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Forum Discussion
Orbi disconnects from internet intermittently
I bought an Orbi system with two satellites (RBR40). The Orbi disconnects from the internet every so often and, after a while, reconnects. Here's what I figured out already:
1) It's definitely the Orbi. The modem shows the internet is flowing and when I connect a Nighthawk router instead of an Orbi, everything works again. So it's not Comcast or the modem.
2) The problem is NOT connectivity to the Orbi from electronic devices. I'm always able to connect to the Orbi via my phone, etc., but the Orbi shows as being offline.
3) I've tried in router mode and wireless access point mode, and the same problem persists.
About to pull my hair out and Orbi's "technical support" is literally worse than Comcast's. Any help would be appreciated.
63 Replies
What firmware are you running?
- I have a similar problem with the rb50 series. I'm running .18 on router and a lower version on my sattelite but it won't let me update my sat.
Using firmware 2.1.2.18. Customer support so far has been worse than the DMV and makes Comcast look like Abt.
wrote:What firmware are you running?
Using firmware 2.1.2.18. Customer support so far has been worse than the DMV and makes Comcast look like Abt.
I've been having the same frustration and I do mean frustration. The main router seems stable, but the satellites keep dropping internet connection. I'm on the latest firmware. I'm boxing it up and taking it back to Costco tonight. I'm going to exchange it for another system and try it out again, but if the new system exhibits the same behavior I'll be moving on to EERO Pro or Velop. I need a reliable system that stays up and connected.
Not sure why you would give Orbi a second chance if you are lucky enough to be within the return period. Friends of mine with Eero have zero problems. Would love to be in your shoes.
I was about to return and exchange my system but I did hard reboots, which I had done previously and everything has been stable since then. Will continue to monitor and I hope it continues to be stable because when it's working it's great.
What is the mfr and model # of the ISP modem your using with the Oribi system? Built in router by chance?
Try disbling Beamforming, MIMO and Daisy chaining. Some of said this has helped stablize the system in some cases.
All are disabled on mine and been solid since last FW update with my system. 1 Satellite.
rnorthwaywrote:I was about to return and exchange my system but I did hard reboots, which I had done previously and everything has been stable since then. Will continue to monitor and I hope it continues to be stable because when it's working it's great.
this is a known issue documented in this post: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/What-you-can-expect-with-your-Orbi-system/m-p/1503034#M23257
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
Don't listen to the netgear shills on these forums that blame the user and give you the same bs about trying to disable beamforming/mimo or moving the satellites closer to the router. Waste of time until netgear releases a fix.
It's 100% the orbi and the symptoms are the same - hard wired devices are not impacted but wireless devices getting frequent disconnects.
I have the RBK43 with two satellites (on Comcast with Netgear modem) and continue to have the same disconnect issues as so many others! I have done everything recommended and still no change!
Beyond frustrating there are so many people having issues with a very expensive system and Netgear apparently has just washed their hands of the problem by their lack of action! Why treat their customers this way?!
Because they can? Welcome to the long suffering Orbi users club. I’m looking at the Asus lyra trio, sure it may not be as fast but at least they don’t disconnect!
- Firmware: 2.1.4.10 (two satellites on this same firmware as well)
I have regular daily disconnects for the internet only (message is "wifi connected no internet" or "no internet available on ssid xxxx"), BUT... it's only on one Android phone (LG G4). The phone gets an internet connection again on its own after maybe 5 minutes and works again for maybe thirty minutes to an hour. Sometimes I can trigger it to reset and start working again when I turn Wi-Fi off then back on., though it always says my Wi-Fi is connected to my ssid when I do this. This frustrating occurrence happens many times a day. Other Wi-Fi devices work all the way out to the internet during the times when my phone can't reach the outside world, including a Samsung phone, iPad, chromecasts, Google home, Kuna, Arlo, and two Windows computers. Unfortunately, the scenario makes it so I try not to use my phone for TV streaming (we use YouTube TV) because if the internet drops, the location in the video is usually lost even after a reconnect, which means then I can't fast forward through commercials or rewind to re-watch a section I missed. I have to start the show over and guess where I was. Ugh. This did not occur with my old router on this phone, but Orbi works fast and well for everything except my phone at this point (there were random disconnects with old firmware when I first got the system and one interference issue that I've also solved). Fairly recently, I have done resets on both the Orbi and the phone (two factory resets since the problem started) and then my phone bricked and I've have had two new (refurbished) phones with similar problems. What could be the problem? Buying a newer phone is of course an expensive option I'm contemplating, but I still have reason to believe it's the Orbi. I'd rather not buy a phone until I've solved/determined the source of the issue partly since I enjoy using my old phone to drive my music or tv streaming. What tests can I run to determine what is occurring when my phone loses the internet?Try setting WPA and TPIK to test. Then try WPA2 and AES and test.
