Orbi firmware update v2.1.4.16 availability

[frustrated3610]

@st_shaw and others.  I switched my xfinity cable modem to "bridged mode" and that actually made things worse.  I continue to drop internet connections from all of my devices -- wired directly to Orbo RBR50 and wireless to both my RBR50 and RBS50.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

[Kev77]

I bought the Orbi AC3000 last Monday. I just updated to the new firmware on Friday. I noticed that the internet connection for the iphone dropped on Saturday. I rebooted the Orbi and ran a speed test from my iphone, was getting 450 download and 500 upload. I ran a test on Sunday night out of curiosity and it was 200 upload and 60-80ish download. So I rebooted the Orbi and waited for a few minutes for everything to connect and i was getting 450 and 500 again. Went home to eat lunch today and with nothing streaming or running, 165 download and 78 upload, from my iphone and rebooted orbi and back to 450 and 500 for the next 20-30 minutes until I came back to work. My laptop has been at the office all weekend so I didn't run a connection test from it. Reading all this crap about the Orbi, is my whole system slowing down and dropping or is the problem the connection between the iphone and Orbi? I've noticed a few times that Direct TV now would mess up but I also know that the app is still working out some bugs. I'm running a Pace AT&T combo with the Orbi in AP mode. Should I save myself the headache and return for the Nighthawk x6? I really love the coverage from the Orbi though 

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the modem?

Besure your using good quality LAN cables between the modem and router. Don't use the one in the box that comes with the Orbi.

What channels are you using on the Orbi router?

Try manual channels 1, 6 or 11.

Do you see any disconnections if you connect 1 PC up to the ISP modem in bridge mode?

Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge mode. Then use the Orbi router in router mode. If this fails,
2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ for the IP address the Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Orbi router in Router mode.
3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the Orbi router to the modem, LAN to LAN and configure AP mode on the Orbi router.

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@frustrated3610 wrote:

@st_shaw and others.  I switched my xfinity cable modem to "bridged mode" and that actually made things worse.  I continue to drop internet connections from all of my devices -- wired directly to Orbo RBR50 and wireless to both my RBR50 and RBS50.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

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[ajnafets]

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@BretD wrote:

We’ve been monitoring issues that some customers have experienced in OrbiOS 2.1.4. In response, we’re releasing firmware that provides a permanent fix for the homekit issue along with various other fixes.  Please use the manual firmware upgrade process to apply to your Orbi.

Release note:

• Fixes issues with the Apple HomeKit connectivity
• Fixes the wireless crash and reboot issue when the router is under stress
• Fixes WiFi disconnection and IOT issues
• Fixes an issue where devices on the Guest Network are able to see (but not connect to) some devices on the main network
• Fixes an issue where device boot order caused devices connected over Ethernet Backhaul to connect wireless backhaul
• Updates the OpenVPN certificate from MD5 to SHA-256

Hello Everyone,

I have the Orbi RBK23 pack (1x router 2x satellite) the router is connected to an unmanaged switch (TP-Link) and both satellites are connected

to the router by wire which are connected to the switch.

I have manually installed this firmware and my problems with disconnecting wifi signals are still their...

But it seems to be better then before the update...

I am also having problems that Facebook will not load pictures/ videos when turning the wifi of and connect to 4G it works fine.

Turning wifi back on and it will not load again thats only through wifi with my cabled computer no issues...

Can anyone think what could cause that?

And I am not sure, but is the conclusion that the satellites are working better with or without the wired backhaul?

Hopefully someone can give me some instruction because otherwise I will have to return this set and look for something else 🙂

Best regards,

Stefan from the Netherlands

[olf]

This version in AP mode is rock solid 2 days with 39 devices support (Iphone/Ipad/firetv/smarthings/Garage door opener/alarm), placed it in AP mode just to test. Put it back in Router mode and wired backhaul/wireless backhaul is being undecided and a reboot twice just to get it stable again. 2 VPN Client (purepvn) and ghost no longer work, it worked at 2.12. VPN server still works

Suddenly, that Asus AC5300 at 291.00 at frys and a AC68U at ebay with AIMESH with wired backhaul running on both sounds appetizing.  Merlin supporting both is a plus.

[olf]

I agree the Ubi's are reliable  and scaleable coz its what I've configured at work, I'm simplifying my setup for my wife for our 2 residences coz its a nightmare to document the network coz I won't be around forever, so i tore down the ASA5505's and the Merakis's for ease of use on her part. Its just that the Orbi is not realiable enough to document and decide if its worth keeping.

