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Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Southpaw32
Guide

RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

I recently picked up a refurb RBK53 system from Woot. I've installed, updated the firmware, and did a full factory reset of the router and satalites. Despite all of this a few times a day every devices (wired and wireless) lose connection for a couple of mins. 

I have ATT Fiber 1000/1000, with the 5268AC Gateway that i'm running a DMZ passthrough to the Orbi WAN, and I also have a 16port unmanged switched plugged into a Lan port on the Orbi router.

No Circle, no Armor.

Daisy Chain is off

40/20 is off

Short preamble

Beamforming, MU-MIMO, and fast roaming are all On.

 

Overall, wifi is strong, speeds are good, but these random reboots are killing me!

 

Also, Wifi calling with our iphones sucks. We have iPhone 11 and 11 Pro. It's a crapshoot if wifi calling will work, or work fully. Often you can hear the person but they can't hear you. 

 

I just recently heard of the Voxel firmware, so I may give that a shot, but I would appreciate any other advice/suggestions/direction.

 

Thank in advance!

Model: RBK53|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System
Message 1 of 17

Accepted Solutions
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Seems like the RBR isn't stable with two RBS online. 

I would make contact with NG support about this. The system should not crash with 2 RBS online. I'd ask about an RMA if needed. 

@Blanca_O 

@Christian_R 

View solution in original post

Message 13 of 17

All Replies
Mooose
Luminary

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

No ideas, but I also have an RBS50 that reboots randomly every now and then, no particular pattern.
Message 2 of 17
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

What version of FW is loaded on the system? 

Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode?

 

Is the wifi fully disabled on the ISP Modem since it's got built in wifi? 

 

Where in the home is the RBR and RBS placed? 

What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between RBR and RBS to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/000036466/How-far-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite-from-my-Orbi-router

 

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 disabling the following and see:
Beamforming and MIMO, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).


@Southpaw32 wrote:

I recently picked up a refurb RBK53 system from Woot. I've installed, updated the firmware, and did a full factory reset of the router and satalites. Despite all of this a few times a day every devices (wired and wireless) lose connection for a couple of mins. 

I have ATT Fiber 1000/1000, with the 5268AC Gateway that i'm running a DMZ passthrough to the Orbi WAN, and I also have a 16port unmanged switched plugged into a Lan port on the Orbi router.

No Circle, no Armor.

Daisy Chain is off

40/20 is off

Short preamble

Beamforming, MU-MIMO, and fast roaming are all On.

 

Overall, wifi is strong, speeds are good, but these random reboots are killing me!

 

Also, Wifi calling with our iphones sucks. We have iPhone 11 and 11 Pro. It's a crapshoot if wifi calling will work, or work fully. Often you can hear the person but they can't hear you. 

 

I just recently heard of the Voxel firmware, so I may give that a shot, but I would appreciate any other advice/suggestions/direction.

 

Thank in advance!


 

Message 3 of 17
Southpaw32
Guide

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Thanks for the reply! Here are my answer!

I've had two reboots already this morning. 😕

 

What version of FW is loaded on the system? 2.5.1.16

Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode? Router

 

Is the wifi fully disabled on the ISP Modem since it's got built in wifi? Yes, all channels and guest are disabled

 

Where in the home is the RBR and RBS placed? RBR is middle of the ground floor in a media closet. RBS are both on the second floor at oposite ends of the house. Both have a "Good" status in the web interface.

What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? I'd guess between 30-40 feet. They are in the same place that I had my previous Airport Extreme setup, that I never had issues with. 

30 feet is recommended in between RBR and RBS to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/000036466/How-far-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite-from-my-Orbi-router

 

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz. I manually had 2.4ghz set to 11, but recently set it back to Auto (as I'm trying anything to get this to work).  5ghz is pretty clear.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? I'm in a fairly close neighborhood. I'm say there are 4-5 other networks that are visibile

 

Try disabling the following and see:
Beamforming and MIMO, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s). IPv6 has been off.  How do you set Coexistence to 40Mhz only? I only have an "enable" checkbox.

I disabled Bearmforming and MIMO.

 

Also, FYI I have reserved IPs for the Satalites.

I ordered a BGW210 from ATT last week, so I'm awaiting it, but I don't think that will be a magic fix. 

 

Message 4 of 17
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Does the RBR reboot or still loose it's connection if you turn OFF The RBS and turn down the power output of the RBR from 100% to say 50%? Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings/ Also uncheck the box for 20/40Mhz. This will set 40Mhz only for 2.4Ghz. 

 

Closets are not great places for wifi routers...

