NR7101 - Connectivity issues and firmware fix for unsupported frequency bands (5G NSA; B8 & N1)

We are recently receiving more requests on the NR7101 in regard to one of the following subjects:

• Forum entries, which claim the NR7101 especially in Germany does not support 5G NSA, but only LTE frequency bands
• Connectivity issues on reboot of the units
• General inquiries on where to find the latest firmware version

At the date of creation of this ticket (May 2021), the firmware unfortunately is not officially published or uploaded to our otherwise comprehensive Zyxel Download Library.

Since we still want to offer this firmware to our customers, we want to provide it within this article. 

Here are the links to the latest firmwares for your device:

Advanced Downloads for 5G devices

https://download.zyxel.com

Upgrade Path for the Modules:

Please make sure that your downloaded version is updated for your current version!
R01A04 -> R11A03 -> R11A06 > R11A07

If an NR7101 has a module firmware RG502QEAAAR01A04M4G (let’s call it R01A04), and users want to upgrade the module firmware to the R11A03, the latest firmware has the web GUI page for the module upgrade.
Older Firmware Version without Module Upgrade:

New Firmware Version with Module Upgrade:

The steps to upgrade the router firmware and the module firmware from R01A04 to R11A03, here are the steps:

1. Log in the NR7101’s GUI.

2. Go to Firmware Upgrade (Maintenance > Firmware Upgrade), select the firmware file. Start the upgrade.

3. After upgrading the NR7101 to the latest firmware, log in the NR7101’s GUI.

4. Go to Module Upgrade (Maintenance > Firmware Upgrade > Module Upgrade), select the file “RG502QEAAAR01A04-R11A03.zip”, start the upgrade. Note: the pre-requisite for this step is that the module firmware is originally RG502QEAAAR01A04M4G.
   LTE Module before upgrade:
   
   LTE Module after upgrade:
   

Please note that the router changes from router mode to pass-through mode after the upgrade and you may encounter an error claiming an "illegal image" is to be updated. The workaround is to remove the SIM card before you start the upgrade of the cellular module: