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F/w d41: how do I get the afw file to execute?

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:31 pm
by gatekeeper
I'm wanting to install f/w 2.52 d41 into my 8900AX-2400. I've downloaded the afw file (zcomax8900AX2400) to the Desktop on my Windows 10 laptop but I can't seem to then find any way of executing it. Just double-tapping on it does nothing. I'm unfamiliar with Windows 10 as I'm primarily a Mac user. On the laptop, if I double-click on the file nothing happens. If I right-click and select Open or Open With, I get a list of apps that are totally inappropriate to this.

What am I doing wrong? Do I need to move the file to somewhere else first?

BTW, can the file properly execute on my Mac instead? I once upgraded the f/w of a Billion router of mine using my Mac but it didn't install properly so, ever since, I've concluded you have to always download and do it from a Windows machine. Is that the case?

I've put a copy of the file on to a USB stick that I formatted to FAT32. Is that going to be of any use?

Re: F/w d41: how do I get the afw file to execute?

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 5:33 pm
by lamster
Hi gatekeeper


Just log into you billion via 192.168.1.254

Then click on Configuration> System> Firmware upgrade

then click on the New firmware image 'Browse' and point it at the awf file in the location you saved it in.

Choose if you want to restart with factory defalt or current setting before tho

Snap1.jpg

Re: F/w d41: how do I get the afw file to execute?

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 11:35 pm
by gatekeeper
Thanks ever so much, lamster, for your reply. In fact, several hours after I posted my query I suddenly remembered what I should have done, which is exactly as you've described. Just shows you how long ago it was when I previously did a Billion firmware upgrade - and what a poor memory I now have, in my advanced years!

I'll have to opt for factory defaults, I think, as my current f/w is d34. Fortunately, from way back when I first started using my 8900AX-2400 I've kept printed screenshots of all the major settings that I configured, so provided the upgrade goes without a hitch I should soon be up and running again.

Postscript 17-2-20: Yep, all systems go once again. I deleted the downloaded file I had on my laptop's Desktop and used instead the copy of that file that I'd put on a USB stick. The reflashing took a lot longer than I was expecting, about 10 mins. I then went into the detailed configuration settings to set the router up to my requirements.

No problems in usage thus far, but I still think that there's a gaping hole in the router's security, in that when you log out of the router it doesn't require any login in order to go back in. Just after you log out, it says you're logged out but in fact you're not. You're not fully logged out unless and until you end the browser session, ie. not until you close the browser (the browser itself, not the page). Or at least, that's how it is on my Mac. This means that, if you inadvertently were to leave the router in the non-logged-out state, someone else could come along while the computer's unattended and gain access to all your router settings, including the security settings. A situation like that is very unlikely to happen in my case but might more easily occur in a crowded family or busy corporate situation. It's a fairly obvious security shortcoming which I'd have thought could be easily rectified by the Billion f/w developers. I vaguely recall complaining about it in the days when I used a Billion 8800NL but nothing's ever been done about it.