Firmware is the software the runs inside any hardware device. In the case of your broadband router, you need to keep this software up-to-date to make sure your network is protected against any known flaws and, more importantly, vulnerabilities.

Login to the control panel from your router as described in the previous page and look for a place where it shows the current firmware version. In the case of our router, this was shown on the upper right corner from every page.

A few routers allow you to download and upgrade the latest firmware by just clicking a button inside their control panel. If you are the lucky owner of one of these routers, look for an option that downloads and upgrades the firmware automatically. In most cases, however, you will need to download a file to your computer, upload this file to your router and then proceed with the firmware upgrade.

To download the latest firmware, go to your router manufacturer website and look up on the download section or support pages if there is a more recent firmware for your router. You will need to know the exact model number from your router and sometimes also the revision (tip: look at the sticker available on the product). You can see here a complete list of manufacturers and their respective websites.

After locating the file, see if it carries a version number higher than the one your router is currently using. Of course if your router is already using the latest firmware available no upgrade is necessary. Then download the file to your computer. Usually the file will have a zip extension, meaning that you need to uncompress it before uploading to the router.

Next locate on the control panel from your router where you can upgrade its firmware. As usual the exact location will depend on you router manufacturer and model. In our case this option was called “Firmware upgrade” and was available under “Administration.”

On this screen, shown in Figure 2, you will need to browse your computer for the uncompressed firmware file (that usually has the extension bin) and then click on the “Upgrade” box.

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Figure 2: Firmware upgrade screen.

The upgrade process takes a little while and after the upgrade a new login will be necessary.