[Mrgoodall]

Updated and voila! Addressed all my issues and now im getting 680Mbps on a 400Mbps line that was perviously giving me 380Mbps on a good day! I'm talking steady service! Great job guys! 

[Mrgoodall]

Factory reset it and then reload the current firmware. I hated my Orbi as much as you did, then i did that, and now, its like a Ron Popeil, I set it and forget it! Works amazingly!

[AKLGUY]

Did anyone else get an private message from NetGear support to help work with their L2 Support team? It was from DarrynM 

[jeblis]

I got a PM to work with support last week. They contacted me and the tech tried replicating the problem on their lab system (reboot loop on wired backhaul). They suggested a factory reset which has fixed my problem.

So it’s just an attempt to fix your problem, not an attempt by the developers to understand what is going on.

I’d recommend doing a factory reset (not that painful) and if problems persist, respond to the PM that you want to work with them.

[Rottenweiler]

I have what amounts to an RBK43 setup. (Began with RBR40 and RBS40 and later added a second RBS40). I have at times loved and at other times hated this product/setup. As of 2.1.4.16 the affair is over. I pulled the whole setup and went back to my "trusty" (relative to the Orbi) R6700v2. What is SO frustrating to me is how some people are reporting great success and everything 'fixed" after this firmware update. EXACTLY the opposite for me... Horror show. Lately I had been having an occasional dropouts. (My system was stable back in the day (?version 1.x.x.x days as I recall) but since then and with each forced upgrade I feel like the number of drops has increased. With .16 it was absolutely ABYSMAL for my system/setup. (Frequent drops within 2 hours of a firmware upgrade/total system redo/reset/factory reset of ALL units.)

I have DONE absolutely everything suggested... repeatedly. Simple setup, factory reset more times than I care to admit. Don't use ethernet backhaul. Upgraded satellites first, router second. I've disabled EVERY "feature" that the system was supposed to offer, MIMO, Beam forming, daisy chain etc etc ect. My wifi channels have been adjusted, eliminated any switches for testing, changed cables (despite the most laughable suggestion I've ever seen in the forum... use "quality" ethernet cables... NOT the one included in the box")... I've asked my neighbors to turn off their WiFi because my Orbi doesnt work right, I've worn a tin foil hat... NONE of it works...

I'm a Netgear fanboy, trust me, but there are limits. Short of users just removing the system entirely, which I have been forced to do... here is my suggestion to Netgear.

Maybe Netgear or the Moderators or this forum could provide some information as to WHAT the problem actually is? Does Netgear know?

I feel like there are hundreds of unsatisfied users with dropout issues and as of yet I havent read in 1000's of posts what exactly the trouble is? Maybe if Netgear could spell it out? Say what they are doing to fix it? What has been tried? A roadmap or plan of sorts; users could hold onto some tiny sliver of hope or faith that this system will work someday. I WANT it to, trust me... when it DID work the coverage and throughput and saturation were spectacular but when the wifi/internet go out 15 times a day it doesnt matter how fast it is. (Quote from my son... "Dad, slow is better than zero")

What makes me the MOST upset is that when it worked I recommended it to others... I feel BADLY now... like I wasted THEIR money too.

I appreciate that the team is working on it, I realize that they just released a firmware that was supposed to fix the crashing "under stress"

• Fixes the wireless crash and reboot issue when the router is under stress

(The fact that a product can't function "under stress" does NOT leave me feeling good about it by the way)

In any event, I'm joining the others who have sadly given up on my Orbi system...

If one of the moderators wants to DM and send me a beta firmware or would like logs from my units I'd be happy to try.

Took me a year to give up... my Orbi spirit is finally broken... v.16 killed it

[FURRYe38]

Glad the factory reset helped with yours. Been asking users to do this. Ya I know it's pain however seems that each FW that gets released is different and for some reason the configuration persistence is getting in the way or not being correctly re-applied after a auto update. I've posted this behavior to NG. Not sure why they can't seem to get a seemless update to work with out users having to resort to a full factory reset and set up from scratch. Hopefully they will figure it out. Ive had no issues after donig a factory reset and setting up from scratch. Then do a save configuration to file. Keep this for the current version of FW that it was saved for.

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@jeblis wrote:
I got a PM to work with support last week. They contacted me and the tech tried replicating the problem on their lab system (reboot loop on wired backhaul). They suggested a factory reset which has fixed my problem.

So it’s just an attempt to fix your problem, not an attempt by the developers to understand what is going on.

I’d recommend doing a factory reset (not that painful) and if problems persist, respond to the PM that you want to work with them.

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[olf]

Dlink used to lock the saved config to a particular version of firmware so users won't restore a given backup of the config (old to new, new to old), i thought it was annoying at first, but now i think its brilliant.

on the side note, netgear should, on any firmware upgrade (or downgrade) create a soft trigger (built in) to restore to factory default after each upgrade/downgrade, but they first need to show a banner warning users to save a backup (for same compatible version of the firmware) or start from scratch for incompatible backup (based on firmware versioning).

it seems the netgear eng are not users of their own product, they probably use Asus, Meraki's, Ubi's or Cisco.

[RogerSC]

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@olf wrote:

Dlink used to lock the saved config to a particular version of firmware so users won't restore a given backup of the config (old to new, new to old), i thought it was annoying at first, but now i think its brilliant.

on the side note, netgear should, on any firmware upgrade (or downgrade) create a soft trigger (built in) to restore to factory default after each upgrade/downgrade, but they first need to show a banner warning users to save a backup (for same compatible version of the firmware) or start from scratch for incompatible backup (based on firmware versioning).

it seems the netgear eng are not users of their own product, they probably use Asus, Meraki's, Ubi's or Cisco.

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You know, the method that I usually use is to see if the mfr. suggests resetting and manually restoring configuration in the release notes for the new version. If not, then just upgrade (or be auto-upgraded), and if problems are encountered, then do the reset procedure. A lot of times, no problems come up if a reset isn't done. When problems do come up, my go-to things to try are power-cycling first, then if that doesn't help, full factory reset and manually reconfigure.

It seems like, with the kind of problems that I read about here, that Netgear should note this in the release notes, even if a reset isn't required by the changes between versions. That if problems come up, how to reset and manually restore the configuration. I just checked and this isn't in the standard Netgear release notes...they do tell you to write down your current configuration settings before flashing, but not what to do if problems occur after flashing. Just doing this might decrease the number of support calls that they get, and save them money. And help their users *smile*.

By the way, this latest version is working well for me, no resets required this time. Although I have had to do a full factory reset or two along the way (over a year and a half of ownership). I do have the Orbi in AP mode, though, so I'm using a more limited subset of the product functionality.

[computersteve]

This constant factory reset requirement is unacceptable.... Orbi is aimed at consumers who want a wifi system you don't always have to think about & just works. I personally have the outdoor orbi satellite & it is mounted so the back panel isn't accessible making a factory reset extremely inconvenient on this type of setup. I am glad it is helping some users but I do hope that Netgear comes up with a much better solution. Factory reset should only be used as a last troubleshooting resort. 

[webminster]

Obviously, /needing/ to do a factory reset, or worse, having a firmware update actually trigger a configuration reset, is antithetical to automatic updates.

[computersteve]

It isn’t to obvious if that’s what’s being required every firmware update 😂

[RogerSC]

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@computersteve wrote:

This constant factory reset requirement is unacceptable.... Orbi is aimed at consumers who want a wifi system you don't always have to think about & just works. I personally have the outdoor orbi satellite & it is mounted so the back panel isn't accessible making a factory reset extremely inconvenient on this type of setup. I am glad it is helping some users but I do hope that Netgear comes up with a much better solution. Factory reset should only be used as a last troubleshooting resort. 

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I agree...I mentioned factory reset as what I do when I have the rare problems that I've had, and power-cycling the units doesn't take care of it. That's unusual, but you won't find a router/wireless system out there where problems don't come up very occasionally, usually after an upgrade, which makes them even rarer. A reset isn't something that you have to do every day, you may never have to do one. But if problems do come up due to something bad happening while flashing a new version, or a power line surge/brownout or whatever, it is good to know about it and be okay with it. Not something that you should be doing very much, or expect to do, but it happens. If you find yourself doing that a lot, then you may have bad hardware, a misbehaving client device, etc.

[cheshbr]

I agree that factory resets should be a last resort.  What no one has mentioned is that factory resets destroy customisation.

Under the Orbi router’s Attached Devices list I always name and describe each device in my household that is attached to the Orbi system.  A factory reset means rebuilding this list.

I know we can backup settings, which includes attached device names, then restore the backup after a reset, but then the fear is that the restore inadvertently reintroduces the very problem that lead to the factory reset in the first place.

There must be a better way, like a warm restart.  My modem/router has the ability to restart with current settings or restart with factory settings.  

[RogerSC]

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@cheshbr wrote:

I agree that factory resets should be a last resort.  What no one has mentioned is that factory resets destroy customisation.

Under the Orbi router’s Attached Devices list I always name and describe each device in my household that is attached to the Orbi system.  A factory reset means rebuilding this list.

I know we can backup settings, which includes attached device names, then restore the backup after a reset, but then the fear is that the restore inadvertently reintroduces the very problem that lead to the factory reset in the first place.

There must be a better way, like a warm restart.  My modem/router has the ability to restart with current settings or restart with factory settings.  

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There is a better way. With DD-WRT you can have a list of devices with each one's MAC Address, along with the name that you give each one that you can keep in a file on your computer. And that becomes a startup parameter for dnsmasq, via cut-and-paste. It's a simple, effective, and easily repeatable mechanism. Other than that, or having the web admin GUI read from a file, or cut-and-paste from a file into a widget, don't see at the moment how that could be done easily.

Maybe someone out there has a way to do this? I'd love to hear, too! 

[FURRYe38]

Factory reset has alwasy been in regards to going back to factory settings or Defaults. So this has automatically meant that any user configuration or customizations are erased. Been like this for a while now. 

Exerpt from NG UI:

"To erase the current settings and reset the router to the original factory default settings:

• Click Erase.
  IMPORTANT!Do not try to go online, turn off the router, shut down the computer, or do anything else to the router until the router finishes restarting! When the Test light stops blinking, wait a few more seconds before doing anything with the router.

After you have erased the router's current settings, the router's password will be password, the LAN IP address will be 192.168.1.1, and the router will act as a DHCP server on the LAN and act as a DHCP client to the Internet."

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@cheshbr wrote:

I agree that factory resets should be a last resort.  What no one has mentioned is that factory resets destroy customisation.

Under the Orbi router’s Attached Devices list I always name and describe each device in my household that is attached to the Orbi system.  A factory reset means rebuilding this list.

I know we can backup settings, which includes attached device names, then restore the backup after a reset, but then the fear is that the restore inadvertently reintroduces the very problem that lead to the factory reset in the first place.

There must be a better way, like a warm restart.  My modem/router has the ability to restart with current settings or restart with factory settings.  

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[cheshbr]

I understand what a factory reset is.  I am saying it should be use as a last resort to recover a totally screwed system, not as a tool to be used in the normal course of everyday maintenance and upgrades.  The external paper clip reset exists on many devices, to be a sure way of restarting a device that is locked or in an endless loop, for example.  Anyway it’s not a true factory reset, as the startup configuration is at the entry level of the currently installed firmware, not a factory base with just the basics and no firmware.  

A warm restart carried out from within the software is what’s needed, to zero out user configurations but retain customisations that have no impact on the way the system operates.  Under this scenario a user about to upgrade has the choice of bringing the system back to basics first (retaining customisations) then install the FW upgrade, or upgrading over the top of what’s already there.

[EvolutionOX]

Can someone else please confirm that this latest update WORKS 100% with Honeywell’s Lyric T5 HomeKit thermostat?

Because I CANNOT get my two to work at ALL reliably with my RBK50 system and Apple’s HomeKit Home app. They’ve been showing up as “No Response” and/or drop off/remove themselves from the HomeKit Home app for the last few Orbi firmware updates. They used to work 100% of the time, ALL the time I’d open up the Home app.

Version 2.1.4.16 was suppose to fix HomeKit completely, NETGEAR looks like there’s still an on going issue with HomeKit. Now I’ve reached out to Honeywell about this issue and they have “forwarded it to engineering” to look into it. But NETGEAR, could you guys please look into this or work together with Honeywell on this. I cannot quite point my finger as to which one is the culprit.

