Orbi 5G (NBR750, NBK752) How-To / Megathread

[Didneywhorl]

...
I'm stuck here:

PS C:\Users\nemat\Downloads> python
Python 3.12.2 (tags/v3.12.2:6abddd9, Feb 6 2024, 21:26:36) [MSC v.1937 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> telnet-enable2.py 192.168.1.1 [MyMACAddress] admin [MyRouterPW]
File "<stdin>", line 1
telnet-enable2.py 192.168.1.1 [MyMACAddress] admin [MyRouterPW]
^^^^^^^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

The arrows pointing to 192.168. show it as the invalid syntax. What needs to change? That's the IP of the router on the network, my MAC address is put correctly inside the brackets and my router's password is typed correctly inside the brackets following 'admin'.

The telnet-enable.py is an application to be run from the command line, not from the python console.

In your command line application navigate to the folder that has the telnet....py app and then in the command line type in the application name and parameters:

Code: Select all

telnet-enable2.py 192.168.1.1 [MyMACAddress] admin [MyRouterPW]

replace the [MyMACAddress] and [MyRouterPW] with your MAC address and your routers password

[NHeydary]

I was putting brackets around my MAC and password and that isn't needed. Also, I used dashes instead of colons in the MAC address and that worked for me. This issue has been resolved.

[gilbreen]

FYI, the flash has plenty of space so I upgraded modem firmware by sending the most recent file from Quectel over to /tmp via SCP and running QFirehose -f /tmp/firmwaredirectoryname

And yes, after you update the modem firmware to the most recent Quectel branch you will get notices from Netgear that you need to update your modem firmware unless you block the update check servers as outlined in the original post. (The Netgear branch is several versions back as of 6/11/2023)

@jericsmith sorry to revive this, I'm trying to upgrade the fw to R13 without having to take it out. Did you have to install qfirehose on the NBR750?
Any pointers would help. Thanks

Sorry for the late response, but no, literally just SSH'd in after compying the full firmware folder from Quectel as I wrote above. Worked like a charm. I believe it already has QFirehose to manage modem firmware updates from Netgear.

Thanks @jericsmith for the info on how to upgrade the modem. I was able to follow your instructions and the modem was updated to the latest R13 firmware. I appreciate your posting!

@helmut I was able to upgrade the modem, but I had to flash it twice for it to work. I connected to the router using WinSCP and created a new folder called 'firmware' in the tmp folder. I then copied over the following items from the latest R13 firmware folder on my PC to the new 'firmware' folder in tmp - contents.xml, md5.txt and the update folder. I then connected to the router via SSH using putty and then issued the command as given by @jericsmith:

Code: Select all

QFirehose -f /tmp/firmware

As @jericsmith said, you don't have to install QFirehose as it seems that Netgear already has it installed. The update doesn't show any progress other than a series of scrolling dots over and over. In my case, the first time I ran the command, it ran for about a minute, but then the putty window closed saying the connection was closed.

The router then rebooted and after a few minutes I could access the router web interface, but it showed no modem installed. I could also connect to the router via SSH, but no modem information returned when I issued the at+qgmr command. I noticed the 'firmware' folder was deleted from the tmp folder so I decided to try the upgrade once more.

I then realized I forgot to remove my SIM before doing the upgrade. I recalled that when upgrading the firmware on another modem, the instructions said to remove the SIM before the process. So I shut down the router, removed the SIM and restarted the router. Once I could connect, I again created the 'firmware' folder in the tmp folder and copied the same items from the R13 firmware folder and issued the same command again via SSH. I again saw the scrolling dots again, but this time after a minute or so, the dots stopped and it returned to the # prompt and then putty reported the connection was closed. I waited as the router rebooted, then reconnected and then issued the command to check the modem firmware:

Code: Select all

 echo -ne "at+qgmr\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2

and the modem reported:

Code: Select all

RM502QAEAAR13A04M4G_01.201.01.201

Success! Again, thanks to everyone's help on this thread. And especially all of the hard work by @hazarjast. It is much appreciated!

[jrtelecom]

Any diference or stability on this R13 modem firmware?

