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R7000 dropping 5Ghz randomly
I was transitioned to work from home so I was able to finally notice this, but my 5Ghz connection on my router occasionally drops. During the course of my 9-10 hour shift, the connection drops around 5-7 times only for the 5Ghz, and needs about 1-5 minutes to get back up. 2.4Ghz doesn't seem to be affected since I used it as a fallback.
For reference, my iMac is positioned roughly 10 ft away in a room. Just for testing purposes, I connected my iPad next to the router, and when I encounter a connection drop, I check my iPad and it's also disconnected. All wired and 2.4Ghz connected devices are unaffected. I also setup another PC (sleep settings is turned off) to not connect automatically on the 5Ghz network, and if I leave it connected to 5Ghz overnight, the PC is disconnected in the morning.
I tried doing the following troubleshooting steps on an issue I've seen in the forum back in 2019:
- Reset my router using a paper clip at the back of it
- Setup the router, afterwards, used the firmware update that I downloaded in Netgear's site (the router is already on the same firmware but did it anyway)
- After doing the firmware update, reset the router again
- Setup router using a new SSID for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz
- Tried the next day for work, issue persists
Router version: V1.0.11.100_10.2.100
R7000 Nighthawk Smart Wifi Router connected to a CM1000, ISP is xFinity.
Is my router's 5Ghz toast? I bought the router roughly 2 years ago. I don't know when the issue started since I only use the internet for minor browsing and gaming before. Only noticed the disconnects almost a week ago eversince I started working from home (moderate internet use, on conference calls most of my 9-10 hour shift).
Any input or troubleshooting step I missed is greatly appreciated.
the general agreed upon decent firmware for the R7000 is 1.0.9.42.
the recently released version is still waiting feedback but the initial results aren't any better from what I've seen.
What modem is it from xfinity?
Try installing that firmware, factory reset again, and make sure to manually install.
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rpzky8 Well this isn't really going to help you any, but welcome to the club of all of those R7000 AC1900 users who also state that they are suffering exactly the same issue you are experiencing.
No one knows for sure, but the more this crops up, it might appear that this is an issue that seems to affect older R7000 units. I'm begining to wonder if this is a hardware issue within older routers that pre-date v.64. I realise that a 2 year old router isn't exactly that old, but some of us aren't having any issues whatsoever and I'm on the latest firmware and my router is just a year old having left the factory on v.64. I can't say that personally I have seen anyone stating that a recently manufactured R7000 AC1900, is dropping WiFi frequently after a firmware upgrade. To make a point also, most users won't know exactly when their router was manufactured. In order to find out that information, you have to raise a support ticket and ask and this is best done in the first 90 days of purchase whilst the support is complimentary.
Did you make a note of what firmware you were on before you upgraded to the latest firmware? Was the router behaving itself prior to updating? If so, it might be worth rolling back to your original firmware. You will read lots of users heavily advocating firmware v.42. This is fine if your router came out of the factory with that firmware, but if your router never had that firmware because it pre-dated your own router, then you might want to think very carefully about rolling back to an older firmware the router never had in the first place.
How many devices have you got using 5ghz WiFi at any given time?
Portwey84Hey thanks for the response! I haven't been keeping track of the firmware that it's on way before I noticed this issue, especially since the router is just set on auto-update. One thing I'm sure about though, is that before I attempted to do a reset and installing the latest firmware, the device shows that it's already IN the latest firmware which is the V1.0.11.100_10.2.100. I haven't noticed issues before, but I may have had experienced a couple of disconnects while online gaming back then, just not as frequent as this. For the 5Ghz network, I only have 3 devices at most connected at any given time, an iMac, PC and iPad.
plemansI will definitely try installing it after work and post here some results. I own my modem, which is a Netgear CM1000.
The connection for my 5Ghz network definitely died now by the way. It's still showing up but unable to connect to the internet. 2.4Ghz and wired connection has no issues though.
I got my R7000 two days ago, shipped with 1.0.9.88 and I did have the 5Gz drops every few hours. Based on all the advice, I downgraded to the .42 firmware and I've been rock solid for about 36 hours. Hard to believe they can't get simple 5gz working with their firmware.
