Samsung Phones battery life sucks with Orbi

[tripleg]

Since adding the RBR50 and 2 slave units my Samsung Phones (S8 and S5 and TabA's) all have horrible battery life.  If I turn off Orbi and go back to the old AT&T Router and Mesh units the battery life is great again. What is with this Orbi stuff, is it constantly trying to handoff all the time.  If there is no cure for this I'm sure I'll be taking it back.  It appears  you cannot open a trouble case with Netgear unless you buy a support contract (poor business model should be able to get help in the first 3 months to a year).

Anyone else seeing this issue and have any suggestions???

[CrimpOn]

Netgear provides 90 days of support at no cost.  When the product is registered, the is a link to request support.  (I don't have a new product to register and my Orbi is over two years old, so I do not have the exact link.)  I believe that users start at https://www.netgear.com/mynetgear/registration/login.aspx

Please describe "handoff".  I have no Samsung phones, but do have a Tab A and it shows no excessive battery life.  My Tab A is WiFi only.

[FURRYe38]

What Firmware 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 when wirelessly connected.

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 enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. 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).

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@tripleg wrote:

Since adding the RBR50 and 2 slave units my Samsung Phones (S8 and S5 and TabA's) all have horrible battery life.  If I turn off Orbi and go back to the old AT&T Router and Mesh units the battery life is great again. What is with this Orbi stuff, is it constantly trying to handoff all the time.  If there is no cure for this I'm sure I'll be taking it back.  It appears  you cannot open a trouble case with Netgear unless you buy a support contract (poor business model should be able to get help in the first 3 months to a year).

Anyone else seeing this issue and have any suggestions???

---

[jaychu]

I'm experiencing a similar issue  on my Razer Phone and I'm currently on the latest firmware for Orbi.

I've tried as suggested, enabling beamforming and MIMO and WMM, while disabling daisy chain, fast roaming , 20/40 mhz coexist, and ipv6.

My RBR50 router sits in my basement, while the satellite sits on one side of the house on the first floor. I also have 2 rbw30, 1 that sits on the other side of the first floor and then one that sits in the 2nd floor. Overall, the set up resembles a bit of a diamond.

Originally, everything was fine when I had just my RBR50 with the satellite included with it. I was running firmware 2.1.4.16 at the time since the latest firmware was giving me the battery drain issue. Once I bought the 2 rbw30's, the drain issue came back so I figured maybe the latest firmware would resolve the issue. Unfortuntely, it is not. I go to be around 1:30am (battery is at 100%) and wake up around 8am, which puts it at about 60%. Before buying the 2 rbw30's, it would only go from 100% to ~93%. I was wondering if there were any other suggestions that I can try.

[FURRYe38]

What happens if you remove the RBWs from the mix and just run the RBR and the 1 RBS? 

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@jaychu wrote:

I'm experiencing a similar issue  on my Razer Phone and I'm currently on the latest firmware for Orbi.

I've tried as suggested, enabling beamforming and MIMO and WMM, while disabling daisy chain, fast roaming , 20/40 mhz coexist, and ipv6.

My RBR50 router sits in my basement, while the satellite sits on one side of the house on the first floor. I also have 2 rbw30, 1 that sits on the other side of the first floor and then one that sits in the 2nd floor. Overall, the set up resembles a bit of a diamond.

Originally, everything was fine when I had just my RBR50 with the satellite included with it. I was running firmware 2.1.4.16 at the time since the latest firmware was giving me the battery drain issue. Once I bought the 2 rbw30's, the drain issue came back so I figured maybe the latest firmware would resolve the issue. Unfortuntely, it is not. I go to be around 1:30am (battery is at 100%) and wake up around 8am, which puts it at about 60%. Before buying the 2 rbw30's, it would only go from 100% to ~93%. I was wondering if there were any other suggestions that I can try.

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[jaychu]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

What happens if you remove the RBWs from the mix and just run the RBR and the 1 RBS? 

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I'll give it a shot tonight. Just out of curosity, I noticed OP had mentioned a galaxy tab was battery draining but you also having a galaxy tab was not battery draining. I've read a lot about factory resetting after firmware updates so I was wondering if you had done any factory resetting and if this was potentially an issue with old firmware sitting idly in the routers / satellites

[FURRYe38]

As part of my normal method of upgrading FW, I do also include a factory reset and setup from scratch for any router I test with. 

[CrimpOn]

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@jaychu wrote:

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I'll give it a shot tonight. Just out of curosity, I noticed OP had mentioned a galaxy tab was battery draining but you also having a galaxy tab was not battery draining. I've read a lot about factory resetting after firmware updates so I was wondering if you had done any factory resetting and if this was potentially an issue with old firmware sitting idly in the routers / satellites

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I am the one with the Galaxy Tab A that displays "normal" battery behavior.  This time, I did not do a factory reset and reconfigure after updating firmware.  Was prepared to, but no problems have surfaced (yet).

[FURRYe38]

My Galaxy Tab S2 doesn't exhibit this either...

[jaychu]

Just tried to factory reset everything before going to bed. Woke up with the same result. Going to try unplugging the rbw30 tonight. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

[FURRYe38]

Let us know how it does with out the RBWs online. 

[Fl1ntstone]

Hi,

What version of Android are you running on your Samsung devices?  Is it also possible to check 'computed power use' on your Samsung devices?

CheerZ

[jaychu]

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@Fl1ntstone wrote:

Hi,

What version of Android are you running on your Samsung devices?  Is it also possible to check 'computed power use' on your Samsung devices?

CheerZ

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Hi, 

I'm currently using Anrdoid 8.1. OP is actually using a Samsung device, I'm actually on a Razer Phone. In the past I've attempted to flash my phone to Android 9 and I've experienced the same issue as well (before my rbw30 and was updated to latest firmware at the time). Not sure where to check computed power use but I've attempted to get battery logs a while back from adb. The root cause seems to be that somehow the router is interfacing with my phone in a way that prevents it from entering deep sleep and acting as if it were on. The only resolution at the moment is to turn off wifi at home but it wouldn't be quite ideal, especially if I have guests over and their phone dies as a result of the router. 

Any help or suggestion would be appreciated !

[Fl1ntstone]

Hi,

Certain versions of Android have had issues with WiFi draining the battery and this is the fix:

1. Go to Settings > Location > open Menu (three dots, top-right corner) > select Scanning > Turn Off WiFi scanning.
2. Go back to Settings > Backup and reset > Network settings reset > tap “Reset settings”.
3. Reboot your device.

CheerZ

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@jaychu wrote:

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@Fl1ntstone wrote:

Hi,

What version of Android are you running on your Samsung devices?  Is it also possible to check 'computed power use' on your Samsung devices?

CheerZ

---

Hi, 

I'm currently using Anrdoid 8.1. OP is actually using a Samsung device, I'm actually on a Razer Phone. In the past I've attempted to flash my phone to Android 9 and I've experienced the same issue as well (before my rbw30 and was updated to latest firmware at the time). Not sure where to check computed power use but I've attempted to get battery logs a while back from adb. The root cause seems to be that somehow the router is interfacing with my phone in a way that prevents it from entering deep sleep and acting as if it were on. The only resolution at the moment is to turn off wifi at home but it wouldn't be quite ideal, especially if I have guests over and their phone dies as a result of the router. 

Any help or suggestion would be appreciated !

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[jaychu]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Let us know how it does with out the RBWs online. 

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My battery dropped from 100% to 70%, though I suspect the reason the result was a bit better was because the wifi disconnected from time to time. I noticed it was disconnecting a bit this morning when I woke up. So I would have to assume now with the latest firmware, I am seeing the same issue.

[FURRYe38]

And this is with the RBWs turned off?

So the samsung has been disconnecting and reconnecting form the orib? 

Let us know if turning OFF the wifi scanning suggestion helps...

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.

Try enabling and disabling of Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. 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).

Is this the only device that seems to draing the battery? 

[jaychu]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

And this is with the RBWs turned off?

So the samsung has been disconnecting and reconnecting form the orib? 

Let us know if turning OFF the wifi scanning suggestion helps...

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.

Try enabling and disabling of Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. 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).

Is this the only device that seems to draing the battery? 

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So I'm actually working from home today so I'm going to play around with this more. I have a spare OnePlus One that I can try and see if it exhibits a similar issue. The reason my phone is disconnecting (Razer Phone) is because I need the RBW30's to bring the signal upstairs. Without them, I only have signal on the 1st floor and basement. The settings you suggested are already in play, so at this point I'm going to try the wifi resetting suggestion. I'm really hoping this is just an isolated incident with my Razer Phone specificaly.

[jaychu]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

And this is with the RBWs turned off?

So the samsung has been disconnecting and reconnecting form the orib? 

Let us know if turning OFF the wifi scanning suggestion helps...

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.

Try enabling and disabling of Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. 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).

Is this the only device that seems to draing the battery? 

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So I just tried my OnePlus One and that actually seems to be okay, it doesn't seem to be causing the battery drain. I can't seem to understand why updating the firmware or adding the RBW30's would case my Razer phone to start draining, maybe a sympton of the wifi adpater card perhaps. I did try the suggestion with turning off wifi location but that didn't seem to help either.

If there are no other suggestions, I'm probably going to try rolling back the firmware again to one that actually worked before and maybe try rolling the RBW30's further back and see what happens.

[FURRYe38]

Possible FW and Razor wireless issue. Possible some changes in wifi drivers in recent FW could be incompatible or make the Razor drain the battery due to it's wifi internactions with the FW on Orbi. 

Revert back to last version FW on the RBR. Leave all other satellites at current version. Turn them OFF then see if the Razor still drains the battery. 

[Blanca_O]

Hi @jaychu

We’d greatly appreciate hearing your feedback letting us know if you need further assistance.

Regards, 
Blanca 
Community Team
 

[jaychu]

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@Blanca_O wrote:

Hi @jaychu

We’d greatly appreciate hearing your feedback letting us know if you need further assistance.

Regards, 
Blanca 
Community Team
 

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Hi Blanca, 

Thanks for the follow up!

To be honest, I'm kind of at a loss. I attempted to roll back to older firmware but the settings I changed via telnet was not saving my auto update settings and kept forcing auto update anyways. At this point I've given up and resorted to using data. It's not a good solution and i'm hoping for a resolution. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,

Justin 

[Blanca_O]

Hi @jaychu

Our support team is looking into the issue and would like to work with you. I have sent you a message. Please check your inbox.

Regards, 
Blanca 
Community Team

[AmtrHomeNetAdm]

Hi FURRYe38!

You were a huge help to me not that long ago with my new Orbi system and our PS4.  I'm also seeing this battery life issue with every device in my house.  Our Samsung phone and tablet, and even my Lenovo laptop. This started the moment I turned off my ASUS router that I have for four years. I thought I was imagining things until I found this discussion.

I see you gave a list of suggested tweaks to make to the wireless setup.  Do you mind providing a complete list of any wireless setup changes I should make to my setup?  I don't know if your tweaks worked.  There's not a clear response that says whether there was a final solution to this issue or not.  You obviously know this Netgear hardware inside and out.  So I trust your suggestions will at least improve my battery situation.

I still have the same setup as before - the RBR is downstairs and I have a single satellite upstairs.

Any advice is GREATLY appreciated!!

[FURRYe38]

What Firmware 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 distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between RBR and RBS to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/000036466/How-far-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite-from-my-Orbi-router

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 enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, Circle, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update?

[AmtrHomeNetAdm]

firmware is v2.3.5.30

Orbi is in router mode.

Cable modem is ARRIS SB6183

I don't believe I've done a factory reset since the lone firmware update.

The router and satellite are a little more than 30 feet away, about a room and a set of stairs apart.

I'm trying your settings tonight.