FEEDBACK THREAD - Fido Home Internet Firmware Trial

[FidoCaroline]

Hey Community,

We're currently offering our members an exclusive opportunity to participate in a trial of the new firmware for our Fido Home Internet Wi-Fi Modem (CGN3AMF). For details of this program, please click here.

This thread will be used for your feedback regarding the firmware. We've invited some folks from the Network team to participate in this thread. Your feedback is very valuable and will be used to enhance the firmware before it is released publicly.

Thanks for your continued feedback and support!

-FidoCaroline

-- List of Changes --

The following list will be updated periodically

Hitron CGN Series

Models: CGN3ACR; CGN3AMR; CGN3ACSMR; CGN3AMF; CGNM-3552

Current production firmware:

• CGN3ACR: 4.5.8.45
• CGN3AMR: 4.5.8.45
• CGN3AMF: 4.5.8.45
• CGN3ACSMR: 4.5.8.45
• CGNM-3552: 4.5.8.45

Current trial firmware: No trial firmware at the moment

Version history

• 4.5.8.21T6 (May 30, 2016)
  • IPv6 enabled by default
  • Security enhancements
  • Fix to preserve LAN connectivity in case of HFC outage or loss of signal
  • Addition of Wi-Fi Survey functionality
  • Improved stability of WPS function
  • Improved Wi-Fi performance
  • Various minor GUI changes and improvements

• 4.5.8.25 (September 15, 2016)
  • Change in Intel Puma Kernel
  • Latency Improvements (ICMP only, no change to TCP/UDP/ICMPv6 latency)
  • SIP ALG Setting available in GUI
  • Fix for long passwords in EasyConnect
  • Fix for special characters in WiFi passwords

• 4.5.8.26 (September 30, 2016)
  • Minor revision over 4.5.8.25
  • Fix for ICMP packet loss discovered in 4.5.8.25

• 4.5.8.29 (March 16, 2017) - Not released due to issues

• 4.5.8.30 (April 12, 2017) - Not released due to issues

• 4.5.8.31 (June 22, 2017) - On hold due to issues
  • Fix: Port forwarding on TCP/22 and TCP/23
  • Fix: Some MAC addresses can't be associated to a DHCP reservation
  • Fix: Uplink speed issue introduced in 4.5.8.27
  • Fix: Support for WiFi special characters
  • Improvement: Language selection in Guest WiFi Login
  • Improvement: ICMP Latency
  • Improvement: TCP Latency (Intel SDK 4.5.7.60)
  • Improvement: Wireless Site Survey
  • Improvement: Gateway operating mode (IPv4/IPv6/Dual-Stack) * This feature is not working yet on CGN3ACSMR and requires a network change
  • Add: IPv6 Firewall with per service/host control
  • Add: MoCA support

• 4.5.8.33 (July 22, 2017)
  • Fix: WiFi issues on upgrade

• 4.5.8.35 (September 8, 2017)
  • Fix: UPnP fix for XBOX
  • Fix: IPv6 Firewall handling of large packets
  • Fix: IPv6 RA interval default to min 198 and max 600
  • Fix: Possible automatic factory reset when changing LAN IP
  • Add: Support of 5G channel 165

• 4.5.8.35T2 (November 10, 2017)
  • Minor management change, no customer visible change
  • *** This software displays 4.5.8.35 as the version in the GUI ***

• 4.5.8.38T4 (March 28, 2018)
  • Fix: Ongoing stability/performance improvements
  • Intel base firmware update (traffic management improvement)

• 4.5.8.38T5 (April 13, 2018)
  • Fix: Ongoing stability/performance improvements

• 4.5.8.39T2( July 25, 2018) - Not released due to issues
  • Fix: Ongoing stability/performance improvements
  • Wi-Fi driver update (5GHz SSID is intermittently not broadcast after reboot)
  • Improve traffic handling/resiliency

