NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Streaming problems with Orbi Firmware versions v1.12.0.18 and v2.0.0.72
Hi, guys ... This community has been a great help to me, and I thought I'd pay it back now. :smileyhappy: I have had a random media streaming issue that started about a month ago. Netflix, Amazon, and HBO Go all started having momentary buffering issues, and the longer I would stream, the more frequent the buffering would occur. It was all very random, though. Casting through Chromecast (via WiFi) was the worst, but my Amazon FireTV box (hardwired, 100BaseT) also had the problem but to a lesser extent. Sometimes, my Chromecast would even drop the connection during streaming. I have a 150 Mbps down / 12 Mbps up internet connection, with 20 msec of latency. My internet connection reads that pretty consistently. I should have plenty of bandwidth. I spent a lot of time blaming my cable company. They have usually been the culprit in the past. But they have said that they see a perfect connection, and no bit errors are being reported by my cable modem. So, today I tried diagnosing every piece of the data chain. At one point, I tried hard-wiring my Amazon FireTV box to my cable modem instead of going through the Orbi router ... and, I didn't see the buffering issue anymore! Sure enough, when I reconected my Orbi (loaded with v2.0.0.72 at the time), the buffering issue reappeared on my FireTV. I tried erasing all the Orbi settings and reconfiguring my Orbi from scratch, and it didn't help - The buffering still occurred. I realized that the buffering issue probably started after I received the v1.12.0.18 firmware around a month or so ago. I definitely was having this problem before the v2.0.0.72 update from a few days ago. So, I went to the previous load before that (v.1.11.0.20). And, with v1.11.0.20 reinstalled, my streaming buffering issues have disappeared! :smileyvery-happy: Firmware v1.11.0.20 Downgrade Instructions: Download the Orbi Base Firmware: Here. Download the Orbi Satellite Firmware: Here. Unzip these and save the .IMG files to a local hard drive - You don't want to save to a network drive, since you'll be messing with your network during this process. In order to go back to v1.11.0.20, you will first need to disable all Netgear updates on your Orbi. The instructions to disable Orbi updates are located here. (Note: Regardless of what the rest of that post says, blocking downloads.netgear.com on the router didn't work for me. Neither did the manual update process.). This is important. If you don't disable updates before downgrading your Orbi, your Orbi will automatically update back to v.1.12.0.18 within a minute or two after you go through the initial Orbi setup, and you'll have to start over again. Note: You may need to enable the Telnet Client Windows Feature in your Windows "Programs and Features" control panel to get a working telnet command in your command window. Once the Orbi updates are disabled, install the v1.11.0.20 firmware onto your Orbi satellites first (Advanced >> Administration >> Firmware Update >> Manual Update). Loading the satellites first is important, since you may lose connection to the satellites if you load your Orbi base first. You'll get a warning about the downgrade, but that's OK. After all your Orbi satellites have been loaded, load your Orbi base unit with the v1.11.0.20 firmware. Again, You'll get a warning about the downgrade, but that's OK. Once the Orbi base was loaded and came back up, I erased all my configuration settings to be on the safe side (Advanced >> Administration >> Backup Settings >> Erase). It's your option whether you should clear your settings - they may be incompatible, so don't get upset if your Orbi starts acting weird if you don't. Go through the Orbi initial setup. Note: I had to power off / on my satellite before going through the Orbi setup, and retry by going back a few pages before my satellite was properly recognized by the base. Hopefully this works for you, too! I don't know what Netgear implemented in v1.12.0.18 that causes this streaming buffering issue. It could be difficult for them to diagnose, since normal speed tests work just fine. The problem must be at a very low level though, since it affects both wired and WiFi connections. I guess I won't be upgrading my Orbi again untill I see a fix for the streaming issue in a future firmware upgrade release note. Cheers! AzJazzThe 2.1.2.18 nightmare
