Re: When are we going to see new firmware. Is it going to help?

desmo-dog · ‎2018-09-09

I've been living with the pleasure and pain of Orbi for almost two years now. Although it is very fast and mostly works, it is still (!!!) not really reliable. Is the new firmware going to fix this or do I really finally need to switch to something that works as advertised? And when is this firmware going to ship anyway? I have been patiently waiting for the next one to ship for this whole time, which I guess proves that I am insane, because every time a new version ships it makes things slightly better, but not nearly enough. It certainly has improved. It used to be entirely unusable in router mode, and now it is merely unreliable as a router, but is mostly usable. I'm pretty sure they have professional tech people working at Netgear who know about routers and networking and so forth (right??), so how could this take two years to not-actually fix? And really, again, is there any chance that the next version is going to solve this?

Reddking · ‎2018-09-10

Exact same experience as the original post author. Love the concept, hate the pain of multiple times per week losing internet connectivity.

The Main base stays online, most of us are connected to one of the (2) satellites. I’m constantly checking here.. waiting for another firmware to be released. So far each time it’s with a promise of better stability.. which never truly materializes.

I spent a lot of money on this Orbi System. I just want it to work.. it’s unreliable and I just wish that wasn’t true.

Here’s to hoping the next new firmware fixes the internet dropping out issue!

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-09-10

NG or any other router doesn't post when FW will be forth coming. It just appears so you'll have to keep an eye on there support download site for yoru model Orbi. Can be anything from 6-9 months in between released from what I've seen.

NG has a new beta available for users to try and encourage users to give it a try:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Looking-for-a-select-group-of-Orbi-Community-members-that-are/...

What do you mean by not reliable? Would need more details...

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials.

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:
MIMO, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

desmo-dog · ‎2018-09-22

I've been on this board for two years and I've tried everything you've suggested. Even if any of it had worked, it would be pretty sad if all that was necessary. It is 2018. The first thing that needs to happen is that it needs to work--then we can tweek it to make it better. We are way past the point where it is okay to expect that we need to get into the technical weeds just to just make it work reliably. Someone at netgear needs to do their flippen job to fix this so that we don't have to have furrye38 trying to fix everyone's problems.

michaelkenward · ‎2018-09-23

Which Orbi device are we talking about here? What is its firmware? And what is the "modem", or whatever it is that connects the router to the internet?

Without this information, no one is in a position to answer your questions.

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-09-24

Have you tried some of the suggestions? Been helpful for others. it's not always a FW issue.

If you tried the suggestions and can't get your system running, then you need to contact NG support. You may have a bad system that needs to be RMAd.

@desmo-dog wrote:

I've been on this board for two years and I've tried everything you've suggested. Even if any of it had worked, it would be pretty sad if all that was necessary. It is 2018. The first thing that needs to happen is that it needs to work--then we can tweek it to make it better. We are way past the point where it is okay to expect that we need to get into the technical weeds just to just make it work reliably. Someone at netgear needs to do their flippen job to fix this so that we don't have to have furrye38 trying to fix everyone's problems.