Xr500 firmware updates

[jlpotter76]

As we all sit here as NetDuma is pointing fingers at NetGear about it being their fault that the updates are not rolling out.  I get emails about new firmware being released for NetGear products.  Can we please get someone from NetGear to join this forum to get some insight from the NetGear side.

[Fuzy]

6 months for XR500 ... and nothing ! 

LOL !

[jlpotter76]

Can I please get someone code a hysterical laughing sound for when I click on the check for update button on my NetDuma XR500.  I think that should definitely be put into the next build for sure.  

[jlpotter76]

How are not even getting any information at all about updates.  Where are we at with new new firmware.  For the love of God, someone with some balls that works for NetDuma or Netgear please respond to this post and let us know where the updates are.

[Fuzy]

[Netduma Fraser]

On 6/22/2019 at 2:12 AM, jlpotter76 said:

How are not even getting any information at all about updates.  Where are we at with new new firmware.  For the love of God, someone with some balls that works for NetDuma or Netgear please respond to this post and let us know where the updates are.

We cannot reveal any details of when a firmware will be released or what will be included as it's always subject to change and is driven by Netgear. I realise it is frustrating but we are contractually obligated.

[Sunaikinti]

19 minutes ago, Netduma Fraser said:

We cannot reveal any details of when a firmware will be released or what will be included as it's always subject to change and is driven by Netgear. I realise it is frustrating but we are contractually obligated.

Can you answer this? Is there a new firmware ever coming, or is netgear going to EOL the xr500?

[Netduma Fraser]

There is definitely a new firmware coming! 

[Sunaikinti]

1 hour ago, Netduma Fraser said:

There is definitely a new firmware coming! 

Thank you. I'm satisfied with that. Makes me feel better knowing it's not dead hardware!

[crawlgsx]

Honestly, at this point I don't care who is to blame. This was a product co-made and co-released by Netgear and NetDuma. You both need to work together and stop dropping the ball. This much time without any fixes, updates, or product care is embarrassing to you both and doesn't leave most of your customers wanting to consider dropping this kind of money on your next product.

 

Yes, knowing there is at least an update coming helps, but it is still an empty gesture.

And again, I'm not pointing fingers at you here Fraser, I can't express how much I appreciate your support and community guidance. You are a big asset to NetDuma I hope they value you for what you deserve.

[Netduma Fraser]

I do totally understand the frustration and I wish I had more information I could give you but we're bound by their policy which is not to give out deadlines or details of what we will be in the firmware. As much as it is frustrating now it would be more frustrating if we/they said we'll have a firmware out by this date only to pull it back or say it'll have this feature and then it's removed, this is also the policy we've done for ourselves when it comes to R1 updates. We find it's better to have people wait and not knowing than knowing and being disappointed, trust us we've had experience on both sides of this and find the latter to be the better option. Either way people will be frustrated but having super frequent significant updates isn't always feasible. 

Thanks for the kind words!

[Mrbchambers]

On 6/30/2019 at 1:05 PM, Netduma Fraser said:

I do totally understand the frustration and I wish I had more information I could give you but we're bound by their policy which is not to give out deadlines or details of what we will be in the firmware. As much as it is frustrating now it would be more frustrating if we/they said we'll have a firmware out by this date only to pull it back or say it'll have this feature and then it's removed, this is also the policy we've done for ourselves when it comes to R1 updates. We find it's better to have people wait and not knowing than knowing and being disappointed, trust us we've had experience on both sides of this and find the latter to be the better option. Either way people will be frustrated but having super frequent significant updates isn't always feasible. 

Thanks for the kind words!

Without escalating this to fever pitch, could I ask what are the issues, is there a list, and are all of the issues going to be addressed in the new firmware?

There are some comments in this thread that are troubling me, and it seems serious enough for some to stop using the XR500, is this something I should do? I do have gaming issues that in fairness could be related to: ISP, Router, or just my gaming capability. I would like to be able to remove know issues, so I can address the others.

