The R7000 and R8000 series are coming up on 9 yrs old
The R7000 and R8000 series are coming up on 9 yrs old. If you are still using these series its definitely time to upgrade.
Most if not all of these products are EoL. You aren't going to see further firmware development beyond security vulnerabilities. There is nothing magic about staying with Wi-Fi 5 or AC when Wi-Fi 6/7 and AX are available. Trust me you will love the performance and seriously appreciate owning a product that works.
I've been using Netgear products for nearly 19 yrs. I've owned the R7000P and R8000P most recently. Anyone who has used this series for any length of time knows that Netgear has broken almost every feature the router's were sold with and never fixed them. The problems started when these series were still under support and not EoL. Remember MAC Address Filtering, Traffic Meter, QoS, Access Control and the list goes on. Then we all started disabling function in order to maintain an acceptable level of performance. Again, no fixes every happened. How many broken promises do you want to stick around for? I'm just as guilty and stuck it out way longer than I should have.
Look at what you have. A 4 port switch that broadcasts Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi which is pretty slow by todays standards. I don't own many Wi-Fi 6 devices, but all of the devices in our home now perform better. Bandwidth, range, stability and reliability. Features that work when enabled or clicked. Netgear has excellent hardware. Where they have fallen short is in engineering and software development.
Today, I have all of the features the R8000P came with and so much more. I did not purchase a new Netgear product and can only say that after so long and so many broken promises I'm on the fence about ever doing so again.
Do yourself a favor and retire these series of devices. Everything in your world will improve. The fact that no new firmware has been officially released in over a year should be enough. Instead they have poor Furrye38 distributing beta FW through a forum. He's a real champ. Friendly, kind and super helpful.
I've remained optimistic, but am now kicking myself for not doing this sooner. I'm not telling you not to buy Netgear if thats what you like, but certainly upgrade to a newer product. Your life will dramatically improve and you won't be dealing with broken function or features which lets face it are the most basic functions a router should provide.
Re: The R7000 and R8000 series are coming up on 9 yrs old
I'd agree, for the most part, that its time to retire these devices. Or if you run into issues, the time spent trying to fix them isn't worth the return on investment.
If you're still on super slow speeds and barely use the internet (like my parents), those device can still work and be effective. But for most people on reasonably fast services and use concurrent devices, the upgrade is worth it.
Anyone who has used this series for any length of time knows that Netgear has broken almost every feature the router's were sold with and never fixed them.
Often more a case of "required" than broken.
Stuff that was once free, like parental controls, is now replaced by a subscription option.
Re: The R7000 and R8000 series are coming up on 9 yrs old
I largely echo shadowsports' sentiment regarding Netgear. While their hardware is commendable, their software and support leave much to be desired. I've been a loyal Netgear user since 2008, starting with the WNDR2000, then upgrading to the R7000P, and now the R8000P.
Over the past 4-5 years, their firmware updates have been erratic at best. Currently, I'm facing issues with setting the NTP correctly, and it consistently reverts to incorrect settings within a matter of days. It's becoming increasingly frustrating to deal with these recurring issues.
It's evident that it's time to explore alternatives. For my next purchase, I'm prioritizing devices that offer at least DD-WRT support. Netgear is no longer on my radar.
Their indifference towards customer satisfaction is reflected not only in their product performance but also in their stock price. It's disappointing to see that they prioritize neither their customers nor their investors.
Re: The R7000 and R8000 series are coming up on 9 yrs old
I've also hung in there for 8 years with R7000s in both my FL and CA homes. They came close to the trash bin many times, but they always seem to work "well enough" to keep me from replacing them.
Any suggestions on a 2 or 3 node mesh system to replace them with? I'm badgered daily with Orbi ads, but my headaches with the R7000 FW makes me shy away from Netgear.
I'm badgered daily with Orbi ads, but my headaches with the R7000 FW makes me shy away from Netgear.
What problems did you have? What are your needs?
I found that Orbi sets out to be easy to use and set up. But in the process it is harder to get into the guts to mess around with things that don't interest most users.
For that sort of thing the MK series is good.
Over the years, it has become easier to manage these things, but Netgear tries to force us to use mobile apps.
