R7960P firmware not upgrading

[digitalmaster]

I'm having the same issue. I'm surprsied by all of the rude and ignorent comments here. Consdiering I've been a software and hardware tech and have over 30 years experience, I'm not going to argue with some guy living in his mom's basement on here, but I can say that it's 3 years after this post was originally posted and with the same firmware I'm having the same issue. This is a new device, that was purchased last year. Netgear should support their products.

[aveatr]

Return the router. It is a lemon.

[michaelkenward]

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@digitalmaster wrote:

I'm surprsied by all of the rude and ignorent comments here.

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A rude an ignorant observer notes:

Spellcheck

[digitalmaster]

^ as demonstrated above.

[The_Smurph]

If you are still struggling with updating this router, please return it to Costco. You will not need the original box either. Don't feed the troll in here either, as he was already shunned at the start of this thread. I was offered a replacement and decided against it and returned the unit. Also, do 

par for any warranty service as Costco has its own agreements with Netgear for warranty.

I went with the Asus AX86U and went from hardwired speeds in the 450-500mbps range to 850-925mbp. My cellphone with 1x1 network card can hits speeds of 300mpbs OTA on the 5ghz network. Just return this POS and move on from Netgear as I have already begun recommending certain ASUS units to friends and family. 

[digitalmaster]

Thanks.I'm also considering tplinks mesh system. I give up on Netgear.

[Skhawar03]

Right, that's the way to go, I bought this routher in Dec 2019 and tried update in Jul 2020 Failed tried again in Dec 2020 and searched over internet and spent hours finally came to this conclusion that this is waste of time. I already called Costco support and they provided me all information required for return(store# for return and product id, note this model is discontinued) since I do not have receipt, Costco is great this router turned out as Lemon my old ASUS is still alive I will switch back on it until I find good replacement. 

Thanks,

Syed

[RozcalBd]

Seriously... I've been in IT for 20 years and the only reason I purchased this piece of crap is because it had parental controls which my Unifi SEG, Fortigate, and Sonicwall do not currently have,which makes sense because residential is probably not their angle.    Anyway,  this is a piece of crap firewall and it will not upgrade past .50 as i have tried every method. It is, what it is,...crap...

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@michaelkenward wrote:

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@uxnguyen wrote:

I tried to update from 1.4.1.50 to 1.4.1.64 with no success.

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How did you do it and what happened?

Are you interested in fixing it?

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@uxnguyen wrote:

Sad that the firmware update issues has been a long-standing problem and Netgear had done nothing to address the quality control issue.  

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Most updates go through without problems. You only read about failures here. People don't turn here and say "my firmware update was great". (I have never had a failure and have done many many updates.)

Sadly, you will find similar tales of update woes with most brands. It is just that Netgear has a larger and more active user community.

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@michaelkenward wrote:

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@uxnguyen wrote:

I tried to update from 1.4.1.50 to 1.4.1.64 with no success.

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How did you do it and what happened?

Are you interested in fixing it?

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@uxnguyen wrote:

Sad that the firmware update issues has been a long-standing problem and Netgear had done nothing to address the quality control issue.  

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Most updates go through without problems. You only read about failures here. People don't turn here and say "my firmware update was great". (I have never had a failure and have done many many updates.)

Sadly, you will find similar tales of update woes with most brands. It is just that Netgear has a larger and more active user community.

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@michaelkenward wrote:

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@uxnguyen wrote:

I tried to update from 1.4.1.50 to 1.4.1.64 with no success.

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How did you do it and what happened?

Are you interested in fixing it?

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@uxnguyen wrote:

Sad that the firmware update issues has been a long-standing problem and Netgear had done nothing to address the quality control issue.  

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Most updates go through without problems. You only read about failures here. People don't turn here and say "my firmware update was great". (I have never had a failure and have done many many updates.)

Sadly, you will find similar tales of update woes with most brands. It is just that Netgear has a larger and more active user community.

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which makes sense because residential is probably not their angle.    Anyway,  this is a piece of crap firewall and it will not upgrade past .50 as i have tried every method. It is, what it is,...crap...

[digitalmaster]

I returned mine and purchased a TPLink Mesh. I almost got a Netgear MESH, but despite the reviews, I did not have any hope in it working past 6 months as they don't seem to support their products. Good riddance! 

[uxnguyen]

@RozcalBd Yes, I gave up on trying to update the FW. After 90 days, you are out of lucks.  I don't need technical support. I just need them to stand by their 1yr warranty and replace the defective product but no.  Before I can talk to someone to get a RMA, I need to buy the $139  support package.  It is funny that they don't consider FW update issue a defect as the HW is still "working".

