NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
R7960P firmware not upgrading
I have attempted multiple times to upgrade my current firmware, V1.4.1.44_1.3.5, to V1.4.1.50_1.3.10 and it fails. I have tried letting the router update itself and also downloading upgrade zip file ...
I give, maybe I was being thin skinned, maybe I assumed people are smart enough to do things in the correct way.
Being a Senior Systems Analyst for 20 years makes me assume people are trying everything before coming to a forum to ask for help.
My bad.
My Impasse:
Checking my router I observed:
A router firmware upgrade is available.
I used the Netgear Firmware Update Assistant to try and upload the firmware form Netgears server,
Current Firmware Version 1.4.1.44
New Firmware Version 1.4.1.50_1.3.10
It went through the motions of downloading and 'updating', rebooting the router, but without a change to the current version (Firmware Version V1.4.1.44_1.3.5)
This was tried 2 times without any change to firmware.
I then used the manual process to update through downloading zip file to a directory.
Going to NetGears site and downloading the R7960P-V1.4.1.50_1.3.10.zip, unzipped it and I used the R7960P-V1.4.1.50_1.3.10.chk file.
Using the manual process within the Routers Updater, I tried to update firmware again, again went through the motions and router rebooted.
This was tried twice without any changes in the firmware.
Went through logs Administration logs (with every option checked previously) and no errors concerning the update were found.
Hence my problem.
The V1.4.1.50-1.3.10 file is corrupted and will not work through either the auto update or manual update. the .chk file type is Windows way of trying to recover a corrupted or damaged file. Until Netgear issues a fix, nothing can be done. antinode there is no need for additional comments from you as they are unneccaasry and are not helpful to this thread.
- Thank you for a helpful answer to the problem. You are a gem!
> The V1.4.1.50-1.3.10 file is corrupted [...]
You determined this how, exactly?
> [...] the .chk file type is Windows way of trying to recover a
> corrupted or damaged file. [...]No, it's not. At least not in this context. Netgear router firmware
image files come in (at least) two varieties: ".chk" or ".img",
depending on the device model.If you ask a Windows or Mac system to open a Netgear firmware image
file (double-click, say) with either of those name extensions, then you
can expect to get some spurious/misleading error message, because the
actual file contents are not what the Windows or Mac program expects to
find in a file with such name extensions. This is not evidence that the
file is corrupt, only that the user is not following the instructions
for a firmware load on the device in question.https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1721037#M124018
> [...] there is no need for additional comments from you as they
> are unneccaasry and are not helpful to this thread.It's certainly true that some of the "additional comments" here are
not helpful.
> [...] You are a gem!Does iron pyrite qualify as "a gem"?
Geez, I didn't think I'd get a grammar lesson when posting a question. Anti I was hoping to cut the little parts and put up the meat for discussion. I downloaded the 1.4.1.50_1.3.10 update zip file from Netgear site, unpacked it and uploaded the .CHK file to my router and it tries to install. The router reboots to the same old firmware and no errors in the log. I have also tried allowing the router to auto-upgrade itself with same issues. Router reboots with no log entries and the same old firmware 1.4.1.44. That is the issue. The router will not allow the upgrade to finish. Did that make sense now?
.
> Geez, I didn't think I'd get a grammar lesson when posting a question.
It's a free bonus. You're welcome.
> [...] I was hoping to cut the little parts and put up the meat for
> discussion. [...]Sadly, many visitors here can't tell the difference, and so assuming
that the invisible parts were correct can waste much time and effort.> [...] no errors in the log [...]
I wouldn't expect to find any after the router restarts.
> [...] Did that make sense now?
It removes many potential user errors from consideration.
Considering how many flashing power indicators get reported here, I
hesitate to advise loading different firmware for no good reason, but it
might be educational to see what happens with a different version (even
reloading the current one). One question would be whether the problem
lies with this particular new firmware image, or can the router (with
its current firmware) not load anything properly?If it were vital to get the new firmware loaded into the thing, then
one might try the TFTP recovery scheme to cram the desired ".chk" file
down its throat, but, again, the potential to disable the router exists
that way.If your warranty hasn't expired, then you might try an official
complaint to Netgear.