I have the EX6200 working in FastLane mode where it connects via 5Ghz to my router (AirPort Extreme last generation) and then using wires I connect some other stuff to it. Well, all this works fine, but then after 2-3 days the extender looses its connection to the router and such those wired devices cannot see anymore my network. I have to switch off and on (using the button on rear side) the extender and then it reconnects fine and all works fine again. That's getting quite annoying. I have another extender from Gateway and that guy is always connected, never lost connection. I did update the firmware to 1.0.0.46 but the problem persists. Any ideas why this might happen?
I chose the EX6200 because of the wifi C connectivity, as I need to stream BlueRay rips from my server to a box that plays them on TV, the Gateway extender which is only N could not handle such a rate transfer.
ok, I reserved the IP for the extender, will see how it behaves.
P.S. Just before anyone else will start blaming the AirPort, I must tell that I had the Nighthawk router for like 1 month and changed it for the AirPort, and I had same issues with the extender, so definitely the extender has an issue.
I have exactly the same problem. Also configured the extender to be working in FastLane mode, and the extender is also dropping the connection after a variable number of days.
Rebooting the extender restores the connection. It's very frustrating.
I have a similar but also different issue with my EX6200 (I have started its own thread about it - awaiting MOD approval).
My EX6200 also in 5GHz fastlane mode, simply will not see my routers 5GHz channel, even though in range with good coverage and all other devices can connect fine. It also does not see it in standard 5GHz (none fastlane - repeater) mode.
It has worked in 5GHz mode a few times (very rarely) and to be honest when it does it is actually very good and fast enough as that is the best way to connect hard wired devices to get the fastest link, but for me most of the time just doesn't see the router (5GHz only - 2.4GHz always OK) so they are strange things and as you say very frustrating, so maybe an issue with the EX6200
I use an ASUS RT68U router and thought maybe it was a compatibility problem between brands but its interesting that you have a nighthawk which should work and if you connection is good should not drop off.
I have the same issue with the EX6200 losing connection. It is extending an R7000 Nighthawk in Fastlane mode. It is connecting to the R7000 at 5Ghz and servicing 2.4Ghz clients. Every few days all clients lose connection and disappear from the R7000's active wireless client list. However the EX6200 does stay connected to the R7000 as a 5Ghz client, it just does not accept connections from the 2.4Ghz clients anymore. The only way so far that I have found to resolve this is to hard boot the EX6200 by powering it off then on via the physical power button. This is only temporary as the EX6200 will have the same issue after a few days again.
Has anyone discovered a resolution to this issue? Any new firmware available to resolve the problem?
I'm having the exact same issue as well. I too am using a NetGear router, the slightly older R6300. Everything is great through the EX6200 for a few days...and then I too have to reset it via its Power button in order to get things connected again.
At the other end of my home is a Securifi Almond, doing the same tasks as the EX6200, and also connected wirelessly to the R6300; but the Securifi never disconnects the way this EX6200 does.
NetGear techs, please let us know the solution, or post updated firmware to rectify.
I have the opposite problem actually. Using the EX6200 with N600 (WNDR3700) as base router. The connection between the extender and router are fine. I am losing connection between the extender and devices. I am using both the 2.4 and 5 signals. As soon as my device loses connection (phone and or tablet) from EX6200, it defaults to the 2.4 or 5 signal from the N600. Now, i know that the router and extender are still connected because I have a laptop (wired) to port 1 of my EX6200 and the laptop is still getting internet connection and access to all other network devices (except the ones dropped by the EX6200). The extender has green lights for 2.4 and 5 ghz signals as well as the traffic signal so I am not too far from my base router. Sometimes when trying to connect/reconnect to the EX6200 (either signal) it takes a very long time for the device to obtain an ip address, and often times out. Eventually when it works, the speeds and range are great! But, that is limited and only stays connected for few hours...again, this happens with either channel. I do not have MAC address filtering on. But I do have WPA2 PSK AES. Am I having ip address issues? DHCP issues? I can always see the 2.4 and 5 Ghz networks from the extender, they never disappear, I just cant always connect to them. I dont seem to have any channel issues, or conflicts with other networks in my area... not that there are may to conflict with. Any thoughts? I cant find anywhere on other sites or forums anyone else with the same problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Just try to specify exact channels and do NOT leave them to AUTO. Perhaps you will need to put the extender in fastlane mode in 5GHz and use the 2.4GHz for your clients in order to do so.
