Custom firmware build for R7800 v. 1.0.2.64SF

[Brian Bennett]

I'm having an issue with the stock firmware where it won't allow me to host a bind9 software on one of the LAN machines, it blocked the connection. I'm guessing a locked down firewall in the stock firmware.

Would using Voxel solve this issue? Any insight or suggestions welcome.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

You can load it up and see. If it doesn't work you can always go back to stock.

 

[NathanG]

Hi Voxel, I've been using your firmware and they've been great. Thank you for your builds.
I do have a VPN server issue with this build where my IOS devices connect, but cannot browse the web or communicate to any internal devices. I've tried regenerating the cert by entering "/etc/init.d/openvpn regenerate_cert_file" through telnet. I've also tried resetting to factory default and "mtd erase netgear". I reverted back to v1.0.2.63 and VPN is working fine on that build. Any ideas?

 

[rk8531]

Is there any way to integrate VPN client in the firmware without the need of a USB device? I mean just like the one in Asus routers. I have a subscription to Nord VPN but i can't configure it on my router because i don't know how to create and configure VPN client on R7800. However, i am good at copy-pasting if someone can provide the codes.

 

[kamoj]

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/how-to-connect-to-nordvpn-as-a-client-using-voxel-firmware.55646/

Is there any way to integrate VPN client in the firmware without the need of a USB device? I mean just like the one in Asus routers. I have a subscription to Nord VPN but i can't configure it on my router because i don't know how to create and configure VPN client on R7800. However, i am good at copy-pasting if someone can provide the codes.

 

[kokishin]

Running R7800 v. 1.0.2.64SF since the day Voxel posted it.

This morning, my internet connection was very flaky and eventually crapped out to my desktop Win 10 computer. I tried to login to the 7800 and could not. I power cycled the router. I was able to login but the 7800 had lost all config info and began the setup for a new 7800. Voxel 1.0.2.64SF was still running so the router did not fully reinitialize to the initial factory firmware. Of course, the log was reinitialized so I have no log history as to what might have happened.

My saved config file was old so I re-entered all settings manually and saved off a new config file should the router lose its mind again. After four hours of running, so far so good.

Looking for feedback as to what might have caused this and if others have had this happen to them.

 

[sunlight99]

Running R7800 v. 1.0.2.64SF since the day Voxel posted it.

This morning, my internet connection was very flaky and eventually crapped out to my desktop Win 10 computer. I tried to login to the 7800 and could not. I power cycled the router. I was able to login but the 7800 had lost all config info and began the setup for a new 7800. Voxel 1.0.2.64SF was still running so the router did not fully reinitialize to the initial factory firmware. Of course, the log was reinitialized so I have no log history as to what might have happened.

My saved config file was old so I rentered all settings manually and saved off a new config file should the router lose its mind again. After four hours of running, so far so good.

Looking for feedback as to what might have caused this and if others have had this happen to them.

I had the same exact thing happened to me 2 days ago. Woke up and SSIDs were all gone, only the default ones showed up. Tried to restore using the cfg file saved before, process completed but nothing changed. I ended up manually changed the settings myself.

 

[kokishin]

I had the same exact thing happened to me 2 days ago. Woke up and SSIDs were all gone, only the default ones showed up. Tried to restore using the cfg file saved before, process completed but nothing changed. I ended up manually changed the settings myself.

My SSID's were gone too. The out-of-the-box SSID was back. It's like the router got reset and initialized to factory defaults except Voxel's firmware was still running. Note, I couldn't login to the router after it "lost its mind" so I had to reset it. To reset it, I disconnected power to the 7800 for ~ 30 seconds. Then I could login to the router. That's when I saw the out-of-the-box SSID and had to deal with the initial factory setup.

I didn't try to restore my old config file and I manually configured the router, but most likely would have run into the restore issue you did.

The whole experience gave me a creepy feeling.

 

[L&LD]

My SSID's were gone too. The out-of-the-box SSID was back. It's like the router got reset and initialized to factory defaults except Voxel's firmware was still running. Note, I couldn't login to the router after it "lost its mind" so I had to reset it. To reset it, I disconnected power to the 7800 for ~ 30 seconds. The I could login to the router. That's when I saw the out-of-the-box SSID and had to deal with the initial factory setup.

