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M3TALHEAD's avatar
M3TALHEAD
Tutor
Jun 14, 2020
Solved

Latest Update Bricked My R8000 Router

The latest firmware update (R8000-V1.0.4.52_10.1.67) bricked my router! I am using the  R8000 Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Smart WiFi Router. I utilized the web interface to update the firmware via a wired ...
  • michaelkenward's avatar
    michaelkenward
    Jun 14, 2020

    There is more severe, recovery reset, that you could try:

    • Press reset for 30 seconds
    • Keep pressing reset while removing power
    • Keep pressing reset for another 30 seconds while apply power

     

    If it works, you may be able to use the usual method to flash the firmware again.

     

    Download the latest firmware for your device – or an older version if that is what you want – and read the Release Notes for how to install it.

     

    If that fails, you are into TFTP country.


    How to upload firmware to a NETGEAR router using Windows TFTP | Answer | NETGEAR Support

     

    This also explains how to tell Windows to use TFTP on your PC.

     

    This isn't the easiest operation, so if you are forced to use it, you could try a web search to find videos that guide you through the process.

     

    The good news is that TFTP has rescued many a dead device.

     

michaelkenward's avatar
michaelkenward
Guru - Experienced User
Aug 06, 2020
SpiderRouter wrote:
Thank you. You actually pointed out the firmware and that is likely the issue. I have a R7900 but the firmware is R7900P.

Heaven only knows how you achieved that. These are two different models, with different hardware (processor chips) inside them. You should not be able to install the wrong firmware on your device. The update process usually throws up its hands and tells you not to be so silly. (I can't remember the exact messages.)

 

If you forced the wrong firmware on to the device, then you may have killed it permanently. Your best option would be to start from scratch with the right firmware.

 

If you visit the support pages:

Support | NETGEAR

you can feed in your model number (see the label on it) and find the documentation for your hardware.

It will also have any firmware for your device.


antinode's avatar
antinode
Guru
Aug 06, 2020

> [...] You should not be able to install the wrong firmware on your
> device. [...]

 

   "Transfer a firmware image file using TFTP" and "Install firmware"
are spelled differently for a reason.  You might not have noticed, but
this wrong-file transfer had no apparent effect.  Presumably, you could
send whatever you want using TFTP, but the router is free to ignore it
if it does not look appropriate.  The _Trivial_ File Transfer Protocol
is not well-suited to exception handling or returning informative error
messages.

 

> If you forced the wrong firmware on to the device, [...]

 

   That's a big "if".