So has anyone found a resolution to this issue? I filed a case with Netgear support weeks ago however they have not found any resolution yet. At this stage I am not hopeful and am regretting getting this extender when I could have bought a cheaper and possibly more reliable extender. My last extender was a Dlink and while the range was nowhere close to the EX6200 it at least never dropped connections like this.
This is giving me the $#!ts now.... but, I have found a temporary (albeit unsatisfactory) workaround...
These problems (and workaround) are replicated when extending the signal from a Netcom nbwv16 AND a Netgear Nighthawk x6 R8000.
The extender is currently in fastlane mode, connecting to my modem via 5ghz, and to devices in 2.4ghz
There are NO interfering networks in my area on channel 6, tested the same channel with older much weaker routers WiFi without issues.
Extender is set to DHCP and router is assigning a reserved address for the extender and some of he devices which connect to it (static ip makes no difference)
The 5ghz connection to the modem stays solid, but it drops the 2.4ghz connection frequently, BUT not to all devices..... eg, my iPad can access mywifiext.net AND the internet via the extender, but, when it drops, my laptop, TV, ps3 and blueray player cannot access anything via the extender (including mywifiext.net), despite both the devices and extender indicating that those devices are still connected to the network via a 'limited' connection.... After a few minutes, SOMETIMES you can reconnect, but, get quickly booted off again...
Ok, that's the problem, now, heres my working (so far) workaround.... I lowered the connection speed of the "wireless mode" on the 2.4ghz network to 54Mbps, and now, it doesn't drop out anymore... It works, but, it's unsatisfactory because the whole point of the fastlane and the fast access point is to be able to use the speed.... a cheaper extender can do 54mbps, and, there's the problem!
The EX6200 Nightmare. I have had it for like 2 months now, and it’s not getting any better. On the best of days it has been stable for 3-4 days on a row,. but it is now back in nightmare modus again. It is so stupid, because when it works, the speed is unbeatable. It easy manage the whole width of my which is 75/75 Mb/s. But what good is it when the connection keeps dropping like that,. can‘t even put up 5 minutes of good work even. So I have to resort to my old WN3100RP again. So weir there is no formal statement given by Netgear on this issue. I mean there has to be something to do, anyone?? Seem this thread has died out a bit. But am sure am there’s lots of others too with the same issue. I would like to hear from someone having better experiences and possible managed to work it out, preferably without lowering the connection speed of the "wireless mode". Please, anyone care to throw some wisdom to it,. would be appreciated,. Any,. cheers all,. thor72
I am having the same issues. My primary router is the R7000 (Nighthawk AC1900). I have the Extender EX6200 set up with the 5GHz Fast Lane. The Wifi from the EX6200 seems to work fine. However, the main purpose for the EX6200 is so I can directly plug in all my devices from my entertainment center (TV, TiVo, BlueRay, XBOX, etc). Every few days, the EX6200 drops the wired connections. A reboot seems to fix it, temporarily. Clearly this is a pain in the rear when everytime I want to stream NetFlix (or whatever) that I need to reboot the extender.
I have the latest Firmware available. Anyone found a fix to this yet?
I have been working a similar issue with support for a number of weeks. Every 1-7 days the extended would just stop allowing devices accessing it. That is, devices could see the SSID, but could not successfully make connection. (Not to be confused with a DNS issue that many seem have with this & other Netgear hardware - that's a different problem altogether and resolved thru use of fixed DNS setting of 8.8.8.8) The last set of changes made included: 1) reload of latest firmware (although I already appeared to have it, they suggested it may have been "corrupt" and I should "re-flash") 2) full hardware reset with resultant default config 3) set ch to 6 (I was using 11 so think this may have just been an idea they had) To date, things are looking good. I've been on the air for well over a week, however I did experience a blackout a few days ago so I still haven't reached that magic 7 continuous days as yet.
I have a similar issue where the EX6200 drops/disallows access every few days. In my case it appears to be around every 10 days or so. I worked with Netgear support over a couple of months to try and solve the issue. They tried a number of potential solutions but were ultimately unsuccessful at resolving the issue. Among the actions they took were changing settings, several different beta firmwares and they even swapped out my EX6200 for a new one. All to no avail. The issue still continues to this day.
