Orbi RBR50 Dropping Internet Connection Regularly

[DomerIN]

I have an Orbi RBR50 and RBS50 connected via wireless backhaul.  They have been working perfectly for a year.  For the past two weeks, the router has been dropping the Internet connection regularly, showing up as having no IP address.

Both Orbis have the 2.1.4.16 firmware.  I suspect that this firmware caused the problem.  I don't know when it downloaded and installed automatically, but this problem came out of the blue after a year of operation.

Support had me do a factory reset of the satellite and router and the connection worked for a few days, but now it is back to dropping every hour or so.

The cable modem is functioning fine.  When I connect a laptop directly to the cable modem, it picks up and IP address and is on the Internet fine.

I tried downgrading to an older firmware version but get an error that the firmware file is not valid.  I've tried downgrading both the satellite and the router.

Any advice?

[PaulK617]

I’m having same problems. It’s been about a month now. Some devices will have wireless connection and work fine. While some devices are connected to my network but no internet connections. It’s been a huge headache to keep setting up devices all over or rebooting the modem and router to make it work. When I first notice the issue, I’d changed the 5ghz bandwidth channel to 1. That worked for a bit. Now I’m constantly rebooting my system at least twice a day. WTH fix this already.

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the IP modem the Orbi 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. (You can't change 5Ghz to channel 1.)
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).

---

@DomerIN wrote:

I have an Orbi RBR50 and RBS50 connected via wireless backhaul.  They have been working perfectly for a year.  For the past two weeks, the router has been dropping the Internet connection regularly, showing up as having no IP address.

Both Orbis have the 2.1.4.16 firmware.  I suspect that this firmware caused the problem.  I don't know when it downloaded and installed automatically, but this problem came out of the blue after a year of operation.

Support had me do a factory reset of the satellite and router and the connection worked for a few days, but now it is back to dropping every hour or so.

The cable modem is functioning fine.  When I connect a laptop directly to the cable modem, it picks up and IP address and is on the Internet fine.

I tried downgrading to an older firmware version but get an error that the firmware file is not valid.  I've tried downgrading both the satellite and the router.

Any advice?

---

[DomerIN]

It is a Netgear CM500 cable modem.  The modem is functioning properly, as verified by directly attaching a laptop to the modem.

The home is about 7000 sq ft and the satellite is directly above the router, about 15 feet away on the second floor.  But, to clarify, the problem is not the connection between the router and satellite.  That is working fine.  The problem is that the router is dropping its connection to the cable modem.  WiFi is working fine and devices stay connected to both the satellite and the router.  There just is no Internet connectivity.

Mike

[FURRYe38]

Have you factory reset the Orbi router and set it up from scratch? Also do a full power OFF of the ISP modem for 1 minute then back on?

I believe there is some historical bad user experiences with the CM500...

[DomerIN]

Yes, I've done multiple factory resets and power cycles with pauses.

This setup was working absolutely fine for a year and suddenly started failing after Netgear forced a firmware update.

The CM500 and Orbi are both made by Netgear, so I don't see why they wouldn't be compatible.

[FURRYe38]

@DarrenM

@Christian_R

[DarrenM]

what firmware version are you on?

DarrenM

[DomerIN]

Firmware is 2.1.4.16 on both devices.

[FURRYe38]

30 feet is recommended in between the base router and satellite

---

@DomerIN wrote:

I have an Orbi RBR50 and RBS50 connected via wireless backhaul.  They have been working perfectly for a year.  For the past two weeks, the router has been dropping the Internet connection regularly, showing up as having no IP address.

Both Orbis have the 2.1.4.16 firmware.  I suspect that this firmware caused the problem.  I don't know when it downloaded and installed automatically, but this problem came out of the blue after a year of operation.

Support had me do a factory reset of the satellite and router and the connection worked for a few days, but now it is back to dropping every hour or so.

The cable modem is functioning fine.  When I connect a laptop directly to the cable modem, it picks up and IP address and is on the Internet fine.

I tried downgrading to an older firmware version but get an error that the firmware file is not valid.  I've tried downgrading both the satellite and the router.

Any advice?

---

to begin with depending upon building materials.

