Hardware Setup

11

Nighthawk

X6 AC3200

Tri-Band

WiFi

Router

You can use the

LED On/Off

switch on the rear panel of the router to turn the LEDs on the

top of the router on or off. See <pdf>“Turn the LEDs On or Off” on page

12.

Rear Panel

The rear panel has the connections and buttons shown in the following figure.

USB 3.0

Ethernet

Internet

Power

Power

port

LAN ports 1–4

USB 2.0

port

port

connector

On/Off

LED On/Off

switch

Reset

button

Figure 3. Router rear panel

Pressing the

Reset

button restores the factory settings. See

Factory Settings

on page

166.

USB 3.0 port

USB 2.0 port

The USB 1 LED is for the USB 3.0 USB port on the front panel. The USB 2 LED is for the USB

2.0 port on the rear panel.

•

Solid white

. A USB device is connected and is ready.

•

Blinking

. A USB device is plugged in and is trying to connect.

•

Off

. No USB device is connected or someone clicked the

Safely Remove Hardware

button, and it is now safe to remove the attached USB device.

Ethernet ports

1-4

The LED color indicates the speed: white for Gigabit Ethernet connections and amber for 100

Mbps or 10 Mbps Ethernet connections.

•

Solid

. A powered-on device is connected to the Ethernet port.

•

Blinking

. The port is sending or receiving traffic.

•

Off

. No device is connected to this Ethernet port.

WiFi On/Off

button with LED

Pressing this button for two seconds turns the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi radios on and off.

If this LED is lit, the WiFi radios are on. If this LED is off, the WiFi radios are turned off and you

cannot use WiFi to connect to the router.

WPS button with

LED

This button lets you use WPS to join the WiFi network without typing the WiFi password. The

WPS LED blinks white during this process and then lights solid white.

Table 1.

LED and button descriptions

(continued)

LED

Description

Hardware Setup

12

Nighthawk

X6 AC3200

Tri-Band

WiFi

Router

Turn the LEDs On or Off



To turn the LEDs on or off:

Slide the

LED On/Off

switch on the rear panel to the on or off position.

LED On/Off switch

The Power LED stays lit even if the

LED On/Off

switch is in the off position.

Position Your Router

The router lets you access your network anywhere within the operating range of your wireless

network. However, the operating distance or range of your wireless connection can vary

significantly depending on the physical placement of your router. For example, the thickness

and number of walls the wireless signal passes through can limit the range.

Additionally, other wireless access points in and around your home might affect your router’s

signal. Wireless access points are routers, repeaters, WiFi range extenders, and any other

device that emits a wireless signal for network access.



Position your router according to the following guidelines:

Position your router according to the following guidelines:

•

Place your router near the center of the area where your computers and other devices

operate, and within line of sight to your wireless devices.

•

Make sure that the router is within reach of an AC power outlet and near Ethernet cables

for wired computers.

•

Place the router in an elevated location, minimizing the number walls and ceilings

between the router and your other devices.

•

Place the router away from electrical devices such as these:

-

Ceiling fans

-

Home security systems

-

Microwaves

-

Computers

-

Base of a cordless phone

-

2.4 GHz cordless phone

Hardware Setup

13

Nighthawk

X6 AC3200

Tri-Band

WiFi

Router

•

Place the router away from large metal surfaces, large glass surfaces, and insulated

walls such as these:

-

Solid metal doors

-

Aluminum studs

-

Fish tanks

-

Mirrors

-

Brick

-

Concrete

Cable Your Router

The following image shows how to cable your router:

Modem

Power adapter

Ethernet cable

Ethernet cable

DSL or cable

Router

Figure 4. Router cabling



To cable your router:

1.

Unplug your modem’s power, leaving the modem connected to the wall jack for your

Internet service.

If your modem has a battery backup, remove the battery.

2.

Plug in and turn on your modem.

If your modem has a battery backup, put the battery back in.

3.

Connect your modem to the Internet port of your router with the yellow Ethernet cable that

came with your router.

4.

Connect the power adapter to your router and plug the power adapter into an outlet.

5.

Slide the

LED On/Off

switch on the rear panel to the on position

6.

Press the

Power On/Off

button on the rear panel of the router.

14

2

2.

Connect to the Network and

Access the Router

You can connect to the router’s WiFi networks or use a wired Ethernet connection. This chapter

explains the ways you can connect and how to access the router and log in.

This chapter contains the following sections:

•

Connect to the Network

•

Types of Logins

•

Use an Internet Browser to Access the Router

•

Change the Language

•

Access the Router with NETGEAR genie Apps

Connect to the Network and Access the Router

15

Nighthawk

X6 AC3200

Tri-Band

WiFi

Router

Connect to the Network

You can connect to the router’s network through a wired or WiFi connection. If you set up

your computer to use a static IP address, change the settings so that it uses Dynamic Host

Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

Wired Connection

You can connect your computer to the router using an Ethernet cable and join the router’s

local area network (LAN).



To connect your computer to the router with an Ethernet cable:

1.

Make sure that the router has power (its Power LED is lit).

2.

Connect an Ethernet cable to an Ethernet port on your computer.

3.

Connect the other end of the Ethernet cable to one of the numbered Ethernet ports.

Your computer connects to the local area network (LAN). A message might display on

your computer screen to notify you that an Ethernet cable is connected.

WiFi Connection

You can connect to the router’s WiFi network with Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) or you can

find and select the WiFi network.



To use WPS to connect to the WiFi network:

1.

Make sure that the router has power (its Power LED is lit).

2.

Check the WPS instructions for your computer or wireless device.

3.

Press the

WPS

button on the router.

4.

Within two minutes, on your computer or WiFi device, press its

WPS

button or follow its

instructions for WPS connections.

Your computer or wireless device connects to the WiFi network.



To find and select the WiFi network:

1.

Make sure that the router has power (its Power LED is lit).

2.

On your computer or wireless device, find and select the WiFi network.

The WiFi network name is on the router’s label.

3.

Join the WiFi network and enter the WiFi password.

The password is on the router’s label.

Your wireless device connects to the WiFi network.