I have a Nighthawk R7960P since January 2020 and its stuck in firmware version V1.4.1.44. I've tried updating this many times over the past few months and every attempt goes through the procedure without error, but upon completion is still stuck in the current version. I've tried updating through the app, updating through the browser, and updating manually by downloading the firmware file and uploading through the advanced tab. I receive no errors, process goes through reboot as though its uploading the new firmware, but upon completion, its still stuck in the current version. I've seen a few people had this issue, but have not found a solution that solves it. I spend good money on this router, and would love to solve this. I'd love to just exchange it for a different one, but I'm beyond that window of time of being able to do so.
Hoping there is a solution I've not thought of yet. Thanks
The Version i'm now trying to install is 1.4.2.84_1.3.42 However, there have been numerous versions prior to this one that I've tried installing as well and had this exact same issue.
and here's a video walk through using a tftp client. Use the built in one for windows 10 though. the video is more of an example of how its done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9DLrLQrpaw
the R7960P was basically a costco brand R8000P that had limited feature set. I know there was some issues with a version of the r8000P firmware being installed. You can try following the guide that the r8000P guys got to work.
So here it is, August 30, 2022, coming up on 3 years since I purchased my R7960P router at Costco.
It came with Firmware V1.4.1.44_1.3.5
I resisted upgrading because I did not want to deal with the pushy Netgear Armor malware system.
But after 2.5 years I decided to go for it figuring any security fixes would be worth dealing with the annoying Netgear Armor anti-virus system, and if necessary, wait out the infamous "forced" trial subscription.
But alas, my router falls in with MANY that simply refuse to upgrade.
No matter which of these methods I use, my router is stuck at 1.4.1.44:
Using the built in link on the router web page
Using the manual upload process from the router web page
Using the "update" button on the Netgear app.
This issue has been well documented almost since I bought the router, and there are folks saying "just wait, it takes a while to fix firmware". Well, 2 years is long enough to call BS on that statement.
Honestly, I now think that Netgear has NO IDEA how to fix this issue. It must be something in hardware or a firmware bug so bad they can't get around it.
So now I guess I just hope that I'm not going to get hacked because of some security flaw that can't be fixed in my router.
My next router will not be a Netgear....I'm done with "big guy" products that either don't work or are so invasive.
