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Forum Discussion
patgleeson
Aug 27, 2020Tutor
Netgear nighthawk R7000P router and netgear EX7500 Triband range extender poor combination
Hi all. I installed a range extender last year to carry WiFi signal to my office at the other end of the house. Maybe halfway along a 30m journey. Range extender keeps dropping signal to my Mac even t...
- Sep 16, 2020
mesdad The R7000 isn't the same as the R7000P
they have different hardware and firmware. And there hasn't been the same issues with the R7000P as the R7000.
Telling someone to put the worng firmware on a device can end up bricking it if they even get it to install.
If I was recommending a firmware for the R7000P, it'd be the 1.3.0.20 firmware. It was the version prior to netgear armor and was a solid firmware.
If you choose to go this route, make sure to do it over a hardwired connection and reset the router after words. Followed by a manual install (not from backup)
plemans
Sep 16, 2020Guru - Experienced User
mesdad The R7000 isn't the same as the R7000P
they have different hardware and firmware. And there hasn't been the same issues with the R7000P as the R7000.
Telling someone to put the worng firmware on a device can end up bricking it if they even get it to install.
If I was recommending a firmware for the R7000P, it'd be the 1.3.0.20 firmware. It was the version prior to netgear armor and was a solid firmware.
If you choose to go this route, make sure to do it over a hardwired connection and reset the router after words. Followed by a manual install (not from backup)
mesdad
Sep 16, 2020Aspirant
Thanks for clarifying that, I definitely didn't mean to send the OP down the wrong path.
I'll add that, none of this would be necessary if Netgear was producing hardware and firmware that was reliable, especially around a known issue like this. I spent three weeks troubleshooting this extender, including extensive emails with NG support who knew which router I was using, which ended with their advice to return the extender. It's super-frustrating that two Netgear devices fail to perform when used together, that bad firmware is the culprit, and that support can't do more to help.
- plemansSep 16, 2020Guru - Experienced User
mesdad its not limited to netgear. I've used tplink, linksys, etc and all of them have had some type of issues with firmware.
- mesdadSep 16, 2020Aspirant
I'm sure you're right, but I'll still maintain that something isn't right when there's more support from people like you who are presumably doing this because they like it and want to help to other people, rather than from people who get paid to do this work.
- plemansSep 16, 2020Guru - Experienced User
agree a little bit with that.
but they also have support forums as well.
https://community.tp-link.com/us
https://community.linksys.com/?category.id=English
Reason why is consumer companies can't afford free support for long or they exhaust their profit margins.
And many people don't want to pay for support. So it only leaves the forums.
You also run into the issue that most problems are fairly easy fixes. So level 1 support isn't always the best for advanced problems.