I'm thinking of buying a 2820n when I'm paid next week. As part of my usual research I tend to check things like frequency of firmware updates and helpfulness of support forums as well as the usual thinks like specifications and reviews before making a final decision.

Upon checking the Draytek firmware site, I see that the 2820n hasn't received a firmware update for well over 6 months (November 08 ). Versions 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 are on the horizon but as they have no release notes I can't see for how long they've been sitting there in their beta/pending state.

Is a new firmware release due in the coming days/weeks or will I be buying a product that has gone past it's priority support phase?

Regards,
Ryan Spooner

The UK site is, to be honest, useless for anything but this forum, their updates are out of date by months. If you search around on some of the other versions of Drayteks site from some other countries you get more up to date versions. Or even email support (via UK support page) and they usually send you latest betas.
Typical example is that they advertise the port mirroring/sniffing and smart monitor software on the UK front page, and they say that the 2820 can do it, but the telnet commands to setup sniffing are new and not available yet (except in 3.3.2 RC5, which support sent me).
Don't let this put you off at all, as its easy to obtain firmware beta's etc, just not via this site, and these routers facilities are second to none.

Thanks for the info Mr Rat

Will firmware updates obtained from non-UK Draytek sites work fine on a UK purchased router then? There are no localisation issues to worry about?

Regarding the UK site though, it's a shame Draytek don't assign much priority to keeping it up to date. After all the website is the equivalent of your shop windows these days. Perhaps they need a volunteer to help keep it up to date. This old version 2 phpBB forum could be the first step. Get it up to 3.0.x which is much nicer

As long as its Annexe A I have never had a problem with firmware from different sites, Australia, Poland, etc.
I find the http://www.visus.pt/mirrors/draytek/ site is usually quick with releases.

I queried DrayTek yesterday by email using the email form, got a response today. They sent me their new firmware which they told me is in testing at the moment, due to be released soon.

The version is 3.3.1 and it even has a different ADSL modem version.

The results I'm seeing right now are amazing! I have gone from 9.9Mbps down and 1.0Mbit up (on Be Pro) to 12.7Mbit down and 1.29Mbit up.

The SNR problem I had where it was never 3, is now 3dB! Before the flash it was 8dB.

According to DrayTek the firmware fixes WLAN issues too.

So yes, a release is due VERY soon!

Here's the email I received from DrayTek. Enjoy!

Code:

Hello David, There is a later firmware available for the router with updated ADSL modem code which should help with your connection speed and SNR problems. The firmware that I'm sending you is soon meant to be a final release but is currently being tested and should be released soon. Regards, David

...and...

Code:

Hello David, Unfortunately because it is not yet a formal release there is no changelog for it, however it is known to fix wireless connectivity issues and that particular version has updated ADSL modem firmware which has worked better than the previous version in testing. Regards, David

By the way other changes I've noticed is the Online Status screen. Instead of calling it Uncorrected Blocks, they've renamed it to CRC Errors and what not.

Current Status of Router:

Model Name : Vigor2820 series
Firmware Version : 3.3.1_232201
Build Date/Time : Mar 10 2009 14:29:56
ADSL Firmware Version : 232201_A Annex A

If you want the firmware early, I'd suggest contacting them via the website. I told them I had SNR and speed issues, but thanks to the firmware, that's all fixed now!

Here's the form: http://support.draytek.co.uk/techquery.html [/url]

Good info Reado and Mr Rat, thank you. It's helpful and timely responses like this that I look for in a good support forum. I think you've made my mind up for me