II. Resetting & Router Firmware

DrayTek routers from the Vigor 2820 series onwards support updating the router firmware through the web interface, which simplifies the process of updating the firmware compared to using the Firmware Upgrade utility and makes it possible to update firmware from Windows, Mac OS X or Linux operating systems.

The web interface firmware update facility can be used over wired or wireless connections and even over the internet / VPN if required. It is recommended to update the firmware using a wired connection that's local to the router.

Prior to any firmware upgrade it is good practice to take a configuration backup, which can be done from the [System Maintenance] - [Configuration Backup] page by clicking the Backup button, the web browser will then prompt to download the configuration file.

The update process can take around 3 minutes depending on the router being updated. During this time, the router will still be operating as normal and providing internet / VPN connectivity.

Step 1. Download the firmware from the DrayTek UK Downloads page

Step 2. Extract the .zip file from that page to a location such as the Desktop so that it can be located to perform the firmware update with

Step 3. Log in to the router using Admin log in, the User log in does not have permission to update the firmware so the menu option would not be visible

Step 4. In the router's web interface, go to [System Maintenance] - [Firmware Upgrade] which will show the these options:

The Web Firmware Upgrade section has the Browse and Upgrade options to select then start the upgrade.
The TFTP Firmware Upgrade from LAN section should be ignored, do not click the OK button as that will take the router offline by putting it into TFTP mode, which is where the router waits for firmware from the Firmware Upgrade Utility, which is covered in a separate guide.

Step 5. Click Browse... to open a File Open dialog box from your browser, which you can then point to the firmware file - select the .all file to update the firmware, only select the .rst firmware to put the router back to factory default settings

Step 6. Click the Upgrade button to start the update, this will then send the firmware file from the computer to the router and will display this progress bar while the update is in progress:

This must not be interrupted so do not close the browser tab or navigate away from this page, otherwise it will show the following error messages:

If this occurs, do not power cycle the router or restart it via the web interface - in this state, the router has an incomplete firmware loaded and will fail to boot unless the firmware is reflashed successfully. If the router is restarted in this state, follow the TFTP Recovery guide for instructions on how to recover the router.

If this message is shown, simply repeat the firmware upgrade process and ensure that it completes successfully

Step 7. Once the upload has completed successfully, the router will prompt to restart:

Once restarted, the router will be running the new firmware version, which can be checked from [System Maintenance] - [System Status]

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