I performed:
opkg update
opkg list-upgradable
There are more than 50 packages that I can update, it is OK if I proceed with the update via OPKG, or should I wait for the next official Gli.Net firmware update?
In general, I wouldn’t recommend blindly updating all packages in OpenWRT (note: this applies to OpenWRT in general, not just the GL-iNet forks). Although a popular community, OpenWRT isn’t huge (like Debian) and testing is somewhat restricted - basically, packages available with each snapshot are tested to ensure that the release as a whole is stable. Package updates aren’t fully backtested against all possible configurations, so things can (and do) go wrong.
Basically, if you’re installing a new package and some of the existing dependancies require updating, then update just those dependencies. Then, test and make sure that everything on your router is still functioning as expected.
As far as ensuring that critical updates are applied:
- New stable releases come out every 1-2 months. You’ll be notified on your router’s dashboard. Keep up to date with them.
- Keep an eye out for zero-day vulnerabilities, visit the forums and check to see if there are any advisories to update specific packages.
Pls don’t update all packages. It will definitely break something.
It is better that you upgrade individual packages. In case you have issues, you know which package breaks the firmware and we could fix.
That’s what I did, I updated one package at a time, everything worked fine.