[gilbreen]

Any diference or stability on this R13 modem firmware?

It is about as stable as it was before but it contains some security fixes which I figured couldn't hurt. I mainly did it because I was still using the last Netgear official firmware which was several versions back from the current release. My upload speeds have gone up from 10 to 30, but I don't know if that is completely contributable to the update or just better signal from the tower.

[jrtelecom]

Looking for the correct command to disable LTE for troubleshooting. Thanxs

[Rich Hathaway]

Looking for the correct command to disable LTE for troubleshooting. Thanxs

if it has a qualcomm cpu (I think it does x55) just use offline-D mode
you can get to it by sending the dm command 290100
you may need to send the spc first if it does not respond send the spc like this 41 30 30 30 30 30 30
then manually reboot or send the dm cmd 290200 to reboot it

[hazarjast]

Looking for the correct command to disable LTE for troubleshooting. Thanxs

The full AT command manual can be found here:
https://www.quectel.com/wp-content/uplo ... l_V1.2.pdf

I'm not sure in which context you wish to disable LTE so I've included a couple relevant AT commands in microcom syntax below which may be helpful:

Code: Select all

echo -ne "AT+CFUN=0\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
(Switch modem to minimum functionality; will disconnect modem from carrier)

echo -ne "AT+CFUN=1\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
(Switch modem to online mode; should reconnect to the carrier)

echo -ne "AT+QNWPREFCFG=\"mode_pref\",NR5G\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
(Switch modem to 5G SA only; this disables the modem from connecting to LTE or 5G NSA)

[jrtelecom]

Looking for the correct command to disable LTE for troubleshooting. Thanxs

The full AT command manual can be found here:
https://www.quectel.com/wp-content/uplo ... l_V1.2.pdf

I'm not sure in which context you wish to disable LTE so I've included a couple relevant AT commands in microcom syntax below which may be helpful:

Code: Select all

echo -ne "AT+CFUN=0\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
(Switch modem to minimum functionality; will disconnect modem from carrier)

echo -ne "AT+CFUN=1\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
(Switch modem to online mode; should reconnect to the carrier)

echo -ne "AT+QNWPREFCFG=\"mode_pref\",NR5G\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
(Switch modem to 5G SA only; this disables the modem from connecting to LTE or 5G NSA)

Thank you so much, just exactly what i was looking for.

[BillA]

Looking for the correct command to disable LTE for troubleshooting. Thanxs

if it has a qualcomm cpu (I think it does x55) just use offline-D mode
you can get to it by sending the dm command 290100
you may need to send the spc first if it does not respond send the spc like this 41 30 30 30 30 30 30
then manually reboot or send the dm cmd 290200 to reboot it

Wow, those commands SPC 41 3x 3x 3x 3x 3x 3x along with NV read 0x26 and write 0x27 brings back some great memories from the CDMA days. I still have a frozen copy of the latest v3.9.0 CDMA Workshop in Win7 via hibernation before the authorization server went down, still usable today.

[Rich Hathaway]

wow I really mis cdmaws, I used it more than any other tool, my background is in cdma.
im going to send you a pm about something.

[samo1]

I need your help. Removed and then installed the RM502 modem on the NBR750. But, now the router does not see the modem. MOBILE BROADBAND INFORMATION window doesn't show any info about modem (Model, IMEI, Firmware...etc). AT commands do work through telnet. Any ideas?

[hazarjast]

I need your help. Removed and then installed the RM502 modem on the NBR750. But, now the router does not see the modem. MOBILE BROADBAND INFORMATION window doesn't show any info about modem (Model, IMEI, Firmware...etc). AT commands do work through telnet. Any ideas?

Sounds like it changed data interface type. For the NBR750, the data interface should be configured as PCIE and not USB. USB should be enabled as I believe it is still used to pull info / send commands from the router to modem but NBR750 interfaces with the modem via MHI which uses PCIE for the data connection.

