How to check for and install a router firmware update

Short answer: log into your router’s admin page, find the firmware or software version under system or administration settings, and compare it to the latest version on the manufacturer’s support site for your exact model. If it’s a newer version, install it from that same admin page over a wired connection, and leave the router alone until it finishes and reboots on its own.

Why this matters more for a router than most devices

Your phone and laptop nag you about updates constantly. A router usually doesn’t, and that’s the problem. It sits at the edge of your home network, facing the internet directly, and a lot of the security work vendors do happens in firmware patches: closing a vulnerability that lets an attacker in from outside, fixing a bug that crashes the WiFi radio under load, or adding support for a new security standard. A router running years-old firmware is a known target for the automated scans that probe home networks for unpatched holes.

Most routers don’t update themselves unless you’ve explicitly turned that on, so this is one of the few maintenance tasks that’s genuinely worth doing by hand.

Checking your current version

1. Log into the admin page. Open your router’s admin address in a browser (commonly 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) and sign in. If you’re not sure of the login, the guide to logging into your router covers finding your gateway address and per-brand admin pages.
2. Find the firmware or software version. It’s usually under a menu called System, Administration, or Advanced, labeled “firmware version,” “software version,” or just “version.” Write it down.
3. Compare it against the manufacturer’s site. Search the router’s exact model number (printed on the label on the unit) plus “firmware” to reach the vendor’s support or download page, and check the latest version listed there against what your router is running. The router login directory lists the admin page and gateway address per model if you need those first.

Mesh systems like eero, Google Nest Wifi, or TP-Link Deco skip this step entirely — the app checks and applies firmware updates on its own, with no manual version-comparison needed.

Installing the update safely

If a newer version is available, most routers offer one of two paths:

• Automatic check-and-install. Many admin pages have a button that checks the vendor’s server directly and installs the latest version in a couple of clicks, no download needed.
• Manual upload. Older or more basic routers require you to download a firmware file from the vendor’s site and upload it through the admin page yourself. Get the file from the official support page only — never a third-party mirror.

Either way, a few precautions matter:

• Use a wired connection if you can. Updating over WiFi risks the connection dropping mid-transfer. An ethernet cable from your computer to the router removes that risk.
• Don’t touch it once it starts. The router will look unresponsive for a minute or two while it writes the new firmware. That’s normal. Unplugging it or restarting the update partway through is what actually causes a “bricked” router, not the update process itself.
• Expect a reboot. The router restarts automatically when the update finishes, and your WiFi drops for a moment while it comes back. Your network name, password, and other settings carry over unchanged.

If something looks wrong afterward

A router that won’t come back online after an update, or that starts behaving oddly, is rare but not unheard of. Before assuming the worst, give it a few minutes and a normal power cycle (unplug, wait ten seconds, plug back in). If it still won’t respond, a factory reset returns it to a known working state, though it also wipes your settings and takes you back to the router’s original admin login — worth checking the default password guide for where that login actually lives per brand before you’re locked out on top of it.