Per NetGear social media, we are supposed to suggest the below idea here.

My idea, as crazy as it sounds, is that Netgear continue to support their R8000 devices.

I know, sounds insane but hear me out. People spent hundreds of dollars on a product featuring the "latest tri-band wifi" technology. Now instead of leaving them hanging with a big security exploit for two months, device issues and a feature release stall, Netgear should develop a new robust firmware. Ideally it would be one that wouldn't encourage them to go out and try questionable 3rd party firmwares. That means, it should be competitive (feature wise) with those 3rd parties while fixing ongoing issues highlighted in the forums.

Benefits:

1. Happy customers who don't feel like they wasted money and are not stranded with a reletively up to date tech, that lacks manufacture support, features and security.

2. See #1 above. I think it deserves reiteration.

Facts

1. product saw less than 18 months of firmware releases and developer support.

2. Nearly 9 months have past since the last firmware update (as of 8/31/2016).

3. June 2016: security notice suggested disabling of features due to security exploit.

4. 2 month later, June 2016 security exploit is still unpatched, leaving customers exposed.

5. There are no Nighthawk products listed on the NetGear EoL page, including the R8000.

6. The product is still available through online and big-box retailers.

R8000 Firmware