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Firmware update breaks Nighthawk R7000; fixed, but 15+ year customer of Netgear switching to TP-Link
I'm switching router brands to TP-Link (will be using TP-Link Archer AX50). I've used Netgear products for over 15 years, but this latest firmware update experience was the last straw. Summary:...
By the way, another discovery today: I had been having difficulty getting Plex to work properly on my Smart TV via both Wi-Fi and while plugged into a a Wi-Fi extender via ethernet cable. Symptom: On Smart TV, Plex would take about 35 seconds to start streaming (then it would work fine). So rewind/fast forward would be reasonably fast, about 2-3 seconds for each operation. But beginning the stream was taking forever. During this period, for an unknown reason, my Xbox One's Plex app worked great, also connected via ethernet cable to the Wi-Fi extender which is connected to my Netgear Nighthawk R7000's wifi network. It would start playing a stream in under 5 seconds and rewind/ff within 1-2 seconds. A much better level of performance.
I thought if there were an issue with the router or the Wi-Fi extender, that it would equally impact the Plex app on the Smart TV and Xbox One. However, this issue was only impacting the Smart TV, whether it was connected directly to the WiFi network or via ethernet connection to the WiFi extender. Additionally, the Smart TV could play Amazon Prime, YouTube and Netflix media without any issue whatsoever; this was only affecting Plex playback. Another weird part of the puzzle.
Lo and behold, after resetting the Nighthawk and reconfiguring my WiFi/router settings manually, I discovered earlier today to my delight that now Plex works very well not only on the Xbox One, but also my Smart TV as well! So this was another very welcome development. I feel much better about using the Plex app on the Smart TV, as it is a more energy-efficient way to stream, instead of having both the Smart TV and my Xbox One powered on to stream media. It is also a lot quicker to start watching content; I don't have to turn on the TV, switch inputs to the Xbox One, turn on the Xbox One and sign in then start the Plex app. I just turn on the Smart TV, select the Plex app and can start streaming.
I didn't try resetting the router before, as it didn't seem to be the cause. Even though it took about 3 hours to do (and I only had to do this as I had a Zoom meeting for Christmas with family in another state, so it was critically important for my WiFi to be working), I am glad I invested the time as now Plex works well on the Smart TV, and that mystery is finally solved.
Had I not gone through this exercise and just used the TP-Link with Plex on the Smart TV, I would have had no idea why this never worked on the Netgear router. But now I know, and that gives me some additional closure - hah! :)
I wish you good luck with tp-link.
I've had 3 of their products and only 1 of them ever got updates since release. And I wasn't buying lower class products. 2 were flagship routers/mesh and was was a flagship extender.
They all worked well but not much for updates for security
Thanks! I'm hoping it works well. I am optimistic.
Regarding firmware updates: The router I will be using (TP-Link Archer AX50) has already released 3 firmware updates this year. So maybe they will be supporting this router well with updates? If not, then in a few years I will be back on the hunt again!Link to their firmwares -
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/archer-ax50/#Firmware
By the way, another discovery today: I had been having difficulty getting Plex to work properly on my Smart TV via both Wi-Fi and while plugged into a a Wi-Fi extender via ethernet cable. Symptom: On Smart TV, Plex would take about 35 seconds to start streaming (then it would work fine). So rewind/fast forward would be reasonably fast, about 2-3 seconds for each operation. But beginning the stream was taking forever. During this period, for an unknown reason, my Xbox One's Plex app worked great, also connected via ethernet cable to the Wi-Fi extender which is connected to my Netgear Nighthawk R7000's wifi network. It would start playing a stream in under 5 seconds and rewind/ff within 1-2 seconds. A much better level of performance.
I thought if there were an issue with the router or the Wi-Fi extender, that it would equally impact the Plex app on the Smart TV and Xbox One. However, this issue was only impacting the Smart TV, whether it was connected directly to the WiFi network or via ethernet connection to the WiFi extender. Additionally, the Smart TV could play Amazon Prime, YouTube and Netflix media without any issue whatsoever; this was only affecting Plex playback. Another weird part of the puzzle.