 

What happens if you configure AP mode on the RBR? 

 

Hoping the new modem will be helpful. You'll still need the DMZ or IP pass thru on it if you run the Orbi in router mode. 

 

 

Message 5 of 17
Southpaw32
Guide

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

SOB retyping my answer, because I lost my network again and didn't notice, and hit reply. grrrr.

 

Does the RBR reboot or still loose it's connection if you turn OFF The RBS and turn down the power output of the RBR from 100% to say 50%? I'll give this a shot and report back.

 

Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings/ Also uncheck the box for 20/40Mhz. This will set 40Mhz only for 2.4Ghz. Thanks for the info! Already unchecked.

 

Closets are not great places for wifi routers... Yes, I know, but it is an AV closet with decent ventilation. My Airport Extreme "Main" router lived there for 5 years with no issue. Also, it keeps things out of reach from my very curious 3 and 2 y.o.

 

What happens if you configure AP mode on the RBR? Part of my whole reason for doing this was to avoid using ATT DNS, so that kinda defeats the purpose.

 

Hoping the new modem will be helpful. You'll still need the DMZ or IP pass thru on it if you run the Orbi in router mode. Yeah, I know, but at least I can turn off DHCP on the other.

 

Thanks again for all your help/advice! 

 

 


 

Message 6 of 17
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

You can change DNS on the current modem/router at all? 

Message 7 of 17
Southpaw32
Guide

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Nope, ATT locks it down so you have to use their DNS. 

Message 8 of 17
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Figures. Ok. Well try some of the suggestions. 

Hopefully the new modem will work better with the Orbi system. Seen nothing but problems with ATT modems. 

 

Something you can try as well:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/Orbi-AX-6000-and-AT-amp-T-fiber-gateway-issue/m-p/1890125/h...

Not sure if this will work for you or not. 

 

Other ATT modem info:

https://www.f0il.com/how-to-arris-bgw210-700-modem-router-with-netgear-xr500-router/
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/How-do-I-setup-bridge-mode-in-the-ARRIS-BGW210-700/m-p/1875994...

 

 

Message 9 of 17
Southpaw32
Guide

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

I like the idea of that Mac Clone option, but my only concern is if the network goes down when I'm not home. I'll test it out once I get this Orbi crashing issue sorted.

 

I'll report back on the Router only, wifi at 50% test later! 

Thanks again for your time and help!

Message 10 of 17
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Might configured AP mode in mean time while you wait on the new modem to arrive. Get your system stable for a while. 

Message 11 of 17
Southpaw32
Guide

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Alright, ran the RBR at 50% with Coexistence to 40Mhz and disabled Bearmforming and MIMO.

Ran good for most the day, so added one statlite. Removed it from devices, did a factory reset and re-added it.

Everything ran good all night and overnight, so I added the second statlite this morning. Again doing a remove, factory reset and re-add.

Everything was running good until about 10 mins ago, when I had another crash. I was doing a few different activities at the time, files transfer, music library import, etc.

 

The Satalites are both showing TX and RX at 1300, with RSSI -47 to -53.

 

I haven't upped the Transmit power or enabled MIMO or Beamforming yet.

 

I just don't understand why these crashes are happening. What more can I do?

Message 12 of 17
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Seems like the RBR isn't stable with two RBS online. 

I would make contact with NG support about this. The system should not crash with 2 RBS online. I'd ask about an RMA if needed. 

@Blanca_O 

@Christian_R 

Message 13 of 17
Southpaw32
Guide

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Thanks for all your help!

 

Should I reach out to phone/chat/email support, or can someone on here help me out? Like @Blanca_O @Christian_R ?

 

Thanks!

Message 14 of 17
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Yes. Also open a support ticket as well:

https://www.netgear.com/support/#

 

Message 15 of 17
Southpaw32
Guide

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Some additional follow-up. My Voip system for work has been giving me fits, so I decided to try AP mode to see if it would fix it.

AP mode magically made all of my VOIP issues disappear. 

I was also hoping it would resolve the reboot issue, but it hasn't. 

I have an RMA in progress, so I'm anxiously awaiting my replacement system.

 

Thanks again to FURRYe38 and everyone else for the help!

Message 16 of 17
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBK53 system keeps "rebooting" and WiFi calling is horrible

Hoping the RMA will help keep from crashing. Seems like a HW issue. Hopefully the new RMA unit will work for you in router mode however your still having to deal with the ISP router side as well. AP mode maybe the best way for you to use the Orbi with that modem/router. 

 

Keep us posted. 

Message 17 of 17
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