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Forum Discussion
Why no firmware updates for C7800 Nighthawk
Netgear website says no firmware available for C7800 (AC3200) Nighthawk cable modem/router. Why not? Thanks.
That is not true theISP will not do firmware upgrades on third party modems only theirs!
dmac1026 wrote:
That is not true theISP will not do firmware upgrades on third party modems only theirs!
Funny that people have reported that their Netgear cable modems got updated. Perhaps they imagined it.
But here's the official, line to remind people.
If your firmware is outdated, you cannot manually upgrade your cable modem’s or modem router’s firmware. You must contact your Internet service provider (ISP) to upgrade your firmware.
- I contacted xfinity and they said they can not upgrade any firmware unless it is their modem. They don’t have the capability to do third party modems. I don’t know about other isp but xfinty/Comcast can not do upgrades on firmware.
I suspect that it is more a case of "will not" rather than cannot.
ISPs are doing their best to lock customers into over priced hardware contracts. ISPs do not make hardware, but they want to maintain a revenue stream. From what I see here, it is cheaper to buy a new modem every year than to rent something from an ISP.
On cable modems, I am not sure what firmware updates will do for you. If the thing works, why change it? Doesn't the cable ISP protect users from nasty intrusions?
With DSL modems there is a different issue. You can upgrade that yourself, and the modems that most ISPs supply are rubbish. In the UK, for example, BT provides a "free" Homehub modem that is mind numbingly basic in what you can do with it. That's why there are so many BT customers who set aside their Homehubs as a spare for when something goes wrong with their grown-up modems.
I wonder of threatbuster has any reason to suspect that their C7800 needs an update.
Actually C7800 - Nighthawk AC3200 -- unfortunately not in the Netgear-supplied dropdown list on Netgear Community Reply.
Why am I concerned? 1. The news about attacks on Netgear routers. 2. My logs show a large number of DOS attacks. 3. If we don't have any individual control and we forget to check our version # frequently and the news here frequently, and if all of us and all relevant ISP's and Netgear cannot agree on who has the constant responsibility to keep the firmware upgraded, and no one is really enforcing such responsibility, why should we ALL not be concerned? Some of you who are much more experienced can probably add even more reasons or refute my reasons. In any case, you are welcome to do so.
Actually, my current version is V3.01.38.
Call me underinformed, but my gut feeling is that just as we all have choices on which antivirus/intrusion detection/antimalware/anti-etc. that we install and keep updated on our PC's, it only seems natural that the gateway is even more important to protect, by any means possible. I'd rather stop something there than allow it to get as far as my Windows 10 PCs and other equipment.
I'm not even sure that a new version of firmware contains anything at all that reaches far and wide to protect our gateways. Ideas? Proof? Are we just supposed to have blind trust?
One last thing.... if our ISP allows us to use a third party gateway and they know we cannot push updates to it, then isn't it logical to expect them to do it?
Thank you.