In other words, acknowledge that someone did some work, and actually ask if they're using the latest version, and vitally - acknowledge that they read the correspondence and that upgrading will address the issue.

"Update your software" is often a BS answer that can introduce many other issues or breakages in production systems. Without a clean "downgrade" path (which many companies don't provide) you run a risk of introducing more problems.

i think you're misunderstanding me. i'm agreeing with you - network device vendors are universally terrible across the board, and that's why nobody should count on them unless they absolutely have to.

in other words, what i'm saying is to expect that kind of response is naive, and that you should seek alternatives.