Eldrik

This is just a crappy router and/or software. The lack of interest from both Netgear and Duma to get to the bottom of serious security issues like this is alarming and strongly suggests you should use a router of completely different brands.

Thanks, I have been using the internet and network equipment for approx 25 years now and I have never experienced routers behaving this way after a sudden power loss. I would have had some understanding if it reverted to factory settings or just dropped dead but this is just crazy and totally unacceptable. It is not great marketing for neither Netgear or Duma. I bought a new router of a completly different brand. I am not going to touch anything that have the Netgear or Duma logo attached to it ever again. At least not until I get a valid explanation and root cause analysis.

Right it is always someone elses fault. In reality though it becomes both your own and Netgears problem, since your name is being so clearly fronted to the end user. Maybe I would not have been so skeptical about it if the experience otherwise with duma had been ok. One firmware update messed up the entire configuration of the router showing nothing but a cryptical error message, just to mention one example. I would say it is inconclusive whose fault it is to this date without an in depth investigation, but it does not matter. You still have a lot of more power than the end user to do something about it since I am guessing Netgear is not using your software in their routers for free. If I owned a company I would also not want my business to be associated with ignored security flaws no matter whose fault it is.

The input is that the router had WPA2 on the wifi networks and dropped these settings to open network after the power loss. I never used open network as a setting before and not even a factory reset leaves the networks without any security. This is just crazy and a very serious design and security flaw. Especially since TS experienced exactly the same thing two years without any action from the manufactor.

"I've also rebooted the router several times since doing the network settings but that obviously didn't fix the problem." This security flaw is not answered or solved with a sketchy workaround which apparently does not work in all cases.

? I am referreing to the fact that the router dropped the security on the wifi networks after a sudden power loss as mentioned by ts. "Another issue that I seem to encounter is when rebooting (unplugging the unit and my modem for 10 seconds and re-applying power) is that it totally forgets my network settings. This has also happened twice without my knowledge (in the middle of the night) too and was maybe triggered by a loss of power at my house from a storm. My networks disappear and it reverts my settings to open connections with the default password for router administration with the networks NETGEAR and NETGEAR-5G."

I threw away the router. The power loss happened while I was at work and it took 6 hours before I discovered the problem. 6 hours when my network was wide open for anyone to connect to. I've also rebooted the router several times since doing the network settings but that obviously didn't fix the problem. Unfortunately, I cannot trust a company that ignores such a serious security flaw, even though it has been known for years. It makes you wonder if there are more serious flaws that are not as visible to the user.

I just wanted to say I experienced exactly the same thing today, 2 years later, after what i presume was a sudden power loss. I thought I had been hacked at first before I saw this thread. I am very disappointed that this bug is not taken more seriously by Netgear since it concerns a serious security issue. And yes I have the latest firmware.