[naerok]

I've posted something similar here before but here goes nothing:

there's an issue documented in this post: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/What-you-can-expect-with-your-Orbi-system/m-p/1503034#M23257 that many people have experienced with no concrete solution.

good luck - so far the only solution seems to be putting a smart outlet / timer on your satellite(s) to reboot them once every 24 hours (I'm not joking) or rolling back the firmware (but I still see people saying they experience the same issues on the older firmware)

see this guy: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-satellite-dropping-connection/m-p/1512445#M24230

I really don't understand the people here that think repeating the same things blindly (have you tried disabling beam forwarding? mimo? how far is the distance between your sattelites? have you tried a factory reset? have you tried spinning in a circle 4 times while holding the orbi above your head and dancing with it? have you tried to balance the satellites on your hands and sing kumbaya while entering your wifi password?) and talk down on the users that experience real issues (especially this furry guy)

It's like they have a notepad with things ready to copy/paste blindly to anyone experiencing issues here.  I'm not sure if these are bots created by netgear or if these are actual people with too much time on their hands trying to get noticed by netgear to get hired as a customer support employee (it seems like when you call them, this is how they picked their support employees anyways)

Again, I appreciate people that are trying to help the community but it really rubs me the wrong way when this is most definitely an issue with the Orbi under certain network conditions and people continuously blame the user setting it up - especially after I've spent several weeks pulling my hair out debugging this issue with no solution (except rebooting satellites multiple times a day) until I replaced the Orbi system completely. 

[naerok]

good luck - so far the only solution seems to be putting a smart outlet / timer on your satellite(s) to reboot them once every 24 hours (I'm not joking) or rolling back the firmware (but I still see people saying they experience the same issues on the older firmware)

[BoilerPlate]

Well since you have moved on:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/What-you-can-expect-with-your-Orbi-system/td-p/1503034

Why don't you let people help each other, regardless of what you think or feel, and let those who really know how to troubleshoot and help others do what they do best. Whats wrong in people helping others? Huh? Just because you could not seem to get your system working right, doesn't mean you have to bad mouth others. Maybe you should have listened or took some advise or suggestions from those trying to help. If course a shill like you probably doesn't know much and rather talk about about others. Not everyone is having a bad time like you with there systems. Just shows how little or nothing you know of how to work with networking. You have ZERO consept of home networking or how to troubleshoot and have to bash others for doing it better than you. 

Talk about copy and paste? You do the same thing man. So why don't you take off and let people who are trying to help others, help in there own way. If you don't like it, too bad, then don't read it. Move along. The forum is not here for your feelings.

You said you moved on, so it's time to let go now. Say Bye. 

---

@naerok wrote:

I've posted something similar here before but here goes nothing:

there's an issue documented in this post: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/What-you-can-expect-with-your-Orbi-system/m-p/1503034#M23257 that many people have experienced with no concrete solution.

good luck - so far the only solution seems to be putting a smart outlet / timer on your satellite(s) to reboot them once every 24 hours (I'm not joking) or rolling back the firmware (but I still see people saying they experience the same issues on the older firmware)

see this guy: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-satellite-dropping-connection/m-p/1512445#M24230

I really don't understand the people here that think repeating the same things blindly (have you tried disabling beam forwarding? mimo? how far is the distance between your sattelites? have you tried a factory reset? have you tried spinning in a circle 4 times while holding the orbi above your head and dancing with it? have you tried to balance the satellites on your hands and sing kumbaya while entering your wifi password?) and talk down on the users that experience real issues (especially this furry guy)

It's like they have a notepad with things ready to copy/paste blindly to anyone experiencing issues here.  I'm not sure if these are bots created by netgear or if these are actual people with too much time on their hands trying to get noticed by netgear to get hired as a customer support employee (it seems like when you call them, this is how they picked their support employees anyways)

Again, I appreciate people that are trying to help the community but it really rubs me the wrong way when this is most definitely an issue with the Orbi under certain network conditions and people continuously blame the user setting it up - especially after I've spent several weeks pulling my hair out debugging this issue with no solution (except rebooting satellites multiple times a day) until I replaced the Orbi system completely. 

---

[BoilerPlate]

good luck - so far the only solution seems to be putting a smart outlet / timer on your satellite(s) to reboot them once every 24 hours (I'm not joking) or rolling back the firmware (but I still see people saying they experience the same issues on the older firmware)

[DomerIN]

I'm not interested in the flame war, please don't hijack my post to battle each other.

I am interested in Netgear addressing this issue.  The router and satellite are less than 30 feet apart, but I want to reiterate that I am not experiencing a WiFi problem or a backhaul problem.  This is an Internet connectivity problem between my Netgear/Orbi router and my Netgear cable modem.  It first happened as soon as Netgear pushed me the 2.1.4.16 firmware update.  I am unable to reverse that update and unable to solve the problem.