I didn't try to restore my old config file and I manually configured the router, but most likely would have run into the restore issue you did.

The whole experience gave me a creepy feeling.

Just curious if after flashing Voxel's firmware, a full/complete reset to factory defaults was performed?

 

[kokishin]

Just curious if after flashing Voxel's firmware, a full/complete reset to factory defaults was performed?

I started running Voxel's R7800 v. 1.0.2.62SF firmware the day I purchased my router on 12-14-18. I only ran the 7800 factory firmware long enough to install Voxel's firmware. I never even configured the router using the factory firmware. As Voxel released later firmware releases, I installed them. Voxel has posted (somewhere) that a reset is not necessary after installing his firmware. However, I have power cycled the router a few times since I installed Voxel's initial firmware. The last time I power cycled the router was on 2-12-19 while running Voxel 63SF due to a brief internet outage. The router retained it's internal state and internet service returned. Not sure what caused the internet outage and I'm not sure power cycling the router had anything to do with restoring service. Since running Voxel firmware from the day I bought my router, my 7800 been very stable until just recently.

This recent loss of the router's internal state, except for Voxel's R7800 v. 1.0.2.64SF firmware was somewhat bizarre.

 

[L&LD]

I started running Voxel's R7800 v. 1.0.2.62SF firmware the day I purchased my router on 12-14-18. I only ran the 7800 factory firmware long enough to install Voxel's firmware. I never even configured the router using the factory firmware. As Voxel released later firmware releases, I installed them. Voxel has posted (somewhere) that a reset is not necessary after installing his firmware. However, I have power cycled the router a few times since I installed Voxel's initial firmware. The last time I power cycled the router was on 2-12-19 while running Voxel 63SF due to a brief internet outage. The router retained it's internal state and internet service returned. Not sure what caused the internet outage and I'm not sure power cycling the router had anything to do with restoring service. Since running Voxel firmware from the day I bought my router, my 7800 been very stable until just recently.

This recent loss of the router's internal state, except for Voxel's R7800 v. 1.0.2.64SF firmware was somewhat bizarre.

Thank you for the complete response.

In my experience, even with a new router and without even updating to a new or different firmware, a reset to factory defaults is almost a surefire guarantee that random glitches (like this) will be minimized if not outright eliminated for my customers. If there is something that does crop up, it is almost guaranteed to be a hardware problem or sometimes, user (configuration) error on my customers part (with their new client devices).

In other words; I would always recommend doing a full/proper reset to defaults. Especially if bugs like this rear their 'bizarre' heads.

 

[eevanskiteboards]

Thank you for the complete response.

In my experience, even with a new router and without even updating to a new or different firmware, a reset to factory defaults is almost a surefire guarantee that random glitches (like this) will be minimized if not outright eliminated for my customers. If there is something that does crop up, it is almost guaranteed to be a hardware problem or sometimes, user (configuration) error on my customers part (with their new client devices).

In other words; I would always recommend doing a full/proper reset to defaults. Especially if bugs like this rear their 'bizarre' heads.

Hello,
I just wanted to say that after flashing the newest firmware(roughly 1 month ago) I decided to factory reset/default before I went in and configured to my liking and I have yet to have any issues. Maybe this helps somebody??

 

[kamoj]

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-WiFi-Routers/R7800-resets-on-its-own/td-p/1724399

Running R7800 v. 1.0.2.64SF since the day Voxel posted it.

This morning, my internet connection was very flaky and eventually crapped out to my desktop Win 10 computer. I tried to login to the 7800 and could not. I power cycled the router. I was able to login but the 7800 had lost all config info and began the setup for a new 7800. Voxel 1.0.2.64SF was still running so the router did not fully reinitialize to the initial factory firmware. Of course, the log was reinitialized so I have no log history as to what might have happened.

My saved config file was old so I rentered all settings manually and saved off a new config file should the router lose its mind again. After four hours of running, so far so good.

Looking for feedback as to what might have caused this and if others have had this happen to them.

 

[routine]

After some tests via lan I could see that in dslreport the bufferbloat is always A and not B as in wireless. Why is this difference so great?
It seems that the problem of the bufferbloat concerns only the wifi. Is there a way to improve the wifi?

