New Firmware -- AT&T USA

[JSchnee21]

Hi Everyone,

There is in fact a new firmware for AT&T rolling out now.  I'm trying to update, but first download attempt failed.  I did two factory resets (one soft through the web admin, and then a hard through the reset button).  Trying to upgrade again now while plugged into QC2.0 charger.

Old version: NTG9X50C_10.20.05.02

New TBD

Crossing fingers . . . 

Jonathan

[JSchnee21]

Successfully updated.  Going to do another factory reset or two before configuring.  

New firmware version is: NTG9X50C_12.02.06.00

Seems to add Arlo support, haven't noticed any other new features yet.  I did get two automated, cryptic text messages after updating from AT&T.  Not sure why.  Perhaps some sort of config code?

My device was unlocked prior to the upgraded, haven't tested my Tmo SIM post upgrade, yet.

Download takes ~2min or so, then you must select install, install took ~3-4min with lots of flashing and reboot cycles.

-Jonathan

[JSchnee21]

Note, Chrome seems to work better when configuring the web admin than Safari.  Under router settings you can now disable the Ethernet power save setting.  You can choose between 2min and disable.  BUT only when using Chrome.  Safari does not seem to support this control correctly (despite working for all of the others -- odd).

Wifi settings seem unchanged.  Still the same transmit power, timeout, and bandwidth settings.  Still only 40MHz and 80MHz -- No 20MHz for 5.8GHz.  I'll have to pull the FCC info to see if it supports MIMO or not (aka 1x1 or 2x2).  Later today I'll hook up my newer laptop with 2x2 and see what the negotiated PHY rates are.

Tmo SIM works fine.  So firmware update / multiple factory resets did not impact my unlocked status.

Best,
Jonathan

[JSchnee21]

Ok,

Got my work laptop fired up with inSSIDer.  From the negotiated PHY rates, it appears the MR1100 is in fact MIMO 2x2.  

With 5.8GHz @ 40Mhz I get a max PHY rate of 360Mbit (aka ~216Mbit usable).  At 5.8GHz @ 80MHz I get a max PHY rate of 866.7 Mbit (~520Mbit usable)

Signal (dBm) seemed to drop only ~3-5dBm with 80Mhz enabled.  But this was by no means a scientific test.  In general signal strength and useful range general decreases with wider channels.  Which is why I want to use a 20MHz bandwith for 5.8GHz.

More info here

http://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/wp/WP_80211acInDepth.pdf

Not sure if the MR1100 does band steering or not.  I don't see any settings.  I typically run my 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz networks with separate SSID's.

-Jonathan

[JSchnee21]

Battery usage seems somewhat higher with the new firmware.   After ~10hours of light usage on both bands, not a single crash, reboot, or hang.  Battery fells from 100% to roughly 30% in that time.

But this is not an apples to apple comparison.  I had both bands enabled (long) with the wifi timeout disabled and the Ethernet timeout also disabled.  Previously I only had a single channel enabled (5.8GHz) and the Ethernet timeout was likely set the default 2min time out.

So far this new firmware seems like a good improvement.  Speeds still seem rather slow (slower than my iPhone 6s), but that will take some more testing to prove out.

[JasonN]

Hi JSchnee21,

Thank you for doing the upgrade and informing the community with your test and comparisons. I can say as a community we are appreciated with your help. :]

- Jason N

[JSchnee21]

Thanks Jason,

My pleasure.  It would be really nice to get release notes so we could actually see what was changed / improved.  This way we could actually test and verify that the change had the desired effect like we do for conventional home Wifi routers.

In particular, many of us doubt that carrier aggregation is working correctly on the MR1100.   This might be an AT&T provisioning issue, but many folks on Howard Forums post 2x, 3x, and 4x CA speed tests of their iPhones and and Samsung Galaxy's with speeds in excess of 200Mbit DL so we know in certain areas that the AT&T network can do it.  I've never seen speeds anything close to that on my MR1100.  Maybe ~80-100Mbit at best.  In fact my lowly iPhone 6s which has a decrepit Cat6 Qualcomm baseband (MDM9635M) usually bests its (MR1100) download speed when tested back to back.