Can Netgear help?  Support just tells me to do a factory reset, which I've already tried multiple times to no avail.

Mike

[FURRYe38]

Have you tried to apply v 2.1.4.10? I would download this version to your wired PC, diconnect ALL other devices from the rouer, modem and satellites all all others. Load the FW file, if you can get past this point, do a full factory ERASE on the router, reconnect to the ISP modem and set up from scratch. I would do some testing first before adding the satellites back.

Be sure to disable IPv6, dont' set up any QoS, Traffic Meter or Access controls. Just set up wifi. I would also set up a IP address reservation for your connected PC and if you can get to this point, reserve IP addresses for satellites as well.

Possible there is a problem with the router and may need to be replace or RMAd. I don't have much confidence in the ISP modem. Have heard other report the 500 isn't the best...any chance you can change this out for something different?

---

@DomerIN wrote:

I'm not interested in the flame war, please don't hijack my post to battle each other.

I am interested in Netgear addressing this issue.  The router and satellite are less than 30 feet apart, but I want to reiterate that I am not experiencing a WiFi problem or a backhaul problem.  This is an Internet connectivity problem between my Netgear/Orbi router and my Netgear cable modem.  It first happened as soon as Netgear pushed me the 2.1.4.16 firmware update.  I am unable to reverse that update and unable to solve the problem.

Can Netgear help?  Support just tells me to do a factory reset, which I've already tried multiple times to no avail.

Mike

---

[DomerIN]

I have tried to downgrade the firmware but with no success.  When I try it on either the router or satellite, I get a message that the firmware file is not valid.

How do I go about getting an RMA?  When I call support, they just keep having me go through the same process of factory resetting it.  Can you give me an RMA?

Thanks,

Mike

[FURRYe38]

I presume you did unpack the FW files from the .zip files before sending to the router right?

Lets contact @DarrenM and @Christian_R

[DomerIN]

Yes, I did un-zip them.

[FURRYe38]

Just checking. I would make contact with both moderators and go from there.

I would try a different modem if possible.

[DarrenM]

Hello DomerIN

I have sent you a PM

DarrenM

[WaqarZ]

Hi,

I have the same issue, whereby my connections drops completely and i have to reboot to get everything up and running again. Been going on for a while.

Is this sfirmware issue or what?

[FURRYe38]

What FW is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the IP modem the Orbi 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).

---

@WaqarZ wrote:

Hi,

I have the same issue, whereby my connections drops completely and i have to reboot to get everything up and running again. Been going on for a while.

Is this sfirmware issue or what?

---

[bshure]

Friends:

The forum has been great.  I am going to disable the router functions in my RMR20 and use it for WiFi only.  I will resurrect my old firewall which is complex to manage but has the following benefits:

  No frequent internet drops

  Everything is configurable (time of DHCP leases, type of email log reports, and many other things)

  I can manage it remotely and do anything remotely that I can do online

Has anyone been able to talk to level two support?  I talked to a manager in level one support who told me that I could only talk to level two if I did the following things:

  tried three different channels for WiFi

  did a factory reset with a paper clip

  requested and received a replacement unit

What a painful experience this has been.

Bert

[A-Fayez1]

@DomerIN
Did you get the issue resolved after the moderator Pm’ed you.

[FURRYe38]

---

@bshure wrote:

Friends:

The forum has been great.  I am going to disable the router functions in my RMR20 and use it for WiFi only.  I will resurrect my old firewall which is complex to manage but has the following benefits:

  No frequent internet drops

  Everything is configurable (time of DHCP leases, type of email log reports, and many other things)

  I can manage it remotely and do anything remotely that I can do online

Has anyone been able to talk to level two support?  I talked to a manager in level one support who told me that I could only talk to level two if I did the following things:

  tried three different channels for WiFi

  did a factory reset with a paper clip

  requested and received a replacement unit

What a painful experience this has been.

Bert

---

RMR20? Did you mean RBR20?

What FW is currently loaded?
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).

[bshure]

Sorry. RBR20.

I tried all of the suggestions.  My house is 2400 square feet and the two units are more than thirty feet apart.  Wireless coverage of the house is great. It is not the problem.

I'm running the latest firmware. This was verified by support.

I see two or three 2.4ghz networks and no 5ghz networks at my house.

I wish I could disable the features you are suggesting, but I am away from home and I don't think the phone app allows me to make the changes you are suggesting.

Do you expect that your suggestions will make the problem go away?  It seems like a lot of people on the forum have tried and not had success.

I expected better from Netgear.

Thanks,

Bert