R7000 v1.0.5.48 breaks 5G in Operation Mode:Access Point

[Iris4Thug]

Updated firmware to latest version (R7000-V1.0.5.48_1.1.79) and the 5Ghz radio was no longer working for main and guest networks.  The 2.4 GHz radios seemed to still be working properly.  I did not spend the time to see why it wasn't broadcasting for a longer period of time by running Kismet with a WiFi card in monitor mode.  However, I have several devices that could no longer see anything in the 802.11ac / 5GHz spectrum that in my configuration, was normaly being broadcasted from the R7000 router which is running in AP mode.

On a hunch, as I was pretty sure the firmware upgrade broke the 5G radio, I then downgraded back to the firmware version I was running prior to upgrade (R7000_V1.0.4.30_1.1.67) and all was well again.   Again, I am running in Access Point mode so I am not sure if other modes have this same bug.  This was very frustrating, but I was glad I could roll back this update and regain my previous functionality despite not being able to keep current with the firmware.

[rpoffen · Accepted solution]

After the factory reset, make sure to re-enter the setup parameters manually, do NOT restore from backup, that appears to be incompatible as well.

[Retired_Member]

I ran mine in AP Mode without that problem but due to a $_itload of other problems I reverted  back to 4.30 after shelving the r7000 for a week.

[JamesGL]

Hi Iris4Thug,

Did you try resetting the router to factory default after the firmware update to v1.0.5.48_1.1.79?

[Retired_Member]

I did.

[Iris4Thug]

I did not reset back to defaults.  However, that would have been my next step if rolling back to previous firmware version didn't work.

[JamesGL]

If you want to use again the latest firmware then try resetting it after that update and see if that works.

[rpoffen · Accepted solution]

After the factory reset, make sure to re-enter the setup parameters manually, do NOT restore from backup, that appears to be incompatible as well.

[Iris4Thug]

Thanks I did try this and it seemed to work.  It hasn't baked in for days to where I am comfortable with this, but so far it seems to work and the 5GHz radio broadcast is staying on.   Also, thanks for warning me about the backup as I would have normally tried this as I always backup up before a firmware upgrade and then again after and save all versions just in case.  Since I am in AP mode, I don't have this super customized like my router so putting all the setting back was manageable but nevertheless a pain.   

So is anyone saying this is a confirmed bug and if this will be addressed in next firmware?

[Retired_Member]

The Bug is netgear won't make the firmware clear all user settings when upgrading. This would eliminate most of the problems. This is nothing new it's been debated since I've been a member of this forum. The back-up should print a copy only, using a backup is like sharing a needle with Charlie Sheen.

This could all be resolved in a simple statement included with each release.

While a factory default is not required IF you experience ANY problems you should

1 reset to defaults

2 reinstall FW

3 enter your settings manually.

[rpoffen]

I would add that it is more important to reset to factory defaults AFTER changing firmware. Resetting to defaults before means that default settings are inherited by the new firmware, and it may mis-interpret those default settings.

[Iris4Thug]

Thanks rpoffen!  That is exactly what I did when it worked for me.  I upgraded the firmware to latest version then performed a factory reset and then entered in all settings again. 

Now onto my Soapbox:   I have upgraded this router several times without a problem over a year now.  This is the first SOHO router and/or AP from many different vendors I have leveraged in a very long time where I HAD to perform a factory reset in order to "fix" a bug caused by a firmware upgrade.  Maybe I have been lucky or maybe the vendors of those products had engineering teams who were completely capable of performing this regular and oft needed task to address bugs, add features and remediate security issues.  I would be okay with an early released firmware who was created to address security issues that may not be fully vetted but came with a caution about upgrade incompatibility issues.    The restore facility in the newest firmware is capable of parsing through the config data and making necessary adjustments to any settings that may no longer be compatible and provide the user a warning in the GUI before or after reboot cycle.  Release notes in the very least should stipulate any upgrade incompatibilities. 

In my mind, a backup should simply be all user configured settings and defaults which hopefully are stored encrypted and salted to make each person’s config backup unique and not easily reversible by optionally asking for a password during the backup and restore process.  Check out a free tool from Nirsoft called RouterPassView and examine a router backup and you will see your passwords. Then click File/Export to Raw encrypted file and you will see the config unencrypted to plain text.  For this router, you will also see a super_user account called Gearguy/Geardog... hmmm what is that for???

Thanks again!

[Iris4Thug]

Sorry if this is old news for some folks and for going off topic in this thread.  At least in this router version it appears to have prevented the local backdoor access using those netgear default credentials.  Your own local admin creds do work.

http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/netgear/telnet.console#

https://github.com/LuKePicci/NetgearTelnetEnable