Lo and behold, after resetting the Nighthawk and reconfiguring my WiFi/router settings manually, I discovered earlier today to my delight that now Plex works very well not only on the Xbox One, but also my Smart TV as well! So this was another very welcome development. I feel much better about using the Plex app on the Smart TV, as it is a more energy-efficient way to stream, instead of having both the Smart TV and my Xbox One powered on to stream media. It is also a lot quicker to start watching content; I don't have to turn on the TV, switch inputs to the Xbox One, turn on the Xbox One and sign in then start the Plex app. I just turn on the Smart TV, select the Plex app and can start streaming.
I didn't try resetting the router before, as it didn't seem to be the cause. Even though it took about 3 hours to do (and I only had to do this as I had a Zoom meeting for Christmas with family in another state, so it was critically important for my WiFi to be working), I am glad I invested the time as now Plex works well on the Smart TV, and that mystery is finally solved.
Had I not gone through this exercise and just used the TP-Link with Plex on the Smart TV, I would have had no idea why this never worked on the Netgear router. But now I know, and that gives me some additional closure - hah! :)
FYI, received the TP-Link Archer AX50 today and set it up. Any time you use a new piece of equipment it can have issues at first! In this case I followed the directions and the router wouldn't connect to the internet. After rebooting the router again, it finally connected to the internet.
Quick start guide said to do this: Turn off modem & plug WAN cable from cable modem into router WAN port; turn on cable modem; turn on router; configure router, and voila, all should be working! But it wasn't for me. At this point I rebooted the router and then it was able to connect to the internet/get IP assigned from my cable company. Now it is all set up, applied router firmware upgrades and it is working about as well as the Netgear was.
Before disconnecting the Nighthawk this morning I ran some speed tests through various parts of the house and logged the results. Now to be clear the network clients I have in the house are running Wifi 5 (802.11ac), so I'm not using any Wifi 6 (802.11ax) clients yet. Laptop, iPhone, etc. all use Wifi5. So I'm just comparing the Wifi 5 performance of the Nighthawk and Archer at this point.
Anyway after hooking up the Archer AX50 I ran the same speed tests. The Nighthawk is a bit *faster* in some areas of the house than the Archer (specifically downstairs). This tells me the Netgear Nighthawk really is a speed demon!!! It already uses beamforming (just like the Archer does), so this helps explain why it performs so well. While using the laptop it seems a little faster, but not by much. It's very close to the Nighthawk. Part of this may be "perception bias"; I think it's going to be faster, because I hooked up a new router, so it seems faster. It's amazing that the TP-Link isn't blowing the Nighthawk away, considering the Archer is brand new and the Nighthawk is several years old.
Even though the Nighthawk is probably 5+ years old (I cannot remember when I bought it...), it is better in some areas of the house (further away from the router, like downstairs) than the Archer is. But the Archer's user interface is a little nicer to use, and it is faster. Example - when you make some settings in the Nighthawk UI it can take 20-30 seconds for the change to commit. On the Archer, every change is very fast, maybe 1-3 seconds to apply. The only thing that takes a while is rebooting the router, same as the Nighthawk - takes about 2 minutes. But since you hardly go into the UI to change anything after setting it up, this probably isn't a big deal.
So the Nighthawk is so old that it is out of warranty and I will hold onto it. I may repurpose it as another access point or bridge down the road. It's been a great router and I really have enjoyed it over the years. Sorry that the firmware update was such a terrible experience, but I don't regret having the Nighthawk. It has served our family well. And if the TP-Link breaks/fails, I will have the Nighthawk available as a standby just in case! And now I am ready for Wifi 6 / 802.11AX devices, so when I add those clients to my network, the router will be able to provide the increased speed benefits. Have a good one & happy new year!!!