- Joined
- Feb 18, 2002
EDIT: Progress:
Advanced > Advanced Setup > IPv6 > Internet Connection Type > CHANGE from Disabled to AUTO DETECT > Apply
You then must REBOOT Router.
THIS FIXED my old Netgear Firmware V1.4.1.68_1.3.28.
I then Factory Reset the NETGEAR Router.
For whatever reason, NETGEAR then does not allow Setup from a cable connected laptop (!) and requires you use a phone, download their Android App, which mandatorily installs additional NETGEAR monitoring software without asking on your cell phone, which blankets you with all sorts of icons and warnings that look like leaches covering your cell phone.
You then start the app, which immediately tells you you may NOT use ANY Firmware except the latest regardless of if it's buggy or not, so you MUST now install new Firmware or else you may NOT setup your Router.
So now okay, I am testing the latest Firmware with IPv6 SET to Auto Detect.
Of course I would like to use the latest Firmware but if it doesn't work, I will test the old one later. Here's hoping IPv6 was the cause.
I know it uncapped speeds on old Firmware.
Original Post:
So, more than six months ago, NETGEAR released a Firmware update for my router Netgear Nighthawk X6S AC3600.
It FUBARED it.
I found this thread of others saying the same thing six months ago:
community.netgear.com
NETGEAR knows about it, and has chosen not to address it.
My router was not working properly again until I realized that if you restore your router settings, you may accidentally turn on Router Auto Firmware Update which will mess up your router by overwriting older working Firmware with newer device-killing Firmware, without telling you.
We live in an age where every security camera Firmware Update, every Router Firmware Update has the potential to destroy your equipment / otherwise make it stop working.
When it comes to cams and routers, I am now thinking, if they work, leave them be. It is a real possibility that more and more companies knowingly release hardware-killing updates, knowing this directly translates into a sizeable number of people going out to spend money on buying new equipment. [In the past, both Apple and Samsung have been found guilty in courts of doing this knowingly.]
SO if you own a Netgear Nighthawk X6S AC3600 Router, and your router no longer works, go to
ADVANCED > Administration > Router Update >
!!! MUST SELECT DISABLE under Router Auto Firmware Update > THEN CLICK ON APPLY !!!
only
then
Browse > Browse to bug-free Firmware R7960P-V1.4.1.68_1.3.28.chk > Upload > OK
Last known working firmware, no longer available on Netgear web site as a link, but the actual file is still here:
DETAILS:
Advanced > Advanced Setup > IPv6 > Internet Connection Type > CHANGE from Disabled to AUTO DETECT > Apply
You then must REBOOT Router.
THIS FIXED my old Netgear Firmware V1.4.1.68_1.3.28.
I then Factory Reset the NETGEAR Router.
For whatever reason, NETGEAR then does not allow Setup from a cable connected laptop (!) and requires you use a phone, download their Android App, which mandatorily installs additional NETGEAR monitoring software without asking on your cell phone, which blankets you with all sorts of icons and warnings that look like leaches covering your cell phone.
You then start the app, which immediately tells you you may NOT use ANY Firmware except the latest regardless of if it's buggy or not, so you MUST now install new Firmware or else you may NOT setup your Router.
So now okay, I am testing the latest Firmware with IPv6 SET to Auto Detect.
Of course I would like to use the latest Firmware but if it doesn't work, I will test the old one later. Here's hoping IPv6 was the cause.
I know it uncapped speeds on old Firmware.
Original Post:
So, more than six months ago, NETGEAR released a Firmware update for my router Netgear Nighthawk X6S AC3600.
It FUBARED it.
I found this thread of others saying the same thing six months ago:
Re: Error after R7960P Firmware Upgraded to 1.4.2.84_1.3.42
I can confirm 100% that 1.4.2.84_1.3.42 is still BROKEN firmware! Ping your gateway and you will find >1ms latency even on a wired connection. Run DNS through the router and it will not load web sites on the first try with a timeout. If I refresh a website I get the DNS to resolve. Trace route...
NETGEAR knows about it, and has chosen not to address it.
My router was not working properly again until I realized that if you restore your router settings, you may accidentally turn on Router Auto Firmware Update which will mess up your router by overwriting older working Firmware with newer device-killing Firmware, without telling you.
We live in an age where every security camera Firmware Update, every Router Firmware Update has the potential to destroy your equipment / otherwise make it stop working.
When it comes to cams and routers, I am now thinking, if they work, leave them be. It is a real possibility that more and more companies knowingly release hardware-killing updates, knowing this directly translates into a sizeable number of people going out to spend money on buying new equipment. [In the past, both Apple and Samsung have been found guilty in courts of doing this knowingly.]
SO if you own a Netgear Nighthawk X6S AC3600 Router, and your router no longer works, go to
ADVANCED > Administration > Router Update >
!!! MUST SELECT DISABLE under Router Auto Firmware Update > THEN CLICK ON APPLY !!!
only
then
Browse > Browse to bug-free Firmware R7960P-V1.4.1.68_1.3.28.chk > Upload > OK
Last known working firmware, no longer available on Netgear web site as a link, but the actual file is still here:
DETAILS:
Code:
To reset the router to factory default settings:
You may go to ADVANCED > Administration > Backup Settings to select Erase Settings but true hard reset is done like this:
0. DISCONNECT FROM CABLE MODEM OR ELSE FIRMWARE WILL UPDATE TO LATEST BUGGY VERSION. First thing to do after resetting the router WITHOUT BEING CONNECTED TO CABLE MODEM is to disable auto update.
1. On the back of the router, locate the Reset button.
2. Using a straightened paper clip, press and hold the Reset button for at least five
seconds.
3. Release the Reset button.
The Power LED starts blinking. When the reset is complete, the router restarts. This
process takes about two minutes.
Warning: To avoid the risk of corrupting the firmware, do not interrupt the reset.
Do not close the browser, click a link, or load a new page. Do not turn off the router.
Wait until the router finishes restarting.
Use Netgear Android app to initially setup the router with default password found on the label on the bottom of the router.
R7960P-V1.4.2.84_1.3.42 and later are ABSOLUTELY buggy - do not upgrade! You will not be able to load web pages...
R7960P-V1.4.1.68_1.3.28 is not buggy, downgrading to this version resolves this horrible bug.
CONNECT WITH LAPTOP CONNECTED WITH ETHERNET CABLE TO ONE OF SEVERAL ROUTER PORTS - NOT INTERNET MODEM CONNECTION PORT.
Wireless firmware update will fail. Must connect with ethernet cable.
www.routerlogin.net
or
10.0.0.1
for Netgear R7960P a.k.a. Nighthawk X6S AC3600 Tri-Band WiFi Router
ADVANCED > Administration > Router Update >
!!! MUST SELECT Disable under Router Auto Firmware Update > THEN CLICK ON APPLY !!!
only
then
Browse > Browse to R7960P-V1.4.1.68_1.3.28.chk > Upload > OK
Last edited:
