R7800 New Firmware 1.0.2.12

[Killhippie]

Asus started updating it regularly about a year ago. If Netgear also starts following, then hopefully it will drive the rest of the herd to also follow in what should be a no-brainer (those OpenSSL updates are 100% backward compatible, and take about 10 minutes of development time to accomplish). The biggest hurdle is that initial update where you have to jump from whichever prehistoric branch you were using into either the latest 1.0.x branch (which is mostly straightforward if going from 1.0.0 to 1.0.2 - it's a drop in repalcement), or the newer 1.1.x branch (which might require some changes).

Now that manufacturers are starting to use OpenSSL for VPN purposes, having a secure version of OpenSSL is much more important than in the past, where it mostly handled https access to the webui within your LAN.

I'm not sure Netgear will continue, I fear it was to placate a bug in the older version rather than bring a 10 year old SSL library (think it ten years old could be wrong) up to date. Time will tell. Also I cant believe they could not have dropped the latest version 1.02j (September release) into the latest firmware as the original vulnerability reported for OpenSSL was out there for 6 months (May 2016 was when I saw it reported in The register) unfixed in this and many other routers. Mind you a few users on twitter did name and shame netgear over its use of a very old version.

 

[RMerlin]

Also I cant believe they could not have dropped the latest version 1.02j (September release) into the latest firmware

It all depends on their development process. Some processes will state a "code freeze" at one point in development, after which only bugfixes can be added. I don't know either how much development is done in-house - I always had the impression that most (?) of their firmware development was done by Foxconn, based on comment spread throughout the code.

I know for a fact that it would have been a drop-in replacement because I've done so myself. But if it's the first time they update that component, I can understand them wanting to put the whole code through a complete betatest cycle following such a change. If code freeze happened in June or July, then it was too late for any update released only in September.

Last minute changes always have a chance of biting you back. Large corporations tend to usually be very cautious there, for good reason. You don't replace a system level library 2 weeks before public release, it's a potential disaster. OpenSSL is actually a very good case to support that way of developing. They released a new version on September 22nd. One week later, they had to release another version, because that previous release was broken. If Netgear had jumped on the 22nd release and completed development a few days later, they would have ended up shipping a firmware with a known broken version of OpenSSL.

Firmware development isn't something you can rush through, by bundling the very latest version of everything you can download, and release the whole firmware one week later without proper regression testing. You have to plan ahead of time, and stick to that schedule.

 

[RMerlin]

I'm not sure Netgear will continue

We'll see. I've been saying it for years, but it's time for all router manufacturers to stop treating their routers like convenience objects, and start treating them as the security appliances that they are. That means timely security updates, for an extended period of time (meaning, more than the 18 months that some manufacturers seem to devote to supporting their routers).

I still carry the hope that events of the past 1-2 years (the rise of DDOS caused by insecure devices, the FTC fining one of the top tiers manufacturers, etc...) might be the wake up call needed by those other manufacturers to start taking this seriously.

 

[TheLostSwede]

You can change "Netgear" with the name of ANY router targeting home users. Many other manufacturers there are still using 0.9.8...

Only business products get rapid updates, which is part of why they do cost more.

Well, with your help, Asus has improved and my ex employer, Securifi is doing an ok job with pushing out new firmwares, a bit less so with documenting all the changes

 

[RMerlin]

Well, with your help, Asus has improved and my ex employer, Securifi is doing an ok job with pushing out new firmwares, a bit less so with documenting all the changes

Been a while since I've looked at what Securifi were doing. I still got my Almond+ around (thanks ), I should take it out and update it to see how far they've progressed since those beta days.

 

[RogerSC]

Any comments from R7800 owners actually using this new firmware? Any new problems, or old problems fixed that affect you?

 

[pege63]

It workes for me have no problem

 

[Killhippie]

Any comments from R7800 owners actually using this new firmware? Any new problems, or old problems fixed that affect you?

Working for me with no current issues, apart from the tediously long intervals between Qualcomm streamboost updates. Its slightly over 5 months yet again.

 

[camaro322hp]

I've been running this new firmware for a few days now, and haven't seen any problems.

 

[RogerSC]

Thanks! Sounds okay then...No rush for me, using another router at the moment, but the security fixes are good in any case.

 

[Razor512]

Seems fine here, though it does seem to now use DFS channels when HT160 is enabled.

 

[mediatrek]

Was it only in the version shown on here that CPU load etc was displayed then in that link? Those things are not in the R7800's firmware.

You can go to http://routerlogin.net/debug.htm and view the CPU load, along with memory usage and more for the R7800, and I assume on the R9000 a well.

 

[raven-au]

Any comments from R7800 owners actually using this new firmware? Any new problems, or old problems fixed that affect you?

Can't really say about problems fixed, or new problems, as I haven't used this device for some time.

But I did try and put my D7800 back into use and installed the new firmware version to start with.

It didn't last long though, because it went so badly.

The R8500 as a wireless bridge didn't work, but the wireless bridge functionality on that is badly broken anyway, so I don't know if other Netgear routers will work with it as a wireless bridge.

Both the RT-AC5300 and RT-AC88U didn't work as wireless bridges either, and the iOS genie app saw not devices in the network map, but that app is frequently broken too.

I didn't have time to test a Qualcomm device as a wireless bridge to it either.

In the limited time I had it as my gateway I believe my household devices were functioning and the modem appeared function fairly well in terms of sync rate.

I can't be sure my household devices were actually working OK because I had to get this working again and couldn't spend the time.

Ian

 

[RogerSC]

Can't really say about problems fixed, or new problems, as I haven't used this device for some time.

But I did try and put my D7800 back into use and installed the new firmware version to start with.

It didn't last long though, because it went so badly.

The R8500 as a wireless bridge didn't work, but the wireless bridge functionality on that is badly broken anyway, so I don't know if other Netgear routers will work with it as a wireless bridge.

Both the RT-AC5300 and RT-AC88U didn't work as wireless bridges either, and the iOS genie app saw not devices in the network map, but that app is frequently broken too.

I didn't have time to test a Qualcomm device as a wireless bridge to it either.

In the limited time I had it as my gateway I believe my household devices were functioning and the modem appeared function fairly well in terms of sync rate.

I can't be sure my household devices were actually working OK because I had to get this working again and couldn't spend the time.

Ian

D7800 is a different device than the R7800, and, of course, has different firmware...this thread is about R7800 firmware.

 

[raven-au]

D7800 is a different device than the R7800, and, of course, has different firmware...this thread is about R7800 firmware.

Of course, my mistake.

 

[Killhippie]

Is there going to be another update for streamboost for this router, the last update was June this year! I thought Qualcomm put out updates more often than 5 months+

 

[pege63]

The current update rationale is StreamBoost updates are planned if any critical issues found and a new database is required to provide fixes...
NETGEAR GUY is asking, Are there any specific fixes you are looking for?

 

[Killhippie]

The current update rationale is StreamBoost updates are planned if any critical issues found and a new database is required to provide fixes...
NETGEAR GUY is asking, Are there any specific fixes you are looking for?

I have replied to him, because Streamboost is updated by Qualcomm not netgear and there are several categories missing for hardware like soundbars, airplay speakers and even the iPhone 6s has its own category but not the iPhone 7 which now has two different modems, one Qualcomm one Intel. Mine is an Intel and now and then I have noticed a stall in connecting to wifi again like the iPhone/iPad did when the R7800 was first released but no way near as bad.

Also the new pS4 slim and PS4 Pro now support 802.11ac over wifi, is that factored into the current database?. Also I have noticed on my Android TV since Amazon updated their app it now takes ages to settle to its correct 4K resolution over wifi, but was fine on its previous version, is this due to a change in the app thats not reflected in the database? Streamboost can't have sat still for 6 months with nothing having been added in the Qualcomm database from all the crowdsourced data surely? I wonder what the latest Streamboost data base update is for D-Link devices that use it vs Netgear ones?

 

[ablatt]

Has anybody tried DFS channels yet on the new firmware? I wonder if they operate at the same power level?

Also RogerSC, do you have the R7800 and Orbi? If so, can you make a general comparison between them please. I realize the Orbi is a combination of a router and satellite, and the R7800 is a router only, but does the Orbi work better for you in your environment?

 

[pege63]

I have replied to him, because Streamboost is updated by Qualcomm not netgear and there are several categories missing for hardware like soundbars, airplay speakers and even the iPhone 6s has its own category but not the iPhone 7 which now has two different modems, one Qualcomm one Intel. Mine is an Intel and now and then I have noticed a stall in connecting to wifi again like the iPhone/iPad did when the R7800 was first released but no way near as bad.

Also the new pS4 slim and PS4 Pro now support 802.11ac over wifi, is that factored into the current database?. Also I have noticed on my Android TV since Amazon updated their app it now takes ages to settle to its correct 4K resolution over wifi, but was fine on its previous version, is this due to a change in the app thats not reflected in the database? Streamboost can't have sat still for 6 months with nothing having been added in the Qualcomm database from all the crowdsourced data surely? I wonder what the latest Streamboost data base update is for D-Link devices that use it vs Netgear ones?

Better you contact him direct about this and let me know about the answers you get m8