[XeroFire]

RBK50 Windows 10 PC

I just updated to firmware V2.1.4.16 last night, and it hasn't resolved my problems at all. Both wired, and wireless devices are constantly dropping connection, everything from a roku 4 premiere, to to both my Wife and I's iphone 8 plus, to chromebooks, to ipads. This has been an ongoing issue for several weeks, requiring sometimes HOURLY reboots of my orbi system. In order to reconnect my iphones I constantly have to hit the "renew lease" button in order to be correctly assigned an IP address by the router. None of my other routers by other brands have EVER had this issue, but this one has been happening intermittenly since I purchased the Orbi over a year ago. I know its a firmware issue, and when the orbi works properly, its awesome, but I'm just about done dealing with this, especially because of the extortionate Netgear support policy. 90 days? What kind of BS is that for a modern consumer product. If you have faith in your products, you should be standing behind them for at least a year. And to make it just about impossible to talk to someone beyond that 90 days is also wrong. Oh, and in case anyone is interested, I did contact support within the 90 days, they sent me a new orbi, claiming the hardware was defective (it wasnt) and when the new one had the exact same issue, they did spend time running diagnosics on my network, checking the logs etc, and were eventually able to get it working with a beta firmware patch, but it took 2 weeks to get that far. Now I'm at the mercy of beta firmware being developed for people who hopefully are having the same issues that I'm having. Sorry for ranting, but really tired of dealing with this and listening to my family complain about not having consistent internet access when I spend over $300 on a supposed top of the line mesh system.

[RogerSC]

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@XeroFire wrote:

RBK50 Windows 10 PC

I just updated to firmware V2.1.4.16 last night, and it hasn't resolved my problems at all. Both wired, and wireless devices are constantly dropping connection, everything from a roku 4 premiere, to to both my Wife and I's iphone 8 plus, to chromebooks, to ipads. This has been an ongoing issue for several weeks, requiring sometimes HOURLY reboots of my orbi system. In order to reconnect my iphones I constantly have to hit the "renew lease" button in order to be correctly assigned an IP address by the router. None of my other routers by other brands have EVER had this issue, but this one has been happening intermittenly since I purchased the Orbi over a year ago. I know its a firmware issue, and when the orbi works properly, its awesome, but I'm just about done dealing with this, especially because of the extortionate Netgear support policy. 90 days? What kind of BS is that for a modern consumer product. If you have faith in your products, you should be standing behind them for at least a year. And to make it just about impossible to talk to someone beyond that 90 days is also wrong. Oh, and in case anyone is interested, I did contact support within the 90 days, they sent me a new orbi, claiming the hardware was defective (it wasnt) and when the new one had the exact same issue, they did spend time running diagnosics on my network, checking the logs etc, and were eventually able to get it working with a beta firmware patch, but it took 2 weeks to get that far. Now I'm at the mercy of beta firmware being developed for people who hopefully are having the same issues that I'm having. Sorry for ranting, but really tired of dealing with this and listening to my family complain about not having consistent internet access when I spend over $300 on a supposed top of the line mesh system.

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Assuming that you've tried a full factory reset with both Orbi units, and have manually restored your configuration, I have kind of a wacky idea to throw out. We have iPads here (couple of iPad Pro 10.5"'s), and I have an iPhone 8, as well as a Samsung S9. My wife has an iPhone 7. Couple of Samsung "Smart" TV's *smile*, couple of desktops and a laptop, and so on. We also had a Roku Ultra that was fine (since returned, but worked fine while we had it), and also Fire TV's and it all works well with the latest Orbi firmware. What I'm saying is that other than Chromebooks, we have pretty much everything that you've mentioned, and it all works here.

I'd suggest taking various clients off the wireless, and then the wired clients, one at a time, until things stabilize, and see if you can figure out which one(s) are misbehaving. Or if not misbehaving, at least behaving in a way that the Orbi isn't handling properly.I wouldn't worry about the Apple hardware, iPhones and iPads, anyways, I doubt if they're problematic with the Orbi, I'd be looking particularly at odd, one-off sort sort of hardware, maybe an iot item, some home automation or surveilance cameras. But you never know, you should find out which client(s) are acting up if you're patient enough. The important thing is to only change one thing at a time, so that when things go off the rails, you'll have an idea what cause it. If you can figure out which client(s) are causing all the disruption, that might help you figure out which direction you want to go in. This should be a short term thing, shouldn't take long.

You could also do the opposite, of course, turn off everything that uses wireless, and verify that things are stable with just wired clients first. If your network with just wired clients on it isn't stable, then turn off your wired clients and add them back in the same way. If you haven't found the problem yet, add each wireless client back, one by one, looking at each one's effect on your network as it's added to the clients you've already added. Hopefully you could figure out which clients are responsible for the mess on your network. Keep in mind, it could be more than one client that's out of control.

Just a thought....