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DNS issues after upgrade to R7900-v1.0.4.46_10.0.53 firmware
Recently updated my R7900 to the latest firmware V1.0.4.46_10.0.53 about a week ago. After doing so we have had numerous DNS issues on several Windows 10 machines where we need to refresh various In...
I reverted to a previous version like you and that resolved the DNS issue. However, then it re-exposed the Circle vulnerability. About two weeks ago while my family was streaming a movie the movie stopped as our internet went down. When I went to log into the router I found that the device had been reset to 'factory default setttings'. This is the first time it had ever done this and I have been using this router for several years. I suspect it got hacked. Since we were not getting a response from Netgear with an update to the firmware I perfomed these steps to install DD-WRT firmware. *** DO YOUR OWN READING IN THE DD-WRT FORUMS and DO NOT TAKE THIS AS A DEFINITIVE GUIDE ***
I failed to retain the URL where I found these steps as I would like to give credit where credit is due. By following these steps you may brick your router and Netgear may not be able to help you. If you do not follow these steps closely, then you maybe in the market for a new router! Proceed with extreme caution and read through all of the steps provided to ensure you know what you are getting yourself into!!
Netgear R7900 to R8000: *Do not change any settings on stock or OpenWRT* **All this was done over LAN** 1. Flash latest Stock Netgear R7900 firmware. 2. Wait 5 minutes 3. Download OpenWRT 18.06.2 for Netgear R7900 4. Flash OpenWRT - openwrt-21.02.0-bcm53xx-generic-netgear_r7900-squashfs.chk 5. Open Putty 192.168.1.1 with SSH 6. Login Putty – name: root / no password needed 7. Type the following – nvram set board_id=U12H315T20_NETGEAR 8. Type the following – nvram commit && reboot 9. Login 192.168.1.1 will still be on OpenWRT 10. Flash your pick of R8000 Firmware (DD-WRT / Fresh Tomato)<bin file firmware only> netgear-r8000-webflash.bin 11. Wait 5 minutes 12. Turn off router 13. Turn on router count 5 seconds then press reset for 15 seconds then let go. 14. Wait for LEDs to come on like normal. 15. Reset to default settings (to ensure cleared) 16. Done – Enjoy :) My router now thinks that it is a Netgear R8000 and is running a current version of DD-WRT. I had to go through and re-setup the router as if it were new. Note that this device is no longer supported in any manner by Netgear.
Since the device is old and I no longer have any warranty and was at risk of being hacked from the internet (again?), I either had to replace the unit OR attempt these steps that I found. Fortunately, it worked out for me.
Try downgrading the firmware back a version. We've seen multiple product lines experience this same issue with the latest round of updates.
The problem with this solution is the vulnerability with the Circle Parental control that is running in the background even though it is set to "Disabled". If only Netgear provided some glimmer of hope to know when a fix will be released for this issue.
I downgraded the firmware to the previous version, R7900-V1.0.4.38_10.0.50, which has solved the DNS issue on the Windows and Android devices. However, the Circle vulnerability is not resolved to mark this as a solution.
Another idea that I had was setting up a DHCP Server that is not reliant upon the R7900 acting as a DNS, this way it would bypass the failing R7900's DNS service. As part of this I would need to stop the R7900 from providing DHCP IPs to the clients. I assume this would work, but have not tried it. This way I could still use the firmware that addresses the Circle vulnerability.