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Solved
No new updates
I’ve received a couple emails over the past couple months stating a new version of firmware is available. Checking this website it does indeed show newer firmware. I show that I am running Firmware Ve...
Okay, here we go - I have the results for this issue. I was originally at V1.2.0.22_1.0.78 of firmware for my Netgear Nighthawk R6900P router. I just manually downloaded the latest firmware release NETGEAR Router R6900P V1.3.0.8_1.0.93. The manual upgrade after downloading this release to my PC worked fine. What this means to me is that when the Netgear Router is operating in Access Point mode, it will appear to go to the Netgear server to check for the latest release, but apparent this function must be disabled like many other functions if your router is operating in AP mode. I am current using the Netgear router in AP mode since I have a Verizon Fios router in line from a recent upgrade to Verizon Fios Gigabit Internet. My plan is to eventually eliminate the Fios Router, since the Netgear WiFi coverage is far superior to the Verizon Router. I hope this helps those in similar situations where they have their router attached in AP mode to an ISP router. I guess I will just manually perform these upgrades while my router is operating in AP mode. It would be benefical if Netgear could make in known that the firmware check routine does not work in AP mode, as they have done with the other functions that do not work. As a previous responder mentioned, although they do not mention this by name, some of the functions that will not work in AP mode would make you think that the firmware check does not work. It is still not clear to me why it does not work since Internet access gets passed though the Netgear router in AP mode. Thank goodness for the Netgear emails or I would not have realized that my router was out-of-date because I have always used the firmware check procedure and it does appear to go out to the Netgear server to check and comes back no newer firmware available. CASE CLOSED. Thanks for all our your input. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of great, timely suggestions.
Yes, but the notes in the emails say just to use the auto check method and I now seem to be several versions behind for critical security updates. Could it have anything to do with the router being used in AP (access mode) ahead of my Verizon router? I guess I can manually download the last update to see if that works, but just concerned that the ://www.routerlogin.net. Select Advanced > Administration, click the Firmware Update or Router Update button, click the Check button, and follow the prompt process does not seem to work anymore.
Good thought but the router update wasn’t grayed out or listed as exemption. When I purchases this router in October, it did allow an update when first hooked it to a Comcast router. A month later, I switched to Verizon Fios in the same type of configuration. Fios Internet->Fios Router-> Netgear Router—>WiFi & Ethernet local network. I guess I will download the last firmware version to one of my desktops connected via Ethernet and then use to browse feature to find the update on my PC. The last time I did that was with a previous router that I had to back level an update due to issues. My plan is to eventually get rid of the Fios router and just use the Netgear router and save the $10 per month rental fee. I didn’t know I could do that recently until my son did it at his home at the suggestion of Verizon during an unrelated support call. I didn’t want to just use the Verizon AC router since the WiFi coverage isn’t as good as the Netgear and wanted to maintain the router software support instead of relying on the ISP.
tkwilli wrote:
A month later, I switched to Verizon Fios in the same type of configuration. Fios Internet->Fios Router-> Netgear Router—>WiFi & Ethernet local network.That's a very different topology that you did not mention before.
You can expect trouble if you have two routers fighting for control of your network.
The usual way to deal with that arrangement of hardware is to set the first router as the network router and the second router as an access point, which turns off its router feature. Or to set the first router as "modem only", killing its router feature, and to use the second one as the network router.
Maybe you did one of those. We don't know.
> You can expect trouble if you have two routers fighting for control of
> your network.
Unless they're connected in unusual ways, "two routers" do not "fight
for control of your network". This is, generally, not a productive way
to think about the situation.
What typically happens is that "your network" gets divided into
separate sub-networks, and that multi-subnet arrangement can cause
problems ("double NAT", missing routes, and so on). But there's
typically no "fighting" for anything, and it's not helpful to describe
the situation that way (that is, inaccurately). (But I assume that one
of us will continue to do so.)- The first is the full functioning Fios router attached to the internet. The Netgear is set up as an access point just used to expand WiFi coverage and simply consistency with all the LAN devices that were set up prior to deploying the ISP router. I was going to shut off the Fios router WIFi to eliminate interference, but found out that I can call Verizon and totally remove their router. Before I did that, I wanted to make sure I was up-to-date in firmware. Is it because the Netgear is configured only as an access point that the auto update does not pull the lastest version? If so, what would happen if zi do the manual update in the present AP configuration prior to removing the Fios router?
> [...] Is it because the Netgear is configured only as an access point
> that the auto update does not pull the lastest version?
Perhaps. Netgear typically does not coordinate its auto-update stuff
any better than it tests its firmware, so I would not be especially
amazed by seeing a different version available at Downloads, but
auto-update not detecting it.
However, in AP mode, it's not clear (to me) that the R6900P would
know how to find the outside world, so it may be impossible for it to do
an auto-update. In AP mode, it's acting as an Ethernet switch with
wireless capabilities. All it really needs to know for this job is its
own LAN, not the outside world.
> If so, what would happen if zi do the manual update in the present AP
> configuration prior to removing the Fios router?
I don't remember ever trying it, so I know nothing, but I see no
reason for AP mode to interfere with a manual firmware load. If, for
some reason, the update messes with its settings, then you might need to
reset the thing, which might take it out of AP mode, but that should be
easy enough to re-configure.
If I had a real dollar (but not much more?) on the line, then I'd run
the experiment.
