Mystery Router…

[Boomzilla]

I’ve got a combination cable modem / Ethernet router / Wi-Fi base station (Netgear Orbi). The cable modem & Wi-Fi are still working, but the Ethernet connections have gone AWOL. I’ve tried power- cycling the modem without success.

Ideas?

Thanks - Boom

[novisnick]

Mar 21, 2022 21:01:10 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

I’ve got a combination cable modem / Ethernet router / Wi-Fi base station (Netgear Orbi). The cable modem & Wi-Fi are still working, but the Ethernet connections have gone AWOL. I’ve tried power- cycling the modem without success.

Ideas?

Thanks - Boom

Have you tried resetting the Orbi and starting over?

[Boomzilla]

Tried that first (3 times).

[405x5]

Mar 21, 2022 21:01:10 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

I’ve got a combination cable modem / Ethernet router / Wi-Fi base station (Netgear Orbi). The cable modem & Wi-Fi are still working, but the Ethernet connections have gone AWOL. I’ve tried power- cycling the modem without success.

Ideas?

Thanks - Boom

Too cheap to loose sleep over. (Best Buy)…or other.
Last year I went to the MESH from Linksys. A whole new world….for me no going back to “Rabbit ears”

[BigE]

Mar 21, 2022 21:01:10 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

I’ve got a combination cable modem / Ethernet router / Wi-Fi base station (Netgear Orbi). The cable modem & Wi-Fi are still working, but the Ethernet connections have gone AWOL. I’ve tried power- cycling the modem without success.

Ideas?

Thanks - Boom

If you didn't change something in the settings, then I'd try refreshing the device firmware. If that fails, contact Orbi. Hopefully you have a prior working back up. Do the ports still light up? I have no experience with Orbi. Had long been Asus fan, but tired of headaches and lack of reliability. Bit the bullet and went with Ubiquiti. Except for availability issues, love the change. System has been much more stable, expansion is flexible, and great ecosystem overall. Prosumer IMO.

[Boomzilla]

Orbi forum suggests doing hard reset on the device I'll try today.

[novisnick]

Mar 22, 2022 7:50:41 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

Orbi forum suggests doing hard reset on the device I'll try today.

That’s what I thought I suggested. (Start over) A simple reset was an obvious attempt to rectify the problem. Good luck!

[hemster]

Boom, check to see if the settings are to accept software updates automatically. Perhaps an update failed?

I always set my devices to not take updates automatically.

[KeithL]

When it comes to routers... a full power down reset will often fix all sorts of mysterious problems.

You should actually power everything on the network off so everything is off at the same time for at least a minute.

(Basically walk around, turn everything off, or actually unplug the stuff that can't be turned off, then walk around and turn everything on again.)

This forces everything to reset its routing tables, get new addresses, and all that good stuff.

And note that it may take as long as several minutes for all of the router stuff to re-establish routing connections.

You also might want to check if the Ethernet ports are really dead...

For example, ping one computer from another, to see if maybe they are all connected, and have addresses, but just aren't being routed.

(However, since the Ethernet ports are almost certainly on their own separate switch module, it is possible that the switch module has simply failed.)

[Boomzilla]

Well, I've spent the ENTIRE MORNING on the phone with Cox Cable. Their initial claim was that since I was using my own router (despite it being on Cox's own approved list), the router must be the problem. "Take the Netgear Orbi out of the system & put back the (decade-old) Netgear that Cox supplied modem" from when I first got cable. OK. After doing that, the Cox folks said "we can see the modem over the internet now - everything's fixed!" After I hung up the call, I found that the modem was so old that Netgear's software wouldn't let me do any further setup - so no wifi & no ethernet.

I put the Orbi back in, called Cox again to have it reregistered as the modem on my Cox account, went through initial setup again from scratch, and still - no wireless - no ethernet. Rebooted the Orbi two or three times and it finally began broadcasting wireless. No Ethernet yet, but I'm leaving well enough alone for today. I can access the internet & I can print.

All the "troubleshooting' that my temper can stand for one day.

Boom

[LuisV]

I did a quick search and there are a ton of hits with Orbi loosing both wired and wireless connections.  Couple of quick questions... are you up to date firmware wise?  Does the Orbi Router have connectivity or are you loosing it at the satellite?  Are both loosing it?  Sorry if I'm using the wrong terminology, each manufacturer calls the mesh devices differently.   Your ISPs asking to connect another router to verify connectivity makes sense from a troubleshooting perspective as they are validating that the cable you plug into the Orbi has connection and therefore don't need to send a tech to troubleshoot from the street into the home.  How long have you had the Orbi?   My previous Netgear and Asus routers used to stop functioning for no reason; a reboot sometimes fixed it, resetting back to factory defaults worked, but other times, nothing would bring them back to life... had to buy a replacement before getting back on-line.  Sucks yes... but that's planned obsolesce in action.   


I know the following doesn't solve your issue today, but I'll put these comments here as food for thought for a potential future upgrade...

If you can ditch consumer network equipment, you'll never look back. I've said this in the lounge numerous times in the past... and I'll never change my story. I've been using Ubiquiti networking equipment for countless years... significantly more reliable than any consumer network equipment that I've used in the past.  Yes, there are other small business / enterprise type options out there, but I can only speak of Ubiquiti as that is what I have been using / recommending for home use. 

We only subscribe to internet from our ISP, 1GB fiber plan and we stream everything... audio and video. I'm blessed to work from home and during the last 2+ years had 2 kids taking college courses remotely.   I highly recommend Ubiquiti to family and friends and no, I don't work for them.

No, I don't use my ISPs router.  I bought it outright from the ISP and therefore save the $10/month rental fee. 
No, I never need to reboot the network to fix mysterious issues.
Yes, I keep it up to date firmware wise.
No, Ubiquiti is not perfect.
Yes, Ubiquiti has mesh networking products for those that can't hardwire a wireless access point
Yes, my network is heavily used, currently have 47 devices on my network, including "smart devices", various Windows and macOS computers, iPhones, iPads, streamers, security cameras, etc. etc. 

[garbulky]

I would first check obvious things. Is there only one thing on the ethernet port? If so it oculd be either the cable is loose on one end - happens a ton! Or the cable is damaged. This has also happened to me.

[jamco]

Boom,

A few thoughts come to mind.

1) DHCP serves up IP addresses to device on the network, which enables you to establish communications. Some WiFi Routers have separate settings for Ethernet DHCP and WiFi DHCP. Make sure DHCP is configured.

2) Windows will sometimes selects WiFi over Ethernet. Turn-off your laptop's WiFi to see if Ethernet works.

3) May sure your devices are in the router's IP range (e.g.; 192.168.0.1 vs. 192.168.1.1).

-jamco

[Boomzilla]

Not a Windows machine on this network.

2 Mac minis
1 MacBook Pro
2 iPads
2 iPhones
1 Brother Color Laser printer
Samsung TV
Yamaha disc player

One of the Mac minis is directly connected to the router via Ethernet (as is the Samsung TV & the Yamaha disc player).

Apparently, the source of problems is wiring (somewhere between the router & the computer room). I'll begin substituting cables until I find the culprit.

Thanks for the feedback.

Boom