New - RBE970 / RBE971 Firmware Version 9.12.4.16 Released (for NA Region Only)!

[FURRYe38]

New Features: 11/12/2024

• Added Router Protection support.
• Added Satellite Notification support.
• For NA Region Only

Enhancements:

• Improved WiFi and backhaul stability.
• Improved system stability.
• Improved client steering.
• Improved speed test accuracy.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed an iPhone 16 stability issue.
• Fixed an iPhone 15 issue that caused possible disconnections when roaming between nodes.
• Fixed an issue where the firmware version displayed incorrectly in the Orbi app.
• Fixed various IPv6 connectivity issues.
• Fixed various minor bugs.

Security Fixes:

• This firmware addresses security vulnerabilities. For more information about security vulnerabilities, visit https://www.netgear.com/about/security

Download Link:

https://www.netgear.com/support/product/rbe972s#download

Firmware Update Instructions:

To update your router’s firmware, follow the instructions in your router’s user manual. To view your router’s user manual, visit https://www.netgear.com/support/product/RBE971.aspx#docs.

IF MANUALLY UPDATING THE SYSTEM:

Be sure to update the RBS FIRST, then the RBR lastly. 

Please navigate to the link below for step-by-step instructions on how to update your RBR971/RBS970:

https://kb.netgear.com/31573/How-do-I-manually-upgrade-firmware-on-my-Orbi-router-using-orbilogin-co...

https://kb.netgear.com/000037217/How-do-I-check-and-manually-upgrade-the-firmware-on-my-Orbi-satelli...

Proceedure to Manually Firmware Update Orbi and Nighthawk Mesh systems

I HIGHLY recommend after the FW is loaded on the system and it's back to ready, power OFF all Orbi units and the ISP modem/ONT for 1 minute. Then back ON with the ISP modem/ONT first, then RBR then RBS.

NOTE: Orbi app or the routers web page may not report seeing new FW updates. NG may not push this to there auto update services immediately and may activate the newer FW update being seen on there auto update services at a later time. User will have the choice to manually update if you want too.

FW UPDATE ALL Feature:

If there is a FW updated seen on the RBRs web page and all RBS are online and connected with GOOD STATUS, you can select the UPDATE ALL button option to have the RBR update the RBS and RBR. Update All button is seen on the RBRs Firmware Update WEB page on the Check for Updates FW section of the page. Once FW has been checked for an update and all devices show the FW update is available, select the UPDATE ALL button. Give 5 minutes for the process to take place. 

NOTE: If continued problems are seen after a FW update, it's recommended to try a factory reset and setup from scratch with out loading any saved configurations from backup files. Use the ERASE button on the routers web page to factory reset the router:

https://kb.netgear.com/000062081/How-do-I-erase-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System

This sends a Factory Reset command to any and all connected RBS as well.

Procedure for Factory Reset of RBE970 series systems

Quick Installation Guide, User Manual and Spec Sheet is here:

https://www.netgear.com/support/product/rbe971#docs

This article applies to:

• Orbi (8)
  • RBE970
  • RBE970B
  • RBE971
  • RBE971B
  • RBE972S
  • RBE972SB
  • RBE973S
  • RBE973SB

Let us know how it works for you...

[Kappo_84]

Can this be used on EU models? I seem to recall there was a separate EU FW version previously.

[Escalope]

Installed yesterday here in Germany, working perfectly and smooth.

......(for NA Region Only) wasn't indicated at the beginning.

[plemans]

I'll reinstall my unit later this week and install this. 

[JWS9518]

Not seeing this yet on the app or webgui. I am currently running V9.12.4.9_1.3.14,

[FURRYe38]

Yes, Noticed that just now as well. Will get the title changed and add this information so users know. 🙄

[FURRYe38]

If your in the EU region, please do not load this version of FW. 

Apparently they made a information title change after I had posted this. 

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@Kappo_84 wrote:
Can this be used on EU models? I seem to recall there was a separate EU FW version previously.

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[Kappo_84]

Thanks all for the clarification. Do we know when an EU version will be made available? Looks like a lot of these (potential) fixes are very much needed.

[FURRYe38]

WE don't. NG doesn't give that information out. Historically I have seen later released come out with in a couple of weeks of the 1st release posted. However, I've seen it take longer as well. I can only presume NG is working on the EU region now and hopefully will get released soon as possible. 

I'll make a new post here when I first see it. 

[JWS9518]

I don't think it has been pushed out to everyone in North America either or at least I haven't seen it yet.

[FURRYe38]

I have a feeling this may not be pushed via AU. I think with NG separating NA and ROW regions, they may not be auto updating out the gate. Or may be waiting. No idea what there doing. 

[Chenjesu]

It appears that "NA region" (which I assume means North America) is not the same as "US region". I tried to update my RBE971 from 9.12.3.3 to 9.12.4.16 this morning and I think it's bricked now. When it starts up, the light near the base just blinks on-and-off, and I'm not getting any WiFi.

I opened a ticket with NETGEAR support to see if there's anything I can do to revive it. I didn't have time to try a factory reset before I left home, and I probably should wait to see if support tells me to try something else first. Hopefully I can revive it without having to send it in for reprogramming. Ugh.

[KevinLiT]

Hello JWS9518,

Welcome to the NETGEAR Community!

The firmware is being pushed out in waves across the North America region. It will take some time for everyone to receive as an auto update feature.

