Netgear R7000 (AC1900 Nighthawk Smart Wi-Fi Router) – Firmware upgrade

It is mandatory to upgrade the firmware of your Netgear routers to ensure better functioning and performance of your router. The latest firmware versions have added features for enhanced working which may not be available in the previous versions and have bug fixes for router security.

You can upgrade the firmware of your Netgear R7000 – Nighthawk Smart Wi-Fi Router by following two ways:

For updating your Netgear R7000– Nighthawk Smart Wi-Fi Router router’s firmware using the Nighthawk app:

Make sure that your mobile device is connected to your Nighthawk R7000 router’s Wi-Fi network.

• Launch the Nighthawk app installed on your mobile device.
• When prompted to enter your Netgear router default login details in the user name and password fields. The default Netgear router login username is ‘admin’ and the password is ‘password’ only by default. Keep in mind that the user name and password are case-sensitive.
• Tap on SIGN IN to enter the web interface of the Netgear R7000.
• The router’s dashboard will display.
• Look for the icon of your Nighthawk router and tap on it.
• Go to the Router Settings page, scroll down on the Netgear R7000 router settings page and tap on Check for Updates. Following this, the app will search for any new firmware version available.
• If new firmware version is available, tap on Update, following which the firmware of the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 updates.

For updating your Netgear R7000– Nighthawk Smart Wi-Fi Router router’s firmware manually: 

Before upgrading the firmware of the Netgear R7000 router, you must download the latest firmware for your router from the Netgear official website and save it to on your desktop. Unzip the file whenever you are uploading it for firmware upgrade process. 

Note: The correct Netgear router firmware file uses an .img or .chk extension.  

Make sure that your computer is connected to your Nighthawk R7000 router’s network using a wired Ethernet cable connection, as recommended, the wired connection avoids any signal interference or loss during firmware upgrade. Avoid the use of computer that is connected wirelessly to the Netgear R7000 router to upload the firmware as any signal loss may corrupt the router’s firmware, rendering it unusable.

• Launch an internet browser from your connected computer to perform Netgear R7000 login.
• Enter Netgear router login local web address www.routerlogin.net to reach the web interface of the router to initiate firmware upgrade process.
• Enter the default Netgear router login user name – admin and password – password.
• Select ADVANCED on the Netgear R7000 router dashboard and select Administration under it.
• Click on the Firmware Update button. Following this, Click on the Choose File or Browse option to select the downloaded firmware file.
• Locate the saved downloaded zip file and highlight it on your desktop and click Open and then click on Upload.

Note: it is highly advised to not interrupt the firmware upgrade process fearing corruption, which will make your Netgear R7000 router unusable.

After the firmware has been uploaded, your Netgear R7000 router will reboot and if it does not, check the Router Status page from the dashboard to confirm whether the new firmware version has been uploaded on your Netgear R7000 router.