X10 R9000 Firmware 1.0.4.12 DO NOT UPGRADE(WILL BREAK 5GHZ)

[computim]

Updated my firmware from 1.0.4.2 to the latest 1.0.4.12 as usual did the factory reset and restored backup config.  Immediately my 5Ghz connected devices began pausing and having momentary disconnects.  Samsung Tab S3, Samsung TV, Note 9, Lenovo laptops, Dell laptops, etc.  I noticed that the 5Ghz had a secondary chanel enabled that was not there previously.  My 2.4ghz devices were uneffected and ran without issue.  I switched some devices over to the 2.4ghz and the pauses and disconnect issue was not present.  I switched between channels 40 - 48 and 149 - 161 but he issue never went away.  I even went so far as to get a brand new X10 router and the issue was present on that router as well when running the latest firmware.  On both the old router and the new router I reverted back to the 1.0.4.2 firmware and did factory reset, restored backup configs and all my 5ghz devices are running again without issues.  So, yes, I rolled on to the 1.0.4.12 again and performed factory reset, retored backup config and boom all the devices began having issues again on the 5ghz wireless connection.  I reverted back to the 1.0.4.2 firmware and all is good again.  Conclusion....  Netgear screwed something up in the firmware when fixing the 2.4ghz issue with this latest release.  DO NOT UPGRADE TILL THEY RESOLVE IT!

[schumaku · Accepted solution]

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@computim wrote:

1.0.4.18?  R8000 has that firmware but I've not seen nor heard of it for the R9000.

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Do as advised by @Altsai - customer support is able to provide you with 1.0.4.18. 

Alternate, request access to the R9000 early adopters community with @ChristineT or @Christian_R

[Altsai]

in this release, it also supports smart roaming (see advanced wifi setting). Did you disable this feature?

[DodgeDeBoulet]

It's occurring with Voxel's .13 firmware too. I've already posted the issue to smallnetbuilders, which is where he generally announces his latest releases.

[Reinhard10158]

Plus in my case it also broke the user interface for the basic router dashboard (www.routerlogin.net). It keeps telling me "Please wait a moment". The progress circle rotates (but then freezes sooner or later). Somehow it seemingly gets confused with authorization, as when there is any reation at all, it asks me again for my credentials. The advanced mode works.

[Wout]

Hier had ik het netjes ingesteld op kanaal 11 maar met de laatste software springt hij terug naar kanaal 1, zet ik hem op kanaal13 dan springt hij nog terug naar kanaal 1.

Op de Nederlandse site zeggen ze gewoon "even afwachten", dat is de gebruikers niet serieus nemen maar zo komt netgear nu wel over.

Dit gewoon in het Nederlands omdat er wel Netgear site is maar de community is weer Engels.

WB

[computim]

Thank you. Yes, Ive disabled smart roaming and the issue persists. I've changed channel's, separated 2.4/5Ghz and enabled smart wifi feature. I've reinstalled the previous firmware and 5Ghz stabilized. Of course Netgear would remain silent on the entire issue. It's either a great experience with their support or an extremely poor one.

[schumaku]

Hi WB,

.12 did run 2.4 GHz on the configured Channel 3 (3+7 to be exact), and so does a slightly newer firmware version I'm driving for tests.

For the other part, well, processes and changes seem to very slow - still awaiting the promised R9000 new "test" program.

-Kurt

[Heat618]

I too am having this issue. Any time I try to hit Apply to save changes it says "please wait a moment" and has the spinning icon but nothing ever leads. Have factory reset the router and still happens. If I wait long enough and click to a different category and come back it seems to save my changes (most of the time). This FW release sucks. It broke the speed test as well. Also been having issues with my devices dropping internet connectivity daily. Devices remain connected to the SSID but internet is not available and I have to power cycle my x10 router to fix it.

[cpt1515]

I've given up on two X10 AD7200 and now my X8 that was working.  Multiple drops per day.  Swapped for an old router my cable company left and 100% up now for days.  Reading through  the posts, there are dozens of this same issue across Netgear routers.

[Altsai]

which FW version did you use?

I heard v1.0.4.18 is more stable, so I suggest you to contact NTGR support team to download this version.

[computim]

1.0.4.18?  R8000 has that firmware but I've not seen nor heard of it for the R9000.

[schumaku · Accepted solution]

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@computim wrote:

1.0.4.18?  R8000 has that firmware but I've not seen nor heard of it for the R9000.

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Do as advised by @Altsai - customer support is able to provide you with 1.0.4.18. 

Alternate, request access to the R9000 early adopters community with @ChristineT or @Christian_R

[jsii69]

I'm extremely disappointed with this router and even moreso with the customer service! A month or so ago I updated the router to 1.0.4.12 firmware but I noticed sometimes afterwards that the devices would randomly drop offline but then connect back up. If you are streaming a movie or downloading than thats not acceptable. After some troubleshooting my network I determined it was the router. I downgraded the firmware to the previous version and the problem was solved. I called customer service to discuss and they wanted to charge me to troubleshoot since I purchased it about a year ago. My problem is that if the issue is with your faulty firmware I shouldn't be charged. Now what I haven't mentioned is that the only reason that I purchased the router in the 1st place was to run the plex server but after several weeks discovered that a 12tb raid HD is incompatible. So now I had to purchase another computer to run my plex (upgrading from an HP home server) because I wanted to push 4k. I went back and updated the firmware to the latest and now my router is bricked! So I purchased a computer and a $500 router to do what I was already doing and now its not working. To say that I'm not happy with Netgear is an understatement! Fortunately I was running with cable modem/router and I just called the cable company and had them flip that on. So I purchased the router for one reason but was unable to use it for that pupose and kept justifying the purchase  by other features, after it having no more use to me than a low end router that cost $50 my last thought was that I can use it with the gigabit service thats about to come into my house but now its not working at all...What is the chance that I will will be choosing netgear in the future.....0. Although I have use netgear routers in the past (and actually just installed one in my daughter's college dorm).I am usually very loyal to a company and although I have purchase the last 3 or 4 routers from a competitor I jumped ship for the the plex feature. Painful lesson learned!