So something about the CA or Cellular MIMO is not working right.  Unfortunately the diagnostic pages on the Web Admin (or Mobile AP) don't really give us enough information to troubleshoot (or even tell when CA is being used -- if it ever is).  Having the ability to control which LTE band(s) are used would also be very helpful for many stationary/broadband users.

Thank you!

Jonathan

[JSchnee21]

Just a quick update.  So far with two days of usage, I have had one random reboot.  Hotspot just randomly restarted while out to diner.  4 devices connected via 5GHz Wifi with light to moderate streaming while on battery.  2.4GHz (off) and Ethernet (2min) disabled.  40MHz on 5.8GHz auto channel.  Battery seems to last much longer in this config than with dual band and Ethernet timeout disabled.

Also it seems like on the new firmware the hotspot seems to jump back and forth between different bands very quickly.  While stationary, I can see the signal strength meter (both on screen in and in the mobile app) jumping from 1 or 2 bars to 3 or 4 bars.  Seems to bounce around between bands 2 and 12 here on AT&T.

Speeds are still mediocre from limited testing 15-50MBit.  But this is likely a function of AT&T's network. Still, you would think that instead of jumping between bands 2 and 12 it would just use CA instead?

[nhantenna]

"Seems to bounce around between bands 2 and 12 here on AT&T.  Speeds are still mediocre from limited testing 15-50MBit.  But this is likely a function of AT&T's network. Still, you would think that instead of jumping between bands 2 and 12 it would just use CA instead?"

It's not just you.  I have this same issue.  I'm Band 4 ("Poor" one bar signal) on cell tower 1 and Band 12 ("Excellent" five bar signal) on cell tower 2.  The Nighthawk constantly and routinely ping pongs back and forth between these two cell towers.  It does not make sense.  Why would AT&T intentionally, day in and day out, move a customer from a five bar signal to a one bar signal causing dramatic performance fluctuations from 0Mbit-50Mbit?

[winger13]

The dumb device auto updated when I asked to postpone the updated once it rebooted for some unknown reason.

Now, I noticed the Battery Temperature says  "n/aC"

[JSchnee21]

Yeah, I thought mine initially displayed the battery temp after the firmware update.  But now mine also displays n/aC as you said.

So far the new firmware seems okay.  I had one random reboot, but it was very solid this morning.  My real test will be on Saturday.  Driving down to Williamsburg, VA for Spring Break.  Kids and wife will be streaming all the way for ~6 hours or so.

I'm anxious to try it on Tmo tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I only have 10GB so that won't go very far.

[nhantenna]

"The dumb device auto updated"

any other user's Nighthawks being automatically updated?  anybody have success with postponing the update?

[winger13]

Since the M1's auto firmware update this morning (once the device auto rebooted for some reason), I have had:

1) devices kicked off the M1's wifi

2) devices cannot log back into the M1 until after manually rebooting the M1

Also, I do not know if this were the same behavior as before this morning's firmware update, but  tonight:

3) when I took out the battery and just plugged in a QC 2.0 charger into the M1, with almost no network activity the M1 internal temp reached over 45degreesC.  I am thinking this is too hot? 

4) with just the battery installed (no charger), the internal temperature also reached over 45 degreesC.  Again, with little network activity.  Now, I do not recall it got this hot when the M1 was virtually idle.

This afternoon when I had the battery on about one hour, I notice the internal temp also reaching over 40degreesC with minimal network activity,  and the battery seemed to discharge rather quickly (again, this is subjective).

Anyone notice the same after the firmware update?

[winger13]

Since the M1's auto firmware update this morning (once the device auto rebooted for some reason), I have had:

1) devices kicked off the M1's wifi

2) devices cannot log back into the M1 unless I manually reboot the M1

Also, I do not know if this were the same behavior as before this morning's firmware update, but  tonight:

3) when I took out the battery and just plugged in a QC 2.0 charger into the M1, with almost no network activity the M1 internal temp reached over 45degreesC.  I am thinking this is too hot? 

4) with just the battery installed (no charger), the internal temperature also reached over 45 degreesC.  Again, with little network activity.  Now, I do not recall it got this hot when the M1 was virtually idle.

This afternoon when I had the battery on about one hour, I notice the internal temp also reaching over 40degreesC with minimal network activity,  and the battery seemed to discharge rather quickly (again, this is subjective).

Anyone notice the same after the firmware update?

