×

Introducing the Orbi 970 Series Mesh System with WiFi 7(BE) technology. For more information visit the NETGEAR Press Room.

Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
Reply

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

ThePathfinder
Apprentice

V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

V2.1.1.12 for me is a complete failure, I had been running beta version V2.0.1.2 which was the most stable firmware thus far is this long journey that is the Netgear Orbi. The upgrade to V2.1.1.12 went as smoothly as always but upon completion is was apparent something was not right as it showed 21 devices connected to the router and nothing connected to either satellite yet my devices were connected all 26 of them and some of them were connected to the satellites as there is no possible way these devices could connect to the router as its simply too far away. So I wrote it off as just a problem with the attached devices page and headed to bed, well this morning I awake to our DIRECTV Genie showing a message that it has been disconnected from the internet and worse our SmartThings Hub dropped offline shortly after I went to bed so a majority of the cloud based items did not run on there schedules. So I rebooted the Orbi system and it still shows 21 devices all connected to the router I also reboot the SmartThings and all seems fine, jump in the shower and when I get out I see SmartThings is offline again, I go back down to the PC and all the hardwired connections are down. So I default the Orbi and reload everything thinking there must be a problem with data but a from scratch rebuild results in the same attached devices view not showing all my devices and not showing anything connected to a either satellite. Also devices randomly drop connection such as the echo dots scattered around the house. So while I was a willing beta tester till Netgear decided to unceremoniously close my service ticket after V2.0.1.2 didn’t cause me to send daily “this is not working emails” I did not expect that a public release would again be less stable and have more issues than the beta version. Bottom line I rolled my system back to V2.0.1.2 and it is back to working as it should. At least from my standpoint V.2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release. Oh and I did try to reach out to my support person before posting this here but since they closed my ticket apparently my only option to now get support even with the beta firmware they provided is through the community. Glendill if you are out there how about re-opening my support ticket?

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 1 of 57
Retired_Member
Not applicable

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

Pretty common of what's been going on since 1.10.x. Some versions solve some folk's problem and kill other's system.  I've had versions that work well for weeks then go into disconnect hell.  I'm really not sure why, but something has changed since the Spring of this year's releases.

 

When I first bought Orbi, it was absolutely flawless.  Sadly, I can't afford to switch right now, so I'm stuck with a $600 system in a house where we stream everything and cut the cord earlier this year BECAUSE Orbi was so stable and fast!

Message 2 of 57
aani75
Apprentice

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 3 of 57
ThePathfinder
Apprentice

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

As I stated in my initial post I reverted back to the beta version firmware and all is stable again, NETGEAR please get V2.1.1.12 fixed before pushing it out as an auto update - PLEASE

 

Also I saw in another post where Darren stated they were looking into the 0 devices showing issue, I hope they also look into my situation which was some devices showing but all showed connected to Router when some of them were indeed connected to one of the satellites.

 

Also I forgot to note on V2.1.1.12 clicking on the refresh caused the satellites to move into the list with all the other devices.

Message 4 of 57
Juventus7597
Tutor

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

Orbi system with the following: RBR50 Router And Two Satts: RBW30 RBS50

 

Updated firmware to 2.1.1.12 on Router and RBS50 Satt and same issues as above:  Not all devices confirmed to be connected showing up on devices list.  Many things attempted, included factory resets to no avail. 

 

Pretty frustrating. 

Message 5 of 57
JMU1998
Luminary

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

I wonder if nvram clearing needed for this version of Firmware 

Message 6 of 57
Hydro130
Luminary

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

I have not done an NVRAM reset for a long time, and I've had no problems installing the last several firmwares without it (including this latest 2.1). 

 

2.1 is working great for me - no issues with installation or performance.

Message 7 of 57
RogerSC
Virtuoso

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release


@JMU1998 wrote:

I wonder if nvram clearing needed for this version of Firmware 


Netgear would say so, if a factory reset was necessary, in the firmware release notes. However, that's usually the second thing that I try if things don't work as I expect them to. First, power-cycle both units, easy, then factory reset both units and reconfigure my settings manually. If things still don't work right at that point, start to look at other possible issues.

