Basic Settings

26

R6100 WiFi Router

•

Is your computer or wireless device trying to connect to your network with its old

settings (before you changed the settings)? If so, update the wireless network

selection in your computer or wireless device to match the current settings for your

network.

You can use this screen to view or change the wireless network settings and the security

option.

Wireless Network Settings

•

Region

. The location where the router is used. Select from the countries in the list. In the

United States, the region is fixed to United States and is not changeable.

•

Enable SSID Broadcast

. This feature allows the router to broadcast its SSID so wireless

stations can see this wireless name (SSID) in their scanned network lists. This check box

is selected by default. To turn off the SSID broadcast, clear this check box, and click the

Apply

button.

•

Name (SSID)

. The SSID is also known as the wireless network name. Enter a

32-character (maximum) name in this field. This field is case-sensitive. The default SSID

is randomly generated, and

NETGEAR strongly recommends that you do not change this

setting.

•

Channel

. The wireless channel the gateway uses. Enter a value from 1 through 13. (For

products in the North America market, only Channels 1 through 11 can be operated.) Do

not change the channel unless you experience interference (shown by lost connections or

slow data transfers). If this happens, experiment with different channels to see which is

the best.

•

When you use multiple access points, it is better if adjacent access points use different

radio frequency channels to reduce interference. The recommended channel spacing

between adjacent access points is 5 channels (for example, use Channels 1 and 6, or 6

and 11).

•

Mode

. Up to 300 Mbps is the default setting, which allows 802.11n and 802.11g wireless

devices to join the network. The other settings are Up to 54 Mbps, and Up to 145 Mbps.

•

Security Options

. The router comes with unique preset wireless security. These settings

are on the product label. NETGEAR recommends that you use preset security so that you

can refer to the label if you forget the WiFi password. However, you can

change the

security option and passphrase.

Wireless Security Options

A security option is the type of security protocol applied to your wireless network. The

security protocol in force encrypts data transmissions and ensures that only trusted devices

receive authorization to connect to your network. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) has several

options including pre-shared key (PSK) encryption.

WPA encryption is built into all hardware that has the Wi-Fi-certified seal. This seal means

that the product is authorized by the Wi-Fi Alliance (

) because it complies

with the worldwide single standard for high-speed wireless local area networking.

Basic Settings

27

R6100 WiFi Router

WPA uses a passphrase for authentication and to generate the initial data encryption keys.

Then it dynamically varies the encryption key. WPA-PSK uses Temporal Key Integrity

Protocol (TKIP) data encryption, implements most of the IEEE 802.11i standard, and works

with all wireless network interface cards, but not all wireless access points.

WPA2-PSK is stronger than WPA-PSK. It is advertised to be theoretically indecipherable due

to the greater degree of randomness in encryption keys that it generates. WPA2-PSK gets

higher speed because it is implemented through hardware, while WPA-PSK is implemented

through software. WPA2-PSK uses a passphrase to authenticate and generate the initial data

encryption keys. Then it dynamically varies the encryption key.

WPS-PSK + WPA2-PSK mixed mode can provide broader support for all wireless clients.

WPA2-PSK clients get higher speed and security, and WPA-PSK clients get decent speed

and security. For help with WPA settings on your wireless computer or device, see the

instructions that came with your product.



To change the WPA settings:

1.

Select

BASIC > Wireless Settings

.

NETGEAR recommends that you do not disable security

.

2.

Under Security Options, select the WPA option you want.

3.

In the Passphrase field that displays when you select a WPA security option, enter the

network key (password) that you want to use. It is a text string from 8 to 63 characters.

4.

Write down the new password and keep it in a secure place for future reference.

5.

Click the

Apply

button.

Your changes are saved.

Basic Settings

28

R6100 WiFi Router

Set Up a Guest Network

A guest network allows visitors at your home to use the Internet without using your wireless

security key. You can add a guest network to each wireless network: 2.4 GHz b/g/n and 5.0

GHz a/n.



To set up a guest network:

1.

Select

BASIC >

Guest Network

.

2.

Select any of the following wireless settings:

•

Enable Guest Network

. When this check box is selected, the guest network is

enabled, and guests can connect to your network using the SSID of this profile.

•

Enable SSID Broadcast

. If this check box is selected, the wireless access point

broadcasts its name (SSID) to all wireless stations. Stations with no SSID can adopt

the correct SSID for connections to this access point.

•

Allow guests to see each other and access my local network

. If this check box is

selected, anyone who connects to this SSID has access to your local network, not just

Internet access.

3.

Give the guest network a name.

The guest network name is case-sensitive and can be up to 32 characters. You then

manually configure the wireless devices in your network to use the guest network name in

addition to the main SSID.

4.

Select a security option from the list.

The security options are described in

Wireless Security Options

on page

26.

5.

Click the

Apply

button.

Your settings are saved.

Basic Settings

29

R6100 WiFi Router

View Attached Devices

To view all computers or devices that are currently connected to your network, use the

Attached Device screen.



To go to the Attached Devices screen:

1.

From the BASIC Home screen, select

Attached Devices

.

Wired devices are connected to the router with Ethernet cables. Wireless devices have

joined the wireless network. The following information is displayed:

•

#

(number). The order in which the device joined the network.

•

IP Address

. The IP address that the router assigned to this device when it joined the

network. This number can change if a device is disconnected and rejoins the network.

•

MAC Address

. The unique MAC address for each device does not change. The MAC

address is typically shown on the product label.

•

Device Name

. If the device name is known, it is shown here.

2.

(Optional) Click the

Refresh

button to update this screen.

30

4

4.

Advanced Home Settings

Specify custom settings

This chapter helps you configure the advanced settings in your router using genie. This chapter

contains the following sections:

•

NETGEAR genie Advanced Home Screen

•

Internet Connection Setup Wizard

•

WAN Setup

•

LAN Setup

•

WPS Wizard for WiFi Connections

•

Quality of Service (QoS) Setup

Some selections on the Advanced Home screen are described in separate chapters:

•

USB Storage

. See

Chapter 5, USB Storage

.

•

Security

. See

Chapter 6, Security

.

•

Administration

. See

Chapter 7, Administration

.

•

Advanced Setup

. See

Chapter 8, Advanced Settings

.