I'm a bit confused by the downgrade warnings for recent OS 6 releases. Below are some samples from announcements in Firmware Release Notes forum, and from the official(?) Release Notes in the KB.
I don't mean to be nit-picking, just trying to figure out what is what, and which things may simply be copy/paste errors.
TLDR: starting with 6.7.3, things have gotten just a little weird. Generally, the forum announcements warn about the current release, whereas the KB Release Notes warn only about a particular previous release. So, folks who come to these releases by way of the download links on their product's support page won't see the same warnings as those who come by way of the forum announcements.
6.7.5
N.B. Devices updated with 6.7.5 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
Devices updated with 6.7.5 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions
Devices updated with 6.7.1 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
6.7.4
N.B. Devices updated with 6.7.4 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
Devices updated with 6.7.4 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions
Devices updated with 6.7.1 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
6.7.3
N.B. Devices updated with 6.7.3 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions than 6.7.1.
Devices updated with 6.7.1 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
<not available>
6.7.1
N.B. Devices updated with 6.7.1 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
Devices updated with 6.7.1 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
Devices updated with 6.7.1 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
6.7.0
N.B. Devices updated with 6.7.0 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
<not available>
6.6.1
N.B. Devices updated with 6.6.1 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
Devices updated with 6.6.1 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
The last one is definitely cut and paste - I created it, using the 6.7.4 release as a model.
This "should not downgrade" stuff can create a lot of pain, so IMO this topic needs some attention. I'll try and get some clarity from development here (and can revise the forum notices after I get that).
The release notes are most likely incorrect. I say "most likely" to be safe, but downgrade was always a no-no with ReadyNAS.
It looks to me as a line that's simply not updated before posting the release notes. As far as I remember, I have highlighted it already, but it wasn't changed.
Though it has his name on it, what happened is that I edited his 6.7.4 post (and created my own 6.7.4 post to replace it).. That was the only way I could get the 6.7.5 announcement to be sticky.
I've asked Netgear to review it because I suspect the KB text is needlessly conservative. If the issue is that Netgear hasn't test downgrades, then the release notes should simply say that. They should allow downgrades, otherwise the predictable result is that a lot of folks won't upgrade.