 

There's also a log provided, but it isn't usually useful in troubleshooting, I've found. You can turn debug on and off and get a debug log using the 192.168.1.1/debug.htm page (where 192.168.1.1 represents the IP address of your Orbi router unit). I haven't needed to use the debug log with the Orbi, myself.

 

i realize that it isn't very helpful to say this for those with problems, but everything's good with the latest firmware here. And I do appreciate the new features. Really sorry for those that are having problems.

Message 8 of 57
ThePathfinder
Apprentice

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

For those of you that have a stable working Orbi with V2.1.1.12 I say congratulations, last January I purchased my RBK53 Orbi from Costco and it has been a long winding road. I have always been a Netgear customer never owned anything but. Out of the box the Orbi provided a much better solution than my WNDR4500 but then came the first of many firmware updates that would bring with them nothing but problems albeit mostly minor to medium issues such as random disconnects. But with the help of DarrenM I was put in contact with tier 2 support and after a few different beta versions I finally landed on V2.0.1.2 which made the Orbi what it should be, a set it and forget it device. I was content to never upgrade the firmware again and just enjoy the working product for which I paid a considerable amount of money, but then came the KRACK vulnerability so when V2.1.1.12 was offered I figured it had to be built on the beta code that had proven itself so stable for me. But as I document above that is not the case, so I moved back to the known good firmware thinking I would wait for Netgear to acknowledge the issue and provide a fix. But while I see DarrenM acknowledging some of the issues I see nothing from Netgear in the way of a suggestion or a fix. But back to the issue at hand so having moved back to the previous firmware I was surprised to find I was now having random and frequent satellite disconnects I defaulted everything and reprogrammed but still the issues persisted. All I can assume is the newest firmware made changes to the hardware that are not reversed by moving back to an older firmware. So today I again defaulted everything and again loaded V2.1.1.12 and it went from bad to simply unusable I cannot use the OOMA to make calls as it cuts in and out (never an issue before) and the satellites drop offline even more frequently. Along with now the main router drops offline randomly as well.  I let it run all afternoon and evening hoping it might somehow stabilize but NO. So I again moved it back to the beta so I could at least have stable hardwired connections. I did send a PM to DarrenM earlier today and had hoped he might contact me with some options but as my wife pointed out I have spent enough time on this thing its time to move on. Luckily, I had purchased it from Costco and when I contacted them they said no problem bring it in for return. SO I guess today is the day that the Orbi put an end to me being a Netgear customer. The eero Pro WiFi System has been ordered and will be here on Monday. By the way I reached out to eero today with some questions and they were immediately accessible.  They also made it clear that if I had any problems now or down the road they were available to help. None of this 90-day support BS. Its sad I really feel Netgear has forgotten how important it is to take care of the customer. To everyone on this forum that offered help and advice to me THANK YOU. To Netgear I say get your house in order you just lost what had been and would have been a lifelong customer.

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 9 of 57
aaz
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

I can't easily return this thing because it's across a border and some distance, so I guess my only option is to keep banging on the drum here now that I am past my 90 day support window - which is entirely too short for such an expensive product. I've had better support for childrens toys.

 

Anyways. My devices now all show as connected through the router - none show up on satellites. Day 2 on this issue with no acknowledgement from Netgear which is really frustrating. Don't go to this firmware.

Message 10 of 57
Supertramp11
Luminary

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

I guess I am one of the lucky ones then. My Orbi 50 has become more stable since the latest FW upgrade. I do continue to miss WiFi Scheduling and this needs to be brought back (as per user manual) as this is a potential showstopper for me.

 

Netgear employees could be a bit more present in this forum though. Comparing it with the ReadyNAS forum, there is a high involvement of Netgear employees, who even offer to send them - if necessary - your logfiles to help them with resolving your problems.

 

The ReadyNAS experience makes me stick with Netgear (for now) and I just keep hoping that the same experience will be the case for the Orbi community here.

 

Netgear Orbi folks! If you are reading this, please talk to your Netgear ReadyNAS colleagues and learn from them!

Message 11 of 57
aaz
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

So are you seeing Wifi devices attached to your satellites on the Devices page? 

