Voxel Custom firmware build for Orbi RBK50/RBK53 (RBR50, RBS50) v. 9.2.5.2.11SF-HW

[Voxel]

Continuation of

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-v-2-5-0-42sf-hw.60308/
. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...k50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-9sf-hw.69689/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-10sf-hw.70690/

New version of my custom firmware build: 9.2.5.2.11SF-HW.

Changes (vs 9.2.5.2.10SF-HW):

1. Toolchain: Go is upgraded 1.16->1.16.2.
2. iptables: add iptables-mod-rpfilter plugin (HELLO_wORLD).
3. wireguard-tools package is upgraded 1.0.20210223->1.0.20210315.
4. cifs-utils package is upgraded 6.11->6.12.
5. libpcap package is upgraded 1.9.1->1.10.0.
6. e2fsprogs package is upgraded 1.45.6->1.46.2.
7. tar package is upgraded 1.32->1.34.
8. nano package is upgraded 5.6->5.6.1.
9. sysstat package is upgraded 12.4.2->12.4.3.
10. gdbm package is upgraded 1.18.1->1.19.
11. unzip: add security patches.
12. Kernel config: Add IP_NF_MATCH_RPFILTER/IP6_NF_MATCH_RPFILTER (iptables-mod-rpfilter).
13. Disable ARM/NEON acceleration (kernel crypto AES/SHA1) to avoid conflicts with QCE.
14. Host tools (e2fsprogs): is upgraded to 1.46.2.

The link is:

https://www.voxel-firmware.com (thanks to vladlenas for his help with hosting).

Voxel.

 

[binoy1]

Hi,

First of all a huge shout out of appreciation to Voxel for the amazing work he does and continues to do.

I am running the Orbi RBK852 (Router + 1 Satellite)
Do we have an equivalent firmware for this model?

thanks in advance,
binoy

 

[gssjshark]

Hi,

First of all a huge shout out of appreciation to Voxel for the amazing work he does and continues to do.

I am running the Orbi RBK852 (Router + 1 Satellite)
Do we have an equivalent firmware for this model?

thanks in advance,
binoy

Voxel currently only supports the v1 and v2 versions of RBK50 (RBS50 & RBR50).

 

[Skippy Bosco]

Continuation of

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-v-2-5-0-42sf-hw.60308/
. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...k50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-9sf-hw.69689/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-10sf-hw.70690/

New version of my custom firmware build: 9.2.5.2.11SF-HW.

Installed one satellite at a time and then the router. 5 minutes start to finish. Gave it a day, continues to be fast, stable and secure. Thanks Voxel. Great job, as usual.

 

[Skippy Bosco]

Continuation of

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-v-2-5-0-42sf-hw.60308/
. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...k50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-9sf-hw.69689/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-10sf-hw.70690/

New version of my custom firmware build: 9.2.5.2.11SF-HW.

Changes (vs 9.2.5.2.10SF-HW):

Any consideration for what it might take to retrofit the existing firmware check built into stock to check for updated Voxel builds and auto update?

 

[digital10]

Installed one satellite at a time and then the router. 5 minutes start to finish. Gave it a day, continues to be fast, stable and secure. Thanks Voxel. Great job, as usual.

do you have any disconnection issues with current or past Voxel of official firmware? There is some weird conflict anecdotes on the internet, some say both stable some say both got disconnection issues.

 

[Skippy Bosco]

do you have any disconnection issues with current or past Voxel of official firmware? There is some weird conflict anecdotes on the internet, some say both stable some say both got disconnection issues.

Not at all. Completely stable.

In every situation that I've taken the time to help troubleshoot it 95% of the time comes down to an environmental issue. Either a bad cable, a bad configuration or a bad behaving device on the network. The most recent I was screamed and yelled at, called terrible names by the user in suggesting it was an an environmental issue.. weeks later they found a USB network dongle attached to their satellite was bringing their wifi down.

 

[digital10]

Not at all. Completely stable.

In every situation that I've taken the time to help troubleshoot it 95% of the time comes down to an environmental issue. Either a bad cable, a bad configuration or a bad behaving device on the network. The most recent I was screamed and yelled at, called terrible names by the user in suggesting it was an an environmental issue.. weeks later they found a USB network dongle attached to their satellite was bringing their wifi down.

hmmm... i wish the router could point where the issue is.

I had voxel 92.5.2.10 many disconnects, went back to 9.2.5.2.7 , mostly stable .

 

[Skippy Bosco]

I had voxel 92.5.2.10 many disconnects, went back to 9.2.5.2.7 , mostly stable .

I can't recall if you've done this prior, but if not, downgrade to 2.5, factory reset.. keep disney, armor, circle, parental controls disabled, keep all defaults, don't import any prior backup configuration, don't change any settings (no manual dhcp reservations, etc).. then update to Voxel... keep all default settings and all to test for a few days.

 

[NemesisXT]

Continuation of

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-v-2-5-0-42sf-hw.60308/
. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...k50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-9sf-hw.69689/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-10sf-hw.70690/

New version of my custom firmware build: 9.2.5.2.11SF-HW.

Changes (vs 9.2.5.2.10SF-HW):

1. Toolchain: Go is upgraded 1.16->1.16.2.
2. iptables: add iptables-mod-rpfilter plugin (HELLO_wORLD).
3. wireguard-tools package is upgraded 1.0.20210223->1.0.20210315.
4. cifs-utils package is upgraded 6.11->6.12.
5. libpcap package is upgraded 1.9.1->1.10.0.
6. e2fsprogs package is upgraded 1.45.6->1.46.2.
7. tar package is upgraded 1.32->1.34.
8. nano package is upgraded 5.6->5.6.1.
9. sysstat package is upgraded 12.4.2->12.4.3.
10. gdbm package is upgraded 1.18.1->1.19.
11. unzip: add security patches.
12. Kernel config: Add IP_NF_MATCH_RPFILTER/IP6_NF_MATCH_RPFILTER (iptables-mod-rpfilter).
13. Disable ARM/NEON acceleration (kernel crypto AES/SHA1) to avoid conflicts with QCE.
14. Host tools (e2fsprogs): is upgraded to 1.46.2.