[samo1]

Can anyone help me to split wifi SSDs please?
It seems these commands don't work for me
config set wifison-monitor_stop=1
config set wl_ssid="YOUR SSID 2.4Ghz NAME"
config set wla_ssid="YOUR SSID 5Ghz NAME"
config commit


root@NBR750:/# config set wifison-monitor_stop=1
/bin/ash: config: not found

[tekwarren]

Curious about this also. I'm using TMO and current modem FW. Is it still required to include this script to enable (but is not forced?) SA mode and B41?

For those who want to enable 5G SA with n41 enabled on boot, here is a method I found that worked.
Create a script file at: /opt/scripts/enable_5g_sa.sh and insert the following into it:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh

echo -ne "at+qnwprefcfg=\"nr5g_disable_mode\",0\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
echo -ne "AT+QNWPREFCFG=\"nsa_nr5g_band\",2:5:7:25:41:48:66:71:77:78:79\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
echo -ne "AT+QNWPREFCFG=\"nr5g_band\",2:5:7:41:48:66:71:77:78:79\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2

Make the script file executable (chmod +x /opt/scripts/enable_5g_sa.sh) and add a call to it to /etc/rc.local as shown following:

Code: Select all

dropbear -R
(exec /opt/scripts/wifi_down.sh) &
/opt/scripts/enable_5g_sa.sh

exit 0

This will make SA only or both NSA and SA?

[hazarjast]

Curious about this also. I'm using TMO and current modem FW. Is it still required to include this script to enable (but is not forced?) SA mode and B41?

For those who want to enable 5G SA with n41 enabled on boot, here is a method I found that worked.
Create a script file at: /opt/scripts/enable_5g_sa.sh and insert the following into it:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh

echo -ne "at+qnwprefcfg=\"nr5g_disable_mode\",0\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
echo -ne "AT+QNWPREFCFG=\"nsa_nr5g_band\",2:5:7:25:41:48:66:71:77:78:79\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2
echo -ne "AT+QNWPREFCFG=\"nr5g_band\",2:5:7:41:48:66:71:77:78:79\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2

Make the script file executable (chmod +x /opt/scripts/enable_5g_sa.sh) and add a call to it to /etc/rc.local as shown following:

Code: Select all

dropbear -R
(exec /opt/scripts/wifi_down.sh) &
/opt/scripts/enable_5g_sa.sh

exit 0

This will make SA only or both NSA and SA?

The quoted commands you reference ensure NSA and SA are both enabled and also ensure n41 is available for both modes of operation. To specifically force NSA or SA:

Code: Select all

Disable 5G SA (Default, but can be slow if n41 SA is available):
echo -ne "at+qnwprefcfg=\"nr5g_disable_mode\",1\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2

Disable 5G NSA (in case you wish to force SA):
echo -ne "at+qnwprefcfg=\"nr5g_disable_mode\",0\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2 echo -ne "at+qeng=\"servingcell\"\r\n" | microcom -X -t 1000 /dev/ttyUSB2

As to whether Netgear has made any further changes to enable this functionality again natively (after previously disabling for some as of yet unexplained reason) I am not sure as I no longer own an NBR750 to test with.

[nordicboy2]

Is the current status that this does not work on Verizon/Visible?

[Cobaltmalt]

Attached is the latest firmware for the RM502QA from Quectel. To use it with Orbi, you'll need SSH access and the WinSCP tool.

From my experience, the Quectel firmware offers better 5G stability compared to the OEM firmware it shipped with. However, performance may vary based on your environment.

A key recommendation: block automatic updates. Otherwise, the device will repeatedly prompt you to downgrade to Netgear's firmware, which, according to Quectel's documentation (attached), can cause the unit to malfunction.

The attached document provides detailed information on new features and revisions in this firmware update.

[nordicboy2]

Any real world experience with how this firmware compares to RM502QAEAAR13A02M4G_01.001.01.001.zip ?

[pdonahue]

Any real world experience with how this firmware compares to RM502QAEAAR13A02M4G_01.001.01.001.zip ?

I’ve been running it since around March on both AT&T and T-Mobile and it has been stable as a rock and very fast dependent on signal strength of course. I’ve seen nearly 300Mbps down on ATT and it commonly runs around 150Mbps down and 30-50Mbps up. I’ve seen it as high as 720Mbps down with 300 up on T-Mobile but that was parked under the tower.