Can someone list instructions for how to downgrade to the .42 firmware? Thanks in advance!
Those that don't notice it probably have smart connect setup. If you split the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands into seperate SSIDs and hook to the 5GHz band I wonder if everyone would have the same problem.
I first noticed the problem when I had my wifi networks seperate so I tried the smart connect but I get the same problem. I have down graded to V1.0.9.88_10.2.88 and I haven't had any problems with the 5ghz band since the rollback. I'm on the wifi all day with the work laptop and my wife has her laptop on most of the time as well. We started to notice the problem last month maybe late april. I use to have the router set to auto update. So its definitely the latest firmware V1.0.11.100_10.2.100 causing the issue for me. I've never had an issue with the router before the update. Its been very stable and high performing for me and I would probably buy a newer netgear model even with this one issue. I dont know what's different with the users who dont have the issue, but for me definitly a 5ghz band issue on the firmware V1.0.11.100_10.2.100 and manually rolling back to V1.0.9.88_10.2.88 seems to have solved the issue. If they come out with an update to the firmware I will give it a try.
the general agreed upon decent firmware for the R7000 is 1.0.9.42.
the recently released version is still waiting feedback but the initial results aren't any better from what I've seen.
What modem is it from xfinity?
Try installing that firmware, factory reset again, and make sure to manually install.
I was looking at upgrading to the latest version (I upgraded to 1.0.9.88 and started seeing router issues - dropping connection). After reading many posts and replies I decided to revent back to 1.0.9.42 version. I am only about 20 hours in, but after a full day of video converencing, no hiccups (which was not the case with the 88 firmware).
So, I agree, go back to 1.0.9.42.
I also did it the lazy way - I did not factory reset my router, I simply "upgraded" to an older version. The system asked whether I wanted to install older version - once I confirmed the process as as smooth as with any other firmware version change.
So, thanks to all who suggested the 42 version.
I downgraded to 1.0.9.42 version and during the 4 hours left that I was at work (I tried to squeeze the downgrade during my lunch), I haven't experienced any drops in the 5GHz connection. I'm going to try and see if my PC is still connected overnight with this firmware, but so far so good. I already had a router and access point in my cart if the issue still persists, hopefully it will continue working.
rpzky8 stelthlion68 Clearly I'm pleased for you both that rolling back to v.42 appears to have fixed your 5ghz WiFi stability issues.
Rolling back though could be seen as a trade off between functionality versus possible security issues. I've had a look at the release notes for the firmware upgrades that Netgear pushed out after v.42. Versions .60 and .64 both appear to have had a higher number of 'fixes' than some other firmware releases. In these firmware updates, Netgear supposedly incorporate various security 'fixes'. Personally, I have absolutely no idea what these fixes are and whether or not any security 'fixes' that might be lumped in with the overall update, genuinely protect the end user from outside interference, hacking, attack or whatever other methods that could be used to compromise the equipment.
So whilst other users appear more than happy to 'advise' others to rollback to a particular firmware just because 'it works' or is accepted as 'the most stable version', does that 'advice' open up the end user to security issues? After all, v.42 firmware was released over two years ago, so is it 'secure'? I have no idea personally. I'm supposed to trust Netgear that they are keeping my router security safe for want of better words. It may be that rolling back to an old firmware version will have negligible effect when it comes to security. It could also mean you're potentially leaving your router exposed to security problems. So because seemingly so many R7000 AC1900 users are experiencing functionality issues after updating to the latest firmware, the only resolution it appears, is to downgrade again or do what others have claimed, buy a different brand of router.
Clearly Netgear need to resolve this issue with yet another firmware fix. Quite how long it will take them to do so though, is an entirely different question. I guess it will depend on just how many users complain directly to them and how long they deem it operationally necessary to provide support. Many won't have any complimentary support remaining or won't pay for a continuing support package, therefore unless they're willing to pay, probably won't make their voices heard. We could quite literally be waiting months or longer or indeed never for another firmware update. Time will undoubtedly tell.
Hi all and our friends at Netgear - Has there been any progress made on fixing the firmware. I bought mine in Dec 2019 and have been having this issue since 2 weeks ago. The ROI is proving to be moving in the direction of a sunk cost for a device that is not cheap.
