Firmware files no longer available for download

ThomasS

Dear Community

We would like to inform you about a change regarding the firmware download.

With immediate effect, the firmware files for our Internet-Box and WLAN-Box will no longer be available for download on our website.

This decision has been made for security reasons and is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure and increase the security of our products.

Thank you for your understanding.

Black Mamba

@ThomasS

thank you for this safety information 🚫⛑

bitracer

Why, it was convenient to be able to download firmware? Few times I noticed that the new firmware was available but the devices didn’t update automatically yet.

If it’s about removing old, potentially vulnerable, firmware versions then just make available the latest firmware version.

ThomasS

As I said: This decision has been made for security reasons and is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure and increase the security of our products.

There is no need to manually update the device to a newer firmware in “normal customer life”. All devices are updated automatically, this happens staggered over a few days/weeks.

iPing

Subject: Urgent: Request for Firmware Download Solution

Hi @ThomasS,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to address a critical concern regarding the removal of firmware download capability from your website.

While I comprehend the security implications behind this decision based on customer reasons, it is imperative that we have the ability to download firmware. Currently, when we activate a WLANBOX, it does not automatically check for available firmware updates. This poses a significant security risk, leaving our customers without a viable solution.

The necessity to power off the WLANBOX overnight for security, health, and sustainability reasons exacerbates the issue. (Please refer to https://www.swisscom.ch/en/about/sustainability/environment.html) During these periods, it seems the Captive Portal may update the device, but the lack of a firmware check creates a vulnerability.

This email serves as a formal complaint to SCS as the current situation is unacceptable. It appears that the Internet Box Product Owner is not effectively managing this aspect of our products.

I kindly request that you escalate this matter to the product manager promptly. Failing to address this concern may force me to reach out to the highest SCS level and media outlets. One potential solution would be to implement a “Check for Update” button on our devices.

I am eagerly awaiting your response before considering further actions.

Best regards,

Giuseppe

@MichelB (for information)

Gaeilgeoir

@iPing We are here a customer help customer forum, as are customers like you and are the wrong contact, you will not get a satisfactory answer here either, please contact Swisscom directly via:

https://www.swisscom.ch/en/residential/help/contact.html

ManuelH

Hi @iPing

That’s not quite right. A WLAN-Box always checks if it has the latest version installed when it starts and does this automatically if that is not the case. So don’t worry, we are always striving to keep our customers’ devices up to date.

However, if you turn off your WLAN-Box overnight, you may receive updates later. This is because the version check that a box does after a restart can be different from the one we roll out overnight. So, the version is always a little bit behind.

Furthermore, I have some good news for you. The ability to update your Internet-Box independently has just been implemented with the latest version. This means that as soon as an update is available, you will see it in the WebUI. You must have the expert mode turned on for this.

I hope I was able to answer some of your questions.

Regards,

Manuel

iPing

Hi @ManuelH

Many thanks for your prompt response.

This provides clear answers about the update process, information unfortunately not available on the support pages and not mentioned in community thread posts.

I notice that the IB Release notes clearly mention the change (button to deploy the latest updates).

However, my concern was specifically about the WLANBOX, and I hope this feature can be deployed on this device as well. Perhaps even consider informing the user when they log into the interface, with a page or pop-up indicating that an update has occurred and listing the changes/improvements.

A detailed explanation is always more appreciated than a simple ‘we decided.’

Thanks again to the Device team!

Giuseppe

iyanmv

Security through obscurity… what an epic move in the wrong direction.

iyanmv

Not only firmwares are not available anymore but now apparently you also don’t update the changelogs. My Internet Box 3 recently installed firmware 14.20.32/02211, but on the firmware website, the latest version is 14.20.30. Is this also in the name of “security”?