My personal opinion is that the EX6200 is running into a resource issue, probably a memory leak which causes one or more software functions to hang when they run out of memory. I tried to convince Netgear to give me a debug firmware which would periodically log various software parameters (e.g. available memory, cpu speed, device connect/disconnect, etc). My thought was that by examining the logs they could get a better idea of the cause of the issue. However they did not seem able or interested in doing this.
Hopefully someone at Netgear gets a bright idea and releases a firmware that fixes the issue in the future. Meanwhile I am looking for a new extender.
Did they have you go through the whole re-flash, factory reset & reboot process? I'm curious given it seems I "was" having the same problems and have now passed the 10 day mark, whereas previously I'd be really lucky to last a week.
Between when you'd purchased, and when you began having problems, had you upgraded the bios at all?
Yes , they had me go through the reflash, factory reset and reboot procedure. When I bought it I upgraded to the latest firmware at the time. Given that you are not having problems anymore can you provide your configuration details so I can see if I can duplicate your success? 1. Firmware version 2. Fastlane or regular extender mode 3. If Fastlane then which radio provides the backhaul? 4. What bandwidth is each radio set to?
For reference, here are my details: 1. 1.0.0.52 2. Fastlane 3. I use the 5Ghz as backhaul to the router, 2.4Ghz to the wireless clients 4. 2.4Ghz radio bandwidth is set to 300M, 5Ghz to 600M
Given that you are not having problems anymore can you provide your configuration details so I can see if I can duplicate your success?
For reference, here are my details: 1. 1.0.0.52 2. Fastlane 3. I use the 5Ghz as backhaul to the router, 2.4Ghz to the wireless clients 4. 2.4Ghz radio bandwidth is set to 300M, 5Ghz to 600M
Cheers DM
I have actually made only minor changes since the whole reflash/reset/reboot process, so my current config is very close to a factory default. I have been tempted to go and and tweak things but to be honest I'm just happy the thing is finally working and didn't want to tempt fate!
For the record: 1. 1.0.0.52 2. No fastlane 3. 5GHz disabled. I want to give it a try but I'm too chicken = see above! 4. 2.4GHz bandwidth as per default - what ever that is.
Only real changes I've made post factory reset: - password - setup for static IP & DNS - DNS set for ISP & Google (due to separate Netgear DNS issue)
I'd also note that both Android devices I use are set with static IP. Maybe it's an Android thing but I've had much more consistent & faster connects that way. All other devices, including the "i" ones, use dynamic IP without a problem.
Thanks for the reply. After my last post I changed my configuration to see if I could improve things. I turned off Fastlane completely and decided to use only the 2.4Ghz radio. The 5Ghz radio is enabled but I have no devices connecting to it. Everything else is factory default except for the admin password which I changed of course. At this point I am 16 days and counting which is leaps and bounds beyond what I was getting before. I am cautiously optimistic that this configuration is permanently stable.
Based on both of our configs it seems that the problem with the EX6200 implementation lies either in the implementation of the 5Ghz radio or the Fastlane technology. There is a software or firmware bug or conceivably a hardware issue in one or both of those two places.
Whilst stable, my current config is by no means satisfactory. The whole point of shelling out extra cash for the EX6200 in my situation was to utilize the Fastlane technology. My current config could be handled by an extender less than half the cost. So my current overall rating for the EX6200 is poor. My advice until this situation is fixed; don't waste your money, look elsewhere.
Re: EX6200 with latest firmware looses connection monthly-requiring a power cycle
I have an EX6200 extender connected by wireless running in fastlane mode only using 5G (that is, the 2.4 G signal is completely turned off). It receives its signal from R7000. I have three devices plugged into it one of which is a Ceton Echo (WMC player/extender). The EX6200 is running firmware V1.0.0.52_1.1.90 (latest firmware). The device provides a ~866 connect signal for which I am pleased. However my acute problem is that the device requires a power cycle roughly monthly, since it replaced another worse EX6200 in July-August. Clearly either the current firmware or my device, which is still under factory warranty until March 13, is faulty.
