N600 Wireless Dual Band Router WNDR3400 Setup Manual

Configuring Your Wireless Network

28

Testing Basic Wireless Connectivity

Once you have established basic wireless connectivity and enabled security settings appropriate to

your needs, you can test connectivity between devices connected to your router.

To test basic wireless connectivity:

1.

Log in to the wireless router at its default LAN address of

with its default

user name of

admin

and default password of

password

, or using whatever LAN address and

password you have set up.

2.

Select

Wireless Settings

from the main menu of the wireless router.

3.

Note your SSID name. If you used WPS to establish a connection with other devices, the SSID

will now be a randomly selected name.

4.

Make sure that you have selected the region in which the wireless router will operate.

5.

Check the Wireless mode. The default is

Up to 300Mbps at 5GHz & 145Mbps at 2.4GHz.

If

you are experiencing interference, try selecting one of the other available settings (see

“Configuring Your Wireless Settings and Security Options” on page 23

).

6.

Check your wireless security. If you used WPS to enable wireless security, your security will

be set to WPA/WPA2 with a randomly-selected PSK security password.

7.

Click

Apply

to save any changes.

8.

Configure and test your computers for wireless connectivity.

Program the wireless adapter of your computers to have the same wireless network name

(SSID) as the wireless router and the same wireless security as your wireless router. Check

that they have a wireless link and are able to obtain an IP address by DHCP from the router.

The SSID of any wireless adapters or wireless devices connected to your router

must match the SSID you configured in the wireless router. If they do not match,

you will not get a wireless connection.

If you are configuring the router from a wireless computer and you change the

router’s SSID, channel, or security settings, you will lose your wireless

connection when you click

Apply

. You must then change the wireless settings of

your computer to match the router’s new settings.

N600 Wireless Dual Band Router WNDR3400 Setup Manual

Configuring Your Wireless Network

29

Your wireless router is now configured to provide Internet access for your network. Your wireless

router automatically connects to the Internet when one of your computers requires access. It is not

necessary to run a dialer or login application such as Dial-Up Networking or Enternet to connect,

log in, or disconnect. These functions are performed automatically by the wireless router as

needed.

To access the Internet from any computer connected to your wireless router, launch a browser such

as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. You should see the wireless router’s Internet

LED blink, indicating communication to the ISP. The browser should begin to display a Web page.

Troubleshooting

30

Troubleshooting

This chapter gives information about troubleshooting your wireless router. You can find help with

the following problems:

•

“Basic Setup Checklist” on page 30

•

“Checking Basic Router Functions” on page 31

•

“Troubleshooting Login Problems” on page 33

•

“Checking The Internet Service Connection” on page 34

•

“Testing the Path from a PC to Your Router” on page 36

•

“Testing the Path from a PC to the Internet” on page 37

Basic Setup Checklist

The following items are the most common errors made when initially setting up a router. Carefully

review the checklist to make sure that you have followed the recommended procedures.

Be sure to always start your network in this sequence:

1.

Turn off and unplug the modem from its power outlet, and turn off the wireless router and

computer.

2.

Turn on the modem, and wait 2 minutes.

3.

Turn on the wireless router, and wait 1 minute.

4.

Turn on the computer.

Make sure that the Ethernet cables are securely plugged in:

1.

Verify that the Internet status light on the wireless router is lit if the Ethernet cable to the

wireless router from the modem is plugged in securely and the modem and wireless router are

both turned on (see

“Front Panel” on page 3

).

2.

Verify that for each powered-on computer connected to the wireless router with a securely

plugged in Ethernet cable, the corresponding wireless router LAN port status light is lit (see

“Front Panel” on page 3

). The label on the bottom of the wireless router identifies the number

of each LAN port (see

“Router Label” on page 7

).

N600 Wireless Dual Band Router WNDR3400 Setup Manual

Troubleshooting

31

Make sure that the network settings of the computer are correct:

1.

Verify that your LAN-connected computers are configured to obtain an IP address

automatically through DHCP. For help with this, see the documentation for your computer or

“Related Documents” on page 43

.

2.

Verify whether the MAC address is needed. Some cable modem services require you to use

the MAC address of the computer registered on the account. If this is the case, in the Router

MAC Address section of the Basic Settings screen, select

Use this Computer’s MAC

Address

. To save your settings, click

Apply

. Restart the network in the correct sequence.

Check the router status lights to verify correct router operation:

If the Power light does not turn solid green within 2 minutes after you turn the router on, reset the

router according to the instructions in

“Restoring the Default Password and Configuration

Settings” on page 42

.

Checking Basic Router Functions

After you turn on power to the router, check that the following sequence of events has occurred:

1.

When power is first applied, verify that the Power light is on (see

“Front Panel” on page 3

for

an illustration).

2.

Verify that the Power light turns amber within a few seconds, indicating that the self-test

procedure is running.

3.

After approximately 20 seconds, verify that:

a.

The color of the Power light changes to green.

b.

The LAN port lights are lit for any local ports that are connected.

If a port’s light is lit, a link has been established to the connected device. If a LAN port is

connected to a 100 Mbps device, verify that the port’s light is green. If the port is 10

Mbps, the light will be amber.

c.

The Internet port is connected and its light is lit.

4.

If you have enabled WPS security, verify that the dome light stops blinking and turns off

(unless you have configured the dome light to stay on).

N600 Wireless Dual Band Router WNDR3400 Setup Manual

Troubleshooting

32

If the correct behavior does not occur, check for a remedy from the following table.

Table 2.

Troubleshooting the router’s LED behavior

LED Behavior

Recommended Action

Power light is off.

See

“Connecting Your Wireless Router” on page 13

), check the following:

•

Make sure that the power cord is properly connected to your router and that

the power adapter is properly connected to a functioning power outlet.

•

Check that you are using the power adapter supplied by NETGEAR for this

product.

If the error persists, you have a hardware problem and should contact technical

support.

Power light stays amber.

When the router is turned on, the Power light turns amber for about 20 seconds

and then turns green. If the light does not turn green, the router has a problem.

If the Power light is still amber 1 minute after turning on power to the router:

1.

Turn the power off and back on to see if the router recovers.

2.

Clear the router’s configuration to factory defaults. This will set the router’s

IP address to 192.168.1.1. This procedure is explained in

“Restoring the

Default Password and Configuration Settings” on page 42

.

If the error persists, you might have a hardware problem and should contact

technical support.

Power light blinks green

slowly and continuously.

The router firmware is corrupted.

To restore your firmware:

1.

Make sure that your PC is connected to your router and the router is

powered on.

2.

Insert the

Resource CD

that came with your router into your PC.

The CD automatically starts and detects the language you are using on your

PC. Select a different language option, if you prefer. If the CD does not

automatically start, browse the CD and double-click on

.

3.

Click

Supporting Software

, then

Netgear Firmware Recovery Utility

, and

follow the prompts for the recovery process.

4.

After firmware recovery is complete, follow the prompts to restore your

configuration