960 Series AP Mode not working

[dstranathan]

I have 1 Orbi RBE960 router and RBSE960 satellite connected with Ethernet backhaul. ISP is Google fiber (ONT). All firmware is up to date. Oribi and LAN/WLAN worked great in Router mode until today when I switched to AP mode.

I just purchased a Firewalla Gold Plus router/firewall. I put the Orbi into AP Mode and followed the Firewalla setup guide. Communication between the Firewall and my Google Fiber ONT is working. The Firewalla is set up as a router and DHCP server etc. 192.168.1/24. The router is at 192.168.1.1.

Problem:

The Orbi 960 is not allowing any wireless or Ethernet devices to connect to the LAN. I can see the Orbi SSID but cant connect. Likewise, all the ethernet devices plugged into the Orbi or its satelitte are unable to get DHCP addresses. Apple TVs Xboxes, desktop computers etc are on Ethernet.

I plugged a laptop directly into the Firewalla and it gets a DHCP IP address and can route to the Internet. Firewall/router and ONT are working.

I plugged the WAN port of the Orbi 960 router (in AP mode) into a LAN port of the Firewalla firewall. It gets an IP address (192.168.1.70). The Firewall sees the Orbi. From the ethernet laptop, I can see both admin consoles for the Orbi and the Firewalla.

When I access the Orbi 960 admin console page from the laptop at https://192.168.1.170  I can confirm the Orbi is in AP mode. The Orbi reports it sees connected devices but none of these devices can be seen from the Firewalla.

If I physically go to any of those devices they are reporting self-assigned addresses. The Orbi reports the satellite is disconnected too. I have rebooted all devices and clients.

I have no firewall rules established. I put the Orbi in "Emergency Access" mode to allow it to bypass all firewall rules as a temp QA step. No luck.

I have rebooted the Firewalla and the Orbi 960 router (AP mode) multiple times. The firewall reports that the Orbi 960 is actively talking to a few external NetGear domains on the internet.

I have read all the Orbi and Firewall docs regarding AP mode etc. 

I see only ONE thing that looks weird on the Orb admin page - It reports a DHCP server at 23.255.255.2. I have no clue what this means. See screenshot.

Im stumped.

[dstranathan · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your assistance.

I updated firmware proactively in preparation for the new Firewalla firewall deployment - 24 hours in advance. v7.2.6.21 is on all my Orbi gear.

The DHCP address the Orbi was getting assigned from the Firewalla was definitely .170 (not .70). No typo.

Resolution:

The final solution was to nuke the Orbi 960 router and reset it to factory. It refused to go into AP mode and pass any traffic until I did a complete reset. After I reset the Orbi RBE960 to factory, I quickly logged into the admin page with the default NetGear creds and flipped to AP mode, changed the SSID and password  and rebooted again. Resolved!

Thanks

[CrimpOn]

Can you please verify the firmware version running on this 960?

(The current firmware for this model is v7.2.6.21 for all regions except Europe.

https://kb.netgear.com/000065814/RBRE960-RBSE960-Firmware-Version-7-2-6-21-for-all-regions-except-Eu... 

There is probably a typo regarding the IP address assigned to the Orbi router (192.168.1.70 vs 192.168.1.170)

Are there any switches involved in this network?  i.e. the Orbi router is connected directly to one LAN port on the Firewalla and the Orbi satellites are connected to the  LAN ports on the Orbi router?

As you have observed, the Connection Status box is incorrect.  This has been reported before and one would hope that Netgear is "working on it."

If devices were connected prior to the Orbi WAN port being connected to the Firewalla, they would not have reached a DHCP server and thus would have 'self assigned' themselves IP addresses.  What happens if a device is powered off and back on again?

[dstranathan · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your assistance.

I updated firmware proactively in preparation for the new Firewalla firewall deployment - 24 hours in advance. v7.2.6.21 is on all my Orbi gear.

The DHCP address the Orbi was getting assigned from the Firewalla was definitely .170 (not .70). No typo.

Resolution:

The final solution was to nuke the Orbi 960 router and reset it to factory. It refused to go into AP mode and pass any traffic until I did a complete reset. After I reset the Orbi RBE960 to factory, I quickly logged into the admin page with the default NetGear creds and flipped to AP mode, changed the SSID and password  and rebooted again. Resolved!

Thanks

[FURRYe38]

Glad you got it working. Please mark your thread as solved so others will know. Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System
Enjoy. 📡