Try setting manual channels to 1,6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channels on 5Ghz.
Try disabling Beamforming MIMO, Daisy Chaing and Fast Roaming and test.
Re-enable Beamforming alone and test, the try enabling Fast Roaming and test.
SKohler wrote:
Firmware: 2.1.4.10 (two satellites on this same firmware as well)
I have regular daily disconnects for the internet only (message is "wifi connected no internet" or "no internet available on ssid xxxx"), BUT... it's only on one Android phone (LG G4). The phone gets an internet connection again on its own after maybe 5 minutes and works again for maybe thirty minutes to an hour. Sometimes I can trigger it to reset and start working again when I turn Wi-Fi off then back on., though it always says my Wi-Fi is connected to my ssid when I do this. This frustrating occurrence happens many times a day. Other Wi-Fi devices work all the way out to the internet during the times when my phone can't reach the outside world, including a Samsung phone, iPad, chromecasts, Google home, Kuna, Arlo, and two Windows computers. Unfortunately, the scenario makes it so I try not to use my phone for TV streaming (we use YouTube TV) because if the internet drops, the location in the video is usually lost even after a reconnect, which means then I can't fast forward through commercials or rewind to re-watch a section I missed. I have to start the show over and guess where I was. Ugh. This did not occur with my old router on this phone, but Orbi works fast and well for everything except my phone at this point (there were random disconnects with old firmware when I first got the system and one interference issue that I've also solved). Fairly recently, I have done resets on both the Orbi and the phone (two factory resets since the problem started) and then my phone bricked and I've have had two new (refurbished) phones with similar problems. What could be the problem? Buying a newer phone is of course an expensive option I'm contemplating, but I still have reason to believe it's the Orbi. I'd rather not buy a phone until I've solved/determined the source of the issue partly since I enjoy using my old phone to drive my music or tv streaming. What tests can I run to determine what is occurring when my phone loses the internet?I know this has been a long while, but I still wanted to thank you for your suggestions. I did carefully try each of your suggestions individually and let things rest for a few hours to a day with each change to see if I saw the same issue. I, unfortunately, found that those settings failed to change the issue with that particular phone connecting. We stream our TV most evenings and that is the ultimate test. I still could not consistently stay connected. The one thing that I was going to try was turning off all my Chromecasts (TV and 2 Chromecast Audios on my speakers),...I found some info suggesting that Chromecasts will send large bursts of data as a keep-alive when they wake up that may clobber other devices' communications. When I finally sat down to test that theory, to my surprise, my phone bricked (boot screen loop). So, I was never able to fully test that theory. but I'm posting this in the hopes that maybe it will help somebody else. I had insurance on the phone and my provider could no longer supply the same model, so now I have an LG G5. Instantly, it works significantly better. Once in a blue moon, it will show a message "internet unavailable", but it's now at an acceptable level that rarely interrupts what I'm doing. I understand Google is aware of the Chromecast issue and I don't know if they've issued a patch at this point; I also don't know, and now can't test, if that was the issue.
- 2 satellite
Add me to the list of long suffering Orbi owners. I am the same issue that others are reporting....wireless devices system wide will randomly lose internet access, hardwired devices to the base will be fine, I need to reboot the router and satellites each time. I have tried a huge number of things, these must be known to Netgear....just needs to be fixed.
This is what I do for a living, I have comcast business and I'm using an Arris 32 x 8 Docsis 3.0 (SB6190) modem, everything is set up properly, still getting internet drops a few times a day. I live in a connected home which relies on reliable internet.
When is this going to be fixed?
What FW is currently loaded?
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).Be aware of your ISP modem:
CEaton12 wrote:
Add me to the list of long suffering Orbi owners. I am the same issue that others are reporting....wireless devices system wide will randomly lose internet access, hardwired devices to the base will be fine, I need to reboot the router and satellites each time. I have tried a huge number of things, these must be known to Netgear....just needs to be fixed.
This is what I do for a living, I have comcast business and I'm using an Arris 32 x 8 Docsis 3.0 (SB6190) modem, everything is set up properly, still getting internet drops a few times a day. I live in a connected home which relies on reliable internet.
