Possible Wrong Firmware Pushed by Xfinity?

[CNPalmer]

I own a Netgear Nighthawk C7800 modem/router. I've had wifi connectivity issues for several days now with actual internet drops intermittently anywhere from an hour apart to a few every couple of minutes. However, after resetting everything I can think of, I finally think I found the issue. According to this article here (https://kb.netgear.com/000036375/What-s-the-latest-firmware-version-of-my-NETGEAR-cable-modem-or-mod...) the latest FW should be V3.01.43. In the management page of the router is shows the current versions as "Firmware Version V6.01.07". A little bit of research shows that that FW versions was previously for the Netgear CM1100 modem. 2 questions, has anyone ever seen or had this happen before with an incorrect FW version being reported and secondly, is it possible Xfinity pushed the wrong model FW to my device at some point which is causing the wifi issues? Appreciate any help or feedback.

[FURRYe38]

Is the modem working? 

Possible the KB page isn't updated to reflect new FW. Though I would contact NG support and see what is most current for the C7800 and see if the KB is out of date or the ISP sent incorrect FW. You can PM the tagged moderators to help on this...

@DarrenM 

@Christian_R 

[CNPalmer]

Thank you! I assumed the FW list was accurate as the last update time on the article was May 13, 2021. I also tried contacting support but the CSR I was connected to was using his speaker phone in a large room with what sounded like a bunch of other CSRs also all on speaker phone. There's also a 505 error when trying to open the support page on the Netgear site (I feel as if the entire worls is working against me on this one today).

Also, the router is working, however, I have constant internet connection drops while still being connected to wifi. An Xfinity tech was out here on Saturday and we replaced all the coax runs, added new terminals, added a new filter etc. From what I can tell all the upstream/downstream channels appear fine and I was getting decent bandwidth in all the speed tests. The core issue is devices dropping internet connection but manitaining wifi connection. Even after a full factory reset on the device I have the same issues. I even went as far as renaming both the wireless networks and changed passwords in case I had some rogue device conntecting but even but I still recognized everything in the hardware table list.

@DarrenM 

@Christian_R 

Any suggestions as to what I can do or try to contact for an accurate answer as to what the most current FW is for the C7800/

[FURRYe38]

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

[CNPalmer]

I have manually set the 2.4ghz channel to 6, which is uncongested in my area, channel 9 was default which was also not being used. Also, there are other signals being broadcast but very little overlap if any on the channel spectrum. I also tried turning off each SSID channel indepedently to see if the connections lasted any longer than the other but the same results whether they were enabled/disabled together or separately.

I have confirmed with Netgear phone support that the KB article is accruate for the FW version listed for the C7800 and that the current FW listed as installed on mine (V6.01.07) was the previous FW version for the CM1100 modem (which coincidentally is also a DOCSIS 3.1 GB supported modem). The CM1100 modem had FW V6.01.07 and is now being updated to V7.01.01 by Xfinity.

Question, do you know if using the reset pin on the back of the router is the same as performing a factory reset from the management page of the router? Just grasping at straws here as to how I might get back to an out-of-the-box state before any FW update was applied.

[FURRYe38]

Try channel 1 or 11. 

If the NG confirmed the KB is right, then you'll need to contact the ISP, ask for escalated support and have them confirm the version and if it's not right, have them send down the correct version...

The reset only resets any configurations that you have done and some back end FW stuff. I thought about having you do this however you may cause more problems or the modem may stop working and I'd rather you have the ISP push a correct FW file to the modem while the modems is mostly working. Check with the ISP and go from there first. If they send down the correct version and it gets applied, power OFF the modem for 1 minute then back ON, after it's ready, then press the reset button for 10 seconds then release. Then setup the modem from scratch...

[braddman]

I don't know about you but I'm having MASSIVE issues with 2.4ghz wifi now. I don't know what they did but my phone will no longer connect to wifi and I'm on that version you're on. 

