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Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

jmschnur923
Luminary

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

Functionally all is well after 20 hours. The UI’s of the Sats are not consistent with the router attached devices. Nor do I think the router’s attached devices is accurate. I a, daisy chained and after syncing my Sats the closest to the router then the that sat to the distant one the router  UI says the backhaul is good on both and properly daisy chained.

 

be nice if the attached devices would show properly.

 

on a side note my Roku stick now is 5g after being 2.4G on the previous versions.

Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Message 26 of 438
jmschnur923
Luminary

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

 

Functionally all is well after 20 hours. The UI’s of the Sats are not consistent with the router attached devices. Nor do I think the router’s attached devices is accurate. I a, daisy chained and after syncing my Sats the closest to the router then the that sat to the distant one the router  UI says the backhaul is good on both and properly daisy chained.

 

be nice if the attached devices would show properly.

 

on a side note my Roku stick now is 5g after being 2.4G on the previous versions.

Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Message 27 of 438
godspeed
Apprentice

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

I was auto-upgraded to 2.1.1.16 as well, from 1.11.0.20, a few nights ago.  When I woke up and started running all my checks (each nodes debug.htm to check the system uptime), i noticed the upgrade.  I went ahead and power cycled both the satellite and router, so that they can have similar uptimes.

 

For the first few hours, the satellite main page and the router attached devices page were in sync, but afterwards (not sure how long it took), the satellites main page shows NO attached devices, the router attached devices page shows some devices are on the satellite, and, now, the Orbi Android app, which was just upgraded to 2.1, does NOT show which node you are connected to (it used to before).

 

Its hard to tell what is a display issue, and what is not.  But, on my phone, using wifi analyzer (far proc version), i can see which mac address i am connected to, and when i am close to router, i connect to router...when i am closer to satellite and FAR from router, i switch to satellite.  Even though the device pages do not reflect that.

 

Unfortunately, 2.1.1.16 did NOT do anything to improve the random rebooting.  I woke up this morning to a satellite uptime of 22 hours, and a router uptime of 4 hours.  That 4 hours elapsed corresponds to around 5 AM, and everyone was asleep.  

 

I have posted numerous times my journey with Orbi (2 versions of RBK50, one from amazon(returned), and one from Walmart (currently testing)).  I have tried different power outlets, all sorts of configuration options (daisy chaining on/off, fast roaming on/off, etc...).  I do NOT have any phones or devices with Android Oreo.  My satellite and router are about 45-50 feet apart, and separated by a single wall and there are no interfering channels from neighbors.

 

Really want Orbi to work, since Walmart had the RBK50 set for only $200, but based on reading almost every thread on Orbi in this forum and other places, it doesnt seem like there will be a "magic" firmware release that fixes it all.  

 

I appreciate all the posters here, relaying what information they can, in the hopes that we can maybe help find a pattern of why things happen to some, but seemingly, not to others.  Keep on keeping on, i guess!

 

For those that DO have stable systems, could you check your router and satellites debug.htm page,and check the system uptime for them?  I am guess that some folks dont even know about that, and there systems may be rebooting as well, but they are unaware?  Longest uptime i had was about 38 hours, and that was on 1.11.0.20 (auto upgrade to 2.1.1.16 happened).

 

thanks everyone for your contributions!

Message 28 of 438
sandsstl
Tutor

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

Installed V2.1.1.16 this morning.  

I'm showing nothing connected to the satellite (including several Apple devices 10 feet away) and the attached devices page is refreshing every 5 seconds.  

Doesn't look like this is a good update.

Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 29 of 438
netgearguy
Apprentice

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

@godspeed said: 

"For those that DO have stable systems, could you check your router and satellites debug.htm page,and check the system uptime for them?  I am guess that some folks dont even know about that, and there systems may be rebooting as well, but they are unaware?  Longest uptime i had was about 38 hours, and that was on 1.11.0.20 (auto upgrade to 2.1.1.16 happened)."

 

My thoughts exactly, I've been wondering how many "no trouble found" reports were more about luck (not online/watching when the system dropped/returned) rather than real consistency/stability of their networks. 

Message 30 of 438
smearp
Initiate

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

Just a +1 to everything earlier in this thread.  The upgrade did not resolve the satellites showing as disconnected and all devices showing as being connected to the main router, and the internet is still disconnecting at random.  SUPER frustrating for a $400 setup, so I'm throwing in the towel and taking it back to Costco.  

 

It's still rated super highly on PCMag... I have to wonder if they've actually used it!  Off to go reviews of all the other options out there.

Message 31 of 438
Retired_Member
Not applicable

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

I was logged into my Orbi router last night and did notice the message about a new firmware being available (I'm currently on 2.074).  I did not update.  I beleive I'll wait and see if it updates auto-pilot.  So far in the 3 weeks I've had the Orbi it's been fairly stable with 2 reboots necessary. 

