Router drops internet frequently requires me to reboot to fix the issue

[aslamm]

I have a RBR50 router with 2 satellites, purchased in 2019. It has been working fine with no issues and I was a happy customer. However, from past week, the Router drops internet access to some of my devices (phones, ipad, laptops, etc.) intermittently (every few hours), but strangely the streaming devices and security camera hub does not get impacted. I did some initial limited troubleshooting and determined there is no ring light when this issue appears which indicates the problem is not the modem or internet service provider. I suspect this could have started after recent firmware upgrade but I can't say for sure.

It requires a reboot of the RBR50 to get them reconnected and I have been doing this frequently for past several days.

The support team is not helping me since I am out of support and asking me to purchase the support contract. I would have bought it but unfortunately I am unemployed and can't afford it as it is quite expensive.

Any help or advise from the experts in this community would be greatly appreciated and I can try those steps myself before deciding to spend money on purchashing support contract to fix the issue.

[CrimpOn · Accepted solution]

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@aslamm wrote:

I have a RBR50 router with 2 satellites, purchased in 2019. It has been working fine with no issues and I was a happy customer. However, from past week, the Router drops internet access to some of my devices (phones, ipad, laptops, etc.) intermittently (every few hours),

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Can you please check the Orbi web interface, Advanced Tab, Advanced Settings, Traffic Meter (toward the bottom of the menu) and uncheck the box "Enable Traffic Meter", then Apply.

It's a long, sordid story, but Netgear engineers report there is a programming error in the Traffic Meter feature which results in the Orbi being unable to resolve Domain Names. When DNS fails to work, many devices conclude that they have no internet connection.

There are at least a dozen posts on the forum regarding this topic.

[CrimpOn · Accepted solution]

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@aslamm wrote:

I have a RBR50 router with 2 satellites, purchased in 2019. It has been working fine with no issues and I was a happy customer. However, from past week, the Router drops internet access to some of my devices (phones, ipad, laptops, etc.) intermittently (every few hours),

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Can you please check the Orbi web interface, Advanced Tab, Advanced Settings, Traffic Meter (toward the bottom of the menu) and uncheck the box "Enable Traffic Meter", then Apply.

It's a long, sordid story, but Netgear engineers report there is a programming error in the Traffic Meter feature which results in the Orbi being unable to resolve Domain Names. When DNS fails to work, many devices conclude that they have no internet connection.

There are at least a dozen posts on the forum regarding this topic.

[Akamai612]

I installed firmware update this weekend and have been having the same problem every day since.
Xbox and some PCs in the house disconnect and my phone but Roku keeps working. Smart TV usually drops as well.
I'm assuming its a problem with the firmware!
Here's hoping NetBeans will patch soon.

[aslamm]

Thanks for the quick response and great to hear that you are familiar with the issue and also have a potential easy fix. I will definitely try your suggested steps and see if it fixes my problem.

I just made the change - Unchecked the box "Enable Traffic Meter", but I will have to wait for a day to see if this fixed my issue and will respond tomorrow.

[CrimpOn]

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@aslamm wrote:

Thanks for the quick response and great to hear that you are familiar with the issue and also have a potential easy fix. I will definitely try your suggested steps and see if it fixes my problem.

I just made the change - Unchecked the box "Enable Traffic Meter", but I will have to wait for a day to see if this fixed my issue and will respond tomorrow.

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Please do. It is frustrating to offer advice and then wonder, "Was that really the solution?"

[aslamm]

Seems like you have the same issue and I can understand your pain. I was most annoyed that Netgear support ignored me when I told them this is a common problem faced by so many customers and they should provide a patch immediately, but they were in a state of denial and instead keep pushing me to buy the expensive contract to troubleshoot or even discuss my problem.

I will let you know tomorrow if the fix suggested by "CrimpOn" fixes my problem and maybe you can try that as well.

[aslamm]

Will definitely do. You spend so much of your valuable time to read my post and provide me a possible solution.

[Vharris841]

I have had the same issues for a couple months now. I blamed my internet provider at first, however they weren't the problem. So I thought maybe it because it need to be updated. So I did that and now it got even worse. It only seems to affect our phones though. I tried your suggestion to turn off the traffic meter, however it won't do it and gives me a message saying failed. I'm ready to get a new router now. Anymore suggestions would be great. Thanks!

[CrimpOn]

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@Vharris841 wrote:
I tried your suggestion to turn off the traffic meter, however it won't do it and gives me a message saying failed. I'm ready to get a new router now. Anymore suggestions would be great. Thanks!

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Turning off Traffic Meter addresses the issue which began with Daylight Saving Time (and which I think will "go away" on April 1).

The Orbi web interface did not allow  you to uncheck the box "Enable Traffic Meter"?

It might be worth opening a new post specifcally identifying the issues which have persisted for months.

[dchopp1]

Same issue. Turned off the Traffic meter. Have to wait and see if this fix lasts long enough.

[aslamm]

@CrimpOn :

Turning off Traffic Meter seems to have helped in my case, since after I made the change I haven't lost internet connection to any of my devices so far. Please give me a day or more, since it occurs intermittently and I had one time got the issue after 15+ hours, so just to be sure. Once confirmed, I will mark your resolution step as a solution for my issue (definitely).

[Akamai612]

24 hours later, turning off the traffic meter seems to have did the trick. Solid connections today on all devices.