Get Started with NETGEAR genie

21

N450 Wireless Router WNR2500

CAUTION:

Do not try to go online, turn off the router, shut down the computer, or do

anything else to the router until the router finishes restarting and the

Power LED has been solid green for several seconds.

For more information about upgrading firmware, see

Upgrade the Router Firmware

on

page

72.

BASIC Home Screen

The router BASIC Home screen has a dashboard that lets you see the status of your Internet

connection and network at a glance. You can click any of the five sections of the dashboard

to view more detailed information. The left column has the menus. You can use the

ADVANCED tab to access more menus and screens.

Menus

(Click the

ADVANCED tab

to view more)

Dashboard

details)

(Click to view

Help

Language

Figure 5. Router BASIC Home screen with dashboard, language, and online help

On the BASIC tab, the following items display:

•

Home

. This dashboard screen displays when you log in to the router

.

•

Internet

. Set, update, and check the ISP settings of your router.

•

Wireless

. View or change the wireless settings for your router.

•

Attached Devices

. View the devices that are connected to your network.

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22

N450 Wireless Router WNR2500

•

Parental Controls

. Download and set up parental controls to prevent objectionable

content from reaching your computers.

•

Guest Network

. Set up a guest network to allow visitors to use your router’s Internet

connection.

ADVANCED tab

. Set up the router for unique situations such as when remote access by IP

address or by domain name from the Internet is needed. For more information, see

Chapter 7, Advanced Settings

. Using this tab requires a solid understanding of networking

concepts.

Help & Support

. Visit the NETGEAR support site to get information, help, and product

documentation. These links work after you have an Internet connection.

Change the Password

The default password that you use to log in to the router is admin. NETGEAR recommends

that you change this default password to a secure password.

Changing the default password is not the same as changing the password for wireless

access. The label on your router shows your unique wireless network name (SSID) and the

passphrase (also referred to as the wireless network password or network key) for wireless

access (see

Label

on page

12).



To change the default password that you use to log in to the router:

1.

Select

ADVANCED > Administration > Set Password

.

A screen similar to the following displays:

2.

Type the old password and type the new password twice in the fields on this screen.

3.

If you want to be able to recover the password, select the

Enable Password Recovery

check box.

Get Started with NETGEAR genie

23

N450 Wireless Router WNR2500

For more information, see the following section.

4.

Click the

Apply

button.

Password Recovery

NETGEAR recommends that you enable password recovery if you change the password for

the router’s user name of admin. Then you have an easy way to recover the password when

it is forgotten. This recovery process is supported in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome

browsers, but not in the Safari browser.



To set up password recovery:

1.

Select

ADVANCED > Administration > Set Password

.

The Set Password screen displays.

2.

Select the

Enable Password Recovery

check box.

3.

Select two security questions and provide answers to them.

4.

Click the

Apply

button.



To recover your password:

1.

In the address field of your browser, type

www.routerlogin.net

.

A login screen displays.

2.

Click the

Cancel

button.

If password recovery is enabled, you are prompted to enter the serial number of the

router. The serial number is on the product label.

3.

Enter the serial number of the router.

4.

Click the

Continue

button.

A screen displays requesting the answers to your security questions.

5.

Enter the saved answers to your security questions.

6.

Click the

Continue

button.

A screen displays your recovered password.

7.

Click the

Login again

button.

A login screen displays.

8.

With your recovered password, log in to the router.

Add Wireless Devices or Computers to Your Network

Choose either the manual or the WPS method to add wireless devices and other equipment

to your wireless network. For information about how to set up a guest network, see

Guest

Network

on page

41.

Get Started with NETGEAR genie

24

N450 Wireless Router WNR2500

Manual Method



To connect manually:

1.

Open the software that manages your wireless connections on the wireless device

(laptop computer, gaming device, iPhone) that you want to connect to your router.

The wireless software scans for all wireless networks in your area.

2.

Look for your network and select it. If you did not change the name of your network during

the setup process, look for the default WiFi network name (SSID) and select it.

The default SSID is on the product label on the router.

3.

Enter the router wireless network password (passphrase) and click the

Connect

button.

The default router passphrase is on the product label on the router.

4.

Repeat Steps 1–3 to add other wireless devices.

Wi-Fi Protected Setup Method

Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) lets you connect to a secure WiFi network without typing its

password. Instead, press a button or enter a PIN. NETGEAR calls WPS Push 'N' Connect.

During the connection process, the client gets the security settings from the router so that

every device in the network has the same security settings.

Some older WiFi equipment is not compatible with WPS. WPS works only with WPA2or WPA

wireless security.



To use WPS to join the wireless network:

1.

Press the

WPS

button on the router front panel.

The WPS LED (on the button) starts to blink green.

2.

Within two minutes, press the

WPS

button on your wireless device or follow the WPS

instructions that came with the device.

The device is now connected to your router.

3.

Repeat Steps 1–2 to add other WPS wireless devices.

25

3

3.

genie BASIC Settings

Your Internet connection and network

This chapter describes the features that are available from the genie BASIC Home screen.

This chapter contains the following sections:

•

Internet Setup

•

Basic Wireless Settings

•

Attached Devices

•

Parental Controls

•

Guest Network