I'm having some frustrating issues with my new gigabit fiber connection and my Netgear Orbi RBE971. When my PC is directly connected to the ONT, everything is flawless—getting speeds over 940 Mbps with no packet loss. However, once I reintroduce the Orbi system, things go downhill. Initially, I have the full gigabit speeds, but after about 5–10 minutes, the download speed plummets to around 400-500 Mbps, uploads fall to about 50-70 Mbps, and packet loss spikes drastically. Latency also becomes erratic during heavy usage. I'm using the Orbi in both wired and wireless configurations, and it's been a hassle because my previous router setup worked perfectly fine. I've stepped through troubleshooting by testing direct connections, updating settings, and ensuring firmware is current, but nothing seems to resolve the issue. Has anyone faced similar problems or have any suggestions?
4 Answers
It could help to turn off your IPv6 and try using a CAT 6A cable between your Calix ONT and the Orbi, making sure to use the 10GB ports. That might improve stability.
I'll look into getting a different cable, but I already disabled IPv6 after installation.
I've checked with Netgear, and my Orbi is on the latest firmware as well. I'm a bit anxious about doing a factory reset since I've got some devices that might be tricky to reconnect. After the initial connection, speeds are good for a few minutes, then they drop, which is frustrating.
It sounds like some background service might be kicking in and causing the slowdown after a while. You might want to check for any QoS or Traffic Meter settings that might be impacting your speed.
Make sure your Orbi’s firmware is up to date, then consider doing a factory reset on it. After reconfiguring, check that your WAN connection stays at 1000 Mbps and doesn’t drop later.
This definitely sounds like a common issue with the Orbi 970 series firmware. There could be bugs with hardware acceleration or traffic management features. Try disabling QoS and check if turning off Netgear Armor completely works. Sometimes those services run in the background even when disabled, affecting speeds.
Is double NAT playing a role here? That could cascade and cause your issues too.
CAT 6A isn't necessary unless you're doing very high-speed transfers. IPv6 probably isn't the issue either.