Hardware Setup

11

N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDRMAC

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

Wireless

USB

Internet

Ethernet (LAN)

Wireless On/Off

WPS

Figure 5. Front panel LEDs and buttons

The front panel has five 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.

Wireless

•

Solid blue

. The wireless radio is operating in either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz mode.

•

Off

. The wireless radios are off for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

USB

•

Solid green

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

•

Blinking green

. 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

•

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 Wireless LED is lit, then the

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Hardware Setup

12

N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDRMAC

wireless radio is on. If the Wireless LED is 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.

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.

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13

2

2.

Getting Started with NETGEAR Genie

Connecting to the router

This chapter explains how to use the 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

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Getting Started with NETGEAR Genie

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N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDRMAC

Router Setup Preparation

You can set up your router with the NETGEAR Genie automatically, or you can use the Genie

menus and screens to set up your router manually. However, before you start the setup

process, you need to have your ISP information on hand and make sure the laptops, PCs,

and other devices in the network have the settings described here.

Use Standard TCP/IP Properties for DHCP

If you set up your computer to use a static IP address, you need to change the settings so

that it uses Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

Gather ISP Information

If you have DSL broadband service, you might need the following information to set up your

router and to check that your Internet configuration is correct. Your Internet service provider

(ISP) should have provided you with all of the information needed to connect to the Internet. If

you cannot locate this information, ask your ISP to provide it. When your Internet connection

is working, you no longer need to launch the ISP’s login program on your computer to access

the Internet. When you start an Internet application, your router automatically logs you in.

•

The ISP configuration information for your DSL account

•

ISP login name and password

•

Fixed or static IP address settings (special deployment by ISP; this is rare)

Wireless Devices and Security Settings

Make sure that the wireless device or computer that you are using supports WPA or WPA2

wireless security, which is the wireless security supported by the router. See

Basic Wireless

Settings

on page 24for information about the router’s preconfigured security settings.

Types of Logins and Access

There are two separate types of logins that have different purposes. It is important that you

understand the difference so that you know which login to use when.

•

Router login

logs you in to the router interface from NETGEAR Genie. See

Use

NETGEAR Genie after Installation

on page 16 for details about this login.

•

ISP login

logs you in to your Internet service. Your service provider has provided you with

this login information in a letter or some other way. If you cannot find this login

information, contact your service provider.

•

Wireless network key or passphrase

. Your router is preset with a unique wireless

network name (SSID) and password for wireless access. This information is on the label

located on the bottom of your router.

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Getting Started with NETGEAR Genie

15

N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDRMAC

NETGEAR Genie Setup

NETGEAR Genie runs on any device with a Web browser. It is the easiest way to set up the

router because it automates many of the steps and verifies that those steps have been

successfully completed. It takes about 15 minutes to complete.

To use the NETGEAR Genie to set up your router:

4.

Turn the router on by pressing the

On/Off

button, if not done yet.

5.

Make sure that your device is connected with an Ethernet cable (wired) or wirelessly (with

the preset security settings listed on the bottom label) to your router.

6.

Launch your Internet browser.

•

If this is the first time you are setting up the Internet connection for your router, the

browser automatically goes to http://www.routerlogin.net, and the NETGEAR Genie

screen displays.

•

If you already used the NETGEAR Genie, type

in the

address field for your browser to display the NETGEAR Genie screen. See

Use

NETGEAR Genie after Installation

on page 16.

7.

Follow the onscreen instructions to complete NETGEAR Genie setup. NETGEAR Genie

guides you through connecting the router to the Internet.

If the browser cannot display the Web page:

•

Make sure that the computer is connected to one of the four LAN Ethernet ports, or

wirelessly to the router.

•

Make sure that the router is fully up and running. Its wireless LED should turn on.

•

Close and re-open the browser to make sure the browser does not cache the previous

page.

•

Browse to

http://routerlogin.net

.

•

If the computer is set to a static or fixed IP address (this is uncommon), change it to

obtain an IP address automatically from the router.

If the router does not connect to the Internet:

1.

Review your settings to be sure that you have selected the correct options and typed

everything correctly.

2.

Contact your ISP to verify that you have the correct configuration information.

3.

Read

Chapter 9, Troubleshooting

. If problems persist, register your NETGEAR product and

contact NETGEAR Technical Support.

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