This is the first router I have reviewed in awhile that
really was plug and play. It had a very
simple and clear 5 step start up. The
start up got you onto the Internet using both a cat5e cable and wireless. Using the defaults everything worked just
fine. I was impressed with that
part.
The less impressive part was when NetGear Genie gave me my
success screen and it had an onscreen button to push to go to the Internet, it
took you to a screen that said “page not found”. Nothing worked at that screen so I went to
the Netgear site and proceeded to track this product down through their product
numbers. I found the product and found
multiple entries for manuals for Genie.
I opened the PDF for the manual and found a Skype number highlighted so
I Skyped and told the tech about the defunct page just for their
edification. I will follow up that with
an email.
The product did work for it’s primary purpose right out of
the box and that was both satisfying and a surprise as that sadly doesn’t
happen with any great frequency. As far
as seeing how the router works as a repeater or a bridge, I did not pursue
that. When I clicked on products
supported in the PDF manual, it took me to a page listing products. When I clicked on this product it took me to
a page that was totally in Japanese or Chinese, I am not conversant in either
so I don’t know for sure what language it was in. That ended my foray into exploring the other
options as I don’t have the patience to pursue dead end links.
It may do all the other stuff the website claims, I did not
test that.
I did test installation and that went smoothly, my devices
responded well, I was able to get on the Internet hardwired and wirelessly. I was able to get a technician on my Skype
with only a 5 minute wait and that is a plus as well. I have had positive success with Netgear
products in the past. They make a point
of having a CD-Less installation and that is true. I’m not sure how simple getting to the
ancillary features may be with the issues I saw on the PDF manual.
Overall the product seems good and the lifetime warranty is
also a nice feature. The $60 price tag at Amazon puts in the same ball park as other routers I have tested but the installation was much, much easier. The $25 TP-Link Nano is substantially cheaper but took nearly two hours to get it working right. Your choice is to save money or time.
Comments