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Forum Discussion
peggywarner
Sep 12, 2026Aspirant
What the heck does all this mean? "Dirty Install?"
What the heck does all this mean? "Dirty Install?" I am a 75-year old computer neophyte, and I wanted to see if the new Version 12 update for the Orbi 970 router was fine to install or is it full of...
- Sep 12, 2026
Thank you!
FURRYe38
Sep 12, 2026Guru - Experienced User
IF your not having any issues with your current system and current firmware version, you can keep it running if you want too.
If you want to update, you can update to newest version of FW:
New - RBE970 Series v12.1.11.15 Firmware Release - WW Region | NETGEAR Communities
Can manually update the system if you think you can do this:
Procedure to Manually Firmware Update Orbi and Nighthawk Mesh systems. | NETGEAR Communities
Or if you have a friend or family member that can help out would be good.
Dirty update means apply FW over old and continue to use the system as is. Clean install mean FW is loaded over old FW then the system is factory reset and setup from scratch:
Orbi Systems Manual Factory Reset Process | NETGEAR Communities
- peggywarnerSep 12, 2026Aspirant
Thank you for your comments and suggestions. I did read all the update instructions and and watched the Netgear video. I went to the support page for Orbi 970 and 971 and scrolled to the update section and clicked on the DOWNLOAD button.
Oddly the 2 update files that I downloaded (one for satellites and one for router) had an odd description that gave me pause. They were listed as "recovered file fragments" and ended in chk. I am wondering if they are the correct files.
- donawaltSep 12, 2026Hero - Experienced User
peggywarner .chk is the correct extension for firmware files. You can use these to manually update your satellites and router.
- peggywarnerSep 12, 2026Aspirant
Thanks so much, you gave me confidence!