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Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Orbi 6e unable to update firmware

Funwithrouters
Aspirant

Orbi 6e unable to update firmware

My Orbi app shows that there is new firmware for my top of the line 6e router and satellites , but when I click to update it, it says ‘Update Error’ after about 5 seconds. Why can’t the app update the firmware?

I have read that I might need to login through the web UI (which is insanity - what decade is this?) but the ultra secure default password (‘password’) does not work and the password recovery flow asks questions I have never given answers for and this cannot be guessed by me.

I also read that as of 2019 it was a known issue that password recovery was broken and that you had to factory reset the device if you wanted to reset the password. So…. How is it that a device that was released years after that would still have that same insane breakage? And how is it that I have to do anything through a web UI with its own different password from the mobile app? I can’t even wrap my head around the layers of broken-ness in a $1500 router.

Can we have any faith there is any security in this system at all if they leave a webUI with a default password of ‘password’ over HTTP in the clear and made up security questions in the recovery flow? Makes me question the whole stack.

Sorry for the vent and thanks for any advice,
Jason
Message 1 of 4
plemans
Guru

Re: Orbi 6e unable to update firmware

When you first setup the router, you're required to change the default password. 

So if you'd already set it up via the app, you changed the "ultra secure" password. 

If you didn't setup password recovery and don't know your password you setup, then yes, a factory reset is your only way back in. 

What actual firmware version are you on? Have you compared the released version to the one you're on? 

Message 2 of 4
BrianL
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Orbi 6e unable to update firmware

Hi @Funwithrouters,

 

I agree with @plemans. Are you still having issues with updating the Firmware? Is your Orbi network up to date?

 

 

Kind regards,

BrianL

Message 3 of 4
Funwithrouters
Aspirant

Re: Orbi 6e unable to update firmware

One of my satellites was running the old firmware and would fail to update through the Orbi app every time. In the end I was able to fix it by factory resetting that one satellite, then logging into it (with the default password) and updating through the web UI.

I still maintain that having two different passwords (Orbi app and web UI) is crazy and then having a long running password recovery bug on that web UI is shocking for a >$1000 router. The whole experience was very janky - even just having the upgrade fail from the app and needing me to use the web UI.
Message 4 of 4
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