and other devices remain unaffected.

I've seen other past posts about the same behavior, where updating to newer firmware helped: I started seeing this under an earlier version of the firmware, and the update did indeed fix it, but only for a while, and now, it's systematic that I'm ending up having to reboot the router at least every 2 weeks. A real pain since our whole house depends on bandwidth now with WFM under COVID, and each reboot inevitably disrupts various video meetings. This simply should not be happening with a supposedly top line product.

Advanced wireless config details shown in attached screenshot.

Is there a CLEAR fix, or should I just ditch Orbi & buy Eero?

vajim · ‎2021-01-29

Thanks @FURRYe38

Not that familar with MacBook and I beleive you told me once you ran a Mac.

tucsontico · ‎2021-01-30

A few questions before I offer my opinion:

1) What firmware is installed on your satellite(s)? Be ABSOLUTLEY certain they are the same as the router (RBR).

2) Have you updated MacOS within the last months that you've noticed this issue?

3) Have any changes been made to your furniture or appliances? Location of metal objects and furniture can impact WiFi.

4) Do you have any nearby neighbors with a new router? Their signal could cause interfernce.

5) Can you determine the time of day this throttling occurs? Might be driven by your ISP.

OK, here's my opinion: FWIW, I have owned an ORBI since 2016 in an Apple ecosystem with more than 35 devices connected at any one time. Your description of one device, or devices, (MacBook Pros) having issues would indicate the device–not the ORBI–is the issue. Usually, the iOS updates cause disruption of signal strength and connectivity. Here's my recommendation:

1) Tell your MacBook Pros to "forget the network" and reinitialiize the WIFi connection.

2) Double check that your "Privacy" settings are not causing the MacBook to connect on a new MAC address each time you connect to your ORBI.

3) Make IP address reservations for ALL your devices on the ORBI via the "Advanced" tab>"Setup">"LAN Setup"

Keep us posted on your results. Good Luck!

FURRYe38 · ‎2021-01-31

Any progess on this?

@ChrisEchWH wrote:
I've been struggling with this for over 6 months, and am about ready to abandon Orbi & buy Eero, but before I do, I'll give the Orbi one last chance here.

I have an RBR50 with 1 satellite & 1G service from ISP.

RBR50 is running on latest firmware (V2.7.2.102).

After I reboot the router, and generally for about 10 days thereafter, all is good: all devices in the house get full bandwidths via wifi, as expected. But then, for no apprent reason, usuallly between 1 & 2 weeks after the last reboot, and this change always happens overnight, I find that our MacBook Pros are throttled to <40Mbps, while our iOS and other devices remain unaffected.

I've seen other past posts about the same behavior, where updating to newer firmware helped: I started seeing this under an earlier version of the firmware, and the update did indeed fix it, but only for a while, and now, it's systematic that I'm ending up having to reboot the router at least every 2 weeks. A real pain since our whole house depends on bandwidth now with WFM under COVID, and each reboot inevitably disrupts various video meetings. This simply should not be happening with a supposedly top line product.

Advanced wireless config details shown in attached screenshot.

Is there a CLEAR fix, or should I just ditch Orbi & buy Eero?

ChrisEchWH · ‎2021-02-15

@FURRYe38 wrote:
Any progess on this?
@ChrisEchWH wrote:
I've been struggling with this for over 6 months, and am about ready to abandon Orbi & buy Eero, but before I do, I'll give the Orbi one last chance here.
I have an RBR50 with 1 satellite & 1G service from ISP.
RBR50 is running on latest firmware (V2.7.2.102).
After I reboot the router, and generally for about 10 days thereafter, all is good: all devices in the house get full bandwidths via wifi, as expected. But then, for no apprent reason, usuallly between 1 & 2 weeks after the last reboot, and this change always happens overnight, I find that our MacBook Pros are throttled to <40Mbps, while our iOS and other devices remain unaffected.
I've seen other past posts about the same behavior, where updating to newer firmware helped: I started seeing this under an earlier version of the firmware, and the update did indeed fix it, but only for a while, and now, it's systematic that I'm ending up having to reboot the router at least every 2 weeks. A real pain since our whole house depends on bandwidth now with WFM under COVID, and each reboot inevitably disrupts various video meetings. This simply should not be happening with a supposedly top line product.
Advanced wireless config details shown in attached screenshot.
Is there a CLEAR fix, or should I just ditch Orbi & buy Eero?

Hi, sorry for delay in replying: needed to wait for 1-2 weeks to check for stability after enabling MIMO & beamforming (reboots always restore unthrottled bandwidth, so key test is to see if it stays that way beyond 1-2 weeeks). Sadly, I have to report that enabling MIMO & beamforming did not result in a stable fix, as the throttling showed up again this monring. BTW, I've tried tweaking various other settings over the last year (ports, etc..), none of which worked.

BTW, this should be anotehr big lead for troubleshooting: the throttling always appears to get restored during the night from Sunday to Monday, 1 or 2 weeks after the last reboot: is there something built into the router firmware that gets automatically reset at every Sun-Mon night?

Speaking of firmware, I see that a new one was just released (.104) so I just updated to this, and will give it one last chance before buying an Eero....

vajim · ‎2021-02-15

@ChrisEchWH wrote:
Speaking of firmware, I see that a new one was just released (.104) so I just updated to this, and will give it one last chance before buying an Eero....

IF you do get the Orbi to stablize, then leave it alone. Lots of problems with firmware. Best to leave that to the beta-testers who love living on the edge.

FURRYe38 · ‎2021-02-15

Thanks for the update.

Please give some feedback to the questions presented so we have a bit more information to help on this.

@ChrisEchWH wrote:
Hi, sorry for delay in replying: needed to wait for 1-2 weeks to check for stability after enabling MIMO & beamforming (reboots always restore unthrottled bandwidth, so key test is to see if it stays that way beyond 1-2 weeeks). Sadly, I have to report that enabling MIMO & beamforming did not result in a stable fix, as the throttling showed up again this monring. BTW, I've tried tweaking various other settings over the last year (ports, etc..), none of which worked.

BTW, this should be anotehr big lead for troubleshooting: the throttling always appears to get restored during the night from Sunday to Monday, 1 or 2 weeks after the last reboot: is there something built into the router firmware that gets automatically reset at every Sun-Mon night?

Speaking of firmware, I see that a new one was just released (.104) so I just updated to this, and will give it one last chance before buying an Eero....

vajim · ‎2021-02-15

and...

IF you do get the Orbi to stablize, then leave it alone. Lots of problems with firmware. Best to leave that to the beta-testers who love living on the edge.