Modern networks evolve rapidly. Router manufacturers periodically release new features or fix bugs from previous versions, which requires upgrading your router to experience these improvements. Yet many people are still unfamiliar with this process. This article walks through the router upgrade procedure.
1. First, visit the manufacturer’s official website, find and download the firmware upgrade file that matches your specific router model.
2. On the website, navigate through the “Products” / “Wireless Products” links, and locate your target router model on the corresponding page. Naturally, with so many models available, finding it directly on the page can be a bit difficult.
3. In that case, you can use the “Product Search” feature on the official website’s main page. Enter your specific router model, for example, and click the “Search” button. This lets you quickly find your target router product on the official site.
4. Click on your target router product to enter its dedicated page, then click the “Downloads” tab. On this page, you will see multiple versions of upgrade files available.
5. Before officially downloading the file, you must ensure that the target download file matches both the specific model and the hardware version of your local router device. Otherwise, the router upgrade operation will fail.
6. Generally, the router’s hardware version information can be found directly on the device’s label. For instance, if your local router model is N300 and its hardware version number is V4, you should click the “N300GV4 Upgrade Program” link on the downloads page, and then save the corresponding router upgrade file to your local computer’s hard drive.
7. After downloading the router upgrade program, use a network cable to directly connect the computer where the upgrade file is saved to the router device.
8. Once the physical connection is established, use a standard extraction tool to decompress the router upgrade program into a temporary folder. After opening that temporary folder window, you will see the upgrade program contains an executable file named “tftpd32.exe” and a file with the “bin” extension. The “bin” file is actually the router device’s operating system file. You must ensure this file and the “tftpd32.exe” file are saved in the same folder. Then double-click the “tftpd32.exe” file, which will automatically set up your computer as a simple TFTP server.
9. On your computer, run the IE browser program and enter the router’s default IP address into the address bar (this address can usually be found in the router’s user manual; typically it defaults to 192.168.1.1). Press Enter to open the router’s backend login page. Enter the system administrator account name and password, and click the “OK” button to access the router’s backend management interface.
10. In the left-hand menu of the management interface, navigate through “System Tools” / “Firmware Upgrade”. On the right-hand page for “Firmware Upgrade”, you will not only see the router’s current hardware and software versions, but also two text boxes. In the “TFTP Server IP Address” text box, enter the IP address of your computer. In the “File Name” text box, copy and paste the name of that “bin” file from the temporary folder on your computer.
11. After confirming the information above is correctly entered, click the “Upgrade” button on the page. The router system will then automatically execute the firmware version upgrade. If