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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.
14 Comments
This is perfect!
- Fully agree. I have been disappointed with the support for the R8000 for months. Netgear, please support your product!
- I purchased my R8000 brand new from a big box store about 6 months ago. I've been having nonstop problems that are definitely firmware. I can't even report the issues because you only get 3 months to talk to tech support. So please -- new firmware, or officially supported third party firmware! Give us something, please!!!
Whats going on? I have been waiting for almost a year for a new firmware update for the R8000! WHEN ALREADY!!! You guys are going to loose a lot of customers like this...
It's November and still no firmware update. Did you guys give up on this model?
- When are we actually going to see an update? Every other device Netgear still supports has receieved multiple firmware updates since the last update for the r8000. We all know it's not because the current firmware is so polished, so why make us suffer? We did not spend big money to be neglected by the manufacturer with the best reputation for keeping their devices up to date and running well. This is pretty rediculous, I used to recommend Netgear to everyone.
I'll add in my "idea" that Netgear should release some firmware. Maybe, for a novel though, something that works...
we arent seeing an update. Mine turns 1 year old Dec 1.....biggest regret of a purchase ever made. It is needing to be rebooted almost every 3 days as it locks up and freezes.....thing is garbage....netgear is done for me in the future.
There were some good black friday deals on several high end routers, included the netgear x10. I decided after the take-the-money-and-run attitdue of netgear, I can't give them any more of my money. Got a greatdeal on the Linksys EA9500. Haven't installed it yet, but reading over it is missing a little of netgear's functionality (can't pick your own DNS servers as one) but I'm told support is fantastic, and it seems like an acceptable trade-off. Have had nothing but netgear routers for a long time, but the money spent on the r8000 to get nothing back is a slap in the face.
- All the issues I've read about with the latest firmware update to the R8000 router really disappoints me and makes me appreciate Apple Customer Support even more. I've had Apple products ever since the Mac 128 was introduced. Whenever I've had a problem due to a new system upgrade or any other issues caused by any Apple upgrade, they have always responded without cost to me. They have taken hours solving issues beyond my abilities. Unfortunately, NetGear gives us the impression that they could care less once your original warranty period has expired. These are horror stories. I could not extract the update from the latest .chk file and as a result of reading the problems folks have had with these firmware updates, I guess I'll let a sleeping dog lie. My business also makes use of my home wifi and I can't afford for it to go down for an extended period. I also get the impression that NetGears doesn't support MAC users as well as it does Windows users. Basically, when Apple updates any firmware, you get a prompt asking if you want to proceed. Once you OK that, everything else is automatic and the unit reboots automatically when the firmware is installed. If something should go wrong, a call to Apple results in immediate assistance without charge. NetGear should learn from this.