Netgear R7000 Xwrt-Vortex Firmware 384.13.0

Xwrt-Vortex is a port of Asuswrt-Merlin for different routers developed by Vortex. Xwrt-Vortex retains all the features of the original stock Asus firmware. 

Changes:
- NEW: AiMesh Router and node support. Note that automatic live update of Merlin-based nodes is not supported, you will have to manually update any Merlin-based nodes when a new firmware is available. Asus-based nodes (which is recommended) will be able to make use of the automatic live update.
- NEW: ChaCha20-Poly1305 support in Strongswan (themiron)
- UPDATED: RT-AX88U to GPL 384_6210.
- UPDATED: Curl 7.65.3.
- CHANGED: dhcp_staticlist no longer contains hostnames, these have been moved to dhcp_hostnames for better compatibility with upstream and closed source components, also allows more static leases to be defined before reaching the size limit.
- CHANGED: Replace Nettle with OpenSSL for dnsmasq's DNSSEC validation, which opens the door to supporting more ciphers. (themiron)
- FIXED: Firmware Update check button would redirect to Asus support site if scheduled checks are disabled.
- FIXED: Firefox was showing a no-op Uninstall button on the AiCloud page
- FIXED: 5 GHz radio showing as disabled on the Sysinfo page for the RT-AC87U
- FIXED: FTP would be accessible from the WAN even while disabled if you had DualWAN load balancing enabled, or IPTV configured.
- FIXED: IGMP Snooper daemon crashing when more than 32 hosts are present (themiron)
- FIXED: External DDNS IP checker would fail for Chinese users, as checkip.dyndns.org is blocked - switched to .com TLD.
- FIXED: Devices without a networkmap-defined alias wouldn't fallback to their hostname on some webui pages like the IPTraffic and QoS Classification pages.
- FIXED: Remote IP field filtering on Classification page wasn't working.
- FIXED: Incorrect user permissions displayed on the FTP page.
- FIXED: Performance issues for some users, following the kernel security fixes in 384.12. (gzenux)

Flash instructions, read carefully:

- Backup the /jffs partition because the flashing will erase all data;
- When coming from 380 to 384/NG You MUST flash the 380.70 build first;
- You MUST to do a factory default reset after flashing the NG build;
- Clear your browser cache after flashing the 384/NG.

Installation:

Simply flash it like any regular update. You should not need to reset to factory defaults. You can revert back to an original Asus firmware at any time just by flashing a firmware downloaded from Asus's website.

NOTE:

resetting to factory default after flashing is strongly recommended for the following cases:
- Updating from a firmware version that is more than 3 releases older
- Switching from a Tomato/DD-WRT/OpenWRT firmware

If upgrading from anything older and you experience issues, then consider doing a factory default reset then as well. Always read the changelog, as mandatory resets will be mentioned there when they are necessary.

In all of these cases, do NOT load a saved copy of your settings! This would be the same thing as NOT resetting at all, as you will simply re-enter any invalid setting you wanted to get rid of. Make sure to create a new backup of your settings after reconfiguring.

Installation Notes:

- This custom firmware can be applied like any regular update.
- You should not need to reset to factory defaults.
- You can revert back to an original ASUS firmware at any time.
- Do not load a saved copy of your settings.

About Router Firmware:

Before you consider downloading this firmware, go to the system information page of the router and make sure that the currently installed version isn't either newer or matching this release.

Due to the large variety of router models and different methods for upgrading the device, it is highly recommended that you read and, above all, understand the installation steps before you apply the new firmware, even if you are a power user.

In theory, these steps shouldn't be much of a hassle for anyone, because manufacturers try to make them as easy as possible, even if they don't always succeed. Basically, you must upload the new firmware to the router through its administration page and allow it to upgrade.

If you install a new version, you can expect increased security levels, different vulnerability issues to be resolved, improved overall performance and transfer speeds, enhanced compatibility with other devices, added support for newly developed technologies, as well as several other changes.

If you're looking for certain safety measures, remember that it would be best if you perform the upload using an Ethernet cable rather than a wireless connection, which can be interrupted easily. Also, make sure you don't power off the router or use its buttons during the installation, if you wish avoid any malfunctions.

If this firmware meets your current needs, get the desired version and apply it to your router unit; if not, check with our website as often as possible so that you don't miss the update that will improve your device.