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RBK50 Dropping Internet

Steve1981
Aspirant

RBK50 Dropping Internet

Hi folks,

 

I wonder if someone could help. I recently purchased an Orbi mesh router system. Since I've purchased it I've had nothing but trouble. How much of the trouble is down to the router and how much is my very unreliable BT FTTP internet connection I'm not so sure.

 

I initially used the router as a standalone router plugging it straight into the open reach box and removing the bt home hub system. This resulted in daily internet drops of 1 hour plus timescales. Sometimes during these id remove the Orbi and replace it with the old bt home hub which would come up with a red light, faulty internet feedback. I was a bit suspicious though as frequently the internet re-established itself shortly after plugging this back in i.e maybe 5 mins later.

 

A bit of Googling uncovered posts like the below:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/RBR50-RBS50-Dropping-Connection/m-p/2085422

 

I tried the setting of the wan_lease confit parameter from this but still had the same problems.

 

So I've since put the Orbi into AP mode connecting the bt home hub to the modem and the Orbi connected as an additional access point. And guess what. I'm still seeing loads of internet drops (on the bt router plus Orbi).

 

Bt claim they've ran tests and there's nothing wrong with the line they can see. Is it possible that even in AP mode the Orbi is somehow interfering with the internet connection? Or is it coincidence? My understanding would be that the wan_lease fix would only be applicable outside of AP mode.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

 

 

 

Message 1 of 12

Accepted Solutions
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

Let us know how it goes. Seems like this could be a ISP issue. 

View solution in original post

Message 10 of 12

All Replies
Steve1981
Aspirant

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

Just to add the router is at version :

Router Firmware Version
V2.7.2.104
 
Message 2 of 12
nicholb
Luminary

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

That version does have a bug that drops DNS when both the trafic monitor is on and the auto daylight savings change is on. Turning either or both of those off would stop that issue. 

Message 3 of 12
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

AP mode would not interfer with the ISP connection between the modem and the ISP service. 

 

You can try this for router mode on the RBR:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Another-RBR50-Dropping-Internet-Connection/m-p/1875385/highlig...

 

Be aware that if you update FW to v22, telnet has been removed so try this on v104 if you choose to do so. 


@Steve1981 wrote:

Hi folks,

 

I wonder if someone could help. I recently purchased an Orbi mesh router system. Since I've purchased it I've had nothing but trouble. How much of the trouble is down to the router and how much is my very unreliable BT FTTP internet connection I'm not so sure.

 

I initially used the router as a standalone router plugging it straight into the open reach box and removing the bt home hub system. This resulted in daily internet drops of 1 hour plus timescales. Sometimes during these id remove the Orbi and replace it with the old bt home hub which would come up with a red light, faulty internet feedback. I was a bit suspicious though as frequently the internet re-established itself shortly after plugging this back in i.e maybe 5 mins later.

 

A bit of Googling uncovered posts like the below:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/RBR50-RBS50-Dropping-Connection/m-p/2085422

 

I tried the setting of the wan_lease confit parameter from this but still had the same problems.

 

So I've since put the Orbi into AP mode connecting the bt home hub to the modem and the Orbi connected as an additional access point. And guess what. I'm still seeing loads of internet drops (on the bt router plus Orbi).

 

Bt claim they've ran tests and there's nothing wrong with the line they can see. Is it possible that even in AP mode the Orbi is somehow interfering with the internet connection? Or is it coincidence? My understanding would be that the wan_lease fix would only be applicable outside of AP mode.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

 

 

 


 

Message 4 of 12
Steve1981
Aspirant

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet


@nicholb wrote:

That version does have a bug that drops DNS when both the trafic monitor is on and the auto daylight savings change is on. Turning either or both of those off would stop that issue. 


Many thanks. I'll try setting DST to off. It was on when I checked and showed my time zone as being 1 hour ahead of GMT where it should have been I.e.it was set to Amsterdam/Berlin time. Is this typical behaviour? If I set DST off do I now need to manually adjust the time zone to account for DST?

Message 5 of 12
Steve1981
Aspirant

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

Thanks Furrye38. That agrees with what I thought but wanted someone more knowledgeable to confirm. The setting of the wan lease variable is the solution I have tried already. I was very hopeful when I saw it posted as it did seem to be a match for what I was seeing. Unfortunately though it didn't seem to have the desired effect.

Message 6 of 12
nicholb
Luminary

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

With it off it bassically just makes your router log entries an hour off. You can also manually change the time zone to correct.

 

Also check your traffic meter and try turning that off if it is on. 

 

The symptom of this bug is DNS resolution starts failing at random times and internet access appears to be lost. Some devices will keep working until they need a DNS querry. It either resolves itself after several minutes or after a router reboot. 

Message 7 of 12
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

You can try the new version of FW and see if this helps your system:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/New-RBK50-53-Series-Firmware-Version-2-7-3-22/m-p/2113656/high...

 

I recommend a full on factory reset and setup from scratch after its loaded on the RBS first then RBR lastly. 

Be sure to clear out ALL browser caches and also reboot your PCs and devices as well to help clear out all DNS caches as well. 


@Steve1981 wrote:

Thanks Furrye38. That agrees with what I thought but wanted someone more knowledgeable to confirm. The setting of the wan lease variable is the solution I have tried already. I was very hopeful when I saw it posted as it did seem to be a match for what I was seeing. Unfortunately though it didn't seem to have the desired effect.


 

Message 8 of 12
Steve1981
Aspirant

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

Thanks guys. I'll give this a go with the setting changes first and try the more involved firmware updates if that doesn't work. I actually didn't even think to check for fw updates as the Orbi did updates as part of its initial setup and I assumed it had brought itself up to date.

 

The thing that does concern me is that whatever is happening is taking down the internet access on the Orbi router AND the bt home hub when in AP mode. So it may well be it does turn out to be a BT problem with some Orbi issues thrown in for good measure.

Message 9 of 12
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

Let us know how it goes. Seems like this could be a ISP issue. 

Message 10 of 12
Steve1981
Aspirant

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

Folks, just to follow on from this.  Its looking very like this was an ISP issue all along.  BT eventually sent and engineer to my home after a number of attempts to do so (usual BT problems where differnt departments seem incapable of working together.  Highly frustrating but probably not a rant for here).  He simply replaced my openreach modem with a smaller more up to date version and all issues seem to have disappeared since.  I've now had a solid working internet connection for a whole week (yay!).

 

Now at the moment I'm still running in AP mode with the bt home hub connected in.  I've updated the firmware as you suggested and made the changes to DST settings.  So with any luck when I change back to connecting straight from the modem to the orbi router I'll hopefully not have any issues.

 

Thank you for your help it was very much appreciated.

Message 11 of 12
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK50 Dropping Internet

Glad they got it working.

 

Enjoy. Smiley Wink

Message 12 of 12
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