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Forum Discussion
Orbi backhall signal dropping to Zero
When I upgraded to the latest firmware the backhall signal started to drop to zero. It was smooth prior to the upgrade. This has to degrade performance. See below. What can be done?
71 Replies
- I have the exact same problem and have been trying to explain this to support for about a month. The backhaul drops about every 10-15 seconds which causes devices to briefly say the internet connection was lost. They recently had me RMA the satellite which I got back and of course didn't fix the problem because the signal is coming from the router. Not sure if you are having speed problems but after mine worked great for about 3 months, Wi-Fi speeds are now about a tenth of what the wired speeds are. A factory reset seems to solve the problem for about a day.
The problem with my setup is that the webcams that connect through the 3 Orbis tell my webcam software they are off line and the screen turns to a rainbow for a few seconds then blink back on. Needless to say that is a real pain.
Hopefully a Netgear tech will see our plight. I'd expect others are having the same issue but just do not know it without good WiFi tracking software.
Hello Desli1
- Orbi FW version when issue occurs? Which previous FW did you not see this issue?
- Client device (Desktop, tablet, smartphones?)
- Number of Orbi devices (1 router + 1 sat, 1+2 etc)
- Tool you used to capture the channel disconnect? (inSSIDer ?)
- When running the test or experiencing the issues, how close are you to Router or Satellite?
Thanks
DarrenM
- Hi Darren,
Not Desli1, but for me:
1. Currently on 1.9.1.12 but also on the 2 or 3 previous firmwares. I do not know when it was last stable or ever, because it was dropping the first time I checked months ago.
2. Laptop and smartphones. Wired connection to desktop is solid and always full speed.
3. 1 router and 1 satellite. Issue still occured while satellite was away being RMA'd.
4. Captured with wifiAnalyzer app on smartphone and inSSIDer on laptop.
5. It occurs whether I am right beside the router or at the edge of its range. With no satellite connected, the router was still broadcasting the backhaul (no SSID) and it was constantly dropping.Thanks for responding so quickly I will pass this info on.
DarrenM
I will also add in my data. I have the 1 router 2 satellite. I do NOT have drop out of Internet. The above graph was taken when I was streaming supergirl from the CW website. However my backhaul does not cut to 0 but it does go down to - 110 signal which is pretty much nothing. The rest of network I did not show because of privacy reasons but they all remain good strength
DarrenM I have a outstanding support incident from December on this dropping to zero issue. I left the area for 4 months so I am over the 90 day support option. I also would rather not return units. So .. is this a hardware issue or will it be fixed in a firmware update? What is your best guess or can you check with your higher level support?
Thanks!
Al
Hello DESli1
I will look into your support case and see if I can escalate the issue.
DarrenM
- Hello everyone. I know there are a bunch of tech people here if you have android perhaps download "wifi Explorer" app and do the ap time course graph and post it on here so Darren can forward it to the team.
This corresponds exactly with what I'm experiencing on the RBK50 I bought today, so right out of the box. REALLY disappointed and confused about all of the good reviews as this is not a one-off issue. I would love to say I will wait around for a fix but I bought this to ensure full home coverage for all of my smart home devices. Good luck to those waiting on a fix.
Unfortunately my return period has passed so am at the mercy of Netgear Engineering to release fix in Firmware
I also... have a threat on this issue. My WD NAS wired to SAT dropped internet 6 times today... about 3 hours a part.
- Just updated my support case with the following.
"Prior to one week ago I was having nothing but problems with my Orbi system and one satellite. The other satellite was unplugged. I have the current beta firmware installed.
Dropped packets which interrupts Webex, VoIP, gaming. I was also experiencing disconnects on iOS devices, MacBooks, an iMac and a Windows 10 laptop.
One week ago I decided to do a little experiment. I disconnected my 2nd satellite and have only been using my Orbi router. No satellites connected. This required me to move the router from the unfinished basement to the main level so wifi coverage was better throughout my household.
I've experienced no disconnects in this time. I've experienced dropped packets but not enough to even register anything over 0%. No interruptions and my wife and kids are not after me because the wifi is up and down. This week has been peaceful.
So...what is the deal Netgear? The Orbi router + one satellite was very bad and adding another satellite was a nightmare. Contention between the satellite & router? Backhaul issue between the router and satellites? Netspot did show the backhaul signal was up and down when I had one satellite connected. Is there a steering issue?
Both the backhaul and steering come into play when a satellite is introduced. No satellite, no need for a backhaul. No satellite, no need for steering as the only thing for a wifi device to connect to is the Orbi router.
So which is it? Is it the backhaul, steering or both?" - I can confirm what BobertSaget is saying...at least for the backhaul dropping and disconnects even worse. The only thing that's helped me so far is unplugging both satellites and just using the Orbi router; a solution that defeats the intended use of the system.
I have looked at the backhaul with five scanning applicatons, two MacBook Pros, and both OSX and Windows 10 operating systems. In all cases I saw either no backhaul or intermittent presence of the backhaul in the plotted RSSI vs time. Despite this I have not experienced any WiFi network problems with Orbi.
Today I borrowed an Android device and did scanning with that. Initially I couldn't see the backhaul reliably with the Android either. After several OS updates I am now able to capture solid backhaul plots with three different Android apps: WiFi Analyzer from VREM Software Development, WiFi Analyzer by farproc, and WiFi Analytics from NETGEAR. All these apps show a stable signal for as long as I've monitored. Screenshots for the three apps are here. These are taken with a 2013 Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 running Android 4.4.2 "Kit Kat":
So, a stable Orbi backhaul RSSI plot does exist, but some hardware/client combinations cannot capture it. This is on stock firmware v1.10.1.2.
Retired_Member I don't know either. Could be something to do with the hardware and drivers. All the hardware I've tested with so far is 802.11n dual band. That should be all thats needed though.
I've looked at wireshark a bit, but it's pretty involved and I need more time to understand the traffic.
Did you try using NETGEAR's WiFi Analytics app on your Android?