•  4.5.8.39T5 (October 11, 2018) - Not released due to issues
  • Fix: Ongoing stability improvements
  • Fix: Wi-Fi driver update (5GHz SSID is intermittently not broadcast after reboot) - Carried over from 39T2
  • Fix: Modem randomly rebooting

• 4.5.8.39T6 (November 17, 2018)
  • Wi-Fi driver update (5GHz SSID is intermittently not broadcast after reboot) - Carried over from 39T2
  • Fix: Modem randomly rebooting
  • Fix: Ongoing stability improvement
  • Fix: Upgrade issue found on 39T5

• 4.5.8.40 (March 19, 2019)
  • Band Steering enabled as part of the Easy Connect flow
  • Upgrades to backend telemetry – Improves device management
  • GUI Updates

===============

Model: CODA-4582

Current production firmware: 7.1.1.33

Current trial firmware: 7.1.1.37

Version history

• 2.0.10.13 (December 13, 2016)
  
  • Initial release
  • IPv6 disabled

• 2.0.10.14 (December 21, 2016) 
  
  • Improvement to 5 GHz WiFi
  • Fix to guest network

• 2.0.10.17 (December 23, 2016) 
  
  • Fix to handle degraded speeds due to external and/or WiFi interference
  • Improvement to 2.4 GHz WiFi
  • Improvement to 5 GHz WiFi
  • IPv6 handling of SLAAC temporary and secure addresses
  • IPv6 ICMP improvement

• 2.0.10.18 (December 23, 2016) 
  
  • Improvement to LAN switch port autonegociation protocol

• 2.0.10.19 (December 28, 2016) 
  
  • Minor change to internal management interface (not visible to customers)
  • Update to WiFi interference mitigation fix

• 2.0.10.20 (January 10, 2017) 
  
  • Improved flow control algorithm (handle wired devices at different speeds)
  • Improve XBOX NAT
  • WinMTR packet loss fix
  • Improve Switch Link Speed autodetection
  • Improvement to connected device list (not final fix)

• 2.0.10.22 (January 24, 2017) 
  
  • Security fix

• 2.0.10.23 (January 25, 2017) 
  
  • Fix: Unable to complete Easy Connect when using emojis in SSID or password
  • Fix: Samba and UPnP not working properly on WiFi
  • Fix: ICMP packet loss and WinMTR / PingPlotter reported packet loss
  • Fix: Bridge mode not working on certain 3rd party routers
  • Fix: DMZ host address can't be modified
  • Fix: WPS "cancel" button not working
  • Improvement: Switch setup menu now visible in GUI
  • Improvement: Connected device list contains more accurate data
  • Improvement: Addition on IPv6 specific firewall configuration (not complete)

• 2.0.10.24 (February 16, 2017)  -- Automatic upgrade on boot to this version
  
  • Tentative Fix: Slowly degrading speed over time
  • Tentative Fix: Latency build up over time

• 2.0.10.26T1 (March 16, 2017) and 2.0.10.26T2 (March 23, 2017)
  
  • Fix: Gateway reboots randomly when multiple clients are connected
  • Fix: French and special characters not supported in SSID name or password
  • Tentative Fix: Intermitent OFDM channel lock issue
  • Tentative Fix: Missing SC-QAM channels (2.0.10.26T2 only)

• 2.0.10.27 (April 21, 2017) 
  
  • GUI Option to control eRouter Mode (IPv4, IPv6, Dual-Stack)
  • Fix: Guest Network (some issues still persist)
  • Intel base firmware update (latency improvement)

• 2.0.10.29 (June 15, 2017) 
  
  • Add: Manual IPv6 DNS override option
  • Add: IPv6 Firewall with per service/host control
  • Add: Initial implementation of MoCA
  • Fix: Wireless encryption GUI
  • Fix: Guest SSID not working
  • Fix: Support for WiFi special characters

• 2.0.10.30 (June 23, 2017)  -- Not being deployed
  
  • Add: Support for WiFi DFS bands (known issue, channel 144 missing)
  • Add: Support for WiFi band steering
  • Improvement: WiFi speed performance
  • Improvement: MoCA security/privacy settings

