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Forum Discussion
Firmware Versions Unclear
I just did a factory reset of a newly acquired used R7000P Nighhawk Router. I went through the steps & the setup windows indicated that the Firmware installed was V1.3.1.64_10.1.36 & that this was th...
Thanks for pointing out the firmware history location. But I am still perplexed as to why the Routerlogin.net tells me I have the latest firmware & it won't update, whereas the Netgear webpage for the same product says there is a much newer version. And more, why is this not even addessed anywhere in Netgear's information provided.
MissMyBike wrote:
But I am still perplexed as to why the Routerlogin.net tells me I have the latest firmware & it won't update, whereas the Netgear webpage for the same product says there is a much newer version.
It's complicated.
The update process has various channels.
It starts off with a beta process so that they can debug new firmware. (Some believe that they don't put enough effort into that.) Sometimes, if there is a significant issue that needs fixing, they decide that at this stage they will let the beta version out to the wider world. This is something called a hotfix. That goes up on the support pages bit will never appear in the "live" alerts.
If the hotfix doesn't happen, then the thing ends up as an official release of new firmware.
This usually appears first on the support pages. That's probably because a small bunch of nerds keeps an eye on those releases in the lookout for new things that might fix and problems they see. When something turns up there, the "bleeding edge" brigade is free to download and install the new version, The good thing about that route is that you have to know what you are doing to make it happen. So you should be able to bail yourself out if it goes wrong.
The last route out is the update server. Then your router, or your preferred app, will tell you about a new release and offer you the chance to update the thing.
There is one more wrinkle in the process, some routers have an "autoupdate" feature that goes and gets, and installs new firmware overnight. You may not even know that it has happened. Experienced users don't trust that route and disable autoupdate where possible.
They don't even allow the on-board update to do its thing. They like to control their own fate and update their firmware manually. And they will never update firmware over wifi.