Netgear r7500 x4 firmware corrupted during normal use?

[Puffnstuff]

The unit has been sent in to square trade twice now for failing under warranty. Each time they receive it they say that the firmware was corrupted, reflash it and then sent it back without doing anything about the hardware. I can understand firmware corruption if the unit was being flashed and then experienced a problem but they are trying to say that it was corrupted during normal use. Their supposed solution was to reflash the unit, test it and then send it back.

I find this to be ludicrous in that if the firmware was really corrupted then there is a hardware issue that caused it in the first place and if this is the second time for this condition then it points to some hardware failure that needs to be addressed. Every review I read of this company echoes the same sentiment that they are worthless and never fix anything. What do you guys think?

 

[AnonymouseUser]

It looks like a power outage will cause corrupted firmware in Netgear routers. Here is one example. Netgear even has a support article for recovering from corrupted firmware. I would suggest using a UPS if you aren't already.

Edit: Another example

 

[Puffnstuff]

It looks like a power outage will cause corrupted firmware in Netgear routers. Here is one example. Netgear even has a support article for recovering from corrupted firmware. I would suggest using a UPS if you aren't already.

Edit: Another example

Thanks for your input and yes its on a battery backup with avr so it's never without power or subjected to voltage spikes. This issue occurs during normal use and no firmware updates were involved with these incidents. The router is running normally then slowly starts to build up heat and then just drops out. You can deenergize it and then reboot and after a short while, as in just a few hours, it will do the same thing with no forewarning. Square Trade repair says its corrupt firmware, this is the second time they've claimed this reason, even though the routers behavior suggests otherwise as it will boot and you can enter the gui and change settings etc.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Thanks for your input and yes its on a battery backup with avr so it's never without power or subjected to voltage spikes. This issue occurs during normal use and no firmware updates were involved with these incidents. The router is running normally then slowly starts to build up heat and then just drops out. You can deenergize it and then reboot and after a short while, as in just a few hours, it will do the same thing with no forewarning. Square Trade repair says its corrupt firmware, this is the second time they've claimed this reason, even though the routers behavior suggests otherwise as it will boot and you can enter the gui and change settings etc.

If it's overheating then it is definitely a hardware problem unless it's in an enclosed space. Have you tried asking Netgear if they will replace it? It's possible Square Trade is not properly testing the unit and just claiming they reflashed the firmware, in which case you could flash an older firmware before shipping it to them to see if they reflash it.

 

[Puffnstuff]

If it's overheating then it is definitely a hardware problem unless it's in an enclosed space. Have you tried asking Netgear if they will replace it? It's possible Square Trade is not properly testing the unit and just claiming they reflashed the firmware, in which case you could flash an older firmware before shipping it to them to see if they reflash it.

It was on a cooler master 17" laptop cooling pad with a 200mm fan blowing up into the bottom so its got enough cooling plus there's plenty of room around that. The router is outside of the netgear warranty and within the square trade warranty which is why it keeps on going back to them. As soon as it went out this time I bought an asus rt-ac88u which is currently in use so the netgear is just collecting dust since it came back yesterday. I'm not pleased but I've read too many comments from other customers about how ST didn't repair their devices when they sent them in for warranty so I'll never buy from them again.