RAX200 AX11000 Wi-Fi 6

[DJScotty9000]

I have a curious question. How many years do you get Netgear Firmware Updates for a Router. Like for example I bought it in 2021 last year.

[plemans · Accepted solution]

Several years? The R7000 was released in 2013. Almost a decade ago and still getting updates. 

But thats not the case with all products as some of them get much less updates. A lot depends on who they sources the chipset/wireless chips from. 

So you can usually get a few years and even more for other devices. Its not something we can say "you get XXXX amount of years"

[FURRYe38]

Unknown mostly or when a model becomes EOL.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-WiFi-Routers/Top-NETGEAR-FAQs-Support-and-End-of-Service/...

Take a look at older model routers, like the R7000 series, been out for a several years now, still getting updates. 

[plemans · Accepted solution]

Several years? The R7000 was released in 2013. Almost a decade ago and still getting updates. 

But thats not the case with all products as some of them get much less updates. A lot depends on who they sources the chipset/wireless chips from. 

So you can usually get a few years and even more for other devices. Its not something we can say "you get XXXX amount of years"

[DJScotty9000]

Thanks for the quick reply that’s certainly reassured me

[FURRYe38]

You can also check into 3rd party FW as well. If they support various NG routers, they tend to keep the FW update flame burning as well. 

[Razor512]

Aftermarket support is one of the areas where Netgear leads in the market, and is also one of the most important aspects of purchasing a router, since realistically, the hardware will last a very long time, but the moment there is a major security exploit happens and the router maker is unwilling to patch it, is effectively the moment where the device becomes a paperweight, thus it is best to stick with brands that will not abandon a product quickly.

When choosing a brand to go with, look at their aftermarket support for many mainstream models on their product stack, look at both flagship and mid range models. If you see trends such as products being abandoned extremely quickly (there are brands that have been dropping support is less than a year, especially when they iterate to a V2 of the same model).

In some cases there are units that are short lived in terms of first party support, but the user will get lucky and have some 3rd party  firmware available. For example, the Linksys WRT1900acs lost support in less than 3 years, even though it was a high end model for its time. Only issue is that since when FCC regulations changed in 2015, as well as less code in general being open source, many performance optimizations are lost with 3rd party firmware, especially in the area of hardware acceleration.

Anyway, with Netgear while support lengths can vary, they tend to be on the longer side, which works great for longevity.