 

Once the firmware updates, I'll report back.  I do hope if it happens next week, like many folks, I'll be out of town.  Would hate for my network to be off line while I'm away.

Message 32 of 438
aaz
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion


@godspeed wrote:

 

...

For those that DO have stable systems, could you check your router and satellites debug.htm page,and check the system uptime for them?  I am guess that some folks dont even know about that, and there systems may be rebooting as well, but they are unaware?  Longest uptime i had was about 38 hours, and that was on 1.11.0.20 (auto upgrade to 2.1.1.16 happened).

 


I've checked debug on router and both satellites and all saying uptime of 15+ hours now which is the time I update to .16

I haven't looked at satellites debug much but previously I've noticed that the router has been up for at least 7 days and I am sure it's been up longer but I have not looked for it specifically since I was not having drops. I'll keep an eye on it for the next few days to see what happens.

 

Is it possible that you are having brownouts or surges - if you have a UPS maybe try put your router on one, I have mine on a UPS. 

One other thing I've seen, when I did have the UPNP device causing issues, it would cause a code reload which looks like a reboot from the uptime perspective. Any device change could cause that. Is it possible that you have some schedule set? I actually have my router schedule set to all days - but 24 hours so no reloads.

Message 33 of 438
netgearguy
Apprentice

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

@smearp - if you want incredibly wonderfully boring reliability, try Eero. I'm back on my Eero system and it just works, no muss, no fuss.  Eero is missing: 

- IPV6 support - supposedly they are going to add this 

- Native VPN support - no idea if they will add this. They do offer an annual add-on service bundle (Eero +) for $99 that includes VPN (Encrypt.me) available at home and on mobile away from home and several other (potentially useful depending on your needs) services. 

- Browser interface to router - Eero has a better mobile app than Orbi w/more settings/features, but I do miss the accessing the modem pages via a browser on laptop/chromebook). Don't think they are going to add this and I've seen some info that browser interfaces are going to go the way of the dodo in the future. 

 

Basically Eero isn't as highly configurable as Orbi, but on the other hand (wait fo it)...

 

IT JUST WORKS!  🙂 

Message 34 of 438
netgearguy
Apprentice

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

@aaz - regarding potential power issues - I've swapped back and forth between Orbi and Eero several times over the past week or so (and was using a Netgear Nighthawk for years before either) and have never had repeated intermittent network drops with the Nighthawk or Eero like I do w/the Orbi (on any 2.0 or 2.1 FW). For the vast majority if users this is not a power issue.   

Message 35 of 438
ratickle
Apprentice

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

It's easy to force the firmware update in the router advanced settings, if you want to make sure it happens before you leave town.  You might also want to make sure you are familiar with how to manually force the router and satellite back to an earlier firmware version.  A side benefit of doing a manual firmware load is that the router and satellite will NOT LONGER auto-update the firmware.  (I read that somewhere, so I assume it's true.)

Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 36 of 438
ratickle
Apprentice

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

I have a question for the group, but hopefully someone at Netgear will see this.

 

If Netgear Support is telling people to do a factory reset before they manually install new firmware, why is auto-update of the firmware still enabled.  If a stable systems auto-update to buggy firmware, isn't this a recipe for unhappy customers?

Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 37 of 438
aaz
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion


@howiedub wrote:

... Upgraded to 2.1.1.16 hoping that it would fix the problems. No dice. This firmware seemed even less stable than the previous one as my Nest Cams would constantly lose connection. Ended up downgrading to 1.8.0.6, which was the last firmware I had manually updated to. All seems well now. Handoff occurs in less than 30 seconds and devices stay attached to the closest node. I'm just hoping it doesn't auto update. I couldn't care less about any of the "improvements" they made to the software. I just want my router to route correctly.


That is a very old firmware with security issues. 

Regarding your update being less stable - have you reset the config. Your's is not the majority experience so I would think that something was buggered in the config to start with. Going from a very old firmware to new is very likely to introduce configuration issues. 

Message 38 of 438
btonetbone
Guide

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

@netgearguy & @godspeed

I'm on of those "no trouble found" folks. My uptime is currently 1 day, 3 hours, 45 minutes, which corresponds to the time I upgraded to 2.1.16. I have had zero issues since day 1. And, since I'm a cord-cutter who streams TV wirelessly from DirecTV Now through a Roku, I'd notice pretty quickly if I had dropped connections. I'm also a Pixel 2 XL owner, and there have been reports that other Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL owners have had reboots.

I don't know what makes my setup different, or perhaps I'm lucky. But everything has been rock solid for the two months I have had the system. I'm running in AP Mode with Google Fiber as my ISP. I currently have 16 devices connected, but can have anywhere up to 50. Four Rokus, Nest, my Pixel 2 XL, my wife's iPhone, a Fire tablet, some other phones, my Windows 10 PC, my wife's laptop, security cameras, SmartThings Hub, some WeMo switches, Google Home, 2 Google Home Minis, 2 Raspberry Pis, a WiFi connected garage door opener, etc.

