Works! How To Update the firmware on the Verizon G3100 : Joshua Lowcock

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Important Update: In August 2021, Verizon made a major firmware update of the G3100 that will include a new UI. You can learn more about the August 2021 G3100 Firmware update here.

Upgrading the Verizon G3100 Firmware

Facts first – there’s no official way to manually upgrade the firmware through the Verizon G3100 system settings.

There is a painful workaround and that is to do a full hard system reset.

To do a full hard system reset on the Verizon G3100, while it’s plugged into power, you need to press the red reset button on the back for about 15 seconds. But be warned it erases ALL your settings!

Why does a factory reset upgrade the Verizon G3100? Talking to Verizon support on the phone as part of a factory reset, when the G3100 router reconnects to Verizon it will download and reinstall the latest firmware as part of the process.

I know this isn’t ideal, don’t blame me, I don’t work for Verizon. But it did work for me when my G3100 got corrupted during one of Verizon’s overnight forced firmware updates.

Tip: The E3200 works the same way for firmware updates. In other words, if you want to update the firmware on your E3200, currently the only way to do this is to do a factory reset to force the E3200 to re-download and install the firmware.

As of January 2023, the current firmware (on my Verizon G3100 and Verizon E3200) is as follows:

Verizon G3100
Firmware 3.1.1.18 on Hardware 1103

Verizon E3200
Firmware 3.1.1.18 on Hardware 1102

I’ll do my best to keep the above current, but given firmware updates in the background, I can’t promise that this will always be 100% accurate.

BackUp Verizon G3100 Settings

I wasn’t able to test this works when you backup from old firmware and restore to a new version of firmware because at the time Verizon had somehow corrupted my G3100 overnight. If you do find yourself in a better position than me and want to force a firmware update through a factory reset, I recommend you back up your G3100 settings first.

The steps to Backup your G3100 Settings are as follows:

Before you Begin

Look at the back of your Verizon G3100 router and note down the admin password to log in to the web interface. I’d recommend taking a photo, just to avoid accidentally missing something or making a mistake on a letter and spending a few frustrating minutes not able to log in. Keep in mind you want the Admin password, not the WiFi password.

Instructions on how to Backup the Firmware on the Verizon G3100

Open your browser and go to this website:

- https://myfiosgateway.com/
  or you can go to
- http://192.168.1.1/
Don’t panic if you get a Security Warning, this is because the router is connecting via HTTP, not HTTPs. This warning is completely normal. If you’re using Chrome, then in your browser:

- click Advanced then scroll down and
- click Proceed to MyFiosGateway (unsafe).

I have capitalized the text so it’s easier to read, but the website address will be in lower case (don’t worry, it’s safe).

You will be at the Verizon G3100 login screen. Type in the Admin password and you will be able to log in.

- the default username is “admin” (no quotes)
- the password is whatever you wrote down from Before you Begin.

Tip: If you encounter any problems, check you are using the Admin password (not WiFi) and click Show Password to make sure you didn’t make a typo.

On the bottom right of the screen, click the link that says Save & Restore.
Select the Save to File radio button, then click Save Configuration.
Save the .cfg to a location where you can find it again later.

All done!

Instructions on how to Backup the Firmware on the Verizon G3100

To Restore a Verizon G3100 firmware backup, follow the steps up to and including #4 above.
Scroll down and select the Load a File radio button then click Chose a File. In the file browser dialog that opens, find and load the .cfg you saved earlier.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Restore configuration.
Your old configuration should be successfully restored.

Note: The above should work without hiccups but Verizon can change things between firmware versions which may make restoring fail. Sadly this is beyond my control, after all, I don’t work at Verizon.