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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.
In my case, I confirmed that rolling back the firmware on the NightHawk R8000P router from V1.4.2.84_1.3.42 to V1.4.1.68_1.3.28 resolved the DNS issue.
But, as mentioned by Earlkarp, pinning the router firmware version to this older version exposes it to more security vulnerabilities, so it shouldn't be a long term solution.
I have escalated the issue through the official technical support chat, and then to phone support. They are reviewing the case. I would guess a firmware update won't be available until after the holiday season, assuming they find the problem and fix it, and they acknowledge it needs to be patched across multiple different NightHawk model versions.
8 months later v1.0.4.46_10.0.53 is still the latest official firmware release and we are stuck between unsafe older firmware or this functionally broken one. A bit unbelievable from a top tier vendor of networking equipment.
It is extremely sad that there has not been an updated firmware by Netgear.
As a follow-up to my previous posts regarding switching to third-party firmware. Initially, I went with DD-WRT and it was working OK, but occasionally we noticed several cellphones would have difficulty connecting to the wifi. After a reboot of the router, then the Motorolla phones were able to connect. After a while of this and searching through the MANY forum articles I have now switched over to FreshTomato (FT) and am very pleased. The connectivity has been consistent and the user interface is (IMO) much more intuitive. I have been running FT for over a month now. There are a lot of features in DD-WRT that I simply do not need which adds a level of complexity that makes the configuration more confusing for the common man. FT does just what I need it to do. It is much like the Netgear firmware for most people, in that it does just what the client needs it to do, however, FT updates their firmware multiple times a year and addresses issues promptly.
Does enabling IPv6 help any?