[winger13]

I tested the M1 yesterday for about five hours (after the updated)

It was a very frusturating experience, to say the least.  The M1 kept on disconnecting my three devices every 1-25 minutes, and once a device was disconnected, they were unable to log back on to the M1 until I manually rebooted the device.

I ran tests with the battery only, battery + wall charger, on wall charger only - same behavior.

For the last hour, I decided to reset the M1 to Factory (using the Settings|Administration|Factory Reset option when logged into the device from my laptop)

After the Factory Reset, I noticed that the battery temperature came back !    Long story short, I ended up stress testing the M1 for the entire hour and NO DISCONNECTS !!!   This morning, I am just wrapping up two more hours on M1, again no disconnects.  I guess the Factory Reset did the job.

I will report back if I find anything else out.

[JSchnee21]

Hi @winger13,

Thanks for the update!  That's good news.  I used to have other Netgear routers for home Wifi etc. so I was kind of used to the drill -- factory reset often (-:  In preparation for my firmware upgrade I actually did 4 factor resets (sorry OCD).  Two before (one through software (web admin) and one through hardware(reset button)) and two after the firmware update.  I then proceeded to customize the config manually (not using a config file).

So perhaps I avoided the unpleasant experience you had by proactively wiping my device first.  I cannot say one way or the other as to whether or not my device runs "hotter" but it does seem to run through the battery faster.

I wasn't able to test my MR1100 on Tmo today as the kids need it after school.  But I did test my iPhone in the fastest location I've been able to find location and got roughly the same speeds (90-110MBit) as I've seen on the MR1100.  Interesting my lowly iPhone 6s with Cat6 baseband was 10ms better in latency (mid 20ms vs 30-40ms when tethered via 5.8GHz wifi) and managed a faster upload speed of ~10Mbit (iphone got 25-30Mbit up vs. 15-20Mbit on the MR1100).

I haven't had a chance to test out the Ethernet connection on the MR1100.

-Jonathan

[JasonN]

Hi winger13 & JSchnee21,

Thank you for your responses. Please let us know. :]

Glad that this seems to work for you. 

- Jason N

[winger13]

If users need to perform factory resets as part of the upgrade process, then instructions need to be explicitly stated. When I upgraded my Netgear router last year, it screwed up the OpenVPN, and it took much effort to resolve. I have an open ticket currently explaining the constant rebooting when using only the supplied power supply - I've been going around in circles with the two on this-for the life of me, she just cannot understand the issue- now supposedly an engineer is in the loop let's hope this issue gets appropriate attention and addressed.

I appreciate these forums as they have need of great help offer the years, but it really seems Netgear is becoming a sub-par company and it is apparent in the quality of their products and support.

Btw, after two days of monitored use, my M1 DOES APPEAR.TO BE USING BATTERY FASTER THAN PRE-FIRMWARE UPDATE.

[JasonN]

Hi winger13,

I'll go ahead and forward this to my internal team also. Thank you :]

- Jason N

[nhantenna]

@JasonNcan you confirm if a manual factory reset is required after NTG9X50C_12.02.06.00 is installed?

[JasonN]

Hi nhantenna,

It is always good to do a factory reset after a firmware update or downgrade. It helps to flush out any bugs that were there.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. :]

- Jason N

[nhantenna]

Regarding the discussion about automatic firmware updates.  I am in the United States using AT&T.  At this time my Nighthawk LTE hotspot has not automatically installed the March 2018 firmware.  I have not attempted to manually update the firmware yet.

[JasonN]

Hi nhantenna,

Does your device see the new update firmware when searching? I also believe they are relasing a new firmware in the near future.

Please let me know. :]

- Jason N

[Rcracerg911]

What you mean by manual reboot? Do you mean having to pull the battery to get it started again? Or is the unit on but Wi-Fi isn’t being broadcasted? Because if it’s the former, then there is another thread that explains a similar situation. Thanks.

[winger13]

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@Rcracerg911wrote:
What you mean by manual reboot? Do you mean having to pull the battery to get it started again? Or is the unit on but Wi-Fi isn’t being broadcasted? Because if it’s the former, then there is another thread that explains a similar situation. Thanks.

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I am unsure what you are talking about when you refer to "former" .   

Can you re-write your message ?