• 2.0.10.31 (July 21, 2017)  -- Version 2.0.10.29 + below changes
  
  • Fix: Support for WiFi DFS channels
  • Add: Option for DFS in GUI
  • Add: Option for band steering in GUI
  • Add: Option for USB in GUI

• 2.0.10.32 (September 8, 2017)
  
  • Fix: UPnP fix for XBOX
  • Fix: IPv6 Firewall handling of large packets
  • Fix: IPv6 RA interval default to min 198 and max 600

• 2.0.10.33 (October 13, 2017)
  
  • Fix: Upgrade to PHY firmware (OFDM lock issue)
  • Fix: IPv6 Firewall allowed ICMPv6 types (RFC4890)

• 2.0.10.33T3 (November 9, 2017)
  
  • Fix: Device reboot issue

• 2.0.10.33T03 (February 9, 2018)
  
  • Fix: WiFi Connection authentication issues

• 2.0.10.33T11 (March 12, 2018)
  • Fix: WiFi not working (LED's off/ WiFi not Broadcasting / Auto 0)

• 2.0.10.34T5 (March 28, 2018)
  • Fix: DHCP server stability update (large number of connected devices)
  • Fix: Ongoing stability/performance improvements
  • Intel base firmware update (traffic management improvement

• 2.0.10.34T6 (April 13, 2018)
  • Fix: Ongoing stability/performance improvements
  • Fix: USB/SMB path updated (notes updated)

• 2.0.10.35T1 (May 25, 2018)
  • Intel base firmware update (traffic management improvement)
  • Fix: Amazon/IPv6 big packet issue (Files larger than 1GB can not be downloaded from Amazon)

• 2.0.10.36T2 (July 25, 2018) - Same issue present that caused 35T1 rollback
  • Intel base firmware update (traffic management improvement)
  • Fix: Amazon/IPv6 big packet issue (Files larger than 1GB can not be downloaded from Amazon)
  • Fix: OFDM multi-profile support update (tied to Network change)
  • Improve traffic handling/resiliency

• 2.0.10.36T4 (August 3, 2018)
  • Intel base firmware update (traffic management improvement)
  • Fix: Amazon/IPv6 big packet issue (Files larger than 1GB can not be downloaded from Amazon)
  • Fix: OFDM multi-profile support update (tied to Network change)
  • Improve traffic handling/resiliency
  • Fix: Network performance issue introduced in 2.0.10.35T1

•  2.0.10.36T5 (October 5, 2018) 
  • Modem Re-registration Issue

•  2.0.10.36T6 (October 23, 2018) 
  • Upgrades to backend telemetry – Improves device management

•  7.1.1.27 (November 28, 2019) Staggered Release
  • SDK 7 transition
  • OFDMA support
  • Band Steering enabled through Easy Connect

•  7.1.1.30 (December 19, 2019)  Staggered Release
  • My WiFi fixes
  • Improve modem stability

• 7.1.1.32 (May 28, 2020)
  • VoIP/SIP improvements
  • GUI login issue fixed - password failed to authenticate
  • 5GHz Wi-Fi improvements
  • My Wi-Fi app login issues fixed - password failed to authenticate
  • My Wi-Fi app functionality improvements

• 7.1.1.33 (September 15, 2020)
  • Improved OFDM stability/Noise resiliency
  • Improved SIP Support (Packet Loss/One way voice)
  • Security updates

• 7.1.1.37 (June 8, 2021)
  • Wi-Fi UNII-1 power table improvements
  • GUI updates
  • Patch for slow speed issue

[FirmwareTrial]

@frankis,

I am sorry that you experienced an issue with the firmware upgrade process. This is an extremelly rare occurence (I have seen only one other case of that) where a modem becomes completely unresponsive after a firmware upgrade.

The modem has 2 firmware banks. We pushing an upgrade through the network, the secondary bank gets updated. If the modem can't boot on this firmware, it will automatically revert to alternate software. It seems that this failsafe mechanism didn't work in your case unfortunately and your modem will need a replacement at this point.