[Guest Killhippie]

On 6/30/2019 at 1:05 PM, Netduma Fraser said:

I do totally understand the frustration and I wish I had more information I could give you but we're bound by their policy which is not to give out deadlines or details of what we will be in the firmware. As much as it is frustrating now it would be more frustrating if we/they said we'll have a firmware out by this date only to pull it back or say it'll have this feature and then it's removed, this is also the policy we've done for ourselves when it comes to R1 updates. We find it's better to have people wait and not knowing than knowing and being disappointed, trust us we've had experience on both sides of this and find the latter to be the better option. Either way people will be frustrated but having super frequent significant updates isn't always feasible. 

Thanks for the kind words!

 At this point, after almost seven months between updates  I've pretty much lost all faith in the product. The fact that you used to be a lot more open about the Netgear side of things and suddenly it’s all quiet, the fact no patches were released for milestone 1.3 it was just left sitting there being buggy for this long honestly doesn’t give me any faith that this router will get any better, or even if we get the next update which is probably due, yet it still leaves me wondering if we will ever get another one? At the end of the day it feels like these routers have been totally abandoned by both netduma and netgear as a experiment gone wrong.

 Not so long ago Netduma were telling us all the things that were going to happen all those tweaks that Jack promised like the extra icons for all the devices that are not listed  in the device manager, yet now it’s just silence.  The excitement for your team up with Netgear seems to have evaporated to be honest.  As I said the XR500 is one of, if not the most buggy routers I’ve used and at seven months without an update, I would consider this device even if it does get a firmware update to be pretty much end of life, which isn’t great for people are still buying them. I'm not saying this is what will happen but its how it feels

 Honestly I wouldn’t advise anyone to buy the XR500 or any of that range of routers due to their complete and utter lack of support by both sides. Netgear have forgotten their AC routers, the quarterly updates gone along with the promises made by your team that never came to fruition and I feel like this was a giant beta test and at the end of the day it didn’t really work out for Netduma or Netgear as maybe you expected. You can’t leave routers unpatched for so long  when your team used to be so on top of when the next updates would be roughly coming, and hinting at fixes and new features yet suddenly that behaviour changed almost overnight.

 Also you need enough developers to be able to patch bugs in current firmware while developing new firmware  and you seem to have not got them, and I get the feeling that’s maybe nearer the truth possibly. Also we probably won’t see new Netgear AX DumaOS routers if things carry on like this,  it feels like there’s a breakdown between you and Netgear and it just doesn’t inspire confidence. I hope you can see and understand why many of us feel this way. The continued silence and massive amount of time since V2.3.2.40 came out just keeps getting longer, It really does now feel like time to move on from Netgear based DumaOS routers. If the next update when it appears is not a substantial one I think the result  from the current user base that's feeling uncomfortable with the present situation will be to look for other devices, pure and simple.   

[Sunaikinti]

The only reason I still use it is for the geofilter. If another company came up with something similar, I'd be all over it. I cascaded an openwrt router to it to control my entire network besides my ps4. Openwrt is open source and has nighty, yes every frickin day, builds. So yes I agree. Netgear will just eol all these routers and move on. Netduma will keep saying a new firmware is coming to keep selling routers, but it's been way too long! I don't think will ever see a working firmware for any of the XR series.

[Fuzy]

 

I hesitate to install dd-wrt on so my gaming experience without the XR is better !!!!! For the moment it is in AP mode and to say that I do not advise anyone on specialized forums ... Sorry to say that for the developers but it's a big mess !

[Zippy]

On 6/30/2019 at 7:05 AM, Netduma Fraser said:

I do totally understand the frustration and I wish I had more information I could give you but we're bound by their policy which is not to give out deadlines or details of what we will be in the firmware. As much as it is frustrating now it would be more frustrating if we/they said we'll have a firmware out by this date only to pull it back or say it'll have this feature and then it's removed, this is also the policy we've done for ourselves when it comes to R1 updates. We find it's better to have people wait and not knowing than knowing and being disappointed, trust us we've had experience on both sides of this and find the latter to be the better option. Either way people will be frustrated but having super frequent significant updates isn't always feasible. 

Thanks for the kind words!

Fraser do you not see what has happened here.. You guys were known for your openness with the community on several things.. Now this policy you have with Netgear has pretty much taken all of that away from you guys.. That alone has changed Netduma..  People and players cant wait for fixes this long. No matter how you cut and dice this its impossible to survive.. If your not aloud to make patches along the way until the next build out then there really is no way I can see this working in the future..  This is like becoming a runaway train..  You guys have to start saying something here.. What about the issues people have posted about for sometime.. Can you talk about anything about fixes? What is troubling me and im sure others is fixes.. I don't ever hear where we are at with current problems.. Are there fixes? We need some sort of status where we can get an idea of whats being fixed and where we are at with those issues.. 

Whats really scaring me here is ive watched you guys respond to others with similar issues and for some odd reason by your guys replies make it sound like that was the first time you've heard of such an issue when many others have posted about the same thing already.. It almost sounds like you have no idea or have yet to reproduce the issue at hand even if it has been brought up several times before here on the forum.. So this likely may mean even when we get a new firmware issues may not even be fixed! That is my number one concern.. 

I honestly could not recommend any of the XR family routers to any of my friends.. I wouldn't even suggest these to people I don't even know..

Zippy.

[questvr3]

7 hours ago, Zippy said:

Fraser do you not see what has happened here.. You guys were known for your openness with the community on several things.. Now this policy you have with Netgear has pretty much taken all of that away from you guys.. That alone has changed Netduma..  People and players cant wait for fixes this long. No matter how you cut and dice this its impossible to survive.. If your not aloud to make patches along the way until the next build out then there really is no way I can see this working in the future..  This is like becoming a runaway train..  You guys have to start saying something here.. What about the issues people have posted about for sometime.. Can you talk about anything about fixes? What is troubling me and im sure others is fixes.. I don't ever hear where we are at with current problems.. Are there fixes? We need some sort of status where we can get an idea of whats being fixed and where we are at with those issues.. 

Whats really scaring me here is ive watched you guys respond to others with similar issues and for some odd reason by your guys replies make it sound like that was the first time you've heard of such an issue when many others have posted about the same thing already.. It almost sounds like you have no idea or have yet to reproduce the issue at hand even if it has been brought up several times before here on the forum.. So this likely may mean even when we get a new firmware issues may not even be fixed! That is my number one concern.. 

I honestly could not recommend any of the XR family routers to any of my friends.. I wouldn't even suggest these to people I don't even know..

Zippy.

Could not agree more. 

[e38BimmerFN]

You may not realize that when Duma entering into a partner ship with NG, some of the openness and information that came from Duma members before the partnership will not be as forth coming or open as users are familiar with. NG has probably a more close policy as most router Mfrs have in regards on what kind of information is made public. It may not have been Dumas policy for there R1 series, however when working with NG or maybe any other router Mfr as a 3rd party developer, they will mostly fall under what NG puts forth in there policies and Duma has to follow them or maybe a breach of contract. So don't push back too hard on Duma members as there hands are probably tied with being in a partnership with NG. 

Most any mfrs don't put forth if or when FW updates are forthcoming. Doing this would set a wrong presidence or wrong expectation in users minds and should something fail to come out at a foretold time frame, then would make users even more unhappy. Also there are legal reason probably why Mfrs don't post when FW updates are coming out. This has been like this for a long time and I don't see it changing either. It's all up to the Mfrs on how they do business. 

 

Like any router, most have maturity growth pains. It is up to Duma and NG to listen to us users and take our information and help make it better. It's up to NG to fully be responsible and make the product better during this growth period. I'm enjoying my XR450. The XR700 needs some work. 

[Sunaikinti]

I'm not blaming duma, it's definitely netgear to blame.

[Sunaikinti]

2 minutes ago, Sunaikinti said:

I'm not blaming duma, it's definitely netgear to blame. If duma made their own router again, I'd buy it!

 

[Mrbchambers]

2 hours ago, e38BimmerFN said:

You may not realize that when Duma entering into a partner ship with NG, some of the openness and information that came from Duma members before the partnership will not be as forth coming or open as users are familiar with. NG has probably a more close policy as most router Mfrs have in regards on what kind of information is made public. It may not have been Dumas policy for there R1 series, however when working with NG or maybe any other router Mfr as a 3rd party developer, they will mostly fall under what NG puts forth in there policies and Duma has to follow them or maybe a breach of contract. So don't push back too hard on Duma members as there hands are probably tied with being in a partnership with NG. 

Most any mfrs don't put forth if or when FW updates are forthcoming. Doing this would set a wrong presidence or wrong expectation in users minds and should something fail to come out at a foretold time frame, then would make users even more unhappy. Also there are legal reason probably why Mfrs don't post when FW updates are coming out. This has been like this for a long time and I don't see it changing either. It's all up to the Mfrs on how they do business. 

 

Like any router, most have maturity growth pains. It is up to Duma and NG to listen to us users and take our information and help make it better. It's up to NG to fully be responsible and make the product better during this growth period. I'm enjoying my XR450. The XR700 needs some work. 

I don't feel the politics of the partnership are relevant with regard to this matter because:

1) If The XR500 is broken, and a new firmware will solve the problem then fix it.

2) What partner wouldn't want it fixed?

3) Knowing when the firmware is going to be released is irrelevant, they could have released several, and only told us at the time of release. Or not released any and not told us (sounds familiar). Or even tell us they are going to release one but not when (sounds very familiar). The last one rings of I know some thing you don't know! especially when technical users of this forum are asking "what firmware? Could you send me a copy?". Nothing like having your nose rubbed in it!

4) The real crux of the matter is: If the problem is real, and there is a skillbase to produce the fix, then why not implement the fix?

5) Finally I am a customer, and not interested in internal wrangling. I just want a product that works, I have (as we all have) invested money in this product and would like to know what to do next. I don't want to have to wait to be told it's an End Of Line, or its a growing pains thing, oh and of course; there is a new firmware coming out, but not when!

Ultimately I want to use your product, it's a great idea, and when it works well, there is non better. When I read the adverts about the partnership with NG, and how this router (XR500) was going to be better than the R1, I couldn't wait to have one, I gave my R1 away when the XR500 arrived. Now where am I; with no support for a product that needs it, no R1, and the partners putting the blame on each other, like school children with dirty hands and faces, denying it was them that buried their sisters doll, and what garden/yard? Then pointing at some other kids, saying it was them.

Just fix this. You owe it us and more so you owe it yourselves!

[Zippy]

I don't think anyone here is really blaming Netduma.. Most of us here already know Netgear is in full control..  And Fraser has stated before they cant talk about firmware drops and things of that nature because of there agreement with Netgear.. Those are somethings we know.. Heres where things get fuzzy.. Does that also mean we cant even get updates on where we stand with current issues.. And when I say updates im talking verbally speaking about where there at with a particular issue..  That's what id like to know...  Another fuzzy area is that Netgear usually has quarterly updates. We have not had one in 7 months. That means we are getting close to two updates behind if not two already.. Again this is strictly about issues.. Not the next milestone.. Unless the only time we get fixes is with each new milestone.. Which I hope isn't the case... These are just some questions that I have and im sure others have.. None of this is meant to be any ill will towards Netduma.. Im sure Netduma is doing there best as they can.. This is really on Netgear..  Because at the end of the day Netgear is calling all the shots!

Zippy.

[Tripper]

Don't worry guys they will leave Netgear just like Bungie did with Microsoft and look how that ended😂

[Durty]

Can you guys at least tell us there will be a major update before 2020? If you can’t, then I’m starting to think everyone on this forum got conned out of their hard earned pay.

I just don’t understand how it’s legal to charge someone 300 dollars for a router that doesn’t function properly. Let alone doesn’t function properly 2 years after release. We didn’t buy the router at a used router dealership nor did we agree to spend 300 dollars on a beta test program. We were all led to believe we would be spending our money on a finished product.

Here’s an analogy. If I went and bought a brand new car of the lot with a proprietary auto drive function and was told that it also comes standard with leather interior, a/c, and a CD player yet the car i received had none of those standard features and the heavily advertised auto drive feature intermittently stopped functioning leading to numerous accidents and the only support I received was some people telling me to politely piss off and gave me no time frame on when the issues would be resolved if resolved at all, you better believe someone’s ass is getting sued. 

[Sunaikinti]

File a class action lawsuit and I'm in!