I took the same steps as stelthlion68 but continue to consistently have the problem
Netgear folks are you able to share any progress on providing a fix for this very important issue that is impacting work and people's livelihood or should I just resign to that this product is not worth the time and go buy something else?
- I would definitely try using the latest firmware first, then if it fails, use the old firmware if possible. What firmware do you have right now?
yep. I have the same problem. Bought one of these second hand and it's a ripper. Updated the firmware to the latest and now the 5GHz keeps disccounting. 2gHz is fine.
I'l try rolling back and see how it goes.- UPDATE:
The issues are not going to go away. They may for a while, but they’ll return. I just bought another router. The money is worth the peace of mind!
- I have the R7000 (ac1900) too. The only way I found to keep the latest updates and still have no random disconnects is to turn on smart connect. I’m not buying another Netgear router after this. It’s ridiculous that it’s not fixed.
I purchased my R7000 router a few years ago and have been mostly running DD-WRT on it. However, recently, I purchased a dedicated firewall and since have converted the R7000 into an access point. Since I was not doing anything fancy, I re-flashed the latest native firmware. Since then, I have had the drop out issue, especially when I was streaming Google Meet.
For a while, I have reverted back to v1.0.9.42_10.2.44 and the router was solid. Then, I decided to go back to 1.0.11.100, however, after flashing the firmware I did a full reset and reconfigured the router from scratch (not by restoring the backup configuration). Since then, I have not had any drop out issues and the router is working fine.
I have been running it for 2 weeks since I updated without issues. I am continuing to monitor the situation, however, since I did a full reset, the router feels solid. I would recommend doing a full reset after the firmware update. It seems to have helped me.
I have another R7000 also running as an access point, which I have not yet updated pending a little more time.
In short, I was having issues, but after a full reset, the problems have not come back ... yet.
Mike_Monroe wrote:
I have the R7000 (ac1900) too. The only way I found to keep the latest updates and still have no random disconnects is to turn on smart connect. I’m not buying another Netgear router after this. It’s ridiculous that it’s not fixed.The trouble is, for an unknown number of us, it's genuinely never been broken. And still I ask the question, why is it that for some of us, there is nothing wrong with the R7000 AC1900? That is a question that no one on this forum can answer. People can come up with their own ideas, but at the end of the day, some of us just aren't having any problems with the router even using the latest version firmware.
The thing is, we're not all using the same ISP's, we're not all using the same modems, we're spread throughout the world. Some of us have routers that are made in different countries often years apart. No one knows whether the internal hardware is identical to every R7000 AC1900 router ever manufactured. Different people flash firmware using a variety of methods, some wirelessly, some via hardwire and as harsh as it reads, some people undoubtedly don't actually know what they're doing.
Unless Netgear themselves come up with a qualified reason as to why some routers are working as intended and some are not, then this issue with the R7000 will just run and run, and seemingly it's been running on and on like this for years.Strange, I am not using SmartConnect as I like to control the network chosen. I'll monitor for a bit longer and report my findings in a month or so.
First off, want to say I appreciate this forum and finding this thread. I updated to the latest firmware about 2 weeks ago and instantly noticed a change/issues with 5G just dropping out completely. Have had absoutely zero issues with this router since I purchased it in Oct of 2016 so I'm not quite at the 4 year mark of having it. I updated to the 1.0.11.100 firware and things went downhill immediately. 5G was absolutely horrible. Even when it was working I'd get weird speed lags where I was only hitting 16Mbps down load where i normally am easily over 100. I will also say that I was always pretty consistent with updating the firware but I don't know what version I was on before updating to the latest one. I can see that there are 4 firmware versions listed after the 1.0.9.42 so I would assume I was using one of them and hadn't had an issue until I used the latest version. I have gone back down to 1.0.9.42 as of today and immedialty noticed the difference. Going to have to sit with this one I suppose until they release a version that works out the 5G bugs, if that ever happens. Thanks again to everyone for sharing their issue and what they did to fix it.