I've also hung in there for 8 years with R7000s in both my FL and CA homes. They came close to the trash bin many times, but they always seem to work "well enough" to keep me from replacing them.
Any suggestions on a 2 or 3 node mesh system to replace them with? I'm badgered daily with Orbi ads, but my headaches with the R7000 FW makes me shy away from Netgear.
Are you planning on hardwiring in the satellites? If so, some of the dual band systems are just as fast or faster than the triband when hardwired (and the triband not hardwired). But if you're not hardwiring in the satellites, then I'd be looking at the systems with the dedicated backhaul.
Re: The R7000 and R8000 series are coming up on 9 yrs old
What problems did I have? -
The same FW bugs others have struggled with over the years and the loss of features. However, '136 has been stable for 18 months. I recently updated to '216 on one of my R7000s with fingers crossed.
What are my needs? -
My houses are both one story, 4000 sq ft and 5800 sq ft. Both have much in-wall GigE cables so I plan to use hardwired backhaul from the satelites. Surprisingly, each house now only has a centrally located (high up) R7000 that covers it (just barely). So I don't have any trouble roaming now, but I would like to have some confidence that going to a satelite setup doesn't introduce a roaming problem. Both houses now have 250 Mbps Internet. Both houses have about 20 wired devices and 20 WiFi devices on their networks.
Thanks. It's helpful to know that some of the dual band systems are just as fast or faster than the triband when hardwired.
The same FW bugs others have struggled with over the years and the loss of features.
That doesn't tell us much. Different people can have different sets of bugs, depending on what they are doing and the local circumstances.
Sadly, some of the lost features aren't down to bugs, but Netgear's decision to stop delivering them. The latest victim was ReadyCLOUD. Netgear just turned it off.
Surprisingly, each house now only has a centrally located (high up) R7000 that covers it (just barely). So I don't have any trouble roaming now, but I would like to have some confidence that going to a satelite setup doesn't introduce a roaming problem.
A bundle with a single satellite should cover it. Thanks to newer technology, you shouldn't see any roaming problems. That is what Mesh systems are designed to deliver.
Try plugging your needs into the filters on the product pages:
Then check back here for reports on the things you are considering, but remember that people turn up in this community with problems, not compliments. So look at reviews on Amazon, for example.
Re: The R7000 and R8000 series are coming up on 9 yrs old
Well, a year ago I switched to open-source Fresh Tomato firmware and a new world opened itself. Some of the features I use:
Multi LAN. I now have a private LAN (3 ports + Wifi), a guest & IoT LAN (Wifi only) and a media LAN (1 port + Wifi).
DNSSec and DoT
Weekly automatic reboot.
Router as local time server for devices that I have blocked from the internet (NASses).
Address reservations and internet access restrictions
Since several of my devices do not support WPA3, upgrading to a newer router makes no sense for me. For the next few years I think I will be happy with my R7000.
Re: The R7000 and R8000 series are coming up on 9 yrs old
Again. This is not a bash thread, just pointing out the facts. Given my tenure with Netgear, I can say this as fact. I went with an Asus Mesh this time around. I am so blown away by the stability and performance, its not funny. On top of it all, every single feature works. A firmware release from Netgear is 2 sentences. One from Asus 12 lines. Real fixes for real problems. Not because the product is poor or underperforming, but instead because they are clearly serious about ensuring a positive user experience. If something is broken or can be optimized, it gets done, fixed or included. I'm seriously floored. I purchased this new system on a whim. After 72 hrs, I bought a second system for our other property.
Netgear has some serious work to do. Best in class products includes the software its running, not just "we've got good hardware". There also needs to be more emphasis on retaining existing customers besides just relying on "new business".
.....Since several of my devices do not support WPA3, upgrading to a newer router makes no sense for me.
The newer routers I'm looking at all support WPA2 devices. Am I missing something?
Yes you are. I only have a few WI-Fi 6 devices in our homes too. Every single Wi-Fi 5 device is performing better now. These products also include WPA3 and WPA3/WPA2 for backwards compatibility, so you are losing nothing and gaining a boatload of performance. Bandwidth speaks for itself. Your devices (even older ones) will perform better. This has nothing to do with the encryption your network uses.