[Wout]

Het is eigenlijk te gek voor woorden dat er nog geen nieuwe firmware op de site van netgear staat, al zou het alleen maar een tijdelijke oplossing zijn voordat er een degelijke en goede oplossing komt.

Dit geeft gewoon aan dat de mensen bij netgear helemaal geen interesse hebben ik hun eigen producten en al helemaal geen belang hebben bij de kopers van hun artikelen.

De oplossing is om over te stappen naar een andere router ook al hebben we daar nu een groot verlies bij, de eerdere aankondigingen dat dit de beste router zou zijn is nu helemaal teniet gedaan door het bedrijf zelf.

Indien ze wel de kopers serieus zouden nemen was er allang een oplossing gekomen, maar ze zijn nu even vergeten dat ze van de kopers afhankelijk zijn want die bepalen hun verdienste.

Zelf baal ik zo van deze router dat ik denk te gaan overstappen naar de Synology RT2600ac-router welke de helft goedkoper is maar zeer goede prestaties levert, op Tweakers.net zijn er erg goede meldingen over.

Ook, indien je een klacht zou hebben, staan de medewerkers gelijk klaar om een oplossing te zoeken en krijg je snel antwoord op een e-mail bericht, die mensen werken gewoon goed voor hun geld.

Het is natuurlijk wel erg dat als je overstapt naar een andere router je veel geld aan de kant gooit omdat je deze router, Nighthawk X10 AD7200 Smart WiFi Router, eigenlijk alleen nog maar als veel een te dure switch kunt gebruiken.

Voor iedereen hier hoop ik op een snelle verbetering maar zoals het er nu uit ziet kunnen we dat wel vergeten als je ziet dat netgear er zelfs niet eens op reageert.

WB

[schumaku]

@Wout I hope @ChristineT @Christian_R and @Altsai take a minute to translate, read, and follow-up.

[computim]

Thank you for the contact.  I've been granted access to the beta page.  I will swap back to my second r9000 and apply for testing.  Any issues experienced with the 5ghz dropping momentarily and then reconnecting?

[schumaku]

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@jsii69 wrote:

... the only reason that I purchased the router in the 1st place was to run the plex server but after several weeks discovered that a 12tb raid HD is incompatible.

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@ChristineT @Christian_R @Altsai ... hard to understand what should be soooo difficult to have a reliable USB storage access to support

• USB 3.0 large capacity drives, and
• USB 3.0 composite drives with "hardware" RAID (typically Oxford Semiconductors, and JMicro based systems)

Many other vendors providing solutions on 32- and even more 64-bit Annapurna systems can handle it. 

@jsii69 wrote:

I went back and updated the firmware to the latest and now my router is bricked!

This might help -> How to upload firmware to a NETGEAR router using Windows TFTP 

[Wout]

Beste schumaku,

Dat advies heb ik netjes opgevolgd en een bericht daarheen gestuurd, maar ze zijn daar zeker met vakantie want na twee weken heb ik nog geen antwoord ontvangen.

Natuurlijk reken ik er nu niet meer op dat ik nog een berichtje zal krijgen en dat geeft duidelijk aan dat de mensen daar helemaal niets om de kopers, hun klante geven.

WB.

[schumaku]

@Wout Not sure I should laugh or cry - had to read your post several times.

[Wout]

Geen probleem, het geeft gewoon aan dat het daar niet klopt en ze de klanten gewoon negeren.

Maar goed mijn advies is natuurlijk aan iedereen geen netgear meer te kopen en als onderbouwing verwijs ik ook naar de ongeinterreseerd heid van de verstuurde e-mails en het daarop niet eens reageren.

Het voordeel is dat ik er natuurlijk niet alleen in sta, dus lach lekker verder.

WB

[jazzydrums]

I've got the same router, same issue, Firmware updated to v1.0.4.12 and the 2.4ghz channel is fine, but any and all devices connected to the 5ghz channel drop/disconnect, whether its streaming a movie, browsing the net, gaming etc...cannot do anything on the 5ghz channel, it's become pointless. The router essentially became a single band router.

[jazzydrums]

How do I contact Customer Support to request FW  1.0.4.18. ?

Netgear has the worst Customer Support program I've ever encountered with a company. A person only receives 90 "Complimentary Support" from date of purchase, after that they don't offer online chat, phone or email support unless you've purchased a support plan.  There's no access to a phone number or email address. In all my research on routers, I wish I woul've known this prior to purchasing a Netgear product, based on that alone I won't support this company going forward.

[computim]

My wifi connection issues have finally stabalized with the latest version of beta firmware.  I'm hopeful that Netgear will do a general release soon of the firmware once all areas of concern have been addressed.  Additional testing of the beta is ongoing but promising.  If you wish to join the beta testing ask to join or contact support for the latest info on firmware.

[Wout]

Nieuwe firmware 1.0.4.26 is nog erger, een niet geteste ramp en te schandalig voor woorden.

[Altsai]

I have upgraded to v1.0.4.26 and not encounter the same issue you posted. Did you ever try "reset-to-factory" default?