Same issue. I've had the router for years. Its on auto update for firmware and at some point after a firmware update I have unstable 5ghz network. This is a huge issue and a real disappointment with this router after years of stable operation. Hopefully they put out another update to correct the issue. I wouldn't expect support on an old router like this except that it is still sold new instores.
- It is surprising that when you go to any big box store in my area, you usually see this model being sold as new. It sucks that you only get 90 days of technical support and then after that, you’re on your own with troubleshooting, aside from the 1 year warranty.
Just for the sake of testing it, I updated my firmware again and the issue definitely is still there. 5Ghz keep dropping almost every 10-15 minutes. But when rolled back to the old good version (x.42), works like a charm.
rpzky8 wrote:
Just for the sake of testing it, I updated my firmware again and the issue definitely is still there. 5Ghz keep dropping almost every 10-15 minutes. But when rolled back to the old good version (x.42), works like a charm.I'd be interested to know just how many devices you are operating on 5ghz band? I have a maximum of 9 devices using 5ghz WiFi at any time split between standard 5ghz and Guest. I'm just not getting any drops at all and this is what I don't get, why are you and others getting constant WiFi drops on 5ghz WiFi and I'm not? What's different about your set up to mine? Why does v.42 firmware seem to work for you and yet the latest firmware doesn't, and yet v.100 works absolutely without fault for me. It's weird isn't it.
DragonWarrior I totally accept that to some of the contributors here that I am probably starting to sound like a broken record, but I'm still not having any issues whatsoever with the very latest firmware and I've been running it for 2 months now, no WiFi drops on either 2.4 or 5ghz.
I have made some 'tweaks' from default but nothing other than what I've already publicly posted. I did make one further tweak the other day, I now use my own preferred NTP server localised to my Region. I have no idea what the default NTP server is that Netgear use?
Adding myself to the list of R7000 owners seeing this problem. Strangely, the issue JUST started happening within the last 2 weeks! As far as I can tell, there hasn't been a firmware update recently - it looks like I'm still on V1.0.9.88_10.2.88 and the router update check isn't finding the latest. It seemed to coincide with some electrical work that powered down the R7000 and the xfinity router, ever since then 5G has been almost impossible to use... which suggests a h/w issue and probably time for a new router. But 2G works swimmingly...
I'll be moving to latest firmware, SmartConnect, and dropping back to .42 and will report results. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on the thread.
As I mentioned in the previous thread. I have two of these routers and was experiencing issues with the latest firmware. What worked for me, was to:
- Reboot before starting update
- Fully reset the router afterwards (make sure your reset works and router asks for initial configuration/password again)
- Manually re-add the configuration, do not restore from backup
Knock on wood, it has been about 7 weeks without issues.
Both of the routers are:
- running V1.0.11.100_10.2.100 firmware
- operating in AP mode
- have about 15 devices attached to them
- not running smart connect mode
I realize there are some which are having issues even with all those precautions.
Good luck.
UPDATE: Still extremely unstable 5ghz band. I have reverted to the V1.0.9.88_10.2.88 firmware to see if that helps the stability and disabled auto updates. This is a recent issue so I'm hoping its just an issue with the most recent firmware. I will update again if this resolves the issue as I'm hoping to not revet all the way back to .42.
- With so many people having these issues, how is Netgear not doing something to rectify it?
Losing customers for life with my (our) losing confidence in the product.
This was bought brand new just over a year ago, and never had any issues until a few weeks back.Eric1213 I hear what you say. The problem is though, not all of us are having the issues that some of you state you are having. I can sit here all day long and tell you that I'm not having any issues at all with my R7000 AC1900, no 5ghz WiFi dropouts, there just isn't a problem, for me, it isn't broke.
And this is still the crux of the problem isn't it? Why are some of R7000 owners having issues and some of us are not? The Guru's on here don't even know the answer to that one. Their standard answer to it all is, downgrade to v.42 because quite simply, they've got no other answer. So people take the 'advice' and downgrade to a 2 year old + firmware which may or may not be security safe but bizarrely, downgrading seemingly suddenly works! So, is it flawed firmware? is it flawed hardware, either routers or modems? is it a regional issue? environmental issues? No one knows.