When is this going to be fixed?
- I finally gave up on Orbi and returned it to Costco. I then purchased a 4 node Velop system from Costco and it's been rock solid. So glad I dumped Orbi and all the frustration. Good luck.
- Has anyone tried separating the SSID’s between the 2 and 5 GHz channels and/or reducing the transmission power of radios (2 GHz radio to 50% and 5 to 75%)?
Read here: https://windsorwebdeveloper.com/making-netgear-orbi-great-again/
I’m going to try that this week and update this post.
I think the hypothesis is that devices are 1) constantly switching between 2/5 radios since same SSID and/or 2) the great power in the radios are cross covering the house so devices are connecting to the furthest away satellites. Reducing power and splitting SSID names reduces potential variability is the thought. I’d be interested if it works for others.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.
birdadderley wrote:
Has anyone tried separating the SSID’s between the 2 and 5 GHz channels and/or reducing the transmission power of radios (2 GHz radio to 50% and 5 to 75%)?
Read here: https://windsorwebdeveloper.com/making-netgear-orbi-great-again/
I’m going to try that this week and update this post.
I think the hypothesis is that devices are 1) constantly switching between 2/5 radios since same SSID and/or 2) the great power in the radios are cross covering the house so devices are connecting to the furthest away satellites. Reducing power and splitting SSID names reduces potential variability is the thought. I’d be interested if it works for others.Thanks for the link:
https://windsorwebdeveloper.com/making-netgear-orbi-great-again/
This solved my LG UHD TV issue as seen here:
https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/437/lg-smart-tv-wifi-wont-turn-on
The LG "error" message doesn't really make you think its related to the router, which made it quite difficult to troubleshoot.
Thanks for posting this. Seems like this is a TV issue for those with this particular brand of TV.
WernerDT wrote:
Thanks for the link:
https://windsorwebdeveloper.com/making-netgear-orbi-great-again/
This solved my LG UHD TV issue as seen here:
https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/437/lg-smart-tv-wifi-wont-turn-on
The LG "error" message doesn't really make you think its related to the router, which made it quite difficult to troubleshoot.
- I have cable modem and I am having same problem. Especially ever day in morning my Orbi gets disconnected. I returned my first to Costco and purchased new but it is also happening to new one. Advice to all please return if you still have return window.
What FW is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?
Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode?
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?
What WPA security modes are you using?Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO.
Try disabling the following and see:
Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).This is my friends system also bought at Costco, been working since day one:
Don1208 wrote:
I have cable modem and I am having same problem. Especially ever day in morning my Orbi gets disconnected. I returned my first to Costco and purchased new but it is also happening to new one. Advice to all please return if you still have return window.I've gone through 3 of these units in the past two weeks. Satellite still disconnects. Doesn't matter the firmware version. The latest firmware doesn't address the ongoing issue.
I would return the RBK40.
Same issue. Bought about 30 days ago. Now system intermittently disconnects devices from the internet.
What FW is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?
Is the Orbi system operating in Router or AP mode?
What is the Mfr and model# of the ethernet switch if one is in the configuration.
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?
What WPA security modes are you using?Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
Try disabling the following and see:
Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).
SC3 wrote:
Same issue. Bought about 30 days ago. Now system intermittently disconnects devices from the internet.
- Get the same problem reported. I’ve found that a quicker reboot is to pull out network cable from router and plug it back in. Saves a re-boot. However, after 12 months of the system working well its hugely frustrating that it drops the WiFi now at least twice a day. Can’t find a fix online. Anyone with any good ideas. Last time I tried Netgear phone number I hung up after being in a queue for an hour.
Now why should I think I would be luckier than the 1000s of people suffering here !!!!
Running into same issues as a lot of other folks here - Intermitently the Orbi router will just lose internet connectivity although I have velified my broadband is fine and some devices connected directly to broadband gateway work..
Tech support is THE WORST EVERY .... I mean seriously, where do they find the support guys... and when they do, why do they call them "experts" !!!
Spend 4 hrs with them.. Updated FW to latest 2.3.0.32.... No impact. The second support tech tells me I should replace the HW then he goes on to changing wifi channel settings.... Its clear these guys dont have a clue..Learned my sesson... so taking it back today and get a compatative product ...
- I bought this at Costco. Mine gets disconnect everyday, after reading the posts i have no time to troubleshoot this thing. It’s going back to the store. I’ll be staying away from NETGEAR products.