Message 39 of 438
howiedub
Tutor

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion


@aaz wrote:

@howiedub wrote:

... Upgraded to 2.1.1.16 hoping that it would fix the problems. No dice. This firmware seemed even less stable than the previous one as my Nest Cams would constantly lose connection. Ended up downgrading to 1.8.0.6, which was the last firmware I had manually updated to. All seems well now. Handoff occurs in less than 30 seconds and devices stay attached to the closest node. I'm just hoping it doesn't auto update. I couldn't care less about any of the "improvements" they made to the software. I just want my router to route correctly.


That is a very old firmware with security issues. 

Regarding your update being less stable - have you reset the config. Your's is not the majority experience so I would think that something was buggered in the config to start with. Going from a very old firmware to new is very likely to introduce configuration issues. 


I had reverted back to factory settings, than installed a backup on 2.0.0.74, but not on 2.1.1.16. I'll give that a shot and see if that helps. Thanks.

Message 40 of 438
diesunddas
Guide

Betreff: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

the only stable version is 2.0.0.74 (but with security-issues)

all newer versions has no security-issues, because they are not running..so they give us the best security results :-)))

 

Message 41 of 438
Retired_Member
Not applicable

Betreff: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion


@diesunddas wrote:

the only stable version is 2.0.0.74 (but with security-issues)

all newer versions has no security-issues, because they are not running..so they give us the best security results :-)))

 


what are your security issues?

Message 42 of 438
Rich4
Aspirant

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

Finally spat the dummy and swapped back to my Netgear D7800 (and its issues). After being told to try 2.1.1.16 as a beta one day before public release I followed the usual process from factory default. My first thought when I saw my satellite connection and all my devices was "Thank you Netgear". 24 hours later and god knows how many unexpected reboots I'm giving up, a broken man. My neighbour's  probably hate me by now, each time the stupid orbi reboots all my Google Homes and chromecasts start chirping away on wifi waiting for setup. Wifi analyser shows my spectrum saturated! I might revisit this very expensive piece of crap when I see the community start reporting satisfaction instead of frustration. 

Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
Message 43 of 438
jmschnur923
Luminary

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

20 hours by debug.htm running fine. No attached devices showing on Sats. Attached info on the router is incorrect . I have an Ethernet connection to one Sat that shows as wired to router.

 

router load is 9 %. AP mode.

Model: RBK53| Orbi Router + 2 Satellites Orbi WiFi System
Message 44 of 438
allroadusa
Guide

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

17 hours by debug.htm running fine. No attached devices showing on Sats. Attached info on the router is incorrect . I have 3 sats. 2 of them are daisy chain connected (wifi). 

Router load is 18 %. AP mode.

Message 45 of 438
btonetbone
Guide

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

For those having stability issues and those without stability problems, do you have channels auto-selected or did you define them? I'm rock solid with stability and have manually selected mine (after reviewing what my neighbors all use). I'm wondering if maybe the issue lies in that setting?
Message 46 of 438
netgearguy
Apprentice

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

For those of you who are not having stability/connectivity issues, I'd love to trade Orbi gear for a few hours and compare results. It would be interesting to how much stability is inherent in the router HW some have received regardless of environment, and how much environmental factors are driving all these reboots and disconnects that the rest of us are experiencing. Would a system working fine in one home behave badly in another, and vice-versa, or is a  system stable or not regardless of location. 

Message 47 of 438
btonetbone
Guide

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

I wouldn't trade systems, but I'm certainly open to having someone poke around my stable system if they are in the Atlanta metro area. Message me if you want to compare my setup with yours, maybe we can isolate what works versus what doesn't.
Message 48 of 438
netgearguy
Apprentice

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

Posting any default settings that you have mofified, or if you have manually set a channel to avoid congestion, might be useful to others. 

 

However, there are so many uncontrolled variables (neighbors' networks, home or apartment design & construction materials, router/sat locations in the home, # and type of attached devices, etc.) with networking that it is impossible to do an apples-to-apples compare even when you have the same router in both locations. 

Message 49 of 438
Tim4646
Aspirant

Re: Orbi firmware v2.1.1.16 discussion

Netgear please test your firmware before releasing?, Orbi AC 3000 users now have no control over firmware updates as they will download automatically V2.1.1.16 is probably more unstable than all the previous updates and my Wi Fi speed has droped to 55 % of what it use to be, in version V2.1.1.12.  Unfotunately when you install the older firmware versions orbi will automatically update back to the latest version. Please netgear give your customers control over auto updates? I spent a fortune on buying 3 addititional satalites and feel like I have been mug.

Message 50 of 438
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