Having the network equipment updated with the latest version of firmware or software is essential, both to enjoy the latest features added by the manufacturer, as well as to correct possible bugs in operation and also possible security flaws.Today in RedesZone we are going to show you different methods that we can use to update the firmware of your Wi-Fi router to the latest version, and also some tricks and recommendations that we must carry out.The firmware is one of the most important parts of our router, it is in charge of managing all network connections in an optimal way and also of avoiding or mitigating attacks that can be made to us from the Internet.It is essential to have a firmware always updated to the latest version, because manufacturers are detecting and correcting failures, both functionality failures and security flaws that must be solved as soon as possible so as not to put wired and wireless customers at risk. Let's go connect.In addition to fixing malfunctions and security flaws that may appear, manufacturers also update the firmware to incorporate new features, such as a VPN server, a BitTorrent client, and even release updates to only update this part of the firmware with the latest version available.Internally most firmwares are based on Linux, therefore it is also critical to update all internal packages to the latest version available.If the firmware of your router has an FTP server, the most normal thing is that it incorporates proFTPd or vsFTP, two of the most well-known and used FTP servers for Linux, these FTP servers also have new versions that add and solve different problems, therefore, we should always have the latest version of these softwares to be safe.The manufacturers of home routers that usually release the most firmware updates are ASUS, AVM FRITZ!and also NETGEAR, all of them do it both to correct security flaws, as well as to improve existing functionalities and even incorporate new features.The latter is appreciated, because in this way we can have new features that we did not have before, just by updating the firmware of our router.Therefore, updating the firmware is a highly recommended task that we should all do regularly, to perform good maintenance on our wireless router and have the latest updates from the manufacturer.A decade ago there was only one way to update the firmware of the router, and it could be somewhat complicated for users because it was done completely "manually", today we have automatic methods that will allow us to download and update the firmware, and in question After 3 minutes we will have the new update installed without complicating our lives.Currently this manual method is still in force, but we also have others that we are going to explain below.This method consists of entering the official website of our router periodically, going to the “Support” or “Help” section, and seeing what is the latest version of the firmware that has been published.On some occasions, we will have to enter the US website and not the Spanish one, since it is very possible that the website has not yet been updated with the latest version of the firmware, therefore, we should check the different websites of the same manufacturer to see which one we have the latest version on.This process is manual since we will have to do it monthly, to check whether or not we have a new firmware update.Once we have found the new firmware, we download it to our PC for later updating.To update the firmware of a router, Wi-Fi repeater or PLC manually, we will have to enter the web configuration menu of its firmware, go to the “Administration” section and we will have to see the “Update” option or similar.Here we will have to click on the “Examine” or “Load” button, select the firmware that we have previously downloaded and click on “Accept”.At this moment the firmware will be transferred to the router for its later update, this process usually lasts a maximum of 3 minutes, once the router has been updated, it will automatically restart and we will have Internet connectivity again and we will have the latest version of the firmware .This method consists of the fact that it is the router itself that will notify us that there is a new version of the firmware, since it continuously checks the manufacturer's servers to detect a change in it.Once you have notified us of this, we can enter the manufacturer's official website, go to the "Support" or "Help" section and download the latest version of the firmware, if it is not on the product's Spanish website, we can try enter through the US website, however, we will be sure that there is a new update since the router itself has notified us.This method consists in the fact that it is the router itself that will notify us that there is a new version of the firmware, it will be able to download it completely automatically, and then we will carry out the “manual” update by simply clicking on “accept”.This process is one of the best because we will only have to accept or deny the update of the new firmware, without having to search the official website, download it and later update it manually.This process is semi-automatic and is one of the most currently used by manufacturers.This method consists in the fact that it is the router itself that will connect to the manufacturer's servers at a certain time (mainly at night), it will be able to download it completely automatically, and then it will perform the firmware update itself, without intervention. of the user.This update method is ideal to always have the latest version available, and all this automatically, ideal for users who do not know how to update the firmware or who are not aware of the latest versions of their firmware.Updating router firmware can be a tedious process if it is old and you only have the manual update option, or very easy to do if you have the latest update methods.However, it is very important to go into our router and see what kind of firmware update we have available.Regardless of the firmware update method, the first thing we must do is enter the router configuration via the web.In order to know the IP address of our router, you must follow these steps:So, it will show us these results:Here we see that our gateway is 192.168.1.1.As an example we are going to use the AVM FRITZ!Box router that we are using.Then we open our internet browser we write 192.168.1.1 and press the Enter key.Next, what we have to do is put the password of our router.In the case of Internet operators, it usually comes on a sticker that comes below.At RedesZone we recommend changing it unless, due to having a TV service, it does not allow you to do so.Once web access to the router is guaranteed using our password, we are in the router configuration menu.Now our objective will be to locate the section where the firmware is updated.In the case of FRITZ!Box routers, the section to update is found in System.There we see several sections, the one that matters to us in this case is the Update, which is the one we are going to press.This is the screen where the firmware is updated and the first thing it does is show us information about the version we have installed.In this case we find the group of routers that download the firmware by themselves.To do so, we simply have to click on Search for a new FRITZ! OS and follow the instructions.In the rest of the routers, it is practically the same, we have to reach a similar screen.In it we will also see the firmware version and we will find a button that is usually called Update Firmware.We press it, select the path where the file we have downloaded is and wait for the operation to complete.In the case of routers from the manufacturer ASUS, we have the following options, and if we have an AiMesh network, we can also update the different nodes almost automatically.We can load the firmware manually, or download it automatically to always have the latest update easily and quickly.The manufacturer D-Link has also done a great job regarding the firmware update policy, now we have the possibility of fully automatic update available, as you can see here:As you have seen, depending on the manufacturer and model of the router, we will have one update method or another, but we will always have the completely manual update method available in case any type of error occurs.In recent months, the possibility of updating the firmware of the router directly from the official app for Android or iOS smartphones has become fashionable. This method is the same as the one you would carry out via the web in the firmware, but directly from the application.This method is also very easy to do and highly recommended to do as the router will automatically download and install the latest version of the firmware.If you are going to perform a firmware update, you must take into account some very important aspects:Finally, we recommend that you perform a router reset (factory reset) once every three new versions of the firmware, since, on many occasions, they have important changes and if we do a reset, the operation of our router will be optimal.