Best,
Kevin
Community Team

[JWS9518]

Kevin:

Long time member here, but thanks for the welcome anyways. 😉

Maybe I should have said US region as I am in the US (Atlanta, to be precise) and have not seen this pushed out to my Orbi yet.

[Garyrh66]

Upgraded to the new firmware and have had no problems after updating. One issue I have had is the speed test in web interface works and has not worked in the App. The only thing that works is the ping and once it’s done the upload will be so slow then I get connection failed. App has only worked twice since I got it in July.

[rushman]

I was hopeful on this one but I can confirm after about an hour I am still getting disconnect issues with my pixel 9

[SpeedPro_03]

Well, I updated all my devices yesterday before I knew it was US only… I live in Spain and so far I haven’t had any issue with the update, everything is working and both satellites and router updated correctly. Is that a problem? I mean, should I leave it like that and wait for the EU version (hopefully coming next days) or downgrade to previous version if possible?

[FURRYe38]

If your not experiencing any issues, you can leave it for now. Hope fully NG will come out with official EU and ROW version in next few weeks or so. Please be patient. 

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@SpeedPro_03 wrote:
Well, I updated all my devices yesterday before I knew it was US only… I live in Spain and so far I haven’t had any issue with the update, everything is working and both satellites and router updated correctly. Is that a problem? I mean, should I leave it like that and wait for the EU version (hopefully coming next days) or downgrade to previous version if possible?

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[Chuck_M]

It just so happens I was having issues between the app and web interfaces showing my system having issues.

I installed this firmware as a last-ditch attempt and magically all is working properly.

A fairly non-standard setup:

My 970 is in Access Point Mode, sits behind a pFSense Firewall appliance (24.03-RELEASE), and gets DHCP/DNS from a hyper-v process running pihole (Pi-hole v5.18.3, FTL v5.25.2,  Web Interface v5.21)

Two satellites:  one satellite has wired backhaul and the other is wireless.    

It is all now working smoothly with this upgrade and both the app and the web interfaces are now working as expected.)

[FURRYe38]

Great to hear. Thanks for the feedback. 

[Roc1]

Furrye38#, I installed the new RBE 970/971 Firmware earlier today. I also turned the IPV6 option back on in the router. I then powered down my ATT fiber Gateway, RBE971 router, and two wired RBE970’s. I subsequently powered on each device in the same order I powered them down and waited until that device was fully online before moving to the next device.

I also went into Settings on my iPhone 15 Pro Max and turned WiFi 6E from off back to automatic. It appears the new firmware is working correctly. All my mesh transfers have worked, seamlessly, and I’ve had no WiFi/cell “flips”.

I also ran multiple internal Orbi speed tests today. I am pleased to report that the issue of the internal Ookla speed tests incorrectly showing slow Upload speeds of 900-1200Mb or less has also been corrected. I am now seeing almost symmetrical up/down speeds of 4700 MBs which verifies with physical speeds via my ATT 5Mb fiber ISP service.

I didn’t have time to pursue/investigate, but there might be something going on with the web gui to the Ookla Speedtest internal to the Orbi Router. After successfully running Orbi App initiated Speed tests, I open the Orbi web gui to launch a speed test that way. First off, to my surprise as this has not happened since I’ve been tracking the Orbi/Ookla upload speed descrepancy, my last App speed test results popped up as the previous Speed results shown in the web gui Speed Test screen.

I’m not sure if there was an issue with my physical ATT fiber connection (I did received some cryptic voice mail earlier this week that looked/sounded like it was written by a Chinese hacker, with the Calling Name on the ATT telephone number showing “ATTOrderStatus”. I have not placed an ATT order in multiple years. But several different times I tried to “launch” a speed test via the web gui, and I finally closed the speed test page of the web gui several times when nothing happened. A few times, the upload speed slowly started (I thought, oh heck, here we go again!) and when it finally got to 250Mbs, I closed the web gui speed test page.

But, unless I start receiving WiFi/cell flips and problems with mesh hand-offs, it appears the firmware update resolved the issues it needed to.

For those of you who implemented work-rounds for our wifi6E iPhones, after this firmware update with reboots, you should turn back on WiFi 6E, and in the web guide, turn on IPV6. It seems like I turned another setting off, but I’ve forgotten if I did, and whatever I’d turned “off” didn’t impact performance of the new firmware, and I am now using 6Ghz WiFi band with no issues.

I await an update from an iPhone 16 owner to see if this update corrects issues with full 6Ghz performance via WiFi 7.

[FURRYe38]

Great to hear. Thanks for the feedback.

Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System
Enjoy. 📡

[Ely]

I updated my Orbi Satellite first, then updated my Orbi Router. Once everything was back and ready, I turned off my ATT BGW320 Gateway, then shut down the Orbi Router, then my only satellite, then turned everything back on in the same order.  So far, so good. 

Not that I had any issues with the previous firmware, except my Quest 3 VR headset, which keeps trying to connect to the 5GHz band instead of the 6GHz one for some reason. Let's see how it behaves in the upcoming days. 

So far, this Orbi system has been rock solid since day one. (Got it 3 weeks ago.)

[FURRYe38]

Great to hear. Thanks for the feedback.

Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.

[Ely]

@rushman I also have the Pixel 9 Pro XL and I have noticed sometimes it disconnects from the Wi-Fi network (Thankfully it doesn't do it too often by any means; I think it has done it twice in 3 weeks) What I did was make it forget the network, then reconnect it again. Once I did that, it hasn't done it for several days, so perhaps that fixes it for you.