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Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

kb.netgear.com

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Re: Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

#31

Post by userbinator »

4cao wrote: post #2

> You can login and access all features through the local browser UI 3 times without registering the switch through your netgear.com account. How generous, for a device that people buy (not rent) from them, and pay actual money for (not receive for free). And apparently Netgear didn't even feel the need to bother including any contrived excuse as to why this is being introduced. What a time to be alive.

I wonder how long until this gets hacked, and someone releases a cracked firmware with this idiocy removed. Clearly, the functionality is already there if it can be accessed "3 times".

This is the dark side of the "update culture" --- forcing you to take all the things you don't want along with the bug fixes. Aided by dire security warnings of not updating, it's a perfect way to achieve control over your userbase.

Re: Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

#33

Post by dylz »

devrand wrote: post #16
jlgaddis wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... but the telemetry isn't, IIRC.

Is it not? I disabled diagnostic and analytics reporting, though it does occasionally ask me to turn it back on. Is there additional telemetry that cannot be disabled?

When they pushed the firmware, iirc the telemetry was done without notice, opted in and enabled by default, and there was no way to actually opt out until _another firmware update after the uproar_

Re: Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

#34

Post by d3nj4l »

jlgaddis wrote: post #12

(ITT: Plenty of comments from folks who clearly didn't bother to RTFA.) This appears to be for one specific product, a "smart cloud switch" [0] (which comes with a "1-Year Insight Subscription"). I don't see anything to indicate that the product registration requirement applies to any of their other products.

The firmware says you can't access the local browser UI. Insight management is for the online management UI. Even if you don't pay for insight, you should be able to access your switch locally without needing Netgear's permission.

Re: Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

#35

Post by d3nj4l »

rektide wrote: post #18

Wow jeeze. This is such a different & bad look from the netgear I know. This is hard to see. Netgear has been one of the main companies to go to if you care about using your hardware. They have had a spirited MyOpenRouter community[1] for their systems, with great firmwares & flexibile package-add-ons developed with assistance from their solid-gold readily-reproduceable GPL releases[2]. I just had a somewhat overlong…

From the article:

> product registration is required to unlock full access to the local browser UI.

Emphasis mine.

Re: Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

#37

Post by ripply »

duxup wrote: post #32

My new clothes washer has an app. It requires access to location, and phone settings or the app closes by design. I don't think this stuff stops without legislation.

I'm assuming it uses Bluetooth, if thats the case location access is required by Android to search for Bluetooth devices because Bluetooth devices don't move around very much and its possible to get your location if the app has access to a Bluetooth location database.

Re: Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

#38

Post by shock »

I recently bought a couple of Netgear Managed Switches (for Business)⁰ and in their datasheet they list "Local-only management" as a feature. Only after they arrived we discovered that you only get limited functionality in the Local-only management mode, you have to register the switches to your Netgear Cloud account to get access to the full functionality.

Reading up on it, this was achieved only after a community outcry because in the prior firmware versions the switch would have to connect to the Netgear Cloud on every bootup.

Needless to say I would not have bought the swiches if I had knew I needed to register them to Netgear Cloud to have access to the full functionality specified in the data sheet. If I had bought them as a consumer, not as a business, I would have returned them immediately.

Netgear are now on our purchasing blacklist.

⓪ - the switches are Netgear GS-108Tv3

Re: Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

#39

Post by kalleboo »

pseudalopex wrote: post #10
gogopuppygogo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All low end proprietary network gear is going managed by cloud. Ubiquiti on the soho side and now consumer. Open source is the only equipment you can trust to not adopt this model as it’s much more profitable than shipping a box once every five years.

It's optional with Ubiquiti.

I believe it's no longer optional on the new UDM and UDM Pro devices

Re: Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration

#40

Post by molticrystal »

starky wrote: post #25
4cao wrote: post #2

> You can login and access all features through the local browser UI 3 times without registering the switch through your netgear.com account. How generous, for a device that people buy (not rent) from them, and pay actual money for (not receive for free). And apparently Netgear didn't even feel the need to bother including any contrived excuse as to why this is being introduced. What a time to be alive.

How handy, that should be plenty of logins to install Fresh Tomato on the router.

I used Tomato until around 2010 where I switched to dd-wrt, then around 2014 went with openwrt and haven't really followed Tomato in the last 10 years.

I wouldn't mind going back to where I started and using Tomato again, so I was curious what major thing(s) they've done in the last 10 years and why you would chose Tomato over dd-wrt or openwrt.

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