The issue we experienced on the Rogers network back in January (the issue you linked) was a completely different situation, not caused by a firmware update.

--Dave

[frankis]

Thanks @FirmwareTrial for getting back to me. So how do I go about getting my modem replaced? Do I have to call into tech support to either get one shipped or dropped off or can I get it swapped at a Fido store? I see in that other thread that one can get a Rogers modem swapped at a Rogers store, but I'm not sure the same applies to Fido branded stores and Fido Internet users.

[FidoNick]

Hey @frankis!

We'll get that modem replaced for you! I've sent you a PM

[v_pham2906]

Sometimes,  I experienced difficulty to access page 192.168.0.1.  Unplug power and replug power would solve problem

[threi]

Decided to hold off on any feedback until I tested it properly. This is my first experience with a modem based on the Puma 6 chipset and my findings (compared to a similar package from a different provider with an older modem Technicolour DCM476)

Prefacing that the majority of my internet usage is watching streams/videos (Youtube, Twitch.tv, etc.)

The original firmware version i was on (4.5.8.22) had high spikes when pinged repeatedly, and everything plugged in directly VIA LAN had extremely high ping/low download speeds constantly. It was unusable to the point where I was considering returning it because i thought it was defective. However, putting the modem into bridge mode solved the LAN issue, but the occasional spikes remained. 

The first update (4.5.8.33) worked the best for me. Ping spikes were mostly eliminated, and video streams had minimal buffering. Note that the modem is still in bridge mode.  

The second update (4.5.8.35), strangely enough, is an in between the .22 and .33 firmware in terms of performance. Both in terms of ping and video streaming, it has been a downgrade from .33 so far. The modem is still in bridge mode, and I have done a factory reset after updating. 

[kr6]

Looks like I got firmware 4.5.8.35 pushed to my modem today, however I am still unable to get IPV6 address. Can anyone confirm if native IPV6 is enabled with the trial firmware?

[FirmwareTrial]

---

@kr6 wrote:
Looks like I got firmware 4.5.8.35 pushed to my modem today, however I am still unable to get IPV6 address. Can anyone confirm if native IPV6 is enabled with the trial firmware?

---

At this point, IPv6 is not enabled on FIDO Internet. I do however take note of this request and will see what needs to be completed in order to enable it.

Dave

[pharm_geek]

Is IPv6 still not enabled? The pinned posting for the new firmware (Model: CGN3AMF)  says that IPv6 is enabled by default but since being pushed 4.5.8.38T5 no IPv6 addressing seems to be taking place and online IPv6 tests show I'm only connecting via v4.

[YellowCap]

I also wonder if ipv6 is being supported with this version.

[v_pham2906]

I'm current in latest update v.4.5.8.38T5.  Somehow now I cannot access mycloud drive from any browser,  either from home OR remote access.  I used to access WD mycloud drive before.  My WD nas model is WDEX2ULTRA

https://www.wd.com/products/network-attached-storage/my-cloud-expert-series-ex2-ultra.html

If anyone who used the same model and can remote access,  please share your experience and/or your current hitron firmware.  Thks,

[v_pham2906]

Has been upgrade from 4.5.8.17 to 4.5.8.35.  Everything seems ok,  except the last led light not light up when USB slot is used as in 4.5.8.17

[paragliding]

~20 h in. I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary or any obvious issues so far (5 GHz).

[31arcan]

Hello,

Rogers currently distributes v. 4.5.8.33 of the new trial firmware for CGN series Rogers supplied modems, including CGN3AMF modem used by Fido. What version of the firmware is offered by this Fido trial?

Also, Rogers periodically updates the trial firmware. When such update is available for this modem, will a new trial fw version automatically be loaded by the Fido modem, or it will be needed to send a new request, and then reset the modem once its upgraded?

As well, once the modem is reset, will it download back current production factory firmware, or will reset to the latest trial firmware installed?

