Ex7000 won’t connect iOS devices after firmware update

[Nvaidya]

I’ve had this extender for about three years and haven’t had any major issues. I updated the firmware yesterday and since the update I’ve been unable to connect any of the iPhones or iPads to the extender.

Things that will connect to the extender: my MacBook, a wired lutron smart bridge, and my lg tv.

I’ve tried several factory resets and I’m ready to just throw the damn thing against the wall. Everything connects to the main router just fine.

Any thoughts?

I’ve decided any future netgear purchase will be via Costco so I can return it when they pull this crap.

[Nvaidya · Accepted solution]

dear internet stranger, 

you are my hero. seriously...... i was trying my best to avoid taking my frustration out on my wife and kids as i was trying to fix this blasted piece of crap..... 

i rolled back to an older firmware from nov 2017 and it worked like a charm. 

the air smells cleaner. the flowers smell more flowery, and life is once again good. 

also, screw you,  netgear. 

[schumaku]

Is this in the Extender Mode or in Access Point Mode?

Have tried to enable the Smart Connect feature in the EX7000 Wireless settings, which would enable up the 802.11k capability?

[Nvaidya]

It’s currently set up in extender mode.

I just enabled smart connect. But the problem persists. The MacBook is able to connect but the iPhone still says “no internet connection”.

[schumaku]

Fear I will get some nasty phone calls next week, have updated a bunch of EX7000 this weekend 8-/ These are in AP mode, and it appears that Smart Connect does require a wireless uplink (strange message, dedicated thread in the community).

[Nvaidya]

I’m so disappointed in netgear.

But I did just place an order for an orbi through Costco.

I wonder if this is planned obsolescence. How dare I buy a device in 2015 and expect it to work in 2018?

[Archerman99]

I am the farthest thing from an IT professional and am fully prepared to be resiculed for my explination and it’s lack to techno-jargon, but here goes anyways.

Just updated my EX7000 yesterday to the new firmware as well and it would no longer connect. I updated the extender wirelessly, which I think is ultimately the problem.
I have both a Mac and PC laptops, and experienced the same issue on both.
When trying to connect to the extender after update, wifi preferences said, Self Assignimg IP address xxx.xxx.xx.x has been given to “network name” and cannot connect to the internet.
Again, I have no idea what any of this means, but after all of last night and the better half of today, I was able to find the previous version of the firmware on Netgear Support. When I tried to install in wirelessly, I kept loosing connection to the extender and it would not complete the installation of the previous version. SO...in my infinit wisdom, I thought I would plug a CAT5 from the extender into my PC. BAM! That worked perfectly! The extended login came up, I was able to complete the previous version installation, and connect as usual.
Now I haven’t tried doing the update while wired, but that will be my next step to see if I can get it successfully updated.
Hope that helps!

[Nvaidya]

can you recommend a working firmware version?

[Nvaidya · Accepted solution]

dear internet stranger, 

you are my hero. seriously...... i was trying my best to avoid taking my frustration out on my wife and kids as i was trying to fix this blasted piece of crap..... 

i rolled back to an older firmware from nov 2017 and it worked like a charm. 

the air smells cleaner. the flowers smell more flowery, and life is once again good. 

also, screw you,  netgear. 

[shouldntitwork]

I had the same problem, got the email notification from Netgear, did the upgrade but couldn't get through the extender into internet sites by computer or i-phone.  Played with the various settings, read the book from end to end, wasted two days, and then went back and downloaded the earlier version again.   Who tests these things before they are released. I mean, shouldn't they work?

[Nvaidya]

Agree. I wasted several hours trying to fix it and I get easily frustrated with technology.

Netgear asked to get the config file from folks having the same issue. So if anyone finds this thread, please change the password for your extender to “password” and save the config file to send to netgear.

I am mulling re installing the faulty firmware update again to help out the netgear engineers but I’m afraid of bricking the device.

[Lab22]

Can you tell me how to go back to the old firmware?

[Nvaidya]

You can google the old firmware for the device and download it onto your desktop.
I used:
https://kb.netgear.com/000051183/EX7000-Firmware-Version-1-0-0-58

Then go to mywifiext.com and go to settings and choose restore. Upload the appropriate file. Then plug an Ethernet cable between computer and extender. Then go for it.

Then never update the firmware ever again!

[Lab22]

Thank you

[Acedias]

So i updated my EX7000 today. Man i wish i would have checked here first and saved myself about an hour of frustration. Updated to Firmware Version 1.0.1.78 by connecting it to an ethernet cable and downloading the update to my PC (had issues with updating over wifi before). Update looks like it processed just fine but now none of my wifi devices connect. My PC will connect over ethernet cable but no internet access even though the router page says its connected to my internet.

After multiple resets and troubleshooting I rolled the firmware back . Works just fine on firmware 1.0.0.66. Tried the update again (over ethernet with file saved to desktop which i re-downloaded to make sure the file wasn't bad) and back to not working. Definatly seems to be an issue with the Firmware update. I'm thinking it may be limited to specific board revisions of this device as it looks like some people in the community have it working with different issues. 

For now im sticking with Firmware 1.0.0.66

[ChristineT]

Good morning EX7000 Community,

@Acedias, @Nvaidya, @Lab22, @shouldntitwork, @Archerman99, 

Thank you for reporting your issues with the latest EX7000 Firmware. We are eager to work with you to expedite getting this issue resolved. If any of you are willing to work with our Support and Engineering Teams to troubleshoot this issue please send me (@ChristineT) a private message with your contact information and we will reach out to you promptly.

I look forward to being able to work with you directly. 

Best Regards,

Christine

[ww2010]

ChristineT,

Like many of the users of EX7000 devices I am suffering from regular drop outs and troubles connecting iOS devices having upgraded to the latest firmware. Before rolling-back to the last version - and losing the benefits of MESH connectability - is there any timescale you can provide to us all about when a fix will be provided?

Thanks

[LittleTex]

I would also like to know what the timeline is looking like. I just recently bought the EX7000 and one of the advertised features on amazon was the Mesh capability. It's very disappointing that they would advertise the an unstable feature. When can we expect a fix? Couple weeks or a couple months? I'm willing to wait a couple weeks but if its going to be months then I'd rather return my device and get a different one. 

[JMW001]

No idea .... i don't even think they fully understand the issue right now ... i'm another who's provided config to netgear and done a screen-share with them.

Got another call from their engineering department scheduled for tomorrow... we upgraded the firmware again to prove the issue and around 2 hours post-update the router's gone into same state.

On my router it seems to be the 2.4GHZ radio which gets screwed up most as i can still connect to the 5GHZ