The firmware has been stable for me as well, but I am seeing all devices now attaching to the router - though wired devices into satellites are working they don't show up at all.

Message 12 of 57
st_shaw
Master

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release


@aaz wrote:

So are you seeing Wifi devices attached to your satellites on the Devices page? 

The firmware has been stable for me as well, but I am seeing all devices now attaching to the router - though wired devices into satellites are working they don't show up at all.


I have one wired device and several wifi devices attachde to my satellite.

 

The wired device connected to the satellite is shown properly in the router connected devices list. Only one of the wireless devices shows in the list, and it shows as connected to the router. The satellite status page doesn't show any devices connected.

 

So, there seems to be a problem with the connected devices lists.  It doesn't seem to affect network operation, as far as I can tell.

 

 

Message 13 of 57
cmftblynu
Star

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

It doesn't matter, I did a factory reset TWICE and getting the same results... one time a sattelite showed up, but now they are ALL gone...

Message 14 of 57
aaz
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

How can you be sure that it's not affecting operations?

The only devices that I think are connected to the satellites are the wifi devices that don't show up. The ones that show up as connected to the router seem to me to actually be connecting to the router. This is the problem, this used to work with more of a spread, and now I am seeing most of my devices perfer the router and refuse to connect to the satellite.

 

It just seems they are taking a long time to release firmware that they have not even beta tested. This is the kind of bug that should be discovered by anyone doing any minimal testing. NOT Acceptable.

Message 15 of 57
st_shaw
Master

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

I know it's not affecting my network operations, because I've been using my wireless devices all weekend without a single glitch of any kind.  A lot of that included streaming 1920x1080 HD video from a new IP cam I'm testing.

 

And, I can tell whether my devices are connected to the satellite or router by looking at the MAC address of the WAP they are connecting to. (On a MacBook Pro you can see this by option-clicking the WiFi icon.)  A long time ago I wrote down the MAC addresses for the 2.4 and 5 GHZ radios on my router and satellite.  Now I know exactly what device is connected to what AP.  Everything is connecting where it should, and the attached devices list is inaccurate.

 

As far as I have seen on my network, the only problem is with the information displayed in the attached devices list, not with anything else. It would be nice if the list were correct, but if everything is working on the WLAN, it's inconsequential to me.

 

Yes, it would be nice if Netgear hadn't released another buggy firmware.  And, yes, the attached devices list is wrong.  But since you now know the attached devices list is wrong, you should not use the list to conclude that your clients are all connecting to the router, because the list is inaccurate!

Message 16 of 57
RogerSC
Virtuoso

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

You should be able to find out what's connected to the satellite by bringing up the satellite's IP address on your browser and looking at "connected devices". That should list the devices connected to the satellite. Just did that, and while the Orbi router web admin interface shows clients connected to the satellite unit, the web admin interface for the satellite doesn't show any devices connected although there are several. Hadn't looked there before, since I was getting everything I needed from the "Attached Devices" listing from the Orbi router unit.

 

Everything's working great, other than the satellite itself not showing the devices that are connected to it. As I said, the router unit shows everything connected to the router and the satellite, and all clients are properly labeled there as to which unit they connect through.

Message 17 of 57
mccx
Star

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

I'm having the same issue.   My router/satellite will disconnect every couple hours.  All my devices are connected to the router (only).

 

My devices will go offline from time to time, getting choppy videos and voice calls.

 

Is there a way you can share the v2.0.1.2 firmware?

 

Message 18 of 57
JMU1998
Luminary

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

Has anyone tried a nvram clear? Does a factory reset clear nvram as well? 

Message 19 of 57
ThePathfinder
Apprentice

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

Unfortunately, the once stable beta firmware is no longer stable for me, I have seen random satellite disconnects and experienced random router reboots all day today. So even if I could share the beta firmware which per the agreement with Netgear I cannot it probably would do you no good.

 

As for the people posting “mine works great” I say I was once in your shoes with only a few frustrating problems, but I would read postings from so many others about random reboots and just like you I would say to myself thank goodness I don’t have those issues. BUT now I do and given Netgear’ s current track record with their not ready for prime-time firmware releases its probably only a matter of time before you go from “mine works great” to I have had enough of this poorly implemented product.

