Hardware Setup

11

N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router Premium Edition WNDR3800

Prepare the Router for Installation

1.

Carefully remove the protective film from the top of your router.

2.

Set up your router by aligning the

arrow on the base with the arrow on

the back of the case, and sliding the

router onto the base.

Restore

Factory

Settings

button

Figure 2.

Align arrow on base with

arrow on case back

3.

Place your router in an area suitable

for installation (near an AC power

outlet and accessible to the Ethernet

cables for your wired computers). See

Position Your Wireless Router

on

page 14 for more information.

Hardware Features

Before you cable your router, take a moment to become familiar with the label and the front

and back panels. Pay particular attention to the LEDs on the front panel.

Front Panel

The router front panel has the LEDs and icons shown in the figure. Note that the Wireless

and WPS icons are buttons.

Power

2.4 GHz

USB

Internet

Ethernet (LAN)

Wireless On/Off

WPS

5 GHz

Figure 3. Front panel LED and button icons

Hardware Setup

12

N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router Premium Edition WNDR3800

The front panel has status LEDs that you can use to monitor and verify various conditions.

There are also two buttons on the right (or at the bottom if the router is in its stand). The LEDs

are described in the following table.

Table 1.

LED Descriptions

LED

Description

Power/Test

•

Solid amber

. The router is starting up after being powered on.

•

Solid green

. The router startup has completed and the router is ready.

•

Off

. Power is not supplied to the router.

•

Blinking green

. The firmware is corrupted. See

www.netgear.com/support

.

•

Blinking amber

. The firmware is upgrading, or the Restore Factory Settings button was

pressed.

2.4 GHz

•

Solid

. The unit is operating in 11n mode at 2.4 GHz.

•

Off.

The 11n 2.4 GHz wireless radio is off.

5 GHz

•

Solid

. The unit is operating in 11n mode at 5 GHz.

•

Off.

The 11n 5 GHz wireless radio is off.

USB

•

Solid

. The USB device had been accepted by the router and is ready to be used.

•

Blinking

. The USB device is in use.

•

Off

. No USB device is connected, or the Safely Remove Hardware button has been clicked and

it is now safe to remove the attached USB device.

Internet

•

Solid green

. An IP address has been received; ready to transmit data.

•

Solid amber

. The Ethernet cable connection to the modem has been detected.

•

Off

. No Ethernet cable is connected to the modem.

LAN (1-4)

•

Solid green

. A LAN port has detected a 1 Gbps link with an attached device.

•

Solid amber

. One or more LAN ports have detected a 10/100 Mbps link with an attached

device.

•

Off

. No link is detected on any of the 4 LAN ports.

The WLAN and WPS buttons toggle the WLAN and WPS functions on and off.

•

WLAN On/Off button.

Pressing and holding the wireless LAN button for 2 seconds

turns the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wireless radios on and off. If the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz LEDs

are lit, then the wireless radio is on. If these LEDs are off, then the wireless radios are

turned off and you cannot connect wirelessly to the router.

•

WPS

button. You can use this button to use WPS to add a wireless device or

computer to your wireless network. The LED below the WPS button blinks green when

the router is trying to add the wireless device or computer. The LED stays solid green

when wireless security is enabled in the router.

Hardware Setup

13

N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router Premium Edition WNDR3800

Back Panel

The back panel has the On/Off button and the port connections shown here and described

below.

Power

AC power

On/Off

adapter outlet

LAN

Ethernet

ports

Internet

WAN

port

USB

port

Figure 4. Back panel features

•

The four local (LAN) 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet ports are for cabling the router to local

computers.

•

The Internet (WAN) 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet port is for cabling the router to a cable or

DSL modem.

•

The USB 2.0 port (backward compatible to USB 1.0/1.1) can be used to attach a USB

storage device.

Label

The label on the bottom of the router shows the router’s Restore Factory Settings button,

preset login information, MAC address, and serial number.

Preset login information

Serial number

MAC address

Restore Factory Settings

Figure 5. Information on the router label

See

Basic Wireless Settings

on page 26 for information about preset security. See

Factory

Default Settings

on page 119 for information about the Restore Factory Settings button and

the factory setting values.

Hardware Setup

14

N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router Premium Edition WNDR3800

Position Your Wireless Router

The router lets you access your network from virtually 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. For

best results, place your router:

•

Near the center of the area where your computers and other devices operate, and

preferably within line of sight to your wireless devices.

•

So it is accessible to an AC power outlet and near Ethernet cables for wired computers.

•

In an elevated location such as a high shelf, keeping the number of walls and ceilings

between the router and your other devices to a minimum.

•

Away from electrical devices that are potential sources of interference, such as ceiling

fans, home security systems, microwaves, PCs, or the base of a cordless phone or

2.4 GHz cordless phone.

•

Away from any large metal surfaces, such as a solid metal door or aluminum studs. Large

expanses of other materials such as glass, insulated walls, fish tanks, mirrors, brick, and

concrete can also affect your wireless signal.

•

With the antenna in a vertical position to provide the best side-to-side coverage or with

the antenna in a horizontal position to provide the best up-and-down coverage, as

applicable.

Also be aware that 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).

Note:

Failure to follow these guidelines can result in significant

performance degradation or the inability to wirelessly connect to the

router.

15

2

2.

Getting Started with NETGEAR Genie

Connecting to the router

This chapter explains how to use NETGEAR Genie to set up your router after you complete

cabling as described in the installation guide and in the previous chapter in this book.

This chapter contains the following sections:

•

Router Setup Preparation

•

Types of Logins and Access

•

NETGEAR Genie Setup

•

Use NETGEAR Genie after Installation

•

Upgrade Router Firmware

•

Router Dashboard (Basic Home Screen)

•

Add Wireless Devices or Computers to Your Network