I want NetGear to either fix the firmware problem or replace this still-under-warranty-unit, but they instead claim "based on the product registration, your device is no longer eligible for free assistance from a support expert." My point is I shouldn't have to buy any service to have a company honor their warranty. So I ask forum members what good is a one-year hardware warranty that NetGear won't honor. Send me a replacement unit NetGear and let's see if the hardware is the problem!
I turned off Fastlane completely and decided to use only the 2.4Ghz radio. The 5Ghz radio is enabled but I have no devices connecting to it. Everything else is factory default except for the admin password which I changed of course. At this point I am 16 days and counting
Based on both of our configs it seems that the problem with the EX6200 implementation lies either in the implementation of the 5Ghz radio or the Fastlane technology. There is a software or firmware bug or conceivably a hardware issue in one or both of those two places.
Whilst stable, my current config is by no means satisfactory. The whole point of shelling out extra cash for the EX6200 in my situation was to utilize the Fastlane technology. My current config could be handled by an extender less than half the cost. So my current overall rating for the EX6200 is poor. My advice until this situation is fixed; don't waste your money, look elsewhere.
I would agree with that analysis. Unfortunately Netgears past history suggests we'll be lucky to get one more update for this model before its retired, and despite indications they are aware of this issue they don't appear to be looking for a solution.
For info I disabled the 5GHz on both my router & extender. I also note that although I left the EX6200 2.4GHz wireless thruput set at "up to 300Mbps", my router (WNDR3700 V1 with stock firmware) is set at only "up to 130Mbps".Consequently, my EX6200 is noting a link rate of "up to 144Mbps" and I would think in reality it's a LOT less than that given the limitations of sharing the 2.4GHz frequency & bandwidth inherent with any wireless extender. The only reason I am running this configuration is because I have the router guest network enabled with TKIP due due a older Kindle not being able to deal with AES.
Re: EX6200 with latest firmware looses connection monthly-requiring a power cycle
DocJ wrote:
I want NetGear to either fix the firmware problem or replace this still-under-warranty-unit, but they instead claim "based on the product registration, your device is no longer eligible for free assistance from a support expert." My point is I shouldn't have to buy any service to have a company honor their warranty. So I ask forum members what good is a one-year hardware warranty that NetGear won't honor. Send me a replacement unit NetGear and let's see if the hardware is the problem!
In Australia at least you'd be able to take it back to the place of purchase and demand a(nother) replacement or refund under consumer law, ie: "You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure."
And whilst I agree having to regularly power cycle any device just to keep it working is a complete croc, one "solution" could be to plug the power pack into an electronic timer which powers off say once a week sometime overnight for a few minutes. At least that way you could forget about having to manually reset it? 🙂
I would agree with that analysis. Unfortunately Netgears past history suggests we'll be lucky to get one more update for this model before its retired, and despite indications they are aware of this issue they don't appear to be looking for a solution.
For info I disabled the 5GHz on both my router & extender. I also note that although I left the EX6200 2.4GHz wireless thruput set at "up to 300Mbps", my router (WNDR3700 V1 with stock firmware) is set at only "up to 130Mbps".Consequently, my EX6200 is noting a link rate of "up to 144Mbps" and I would think in reality it's a LOT less than that given the limitations of sharing the 2.4GHz frequency & bandwidth inherent with any wireless extender. The only reason I am running this configuration is because I have the router guest network enabled with TKIP due due a older Kindle not being able to deal with AES.
I am now at my wit's end with Netgear. I have been filing support cases with them on this issue as I try out the various suggestions and beta firmwares provided by their support staff. I filed a new support case two days ago advising that the problem was still not resolved by any firmware or suggestion and suggested that they either provide a new firmware that actually works or refund my money. Their answer was a short "Your unit is now outside the 90 day support period". Basically, they ran out the clock, did not fix the problem and now point to their "terms and conditions". The worst part? Well they even got my name completely wrong. Apparently my name is "David" now.
If this is their level of service to customers who diligently try to work with them to resolve issues then I don't know what to say. I will not be buying anymore Netgear products and will advise everyone I know to do the same. Their service is stunningly bad compared to a certain other very well known networking company where their support personnel worked with me, collected debug logs and actually resolved the issue I was having. I know which company gets my business next time.