 

[percy3]

Might be good to configure syslog or at least router to send logs over mail. There would be a chance to spot something in the logs.

I started running Voxel's R7800 v. 1.0.2.62SF firmware the day I purchased my router on 12-14-18. I only ran the 7800 factory firmware long enough to install Voxel's firmware. I never even configured the router using the factory firmware. As Voxel released later firmware releases, I installed them. Voxel has posted (somewhere) that a reset is not necessary after installing his firmware. However, I have power cycled the router a few times since I installed Voxel's initial firmware. The last time I power cycled the router was on 2-12-19 while running Voxel 63SF due to a brief internet outage. The router retained it's internal state and internet service returned. Not sure what caused the internet outage and I'm not sure power cycling the router had anything to do with restoring service. Since running Voxel firmware from the day I bought my router, my 7800 been very stable until just recently.

This recent loss of the router's internal state, except for Voxel's R7800 v. 1.0.2.64SF firmware was somewhat bizarre.

 

[L&LD]

After some tests via lan I could see that in dslreport the bufferbloat is always A and not B as in wireless. Why is this difference so great?
It seems that the problem of the bufferbloat concerns only the wifi. Is there a way to improve the wifi?

Optimize the distance to the client device (some routers are optimized for close range while others are optimized for long(er) range use). Optimize the Control channel used, optimize the location and the orientation of the router, and the free space around it, relative to the most important location/client device(s), optimize the settings that control things like Airtime fairness, MU-MIMO, Universal/Implicit Beamforming, etc.

 

[kokishin]

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-WiFi-Routers/R7800-resets-on-its-own/td-p/1724399

Thanks kamoj. I'll follow up with Netgear.

 

[routine]

Optimize the distance to the client device (some routers are optimized for close range while others are optimized for long(er) range use). Optimize the Control channel used, optimize the location and the orientation of the router, and the free space around it, relative to the most important location/client device(s), optimize the settings that control things like Airtime fairness, MU-MIMO, Universal/Implicit Beamforming, etc.

Your generic answer does not help me. The router is the netgear 7800 and turning off and activating mu-mimo and beamforing does not change anything. The bufferbloat in wifi does not change even changing the preamble mode.

 

[L&LD]

Your generic answer does not help me. The router is the netgear 7800 and turning off and activating mu-mimo and beamforing does not change anything. The bufferbloat in wifi does not change even changing the preamble mode.

You can't do just one of the suggestions. You have to optimize your router and client device fully while balancing that with how the rest of the network performs too. There is only so much you can do with WiFi. It begins by having the most stable signal with the least fluctuation and interference (whether from physical, software or other sources).

What I offered isn't comprehensive either, there may very well be more knobs to turn and dials to play with, with the specific firmware and hardware you have to. Experiment and share what you learn.

 

[Mark M]

Running R7800 v. 1.0.2.64SF since the day Voxel posted it.

This morning, my internet connection was very flaky and eventually crapped out to my desktop Win 10 computer. I tried to login to the 7800 and could not. I power cycled the router. I was able to login but the 7800 had lost all config info and began the setup for a new 7800. Voxel 1.0.2.64SF was still running so the router did not fully reinitialize to the initial factory firmware. Of course, the log was reinitialized so I have no log history as to what might have happened.

My saved config file was old so I re-entered all settings manually and saved off a new config file should the router lose its mind again. After four hours of running, so far so good.

Looking for feedback as to what might have caused this and if others have had this happen to them.

Ouch, add me to the tally. I also had this happen to me this past Tuesday night 3/19. Router crapped out and reset to Factory Defaults/factory SSID's. I re-set up all my settings, rebooted router, and it got wiped to Factory Defaults again. Tried a 3rd time, but this time only changed the SSID's. Rebooted router, and settings got erased again.

I flashed back to latest stock (1.0.2.62), changed SSIDs, rebooted, and it factory reset again. So it was also happening on the stock firmware.

Netgear deemed it a hardware issue. Bad flash memory. I just RMA'd it.

If you're still under warranty, I wouldn't risk anything and attempt to get an RMA