I do accept there must be an issue somewhere. Clearly something is going wrong for people to keep telling others on this forum that Netgear's firmware is 'broken'. The trouble is whilst you've still got people like me who aren't having issues, what are Netgear supposed to do? The fact is, they don't even monitor this forum do they?
As far as my own setup is concerned, well I'd clearly love to know what it is that makes my situation so different from others who are continually having problems when I am not. I'm not using Smart Connect, I've less than 20 WiFi devices connected at any one time, I've disabled Logs, UPnP, auto update, I don't use Netgears default NTP, I split my WiFi networks into standard and Guest bands, I don't have parental controls set up, I use Google Open DNS. All this on 37mbps fibre broadband using Cat7 cabling on a router that was manufactured in Vietnam on 1st March 2019. No problems at all since I updated the firmware on 4th April 2020. Maybe, I'm just lucky.
I can absolutely assure everyone though, if I were having the problems that some of you state you are having, I'd have dumped my R7000 by now. It would have gone back to the place I bought it and I'd have bought something else or gone back to using my ISP provided router. The trouble is, as I've already stated, my R7000 works exactly as it's supposed to, as long as Logs are disabled, because when Logs are enabled, they keep telling me my R7000 is getting DoS attacks when it clearly isn't. That aside, for me, the R7000 is a great router, it's just a shame it isn't working out for others the same way as it has for me.
I don't know if this applies to this form but I was having issues with 5G dropping and complete crashes.
I updated to the latest firmware V1.0.11.100_10.2.100, did full reset, changed SSID and still had issues, I rolled back to V1.0.9.42_10.2.44 and crashes continued.
I then disconnected a 2.5 HDD from the router which i was using to backup files from my PC using ready share vault.
After doing this the router has been stable for over a week (reconnected HDD to test and had a crash after 1 hour)
My guess is that the 2.5 HDD which gets power from the router was possibly draining to much voltage and causing my issue.
So if you are using a 2.5 HDD plugged into your router for file sharing or backups try disconnecting it to see if it resolves the problem.
My router was brought about 4 years ago so is an early release model, i am still running the V1.0.9.42_10.2.44 firmware.
I've been having constant drops for the past several weeks and I'm in a similar boat to a lot of people in this thread - my router is probably 3 years old, it was rock solid on .42 for the longest time (after I nearly lost it trying to troubleshoot last year - that's when I discovered Netgear's Notoriously Bad Firmware). Now it drops a couple of times a day - we're all using 5ghz so I never even considered that it was just that band that was affected. A reset usually fixes it.
At this point I'm far too annoyed with this stupid router and can't wait to be done with it. I share the same sentiments as others - if Netgear is continually finding issues they need to patch from a security perspective, I want to have those updates in place. But I can't, because it makes the router unusable. Seems to me that the only recourse is a new router.
Frankly I think it's something in the Router hardware itself that is slowly failing. The unit is always quite warm, and I think after several years all that heat is going to make components unstable. Not sure how else you could explain all of these symptoms: is affecting older hardware, is affecting ONE band, and is a recent/sudden phenomenon.
I'm sure it's some slight hardware difference between those manufactured early on and those more recently that is the culprit. That said, firmware does resolve it (clearly, as everyone experiencing issues is fine on the .42 release) so there is no reason whatsoever to believe this cannot be fixed with a proper firmware. The issue likely is the dev team is using a new model and also doesn't give a **bleep** about anyone who has an older one.
I would partially agree with them since I've had the router since 2016 BUT... BUT... they STILL MAKE AND SELL THE EXACT SAME ROUTER!!!! It's on many, many top 5 or top 10 list for best value routers... just google it. It's a popular router and probably one of, if not THE single most sold netgear router ever. Why else would Netgear continue to develop and release new firmware for it?
As much as I would like to buy a new router, I feel like I shouldn't have to. The router works great on the .42 release, it's fast, reliable, and covers the entire house and is still a manufactured and supported model. Netgear really needs to get off their ass and figure out the difference and make a new firmware branch for those of us with the early manufactured models. That is the RIGHT THING TO DO.
- Hopefully 104 does the trick ima wait for a few more of you guys to try it out and give feedback. I have this router installed at my mother's house and don't need to be driving back and forth to fix it again, lol.