I won't bother going through how angry I am at Netgear for this firmware MESS (I already have in several posts) since they don't bother offering ANY customer support after they screw you out of your money. I just wanted to tell everyone if you hate 2.1.2.18 as much as I do (well hate isn't the word, it just physically BREAKS my entire wired network... nothing wired has a connection NOTHING. I verified it 2 times because I reverted back to 2.1.2.16, when it was all working ok. Then it decided last night to RE-DOWNLOAD 2.1.2.18. You would think if you manually tell a product to revert back it wouldn't just re-do it. This is so dumb, my computer is hooked to a switch, that is connected to Orbi... when it updates to 2.1.2.18 I have to disconnect my computer from the switch because it breaks EVERYTHING on the switch nothing gets an ip... I have to connect directly to the orbi from my computer, I have to disconnect all the other wired connections to the orbi. Then I downgraded the firmware ONCE again, then I telnet into the router to change the NVram to not let this piece of crap update itself. That is my solution Netgear. A consumer had to do all that stuff because your firmware BREAKS everything. This started with me being angry at Google for breaking everything, now I blame netgear. It isn't my switch or any of my wired stuff, because it all magically works perfectly on 2.1.2.16. But the second I upgrade it all breaks, I even did the factory reset 2x, nothing wired works.. the funny thing is my switch is a netgear switch too... I have NEVER in my life had such a complicated product to keep running. In case anyone else is dealing with the same problems, below is how to telnet and stop it from updating. This is my only solution, I have absolutely 0 ZERO confidence in any firmware update from Netgear... based on a 100% failure rate: 1) Launch your favorite web browser and go to <Router IP Address>/debug.htm 2) Login <username> <password> when prompted 3) Check Enable Telnet 4) Start a Telnet session. I use Putty. Enter the <Router IP Address> Telnet is using port 23 5) You can skip this step if you like. I am calling it out for illustration purposes only... Type nvram show | grep auto_* <ENTER> You will see a list similar to this: root@RBR50:/# nvram show | grep auto_ vpn_access_mode=auto wl_auto_antenna=1 set_auto_agreement=0 orbi_auto_upgrade=1 ipv6_autoConfig_dns_assign=0 ipv6_autoConfig_dns1= ipv6_autoConfig_dns2= upnp_enable_autoScan=0 ipv6_auto_dns_assign=0 bas_auto_conn_flag=0 orbi_auto_upg=0 autofw_port0= ipv6_auto_dns1= ipv6_auto_dns2= qos_auto_bandwidth=0 green_enable_autorefresh_status=0 enable_dev_auto_refresh=1 wl_rate=auto auto_check_for_upgrade=1 auto_update=1 root@RBR50:/# root@RBR50:/# The 3 configurations highlighted above you will want to update the value from =1 to =0 orbi_auto_upgrade=1 auto_check_for_upgrade=1 auto_update=1 6) To update run the following commands: nvram set orbi_auto_upgrade=0 <ENTER> (no spaces after set) nvram set auto_check_for_upgrade=0 <ENTER> (no spaces after set) nvram set auto_update=0 <ENTER> (no spaces after set) 7) Type the following commands to confirm the 3 configurations are set to =0 nvram show | grep orbi_auto_upgrade <ENTER> nvram show | grep auto_check_for_upgrade <ENTER> nvram show | grep auto_update <ENTER> 8) After you confirmed the 3 configuration values are set to =0 then type nvram commit <ENTER> (this step will save the changes) 9) Type exit to terminate the telnet session 10) Go back to the <Router IP Address>/debug.htm web page and uncheck Enable Telnet Please note within a day or so the Orbi will know there is an updated firmware release available but it will not automatically install it. If you do go back into a Telnet session after the Orbi knows there is an updated firmware release the configuration orbi_auto_upgrade will have a value greater than 1. That is okay. Do not change the value back to =0How come ORBI still getting raving reviews? is Netgear paying them for good reviews and ignoring a l
How come ORBI still getting raving reviews? is Netgear paying them for good reviews and ignoring the phenominal number of users in this forum having issues. Those issues are real and sooner or later everyone is going to have them based on their needs (as it seems like with many users running fine for 6 months or so). ORBI is is a premium system and unless you have a box full of $$ sitting somewhere to buy gadgets, you bought ORBI for multi-streaming-devices (10+) and corner to corner stable WIFI. Both of which had failed by Netgear firmware. Don't take me wrong, ORBI hardware is still top notch and just need a good dedicated serious team of software devs and QA to do the right thing. I am a solutions architect myself and knows that the best solution is the one that fits your client needs and that may not always be the latest and greatest. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-mesh-router,review-5191.htmlFeature request (force a device to a specific Orbi)
I have one problem device that, for some reason, always chooses the Satellite Orbi instead of the Router Orbi, which is always the furtherest away from the device. The Router Orbi is by far the closer one to the device. I can reboot the network and the device will connect to the Router, but will eventually creep back to the Satellite for whatever reason. It's a stationary device (TV) and never moves. I'd like to request to have a feature implemented that will allow us to "force" or designate a specific device to a specific Orbi. I know they plan on releasing a firmware that will allow us to customize how the lights on top act (always on, etc), which I hope gets released soon! Also, a Guest Network feature would rock!