The link is:

https://www.voxel-firmware.com (thanks to vladlenas for his help with hosting).

Voxel.

Thank you once again for your effort and great product. Continue the good work.

 

[digital10]

I can't recall if you've done this prior, but if not, downgrade to 2.5, factory reset.. keep disney, armor, circle, parental controls disabled, keep all defaults, don't import any prior backup configuration, don't change any settings (no manual dhcp reservations, etc).. then update to Voxel... keep all default settings and all to test for a few days.

I already moved DHCP to pihole. Parental controls are disabled by default. ARMOUR and Disney I disabled via SSH. I have already done this processes then upgrade to Voxel 9.2.5.2.7. Now things seem great.

If we have to disable all the features and not change a thing for this to work correctly, why do they even add these features? Its like saying your phone supports 5G, but if you turn it on it crashes and malfunctions. Whats the use?

 

[Skippy Bosco]

I already moved DHCP to pihole. Parental controls are disabled by default. ARMOUR and Disney I disabled via SSH. I have already done this processes then upgrade to Voxel 9.2.5.2.7. Now things seem great.

I'm not suggesting moving DHCP to an external device or having a PiHole. DHCP is a core functionality and has no impact I'm aware. Allowing it to do it's thing as normal (ie. not creating a ton of manual reservations) is what the majority of users do. Let it do it's thing and it just works. The fact that you even have a PiHole in your environment reinforces that there are complexities in your environment that may be contributing to your issues.

If we have to disable all the features and not change a thing for this to work correctly, why do they even add these features?

As for Armor/Disney/etc. those are external services that require round trips to non LAN resources to process your traffic. Injecting those midstream to every transaction is a sure fire failure point. Nothing to say you can't enable them if they are important to you, but minimizing variables is important when troubleshooting issues to isolate the number of things that can go wrong.

Its like saying your phone supports 5G, but if you turn it on it crashes and malfunctions. Whats the use?

If you were complaining of quickly running out of mobile bandwidth or your battery draining faster than expected, disabling 5g temporarily would be a troubleshooting step since it is a known cause of both of those issues, in the same way that Armor and Disney are known to create network instability in some environments for various reasons.

 

[Joe777]

My ORBI RBK50 satellites have bricked after I tried putting this firmware on it. I tried TFTPD64 to try putting the stock firmware back. It gets stuck at block #0 and I dont see any pop up. Can anyone help?

 

[Skippy Bosco]

My ORBI RBK50 satellites have bricked after I tried putting this firmware on it

Did you downgrade your stock firmware to 2.5 first? What version of firmware did you have installed before you updated?

I tried TFTPD64 to try putting the stock firmware back. It gets stuck at block #0 and I dont see any pop up. Can anyone help?

It's really hard to hard brick an Orbi. You just need to follow the steps exactly to TFTP the stock firmware back on:

https://kb.netgear.com/000059633/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-TFTP-client

1) unplug power cable from router

2) manually configure your computer to use a fixed IP, subnet and gateway as indicated. (192.168.1.10/255.255.255.0/192.168.1.1)

3) cat 5+ ethernet from computer to router

4) start a continuous ping from computer to router (ping -t 192.168.1.1)

5) use a paperclip to hold down the small inset reset button on router.

6) Continue to hold reset while plugging power back in. Don't let it go. Continue to hold reset for 30 seconds and then release.

7) Once your ping starts to get a reply immediately do a PUT of the stock firmware file.

If you have any issues let us know specifically which step, what you did, what you expected and what you saw.

 

[Joe777]

I think my firmware was on 2.6, so I do everything and I get an error in recv .error code 10054

 

[Skippy Bosco]

I think my firmware was on 2.6, so I do everything and I get an error in recv .error code 10054

Where do you get error code 10054?

Did you follow ALL of the steps above exactly as written?

Are you getting a reply from your ping?

 

[Joe777]

I got it to work but how do I get Voxels firmware on my router and RBS50?

 

[Skippy Bosco]

I got it to work but how do I get Voxels firmware on my router and RBS50?

1) Flash stock 2.5(http://orbilogin.com -> Advanced -> Administration -> Firmware update

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK50/RBR50-V2.5.2.4.zip

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK50/RBS50-V2.5.2.4.zip

Flash your devices 1 at a time, wait for it to fully boot before flashing the next. Start with satellite, then router.

2) Once you are on 2.5, factory reset. Set up using defaults (you can of course set your ssid/password so your clients are not impacted)... keep armor, parental controls, circle, etc. disabled.

3) Then flash latest Voxel using the same manual firmware update as above.

 

[digital10]

Reporting to Voxel,

Everything seems solid and steady with .11 . The only issue I faced was my iphone for some reason disconnected for 10 seconds to LTE then back to Wifi. I am going to guess this is an iOS issue.

Not Voxel problem, but I did some testing and I think I know why Netgear disables Beamforming by default. Looks like when beamforming is ON one device might get 20-30% increase in speed, another device will lose 70-80%. It is better left OFF unless you have 1 client on the network. Maybe I am wrong but this was my observation.

 

[Skippy Bosco]

The only issue I faced was my iphone for some reason disconnected for 10 seconds to LTE then back to Wifi. I am going to guess this is an iOS issue.

If you've not already, disable MAC Address randomization on your iPhone. That can create issues with IP address cycling and connectivity issues.