I use a Balance 20 for my home office, along with an AP One… I got an email today announcing the release of the 6.1 firmware… I followed the instructions and created an account on the InControl 2.0 site and registered my Balance 20 (but not my AP One, which doesn’t need to be added).
Of course, my device is out of warranty by 18 days… doh! So, I follow the instructions to see how much it costs to purchase an extended warranty, but there is no support plan available for the Balance 20/30 at the Peplink online store…
To my knowledge, there has never been an extended support plan for the Balance 20/30 — not even available during the initial purchase.
I’ve had a Balance 20 for 18 months waiting for some of the changes that appear to now be in this newly announced version 6.1. I’ll be very disappointed if I/we (there are others patiently waiting as well) now have to pay anything at all for what were reported as “coming soon” features in our devices.
I hope that this upgrade issue gets resolved quickly. If we do not need an upgrade key for these non-entrerprise class devices then let us know, include them in the footnote on the release docs saying it isn’t needed, and I’ll happily go forward with the download and upgrade procedure.
These features will require the upgrade to 6.1 firmware. This will require the unit to be under initial warranty to obtain a unlock key for the 6.x firmware. For the Balance 20/30 we have added a 1 year extended warranty option that is available to be purchased by navigating to the below mentioned link or simply email [email protected].
Otherwise this is a cheap way to upgrade to get quite a few new features by just downloading firmware rather then requiring the purchase of a whole new device. Upgrade keys are not needed for the MOTG, BR1 and SOHO.
Also, here is a guide to upgrade to the 6.1 firmware: http://www.peplink.com/knowledgebase/firmware-6-1-upgrade-guide/
The 6.1 firmware is a major upgrade, and in order to upgrade to it the device needs to be in warranty.
By purchasing the extended warranty you will be able to upgrade to 6.1, take advantage of our powerful cloud-based central management system InControl 2, and also receive another year of hardware coverage. If anything goes wrong it will be repaired/replaced for free.
It may be available to purchase, but it does not show up in the link you provided me to the online store…
Marty,
I agree with you… but depending on the cost of the extended warranty I might do it. At least I was 18 days out - I have had times (with other vendors) when I did not qualify for a discounted software upgrade by 1 or 2 days!
Before / If I buy my upgrade, did the much promised “time based WAN control” feature get added? i.e. specify time of day for a WAN to connect and disconnect?
Did the outbound buffer size control in the support page get restored?
my serial number was included with the comments in the warranty purchase.
I logged onto “InControl2” and selected the firmware 6.1 to my device’s online dashboard.
I downloaded the correct version of the firmware and manually applied it to my router
The web console for my router first validates the firmware then starts applying it. I watch the progress bar get to 30% and then hang there for minutes. At which point it quickly moves to 100 and reboots back into 5.3.12. I don’t get the lock screen asking foir the 6.1 unlock code.
Am I doing something wrong? I don’t think that I’ve missed a step. Any suggestions?
Thanks;
Mike