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Forum Discussion
Orbi unable to update time v1.8.0.6
Hello all,
After updating to v1.8.0.6 my orbi has been unable to update its system time. I have tried via Advanced->Security->Schedule to change timezones, check and in check adjusting for DST, with no effect. I was able to update the time via telnet with the "date" command, but it doesn't stick after a reboot.
Rebooting sets the system time back to a Unix timestamp of 0 - and it never updates. This is all behind an active Pace gigabit modem with the Wifi AP disabled.
Anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Steve
After updating to v1.8.0.6 my orbi has been unable to update its system time. I have tried via Advanced->Security->Schedule to change timezones, check and in check adjusting for DST, with no effect. I was able to update the time via telnet with the "date" command, but it doesn't stick after a reboot.
Rebooting sets the system time back to a Unix timestamp of 0 - and it never updates. This is all behind an active Pace gigabit modem with the Wifi AP disabled.
Anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Steve
20 Replies
- Forgot to mention - this also prevents me from connecting to my OpenVPN server, as well as updating my Dynamic DNS entry with MyNetgear.
Thanks for your reply.
My Orbi does not update after reboot (or ever) - anyone know of the best way to get debug information to Netgear engineering?
So far I have only been able to update my Orbi's time via telnet ntpclient command manually.
CaptStevo wrote:Thanks for your reply.
My Orbi does not update after reboot (or ever) - anyone know of the best way to get debug information to Netgear engineering?
So far I have only been able to update my Orbi's time via telnet ntpclient command manually.
I noticed mine was set on the wrong time zone and wasn't tracking DST. When I applied those settings it synch'd via NTP immediately.
Stupid questions, but:
Are you certain the router is set to log NTP synchs (this can be unchecked)?
Could something on the network (firewall, your ISP, etc) be blocking NTP to or from the Orbi router? I know you said you set it manually, but did you synch to the same server Orbi uses by default?
Well, you were right. It took a bit to nail the cause down, but AT&T blocks outbound UDP connections on port 123. This is apparently to cut down on DDoS attacks - but it renders the Orbi unable to update its time.
I have seen other posts in the Netgear forums that indicate that Netgear engineers were able to create firmware versions that could update timestamps without depending on port 123. If Netgear sees this, I'd be willing to help solve the issue! I may have to return my Orbi if I can't use it with AT&T.
I was able to confirm that using a non-standard NTP port updates the Orbi's time flawlessly. Logging in via telnet and executing:
ntpclient -h "time-g.netgear.com" -b "time-h.netgear.com" -i 15 -m 60 -p 123 -s
...fails (using port 123).
When I tried the same command, with a non-standard NTP port:
ntpclient -h "time-g.netgear.com" -b "time-h.netgear.com" -i 15 -m 60 -p 1238 -s
...it worked flawlessly.
I've been attempting to find a workaround for two days now. Perhaps I can execute a cronjob to update the time correctly, but I don't believe it will survive a reboot.
- Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that field for device name just a way to save a custom name for the connected device, not an actual host name?
I don't know for certain, because I'm using Orbi in AP mode and this function is disabled. However, on other routers when you specify the device name when reserving an IP address, the router's DNS will then resolve that name to the reserved IP address.
- Thanks st_shaw. I have tried to reserve my local server to an IP address with one of netgear's NTP server addresses, but it still resolves to the actual IP address Netgear uses. It was worth a shot.
Until Netgear offers a solution via a firmware update, the Orbi's functions that are dependent on time will be crippled.
I have yet to hear from anyone from Netgear. Thanks again.You sound like you know your way around networking. From reading your post, though, it sounds like you used the public IP address of the netgear time server. If so, that would be incorrect.
What you want to do is assign the domain name "time-g.netgear.com" to a local IP address on your LAN, e.g. 192.168.1.10.
If the Orbi GUI would accept it (a big IF) then you would use 192.168.1.10 as the reserved IP address and time-g.netgear.com as the "Device Name".
I just tried this on my network to see if it would work. It took all of abot 10 seconds to alias the domain time-g.netgear.com to my Linux server at 192.168.1.10. The trick works perfectly. If I ping the netgear time server, I get directed to the local Linux host.
ping time-g.netgear.com
Pinging time-g.netgear.com [192.168.1.10] with 32 bytes of data
Reply from 192.168.1.10: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.10: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.10: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.10: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64Ping statistics for 192.168.1.10:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0msThat's using my Ubiquiti Edgerouter. The trick should work on many other routers. I just can't easily try it with my Orbi.
You could also setup a separate DNS server on your LAN to accomplish the same thing. That could be a bit of work though.
I have had the same issue with AT&T on all of my Netgear routers. I just use Telnet and issue a date command to fix it manually. It sucks but it works. It is odd because some instances the Orbi will get the correct date/time after a reboot (which is only when I update the firmware).
Telnet command: date -s 2017.03.17-16:11-0800
(Date)-(Time)-(Timezone)
I might have to give st_shaw's recommendation a go.