[RayinAlaska]

Mine fails to upgrade the firmware, not matter what I do.  It shows that the new firmware is available, but fails to download and upgrade.  I have never had this type of problem with any router.  I bought this router at CostCo last year.  I will never purchase another router from NetGear, and am returning to LinkSys.

[michaelkenward]

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@RayinAlaska wrote:

It shows that the new firmware is available, but fails to download and upgrade. 

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Never the best way to update firmware.

Here is now to get more control over the process.

How do I manually upgrade firmware to my NETGEAR router? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

[Skhawar03]

Why don't you call netgear support you must be under warranty of one year

[Skhawar03]

I think this had been discussed as not working for the vast majority here including myself.

[michaelkenward]

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@Skhawar03 wrote:
Why don't you call netgear support you must be under warranty of one year

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You can't call. Any phone number you find with a web search is almost certainly a scam, but you can initiate the warranty process on line.

Start the RMA process by checking MyNetgear.

How do I request a Return Material Authorization (RMA)? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

[Johnstod1]

still not working. now several updates later. 

[me_ndskyz]

You are an a$$Hole

Is THAT clear enough for you??

[Johnstod1]

Who’s an a$$hole?

[michaelkenward]

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@Johnstod1 wrote:
Who’s an a$$hole?

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Good question. Anyone who throws around insults that make zero contribution to the conversation?

[ITPro744]

I am an IT professional with many years experience with networking.

Is it because it is a router modified to sell at Costco?  I don't know but I can't tell you how many times I wanted to set it out in the driveway and take a hammer to it.

Right.. no auto firmware updates but you can manually download what you think the firmware should be from their other listed models.  So much for security updates.

Also, whenever the router loses power, I lose all reserved IP addresses.  Even if I load in saved configuration, they will never re-appear and I must manually re-enter.  Additionally, a number of instances occured where the entire configuration randomly factory reset and am not able to attribute it to a cause.

Also, I wonder about those "antenna".  Do you think the more that are on the device, the more directional wifi beaming is happening...or does it also contribute to raising the price?  Well, I have a reasonably-sized house and never had a problem with wifi signal.  But this model, well, I could stand in front of it and have trouble connecting to 2.4.  The solution was to turn it around so the rear of the device is facing me and the signal comes out loud and clear out of it's a**.

Because I had purchased the device, then was on the other side of the country for a contract for six months, it did not get installed right away.  By the time I realized what it was about, I could not return to Costco.  Call Costco tech support?  Uh...

[uxnguyen]

I have the same problem.  The router would randomly factory reset and loose all configuration.  I will not buy another netgear products.

[CKopp]

I can certainly appreciate your frustration.  While I have not had the connection problems you have had, i did run into the firmware update issue. After many tries and a manual install, I got it to the .50 version.

Since then it has only required 1 reboot, and I have updated the fireware via the check firmware option in the web gui.  I also have no problems connecting anywhere in my 2,500 brick house (router is in lower level).

You may well have a defective unit.  One potential bright side, is that Costco will take it back, regardless if you have the packaging.  Several others have reported their success in this regard.  Good luck!

[uxnguyen]

I don't have connectivity issue, except when it factory reset itself 🙂

I also stuck at .50 FW version.  I think I maybe ok with this but I can't live with factory reset b/c if I'm not home I loose all connections for security system and camera which I need them the most when I'm not at home.

Even though the product supposes to carry a 1yr warranty but technically it only has 90 days warranty.  After the 90 days, can't talk to anyone at Netgear to request a RMA w/o paying insane $$$ for Gear support.  Used to be a good brand but don't know what happened. 

[Mrfatboy]

I bought 3 of these routers at Costco Nov 2019. One for me, neighbor, and my father.

I once had a the “settings” wiped issue. It was around the time of the 44/50 update. Not sure if there is any connection. My neighbor had the same issue about a month later. I have no idea what version he is on now

I’m currently on v68 with no issues. My father is still on 44. No issues. I would like to update his firmware but am nervous. He is in a different state and he would be stranded if something went wrong😱

Do you think it’s wise to update? Can I update from 44 straight to 68? Was it 50 that caused the issues?

[michaelkenward]

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@Mrfatboy wrote:

Can I update from 44 straight to 68?

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That usually works, but in some rare cases the changes are so big that you need an intermediate step before going the whole hog. The release  notes should warn about this.

I can't recall discussions about that being needed for the R7960P.

The "leap" from 44 straight to 68 isn't huge in Netgear terms, but a quick check of the release  notes  for warnings might be a good idea.

If you do take the plunge, then a manual update with a wired connection – no wifi apps in the way – is probably the most reliable strategy. Download the firmware and then apply it.

How do I manually upgrade firmware to my NETGEAR router? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

Before you do that, create a backup of the router's current configuration – always a good idea – so that you can reload it if the settings don't carry over during the update.