[FirmwareTrial]

Hello @31arcan,

Thanks for your interest in this trial. The firmware that will be distributed as part of this program is currently 4.5.8.33 (the exact same one as for the Rogers trial).

Subsequent firmwares will be available for both Rogers and FIDO at the same time once past the the initial soaking period. We usually update between 10-20 modems of people very active on the forum in a first pass, wait for feedback for a few days and proceed with all the other participants. We should have version 4.5.8.35 available next week as soon as I receive authorization to proceed.

Regarding firmware rollback, no a factory reset will not bring the modem back to the current production firmware. That behavior only exist with CODA-4582 and CODA-4582U modems.

Hope this help and thanks for your interest in this program.

Dave

[31arcan]

Thanks Dave!

So from your reply, subsequent trial versions updates will be automatic, but the user would still needs to manually factory reset the modem after each such update for optimal performance? I ask since I had to factory reset the modem for best performance and GUI fix after a trial update done ahwile ago (I don't recall details now). If true, can you send affected users auto PMs each time notifying their modem firmware was just updated again, and factory reset is recommended?

The previous trial fw version 4.5.8.31 listed among other changes:

• Improvement: ICMP Latency
• Improvement: TCP Latency (Intel SDK 4.5.7.60)

Most know that current modems range with Intel Puma 6 chipset has some latency & jitter issues that were presumably addressed by the new Intel SDK. Can you post some details & stats, what overall changes this SDK and the FW update made to improve latency, and to what degree it was improved?

Also, were the above changes rolled into subsequent revisions of the Rogers trial firmware? Was UDP presumed latency also improved by these changes?

[FirmwareTrial]

The question of the factory reset is a tricky one and it is honestly not an absolute requirement in most cases. There is an issue introduced between old versions of version and anything above 4.5.8.27 where some devices (mostly Google Nexus and Pixel) have hard time staying connected on WiFi. This is resolved by a factory reset (once) and permanently resolved in 4.5.8.35.

The problem is when users are asking me to downgrade their firmware to run a test. This can cause a lot more issue.

I can’t easily send a PM to all participants of this program (there are too many) but I always post it here when there is a version change.

To answer your question regarding improvements in latency, there has been 2 waves of changes. The first one addressed ICMP latency while the second was targeting TCP and UDP. It is however hard to quantify as the initial problem was variable latency (spikes and jumps), there is a lot less of that but I can’t provide an actual number. What I can say is that customers are generally happier with the newer firmware than the old one.

[31arcan]

Thanks again Dave,

I wonder if we can ask Fido forum staff to keep a list of the trial users: once a person submits a request for FW update, s/he is auto added to that list (or possibly "subscribe to the thread's 1st post updates" feature)? In such case, once you post a new FW update on the forum, all subscribed members will receive an automatic PM. This would prompt to login to the modem and check FW version, so if its updated they can factory reset. I realize its not mandatory, but I recall being confused of some connection issues until I figured out to factory reset after FW update. It would help to promote the firmware update to more users and ensure no false issues are reported.

For those interested in latency reduction stats, I found this thread 4.5.8.27 ICMP Latency Reduction giving some useful stats. Hopefully, users will collect and post similar stats for TCP & UDP latency improvements.

[FidoStephen]

---

@31arcan wrote:

Thanks again Dave,

I wonder if we can ask Fido forum staff to keep a list of the trial users: once a person submits a request for FW update, s/he is auto added to that list (or possibly "subscribe to the thread's 1st post updates" feature)? In such case, once you post a new FW update on the forum, all subscribed members will receive an automatic PM. This would prompt to login to the modem and check FW version, so if its updated they can factory reset. I realize its not mandatory, but I recall being confused of some connection issues until I figured out to factory reset after FW update. It would help to promote the firmware update to more users and ensure no false issues are reported.

---

Hey @31arcan,

We're keeping a list of everyone who's participating in this trial. I think your idea is great that participants should subscribe to the thread. I'll see with @FidoCaroline about adding some instructions on how to do that in her post

Thanks again!