[braddman]

I just called Comcast and this girl argued with me up and down that they don't push the firmware, netgear does. Utterly clueless. And she refused to connect me to any kind of tier 2 support. So did you confirm that they pushed the wrong firmware? Or Did you confirm it was the right version. Because mine jumped over 3 major versions. 

[FURRYe38]

You need to contact someone else at XF. NG DOES NOT PUSH FW TO MODEMS. ONLY CABLE ISPs CAN DO THIS. 

---

@braddman wrote:

I just called Comcast and this girl argued with me up and down that they don't push the firmware, netgear does. Utterly clueless. And she refused to connect me to any kind of tier 2 support. So did you confirm that they pushed the wrong firmware? Or Did you confirm it was the right version. Because mine jumped over 3 major versions. 

---

[CNPalmer]

I confirmed that Xfinity/Comcast had an updated firmware revision that superceded what Netgear's own documentation. It should be version 6.07.01 iirc. I also confirmed this as my friend confirmed he had a 3.x version, rebooted and received the 6.x version. My 2.4 band works fine, 5ghz drops in & out constantly & consistently. I ended up buying another unit when it was on sale. Pretty certain the wireless chipset had failed in mine. I'll probably spend the $30 for the 2yr service warranty for free replacements. I'll put this on Netgear from now on to fix it or replace it, I still think they have FW issues with enabling 5ghz on these devices.

[braddman]

Yep I know.

[FURRYe38]

Aks the ISP to revert back to what had been working and see if this fixed it. 

Contact NG support to see what your options are. 

If anything, put the modem in to modem only mode and connect up a external router. This help avoid problems seen with all in one units. 

[braddman]

I just said I called xfinity and they said they don't push the firmware when in fact I know they do. 

I'm having all kinds of issues now and it came after this firmware update. 

[FURRYe38]

What model modem do you have? 

What is the brand and model of the host wifi router connected to the modem?

Please post a copy and paste of the modems connection status page.
Have the ISP check the signal and line quality UP to the modem. Be sure the ISP provisions the modem correctly.
Be sure there are no coax cable line splitters in the between the modem and ISP service box. 
Be sure your using good quality RG6 coax cable up to the modem. 
Be sure to power OFF the modem for 1 minute them back ON.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Cable-Modems-Routers/General-info-and-Troubleshooting-for-Cable-Mod...

---

@braddman wrote:

I just said I called xfinity and they said they don't push the firmware when in fact I know they do. 

I'm having all kinds of issues now and it came after this firmware update. 

---

[XLogic]

Yeah, she doesnt know what she's talking about. I had to convice the first customer rep I spoke to to transfer me to tech support, then I convinced them to push the latest firmware version to my modem. It's a **bleep** show. If you don't do your homework, you'll get no help from Netgear or XFinity. Quite sad.

[braddman]

My issue was unrelated to firmware. I finally figured it out. Mine was related to too many devices connected to one of the radios. Although it is supposed to support 32 it is way less.

[FURRYe38]

Meaning you had too many devices connected to the RBR or RBS? Or just total devices in general? 

How many devices do you have? 

---

@braddman wrote:
My issue was unrelated to firmware. I finally figured it out. Mine was related to too many devices connected to one of the radios. Although it is supposed to support 32 it is way less.

---

[XLogic]

Incidentally, I'm wondering if any of you have run into the issue of going over XFinity's arbitrary 1.2TB data limit, and how you mitigated your data usage. I would rather not pay an extra $30 per month for unlimited data (what a money grab!). I connect 4-6 devices to my home wireless network, and we stream Netflix, HBO etc via Xbox, everyday. I can't imagine that's what's putting us over the top on data usage (last month 1.8TB! Yikes!) ... or maybe it is. I just downloaded wireshark so I can monitor and analyze my network data usage by device.

Thanks.

[braddman]

I dunno. You can pay extra for their unlimited plan. I never even come close.

[Gentleman1013]

You can save on xfinity data usage by using your unlimited phone data be used in hotspot mode.

[braddman]

Yeah but they throttle that until it's almost unusable.