 

The Orbi is certainly not an inexpensive item, and at least for me Netgear up until this device was the go to for rock solid solutions. To me it is obvious that this product was rushed to market before it was ready and I find it unforgivable to use the general public as unwitting beta testers as it appears they are currently doing. It seems again they were behind with a solution for KRACK and they pushed out an upgrade that had not been thoroughly tested.

 

And again this is just me but how can anyone consider it “inconsequential to me” that Netgear provided a firmware release that at the very least breaks the attached device list and much worse than that for many others and when they are made aware of the problems they apparently do nothing look the other way and continue to provide this firmware.

 

Message 20 of 57
ThePathfinder
Apprentice

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

For me NVRAM clear via telnet did not fix my system. 

Message 21 of 57
aaz
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release


@st_shaw wrote:

 

... 

As far as I have seen on my network, the only problem is with the information displayed in the attached devices list, not with anything else. It would be nice if the list were correct, but if everything is working on the WLAN, it's inconsequential to me.

 ...


As far as this being inconsequential to you, that may be true, but it's certainly consequential to anyone that wants to control their devices access to the internet. This breaks more than a few features of this router. 

Something that has no impact on features would be inconsequential but this is just unacceptable and should require no users to put up with this kind of bug from a device that should be this mature.

Message 22 of 57
NickC4555
Star

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

I am also running beta 2.0.1.2 which, as the OP said, is the most stable version so far. Everything has been working perfectly for 2 months. How can a professional organisation introduce countless bugs (as documented in this and other topics) between a stable beta and a final production release? Someone at Netgear should try googling "regression testing", because they don't appear to have heard of it.

Message 23 of 57
ThePathfinder
Apprentice

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

Well I received the eero pro wifi system today it only took about 30 minutes to be up and running. I was pleasantly surprised that I could place the eero devices farther way from each other than I could with the orbi. All but my older Panasonic Plasma TV connected right up with the same network id and pass that I had in the Orbi. To my surprise my speeds are actually higher than what I could get with the orbi that was not expected. So far zero disconnects and zero issues. It I had one complaint it would only be that I had to add a switch for my 3 hardwired pc’s but I needed to purchase a PoE switch anyway as I have 2 IP cameras that have been waiting over a year for me to install them. I didn’t have to mess with any port forwarding like I did on the orbi to get my Slingbox to work and all of the devices I had on the orbi with reserved addresses came up with the same addresses on the eero. The one thing I didn’t realize I would really appreciate is how much smaller the eero’s are than the orbi. So it is with happiness and actually a little sadness that I officially end my journey with the orbi. I can’t believe I am saying this but I think the one thing I will miss is the mundane Netgear web interface its been around so long through so many of my products that its like an old friend. But its not like my orbi gave me any choice on its last day it randomly rebooted over 15 times, this morning I woke to my Samsung Smartthings hub again being offline. I must say pulling the plugs and boxing up the orbi for return did make me feel a whole lot better than I have since they pushed out the firmware that became “the straw that broke the camel’s back” for me. To those of you still having issues I truly hope Netgear gets this fixed soon spending this kind of money is supposed to give you a set it and forget it experience. For anyone on the fence about moving to the eero I can honestly say my first impression is these things work as they should but if you need assistance they are here to help even after 90 days…

Message 24 of 57
ThePathfinder
Apprentice

Re: V2.1.1.12 is not ready for public release

Just a quick followup for those of you that purchased your Orbi from Costco I had zero problems returning it. The one thing I thought was pretty interesting was that the person that helped did need to call over a manager for their register key and when the manager walked up he looked an the Orbi and said "not another one of these" I asked have you seen a lot of these come back and he said about 6 in the last few days. I asked if they were still selling it and he said no.

 

I am happy to say eero pro wifi system has been running since Monday with zero issues, it just works.

 

If you bought your Orbi from Costco and are having issues take it back and buy the eero pro wifi system I got mine from Amazon and the price was a wash.

Message 25 of 57
Top Contributors
Discussion stats
Announcements

Orbi WiFi 7